Case Study: Recovering Olsen.ca from Accidental De-indexing

Client: Olsen.ca, a leading Canadian clothing retailer. 

The Challenge 

On May 31, the Olsen.ca team noticed a sudden and significant drop in organic traffic and search rankings. The site, which had been steadily attracting 8,231 visitors in April, saw its traffic plummet to just 1,443 in May—a drastic reduction that raised immediate concerns. 

The decline began abruptly on April 14, 2024, affecting both keyword rankings and, most critically, the e-commerce site’s sales. The drop was particularly severe for branded search terms, which had previously been a strong driver of traffic. 

April Traffic: 

May Traffic: 

 

Difference in Clicks and Impressions: 

The Main Drops were branded terms: 

 

 

Investigation 

The team began a thorough investigation, starting with Google Search Console. Initially, everything appeared normal—no security issues, manual actions, or penalties were detected, and the site’s pages were still indexed.  

The team even considered the possibility of site speed causing the issue, but further analysis indicated that speed alone couldn’t explain such a massive traffic loss. 

Upon examining the website’s backend, the team discovered a critical error:  

The “rel=canonical” tag on Olsen.ca had been incorrectly set to point to a different website, olsenfashion.com.  

This seemingly minor mistake led Google to de-index nearly all of Olsen.ca’s pages, starting with the homepage, on April 14. 

 

 

Solution 

With the critical error identified, our team swiftly implemented corrective measures to restore the site’s visibility and traffic. 

Step 1: Remove the Incorrect Canonical Tag 

The priority was to correct the canonical issue. Since our team did not have direct access to the website’s backend, we promptly advised the client to remove the incorrect canonical tag. This step was crucial to stop further de-indexing. 

Step 2: Re-establish Olsen.ca as a Standalone Site 

With the canonical tag corrected, the team needed to rebuild Olsen.ca’s online presence.  

Google had already crawled the site with the incorrect canonical tag, which made the recovery process more complex. Because Google now perceived Olsen.ca as a duplicate of OlsenFashion.com, the team had to work hard to re-establish its relevance. 

To achieve this, they resubmitted the pages to Google, beginning with the homepage and key collection pages. This process involved both manual and tool-based submissions.  

Additionally, the team embarked on an extensive link-building campaign, utilizing guest posts and press releases to strengthen Olsen.ca’s authority and differentiate it from OlsenFashion.com. 

Step 3: Monitor and Iterate 

The recovery process required ongoing monitoring and repeated efforts. The team consistently checked the site’s progress in Google Search Console and made necessary adjustments, resubmitting pages as needed to accelerate re-indexing. 

 

Results 

Three months after the incident, the team successfully managed to get Olsen.ca’s homepage re-indexed—a significant achievement, considering Google’s reluctance to re-index pages it had previously de-indexed.  

Traffic began to recover, and by August, the site’s organic visibility was largely restored. 

Traffic Recovery 

Traffic increased steadily, with current numbers approaching pre-incident levels. 

Current Traffic: 

Previous traffic: 

Current clicks: 

 

Current Impressions: 

 

Keyword Rankings 

The team regained rankings for most branded key terms, bringing Olsen.ca back to the forefront of search results for its brand. 

Branded key terms: 

 

To Sum It Up 

This case study highlights the critical impact of website maintenance on SEO performance.  

Olsen.ca’s rapid decline in organic traffic underscores the importance of proper canonical URL management and the potential consequences of seemingly minor errors.  

Through swift action, diligent re-indexing efforts, and a strategic content and backlink strategy, the team was able to recover Olsen.ca’s online presence and restore its search engine visibility. 

Key Takeaways 

The experience of Olsen.ca serves as a crucial reminder of the importance of meticulous site management and ongoing monitoring. The significant impact of a seemingly minor error highlights the need for vigilance in SEO practices.  

Below are the essential lessons learned from this case. 

• Regular Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of website performance can help catch errors early before they cause significant damage. 
• Proper Canonical Tagging: Ensuring that canonical tags are correctly set is crucial to maintaining a site’s indexing status. 
• Swift Response: Immediate action and a well-coordinated recovery plan can mitigate the negative impact of SEO issues.