Turning an Organic Decline into Renewed Growth
How an EEAT-first content strategy reversed falling rankings, rebuilt organic traffic and revenue, and positioned Sports Unlimited for AI-driven search.
Client
Sports Unlimited
Services
SEO
Industry
Sporting Goods, E-Commerce
Platforms
Organic Traffic Growth (YoY)
20.8%
Organic Revenue Growth (YoY)
36.5%
Project Overview
Sports Unlimited came to 20North after an extended organic slide, with more than a year of falling rankings and organic revenue moving the wrong direction. The catalog had lost visibility on the products that mattered most, and the site needed to rebuild search authority before it could recover the traffic and sales it had shed.
The work started by re-establishing topical authority through informational content and adding SEO rich content to the highest-value collection pages. As rankings recovered, the program evolved to meet AI search demand through answer-driven content and proof points that show shoppers why to choose Sports Unlimited.
Key opportunities included:
- Reversing more than a year of declining rankings and organic revenue
- Rebuilding search authority across the catalog
- Recovering visibility on the highest-value collection pages
- Reaching shoppers earlier with informational, question-led content
- Positioning content and structure for AI search and answer engines
Project Execution
20North built an SEO and answer-engine program that led with authority-building content, then reinforced the collection pages most tied to revenue and prepared the catalog for AI search.
Foundational EEAT and Blog Strategy
- Launched an informational content program to establish experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness
- Targeted the questions shoppers ask before buying
- Signaled subject knowledge to search engines to support rankings across the catalog
Priority Collection Page Optimization
- Added SEO rich content to the highest-value collection pages
- Focused on rankings that had eroded over the prior year
- Rebuilt organic visibility on the products most important to the catalog
The recovery showed up fastest where it counted. Year over year, organic sessions grew 85.3%, from 25,745 to 47,705, and organic users doubled, up 100%, while page 1 keywords rose 41.8%, moving high-value terms back onto the first page even as the total keyword pool stabilized after a year of decline.
Answer Driven Content for AI Search
- Evolved the blog strategy to meet AI search demand
- Built blogs around answer-driven topics such as "best football helmets for 2026"
- Used listicle and comparison formats suited to AI engines and buyer research
Conversion Proof Points and Technical Infrastructure
- Incorporated proof points into priority collection pages to show shoppers why to choose Sports Unlimited
- Implemented an llms.txt file, page-specific schema, and structured data to make content readable by large language models
The AEO work moved the AI search metrics in step with organic. AI Visibility rank improved from 16 to 12 as the visibility score rose from 8.5% to 9.8%, Share of Voice rank climbed from 16 to 12, and the site held its #4 Citation rank in a competitive field.
Project Results
After partnering with 20North, Sports Unlimited reversed a year-long decline and returned to growth across traffic, revenue, and search authority. The program rebuilt rankings on the catalog's most important collections, recovered organic traffic at scale, and established a foundation in AI search that mirrored the gains happening in traditional organic.
Traffic and Revenue (Year over Year)
- Organic sessions up 85.3%, from 25,745 to 47,705
- Organic users up 100%, from 21,000 to 42,000
- Organic revenue up 28.4%, from $67,000 to $86,000
Keyword Visibility (Year over Year)
- Page 1 keywords up 41.8%, from 6,700 to 9,500
- Stabilized the total keyword pool after more than a year of decline
AI Search and Authority (Year over Year)
- AI Visibility rank improved from 16 to 12, with the score rising from 8.5% to 9.8%
- Share of Voice rank improved from 16 to 12, with the score rising from 1.6% to 2.0%
- Held the #4 Citation rank in a competitive field
Search Authority
- Rebuilt topical authority across the catalog through informational content
- Recovered rankings on the highest-value collection pages
- Positioned content and structure for AI-driven, answer-first search
Testimonial
“We've been working with 20North for about a year, and the results have exceeded our expectations. Ben has been outstanding to work with—he's responsive, knowledgeable, and has taken the time to understand our business and our goals. Since partnering with 20North, we've seen significant improvements in our keyword rankings, organic traffic, and, most importantly, revenue. Their SEO strategy has made a measurable impact on our business, and we're in a much stronger position today than we were a year ago. If you're looking for an SEO partner that delivers real results and provides excellent communication along the way, I highly recommend 20North. We're excited to continue working with Ben and the team and look forward to what the future holds.” - Mike Neff
