USA Pan is a family-owned and operated bakeware business. Founded in 1959, it has since evolved into the top global producer of industrial bakeware.

In 2009, they brought their professional expertise to home bakers with the launch of their consumer brand.

Now, in 2024, USA Pan is entering a new wave of growth.

But this time, it's online.

Website traffic is up an impressive 285% year-over-year (YoY)—and I'm going to share how they did it.

Let's dive into USA Pan's recipe for SEO success and explore how you can replicate these wins on your website.

The Catalyst: How USA Pan Reached 65.4K Monthly Visits

1. The Google X Factor: Algorithm Update Advantages

When I analyze websites exploding in organic traffic, it typically doesn't take long to find the reason. Some of the most common include a wave of new content that boosts rankings, a domain migration, or backlinking efforts.

But in the case of USA Pan, pinning down the reason wasn't that easy.

In fact, examining the site and its archived versions revealed surprising consistency. There were no signs of a recent content overhaul or major technical developments.

This led me down a different path: exploring the possibility that USA Pan benefited from recent Google algorithm updates.

And in the past year, there’s been plenty.

Fall’s updates revealed the first signs of growth in keyword rankings, as demonstrated by the chart below.

And when we compare March 2023 to March 2024, the difference becomes even more evident.

Keyword rankings more than tripled during this time.

So, what does this all mean?

USA Pan finally got the recognition it deserved from search engines—and algorithm updates were the catalyst.

Why this matters:

Here's why USA Pan's potential benefits from Google algorithm updates is a game-changer:

1. A Level Playing Field: Algorithm updates can help even the odds for smaller businesses. Each update can cause ranking domains to fluctuate, potentially giving “hidden gem” sites a chance to shine.
2. Rewarding Quality and User Experience: Google updates prioritize websites that deliver a positive user experience and high-quality content. This is a win for businesses that focus on user needs and value, not just keyword stuffing.
3. Adaptability is Key: Monitoring SEO performance after algorithm updates is crucial. This approach provides insights that support data-driven decisions for refining your content strategy. We’ll look at how to do this next.

How to monitor SEO performance in WordPress:

The easiest way to monitor the impact of algorithm updates is by using an SEO plugin. The linked tutorial goes into detail, but here’s a quick recap of the process:

1. Install All in One SEO (AIOSEO).
2. Open Search Statistics.
3. Navigate to the SEO Statistics tab.
4. Compare changes in performance around algorithm updates.

Tools for monitoring SEO performance:

Search Statistics simplifies tracking organic performance.

It provides a timeline view with key metrics and Google algorithm markers, allowing you to pinpoint when an update could have affected your site.

Each Google marker also has a read more option to learn about the update, allowing you to adjust as necessary.

Even though algorithm updates are unpredictable, USA Pan uses SEO best practices to weather the storm.

Let's look at these strategies next and see how they could have promoted a boost in rankings from Google.

2. On Page-SEO: Building Blocks for Organic Success

USA Pan has a strong on-page SEO strategy.

On-page SEO refers to optimizing content for search engines and users. It uses various elements to help pages rank better in search results and satisfy your target audience.

One of these core elements are keyword optimizations.

Using the right keywords in the right places can significantly impact your search engine rankings. They help search engines understand the content and purpose of your website.

It also lets users know they're in the right place.

For example, imagine a user entered “jelly roll pan” on Google and clicked on the following search result:

Now, imagine that they arrived at a page for a heart-shaped cake pan.

Confusing, right?

They’d click the back button, resulting in a high bounce rate for that page.

Naturally, users expect to find what they’re looking for when shown a search result in Google.

That’s the whole point of search engines, after all.

USA Pan uses on-page SEO to rank the right content for the right keywords.

They also use it to reassure customers that they’ve found the product they’re looking for.

Take a look at the screenshot below to see how USA Pan optimizes for “jelly roll pan.”

In addition to optimizing the landing page, they also use its keyword in its meta title and meta description, which we saw in the earlier Google screenshot.

These on-page optimizations are key for ranking for keywords relevant to your business.

