Enterprise SEO Case Study: Charles & Colvard
How a canonical and indexation cleanup, a rebuilt mega menu and information architecture, purpose-built category pages, and crawlable, indexable product variations expanded non-branded visibility across a large fine-jewelry catalog, roughly doubling Page-1 keywords and non-branded traffic, and earning a national #1 ranking.
1,030 → 2,443
44,248 → 91,065 / mo
"wedding rings moissanite"
Q4 2021, +86% YoY
Keyword and traffic figures are non-branded, per Ahrefs, measured across the engagement (Sept 2020 to Nov 2021). The $5.6M Online Channels figure is from the company's public release and reflects multiple channels, not SEO alone.
A Catalog Search Couldn't Fully See
Charles & Colvard (Nasdaq: CTHR), a fine-jewelry brand specializing in lab-created moissanite and diamonds, had deep, high-purchase-intent demand across a large product catalog but couldn't fully capture it. Product variations were crawled and indexed inconsistently, rel=canonical tags were configured improperly on a large share of pages, and many of the specific ways shoppers actually searched had no dedicated, indexable category page to rank. The long tail was real; the site just couldn't be seen for most of it.
The opportunity was bottom-of-funnel: queries like "oval moissanite engagement rings white gold," where the buyer already knows exactly what they want.
The Strategy: Five Pillars, Foundations First
The work centered on the technical and on-page layer of a large catalog, so search engines could find, understand, and rank the variations that match real buyer queries, and so the site stopped leaking equity to duplicates and dead ends.
Fix the Canonical & Indexation Foundation
Audited and corrected rel=canonical and meta-robots directives across the catalog, so the right pages were canonical and indexable and equity stopped consolidating onto the wrong URLs. The unglamorous fix that lets everything else compound.
Rebuild the Mega Menu & Information Architecture
Restructured the navigation and site architecture so categories were logically grouped, internally linked, and fully crawlable, giving both shoppers and search engines a clear path to every part of the catalog.
Build the Missing Category Pages
Identified the high-intent ways people searched that had no dedicated landing page, then built those indexable category pages and wrote their content, turning unmet demand into pages that could actually rank.
Make Product Variations Crawlable & Indexable
Improved the crawlability and indexability of product variations so long-tail combinations, cut by stone by metal by setting, could enter the index and compete for the exact phrases purchase-ready shoppers use.
Keyword Mapping, On-Page & Structured Data
Ran fresh keyword mapping across the catalog, then rewrote title tags, meta descriptions, H1s, and on-page content to match, and added product structured data so listings were eligible for rich results.
How the Program Unfolded
The work ran from September 2020 to November 2021, sequencing the technical foundation first, then architecture and content scale, with the gains compounding hardest in the back half of 2021.
A large catalog can only rank what search engines can correctly crawl and index, so the first job was clearing the technical debt holding the site back.
- Audited rel=canonical and meta-robots across the catalog and corrected the pages that were configured improperly, so equity consolidated onto the right URLs instead of bleeding into duplicates.
- Mapped how crawl budget was being spent and removed the dead ends and near-duplicate paths that were diluting it.
- Set the indexation rules that the rest of the program would build on.
With the foundation stable, the focus shifted to giving demand somewhere to land.
- Rebuilt the mega menu and information architecture so categories were logically grouped, crawlable, and internally linked.
- Identified the high-intent searches with no dedicated page, then built those indexable category pages and wrote their content.
- Strengthened existing category pages so each targeted a clear query instead of competing with near-duplicates.
Next came unlocking the long tail and matching it to the words shoppers actually use.
- Improved the crawlability and indexability of product variations so long-tail combinations, cut by stone by metal, could enter the index and rank.
- Ran fresh keyword mapping across the catalog and rewrote title tags, meta descriptions, H1s, and on-page content to match.
- Added product structured data so listings were eligible for rich results.
As the index caught up with the new architecture and pages, the gains compounded, the trend you can see in the chart below.
- Newly indexable category and variation pages began ranking in volume, expanding non-branded coverage across the long tail.
- Page-1 and Top-3 positions climbed sharply through the autumn as authority consolidated onto the right URLs.
- The catalog reached a national #1 for "wedding rings moissanite" and roughly doubled non-branded visibility over the engagement.
Explore the Results
Everything below is performance data for the entire website pulled from Ahrefs, viewed through one consistent lens: non-branded keywords with commercial or transactional intent. Those intent filters strip out brand searches and pure research queries so the numbers reflect the high-purchase-intent demand the program was built to capture. The weekly position history available in Ahrefs reaches back to May 2021, so the chart below shows the engagement's final stretch, the period the program compounded fastest. The headline +137% / +106% above span the full engagement from September 2020; this view zooms in on the window the data covers.
By Position Band (Available Window)
Start of the available window (May 2021), handoff (Nov 2021), and peak over that window, non-branded, per Ahrefs.
| Metric | May 2021 | Handoff | Peak | Change |
|---|
Top Keyword Gains by Traffic
The 25 keywords with the largest gain in estimated monthly organic traffic over the available window (May to Nov 2021), drawn from the whole site through the non-branded, commercial/transactional intent lens above. Only keywords that climbed in the rankings are shown (flat positions are excluded), and the list is sorted by Traffic Change. Volume and Keyword Difficulty (KD) are per Ahrefs; "Previous" and "Current" are SERP positions; "Change" is in ranking spots, "Traffic Change" is the change in estimated monthly organic traffic (per Ahrefs), and "New" means the page entered the rankings during this window. Click any column to re-sort.
Where SEO Fit the Bigger Picture
Over the same window, the company's Online Channels segment reached $5.6M in Q4 2021, an 86% YoY increase (per the company's public release). That segment spans multiple properties and channels, so it's useful context for the period, with SEO as one contributing driver among several, not a figure attributable to SEO alone.
What the Numbers Do and Don't Say
A case study is only useful if it's straight about its data. Here's exactly what's measured and what isn't.
A Limited Data Window
The engagement ran from September 2020 to November 2021. The weekly position history available in Ahrefs reaches back to May 2021, so the interactive chart shows the engagement's final ~6 months rather than the full run. The headline +137% / +106% cover the complete engagement.
Estimates, Not Analytics
Traffic and keyword counts are Ahrefs estimates of non-branded organic, not the client's internal analytics. They're directionally reliable and consistently measured, but they're modeled figures, labeled as such.
Revenue Is Context
The $5.6M Online Channels figure is a multi-channel, company-reported number. SEO was one contributor among several; it is not presented as SEO-attributable revenue.
What I'd Tell the Next SEO
Fix Indexation Before Content
Improper canonicals and uncrawlable variations cap everything downstream. Clean the foundation first and the content you add actually compounds.
Give Demand a Place to Land
The long tail can't rank without dedicated, indexable pages. Map how people really search, then build the category pages that match.
The Long Tail Is the Catalog's Edge
On a large catalog, purchase-ready phrases like "oval moissanite engagement rings white gold" convert. Win the specific queries competitors leave on the table.
Architecture Is Distribution
A clean mega menu and internal-link structure spread authority to the pages that need it, and let new pages rank faster.
Have a Large Catalog to Unlock?
Apply for a free analysis and I'll show you where non-branded organic is being left on the table, and what it's worth to capture. No obligation, just a clear plan.