Case study - Technical SEO and platform optimization

1. Technical SEO: fixing the H1 heading hierarchy

We identified a critical architectural problem — 299 duplicate H1 tags. In SEO terms, the H1 element is a page's most important signal to search engines about its content. Duplication dilutes relevance signals, creates internal competition between page elements, and prevents search crawlers from clearly identifying the page's main topic.

• Template architecture changes: We ran a deep code review and made changes across 11 PrestaShop .tpl files. This ensures dynamically generated content across the site (from category pages to checkout screens) always follows a strict hierarchical structure.
• Semantic optimization: All redundant H1 tags in filter blocks and navigation were converted to semantically neutral <span> elements or lower-level <h2>–<h4> headings. Search engines now see a "clean" logical tree with only one primary heading — which directly correlates with better content indexing.
• Uniqueness: Fixed cross-URL errors in brand subcategories, ensuring a unique H1 heading for every page.

2. Boosting site load speed and performance

Site speed is a critical Google ranking factor (Core Web Vitals). Optimization targeted improving LCP and CLS metrics, reducing server response time and the browser's resource-processing load.

• Smart font loading: Implemented preconnect hints and font-display: swap — the user sees text instantly with a fallback font while the main one loads. This eliminates the blank-screen effect (FOIT).
• Critical rendering path optimization: Removed @import from CSS, avoiding sequential requests that block page rendering. Deferring JavaScript files with defer lets the browser render visual content first.
• Image loading: Implemented loading="lazy" for category images.
• Server-level performance: Configured "Expire headers" via .htaccess. GZIP compression cuts transferred data by up to 70%. For returning visitors, the page loads almost instantly.

3. Strengthening meta data and content authority

• Meta description optimization: Over 340 unique descriptions built around SEO keywords and psychological call-to-action principles — boosting CTR in search results.
• Title tags: Removed 115 duplicate page titles that were causing internal keyword competition.
• Safe import: Data integrated using the "Force ID" method, preserving the system's database integrity.

4. UX and navigation fixes

• Navigation architecture fixes: Activated parent menu categories, removing dead ends across the site. This improves UX and lets search crawlers more easily reach deep parts of the site structure through a logical chain of internal links.
• Sitemap.xml: Generated a new sitemap covering only indexable, valuable URLs.
• Internal linking: Strengthened links between related categories, helping distribute SEO authority more effectively across the site.

Work done