SEO Growth in a Regulated Market: How Bongs.ca Scaled Organically
The Canadian market for cannabis accessories is heavily regulated. Health Canada’s Cannabis Act tightly limits how cannabis-related products can be promoted — and ad platforms like Google often restrict (or outright block) ads for terms like “bongs” or “pipes.”
The result: PPC was barely an option, and Shopping Ads were effectively off the table.
That makes SEO the only truly scalable growth channel — in a market that’s also highly competitive.
Bongs.ca came to us with a clear goal: grow organic visibility, bring in more qualified search traffic, and turn Organic Search into measurable revenue — without relying on paid advertising.
Scalable SEO & UX Optimization
SEO was the core focus. UX and development were used where they directly supported rankings and conversions.
- Mapped keywords for all collection pages based on search intent
- Updated meta titles, meta descriptions, and H1s across collections
- Wrote and improved content for 54+ English collection pages
- Built local landing pages for Canadian cities and optimised local FAQs
💡 Result: More relevant rankings from scalable, collection-focused content.
- Added homepage schema (SearchAction + LocalBusiness)
- Added ItemList + CollectionPage schema to collection pages
- Rolled out JSON-LD across key Shopify templates (HP / PLP / PDP)
- Added FAQ schema via metafields + objects (no manual updates needed)
💡 Result: Better indexing and stronger rich results signals.
- Removed duplicate H1/H2 tags and cleaned up heading structure
- Improved page structure to help Google crawl and understand content
- Pulled FAQs into PLPs via collection metafields (consistent + scalable)
💡 Result: Cleaner structure → clearer relevance → more stable rankings.
- Added Wishlist Plus (header wishlist + “Add to wishlist” on product cards)
- Added product bundles to boost cross-sell and increase average order value
- Added “Show more / Show less” on product pages to reduce long text blocks
💡 Result: Less friction on the way to purchase → higher conversion potential.
Together with the store owner, we removed key friction points in the buying flow — built specifically for Shopify.
- Mobile variant selection fixed (iOS/Android): Previously, selecting a color did not always reliably switch variants. This has now been fully resolved.
- Cleaner variant switching logic: Clicks are interpreted correctly, so the chosen option stays selected and the cart reflects what the user actually picked.
- Variant & product image sync: Images update instantly with the selected variant (and vice versa), making the choice clearer and reducing hesitation.
➡️ Result: Fewer drop-offs on mobile thanks to a smoother, more reliable variant flow.
From a restricted channel to strong organic growth
Monthly visitors
Generated through SEO alone
Purchases (Organic Search) in 3 months
More orders driven by organic traffic
Google rankings
Across multiple keywords
- #1 Google Rankings for keywords such as “bongs,” “modular bong,” “straight tube bong,” “ash catchers for bongs,” “straight bong”
- 237+ Keywords in the Top 3 with direct impact on leads and inquiries
- Sustainable SEO Success through clean on-page structure, scalable content systems, schema markup, and technical stability
- Increasing Visibility & Demand driven by higher impressions and clicks from Google Search
- More Qualified Organic Traffic through strong growth in sessions and engaged sessions
- Improved Shopify conversion flow through resolved variant issues, clearer product logic, and wishlist functionality (reducing friction in the purchase process).
- Introduced product bundles to drive cross-sell and increase average order value (AOV).
Supporting Signals: GSC & GA4
(Organic Search)
- Clicks: 19,7k → 29,7k (+10,0k | +50,8%)
- Impressions: 344k → 415k (+71k | +20,6%)
- CTR: 5,7% → 7,1% (+1,4 pp)
- Average Position: 14,0 → 10,1 (+3,9 bessere Position)
Result: Increased visibility and significantly more clicks – the demand is rising, and bongs.ca appears more frequently in Google search results.
- Sessions (Organic Search): 16.136 → 32.274 (+100,0%)
- Engaged Sessions: 11.144 → 24.054 (+115,8%)
- Engagement Rate: 69,06% → 74,53% (+5,47 pp)
- Avg. Engagement Time: 1m 42s → 1m 51s (+8,8%)
Result: Significantly more traffic, higher engagement, and increased revenue through Organic Search.
Shopify SEO Delivers – When You Understand the Rules
This case study shows that even in highly regulated niches, where paid ads are limited, growth is still possible when Shopify SEO and conversion optimization work together.
We followed a clear, data-led workflow: we improved the conversion path first by removing friction in the buying flow. We also introduced product bundles to encourage cross-sells and support a higher average order value. Then we scaled demand through intent-based content and a solid technical foundation, including schema where it matters.
The result: stronger visibility, more qualified organic traffic, and higher organic revenue. All of this is built on a setup that can keep compounding over time. As a Shopify-focused SEO agency, this is exactly the integrated approach we implement to turn organic demand into measurable sales.
