SUCCESS STORIES

Hush Puppies: Strong SEO Foundations for Scalable Growth

Hush Puppies has long been a trusted name in comfort-first footwear, with a strong retail presence and a home in department stores like Myer. As shopping habits shifted and search became more competitive, the team saw a chance to lift the brand's digital performance through organic search.

They partnered with StudioHawk to build the SEO foundations to get there: a clearer site structure, stronger collection and product pages, and a site ready for AI-driven search.

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29%

Increase in organic revenue YoY

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150%

Growth in Top 3 non-branded keywords

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21%

Increase in total organic users

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Hush Puppies is a global footwear brand known for casual comfort and everyday wear. In Australia, you'll find it online and in major department stores nationwide, including Myer.

In early 2024, the internal team spotted an opportunity to grow organic search into a stronger acquisition channel. They wanted a specialist partner who could guide the strategy and work alongside them to bring it to life, so they brought in StudioHawk.

The Need

Hush Puppies already had strong brand equity and nationwide visibility. The next step was giving the website the depth to match, in both structure and content, and growing SEO know-how inside the team.

The key objectives:

Expand and optimise core collection and product pages
- Give key pages richer copy, metadata and internal linking so they could compete for high-intent footwear searches.
Build a site structure around how people search
- Add collection pages for the specific terms shoppers use, opening up long-tail demand across men's and women's footwear.
Grow SEO skills in-house
- Give the internal team hands-on training so they could implement changes themselves and keep momentum going.
Get the site ready for AI search
- Add the structured data and content that AI tools draw on when recommending products.

The Plan

We mapped out a long-term strategy built around four focus areas, with scalable growth, team enablement and AI readiness running through all of them.

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Information architecture and site structure

Rebuild the collection hierarchy with 70+ new pages matched to search intent and SKU depth, making the site easier to crawl and capturing long-tail traffic across men's and women's footwear.

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Collection and product page optimisation

Refresh copy, metadata and internal linking across key pages, plus a custom internal linking widget built with the Hush Puppies developers.

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Content, schema and AI search readiness

Launch sizing and fit content with upgraded templates and summary buttons designed to help AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity cite the brand, backed by product and collection schema covering brand, SKU, shipping, returns and breadcrumbs.

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Training and collaboration

Train the internal team to implement changes themselves, so every recommendation could go live sooner.

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Built a site structure that scales

Rolled out 70+ new collection pages for high-converting terms like men's chukka boots and women's white sneakers. Linking parent and child collections (sandals to black sandals) helped build topical authority across the range.

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Optimised product pages for AI and conversions

As AI search started favouring product-level results, we rewrote product descriptions ahead of a theme rebuild and added the details shoppers look for, like sizing, Afterpay and Qantas Points.

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Laid the groundwork for content

Created a sizing-focused content hub with a blog calendar and new templates featuring tables of contents, product carousels and related articles.

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The Bright Side Blog launched in mid 2024 as Hush Puppies' home for helpful, search-friendly content.

We led the build of this educational hub around the topics shoppers care about most, like sizing and fit. Each article uses structured layouts, internal links and product integration, so it helps readers find the right shoe and helps search engines and AI tools understand the brand.

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Standing out in a busy category

Big retailers and marketplaces own broad terms like "men's sneakers" and "women's boots". We focused on specific, high-intent collection terms where Hush Puppies could win the top spots.

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Growth from on-site work

With no link building in scope, every gain came from the site itself: architecture, on-page optimisation, schema and content.

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Making the most of team time

With several approval layers and a busy dev team, we prioritised scalable wins like IA, blog frameworks and training, so progress kept moving.

The Results

Rankings on the rise: Top 3 rankings for non-branded keywords grew 150%, first-page positions grew 84%, and the total non-branded keyword footprint grew 60% (Semrush).

More shoppers, more revenue: Year on year (FY25 vs FY24), total organic users rose 21%, new users rose 19% and organic revenue grew 29%.

New pages doing the heavy lifting: Collection pages saw 17% more users and 26% more revenue, and product pages saw 29% more users and 45% more revenue.

29%

Increase in organic revenue YoY

150%

Growth in Top 3 non-branded keywords

21%

Increase in total organic users

The Conclusion

Hush Puppies wanted to grow its organic visibility in a competitive footwear market and build SEO strength that would last. We expanded the site architecture, sharpened collection and product pages, rolled out AI-ready schema and trained the internal team to keep the momentum going.

+29% organic revenue. +150% Top 3 non-branded rankings.
Organic search is now a reliable growth channel for Hush Puppies, with a team equipped to move faster and a site ready for both traditional and AI-powered search.

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In-depth AI & SEO audit

Uncover weaknesses and opportunities to overtake the competition and gain market share

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Expert traffic analysis

Discover quick wins to boost  your visibility for your most valuable search terms

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Custom AI & SEO roadmap

Get clarity and confidence with an AI & SEO strategy aligned with your goals, industry, and unique challenges

Client success:

29%

Increase in organic revenue YoY

150%

Growth in Top 3 non-branded keywords

21%

Increase in total organic users

“A great example of how strong SEO foundations, strategic content, and close collaboration can drive meaningful results for an iconic brand.”

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Hush Puppies: Strong SEO Foundations for Scalable Growth

The Need

The Plan

The Execution

The Challenges Overcome

The Results

The Conclusion

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