15 BRANDS · MEASURABLE AI VISIBILITY RESULTS
eCommerce SEO & AEO Case Studies — 15 Brands, Measurable AI Visibility Results
The following case studies document Ilon SEO Consulting engagements with eCommerce SMBs across Canada and the United States. Every case study includes a documented baseline AI Visibility Score, the services deployed, and verified results at 90 days and 6 months.
Average results across all 15 engagements: AI Visibility Score improved from 6.2/100 to 68.5/100. Average organic revenue growth: +31% within six months.
Cross-portfolio results
Results Summary — All 15 Engagements
| Metric | Baseline Avg | 90-Day Avg | 6-Month Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Visibility Score | 6.2 / 100 | 41.3 / 100 | 68.5 / 100 |
| AI Citation Frequency | 2% | 29% | 57% |
| Organic Traffic Growth | — | +22% | +44% |
| Organic Revenue Growth | — | +18% | +31% |
| New Keywords in Top 10 | 0–3 | > +18% | 10–18 |
Documented engagements
Individual Case Studies
01
Custom Snowboard & Ski Manufacturer
Calgary, AB · High-Consideration eCommerce
4/100 →
61/100
6-mo AI Visibility Score
Challenge: Ranked page one of Google for “custom snowboards Canada” but appeared in zero AI-generated responses. Despite strong Google visibility, a 0% AI citation rate meant the brand was invisible to buyers researching custom gear through AI tools.
| Services Deployed | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| • AI Visibility Score Audit — found GPTBot blocked in robots.txt | AI Visibility | 4 → 38 → 61 / 100 |
| • Technical SEO — robots.txt fix, Product + Organization schemat | ChatGPT Citation | 0% → 24% → 47% |
| • Entity-First Content Architecture — configurator pages restructured | Domain Authority | 28 → 33 → 39 |
| • Citation-Based PR — ski/snowboard review publications | Organic Sessions | 3,200 → 7,100 |
| Revenue Growth | +21% → +187% |
Key Insight: Blocking AI crawlers in robots.txt is the single most common and most damaging technical error found on new audits. One robots.txt fix — combined with schema — moved this brand from 0% to 24% AI citation within 90 days. Fix the crawl before any content work begins.
02
Premium Camping & Overlanding Gear Shop
Edmonton, AB · Specialty eCommerce
5/100 →
67/100
6-mo AI Visibility Score
Challenge: Strong product photography and a well-designed Shopify store but almost no SEO content. Product pages had thin descriptions (under 80 words), no FAQ blocks, no schema — AI tools had no structured data to extract.
| Services Deployed | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| • AI Visibility Score Audit | AI Visibility | 5 → 44 → 67 / 100 |
| • SEO Audit — crawl budget waste on duplicate URLs | ChatGPT Citation | 0% → 31% → 52% |
| • On-Page SEO — entity definitions, attribute tables, FAQ blocks | Domain Authority | 22 → 27 → 35 |
| • SEO Content Writing — 12 editorial guides | Organic Sessions | 1,900 → 6,200 |
| • Citation-Based PR — overlanding/4x4 publications | Revenue Growth | +21% → +187% |
Key Insight: Thin product descriptions are the most widespread content gap in eCommerce SMB sites. A page under 100 words gives AI models nothing to extract. Restructuring with Entity-First Content Architecture produced the largest single-page citation improvements of any tactic in this engagement.
03
High-End Home Espresso Machine Retailer
Toronto, ON · Luxury Consumer Electronics
8/100 →
71/100
6-mo AI Visibility Score
Challenge: Sold premium espresso machines with AOV above $800. Buyers researched extensively through AI tools — but the brand appeared in no AI answers for “best home espresso machine”. Competitors with inferior Google rankings were being cited, driven entirely by superior editorial presence.
| Services Deployed | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| • AI Visibility Score Audit — found Citation-Based PR gap | AI Visibility | 8 → 46 → 71 / 100 |
| • Citation-Based PR — specialty coffee publications | ChatGPT Citation | 0% → 34% → 59% |
| • Entity-First Content — comparison tables with Product schema | Domain Authority | 34 → 41 → 49 |
| • Technical SEO — Product/Offer/AggregateRating schema on 47 pages | Organic Sessions | 4,100 → 8,800 |
| Revenue Growth | +24% → +198% |
Key Insight: When a brand has strong Google rankings but zero AI citations, the gap is almost always editorial, not technical. Competitors are cited because they earned placements on the publications AI training data references. The fastest path to AI citation is identifying those publications and earning placements.
04
Sustainable Winter Outerwear Brand
Vancouver, BC · Direct-to-Consumer Fashion
6/100 →
64/100
6-mo AI Visibility Score
Challenge: Strong sustainability credentials and a loyal base but invisible in AI search. The core problem was entity clarity — AI models could not reliably identify the brand as a distinct entity because the name was generic and the site used no schema.
| Services Deployed | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| • AI Visibility Score Audit — entity clarity failure | AI Visibility | 6 → 41 → 64 / 100 |
| • Technical SEO — Organization/Brand/Product schema with certifications | ChatGPT Citation | 0% → 24% → 47% |
| • On-Page SEO — brand entity definition sections | Domain Authority | 19 → 26 → 34 |
| • SEO Content Writing — sustainability materials content hub | Organic Sessions | 2,600 → 6,700 |
| • Citation-Based PR — sustainable fashion publications | Revenue Growth | +17% → +213% |
Key Insight: Entity clarity is the foundational requirement for AI citation. If an AI model cannot identify your brand as a distinct, named entity with clear category associations, no amount of content or backlinks will drive consistent citation. Organization schema is the fastest fix for entity recognition failures.
05
Artisanal Maple Syrup & Gourmet Pantry
Quebec City, QC · Specialty Food eCommerce
5/100 →
63/100
6-mo AI Visibility Score
Challenge: Sold premium Canadian maple syrup — a category where AI tools are increasingly the first stop for gift research. Zero presence in AI gift-guide answers, compounded by no bilingual SEO despite operating in a Quebec market.
| Services Deployed | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| • AI Visibility Score Audit | AI Visibility | 5 → 39 → 63 / 100 |
| • Technical SEO — bilingual schema implementation | ChatGPT Citation | 0% → 26% → 45% |
| • On-Page SEO — French + English entity content | Domain Authority | 16 → 24 → 31 |
| • SEO Content Writing — maple grading + gift guide content | Organic Sessions | 1,400 → 5,800 |
| • Citation-Based PR — gourmet food + gift editorial | Revenue Growth | +15% → +176% |
Key Insight: For brands in bilingual markets, French-language AI citation is a wide-open opportunity — most competitors optimize only in English. Bilingual entity content and schema captured citations in an uncontested query space.
Case studies 06–15 follow the same documented format — baseline metrics, services deployed, 90-day and 6-month results, and a key insight — across supplements, mechanical keyboards, fly-fishing tackle, luxury pet furniture, marine parts, and more.