Summary
Male Q was a direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand that I founded in 2016 and ran until I sold it in 2024. Search was the growth channel: about 90% of the site's traffic came from organic search, and that traffic carried the business to more than $1M in sales.
The approach
- Technical SEO first. Site structure and site performance work, so search engines could crawl and index the catalogue and the guides.
- Programmatic SEO. Pages built from structured templates rather than written one at a time, so coverage could grow with the catalogue.
- Keyword optimization. Each page aimed at the searches its buyers actually make.
- LLM content workflows. Python and LLM API workflows for SEO content generation.
What shipped
A store built to be found
Technical and programmatic SEO took the site to about 90% organic traffic and grew traffic and sales 10x through keyword optimization.
CRO testing and site performance work increased organic conversions and let me cut paid ad spend by 30%.
- Content generation at 8x speed. Python and LLM API workflows produced SEO content eight times faster, with 70% less manual effort.
- A business someone wanted to buy. I ran Male Q from 2016 until I sold it in 2024.
Results
- $1M+ in sales, with about 90% of traffic from organic search.
- 10x growth in traffic and sales through keyword optimization.
- 30% less paid ad spend, while organic conversions went up.
- 8x faster content production with 70% less manual effort.
- Sold in 2024.
What carried over
Male Q is where I learned that search growth comes from systems: a sound technical base, templates that scale pages with the catalogue, and content workflows that keep up. It is the same approach I now use on Lugg's marketing site, in the programmatic SEO case study.