Why this matters:

Here's why USA Pan's on-page SEO is a win-win for both users and search engines:

1. Enhanced User Experience: By strategically incorporating relevant keywords like “jelly roll pan” throughout their content, USA Pan ensures users get exactly what they're searching for. This eliminates confusion and frustration, creating a more positive user experience and a lower bounce rate.
2. Improved Search Visibility: Optimizing for relevant keywords helps search engines understand the content and purpose of USA Pan's website. This increases the chances of their website appearing in search results when users enter those specific terms, leading to greater visibility and traffic.
3. Targeted Traffic: Using the right keywords attracts users who are genuinely interested in the products USA Pan offers. This translates to higher-quality traffic, as users are more likely to convert from potential customers to paying ones.

How to do on-page SEO:

There’s a lot that goes into on-page SEO, but don’t fret!

AIOSEO has a beginner-friendly on-page SEO guide for how to do it. This article covers 11 steps for maximizing your content’s visibility, but I’ll recap some of the standout items here:

• Use your target keyword in critical areas.
• Optimize your meta title and description.
• Add internal links with natural anchor text.
• Leverage image SEO.
• Improve your content readability.

Tools for on-page SEO:

TruSEO Analysis is a WordPress tool designed to streamline on-page SEO and maximize your content's reach.

TruSEO works by analyzing your content and generating helpful checklists to maximize its reach. You'll get action-oriented steps for improving your content's SEO and readability.

Here’s an example of the Focus Keyphrase Checklist, which lets you know when you’ve missed your focus keyword in important areas:

And this is the Readability Checklist. (I use this one a lot because you can click on the eye to go exactly where you need to adjust your content. No more endless scrolling trying to find the issue!)

Next, let’s see how USA Pan establishes trust with its existing and potential customer base.

3. Trust Signals: Rich Snippets and Reviews

As USA Pan has been gaining visibility on the SERP, customer reviews have also started rolling in.

At the bottom of each product page, customers can leave a star rating and review for their purchase.

Here’s an example of reviews for the large Pullman loaf pan:

Positive customer reviews are extremely powerful.

They give credibility to your site and your products.

But they come with a caveat: typically, users need to be on your website to see them.

Or do they?

You’ve probably searched for products on Google before and noticed search listings with ratings and reviews like the example below.

This is a product review snippet.

It shows the 4.9- star rating and 9 reviews we saw on USA Pan’s product description page (PDP).

So, how did USA Pan get these reviews on the SERP?

That’s the power of schema markup.

Schema markup helps search engines understand your content. It can also be used to generate rich snippets on the SERP.

Rich snippets are enhanced search listings (like the above image) that show more information than standard search results. There are different types of rich results and schemas to get them.

For USA Pan, they use product schema markup to win this type of search result.

Product schema allows you to add important details like:

• Price
• Average rating
• Reviews
• Special offers
• Shipping and returns

Why this matters:

According to SEO statistics, rich results capture 58% of all clicks, compared to 41% for standard search listings.

This difference boils down to trust.

Rich snippets featuring positive reviews are like digital word-of-mouth marketing. They're social proof that people like your product and can directly influence buying decisions.

Imagine you’re the one shopping for the Pullman loaf plan. You can either visit USA Pan’s 4.9-rated result or a search result with zero reviews or ratings.

Which one would you click?

The answer is clear. (And USA Pan’s rankings prove it, with 8.5K review snippets in March 2024.)

By showcasing customer ratings on the SERP, USA Pan builds trust and credibility in the bakeware industry.

This strategy leads to more clicks, traffic, and conversions.

How to add product schema markup:

This tutorial shows you three ways of adding schema markup without a plugin. Each method requires you to obtain and copy code snippets into the appropriate fields.

When performing this process manually, you’ll need to get product schema and rating attributes.

You can generate these using either of these tools:

• Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper
• JSON-LD Playground

Tools for product schema markup:

I highly recommend using a product reviews plugin to generate schema markup for your website.

They’re super easy to use and can help you get rich snippets without having to touch the schema itself.

Let me explain.

In the AIOSEO Schema Generator, you pick straight from a catalog.

You can select Product from the list, add your product details, and AIOSEO implements the schema markup for you. That’s it!

Standout SEO Wins

Before wrapping up, I'd like to highlight a final element of USA Pan's digital growth strategy: social media.

Building Brand Awareness Beyond Google Search

While SEO is crucial for attracting organic traffic, USA Pan understands the value of building an audience beyond Google search.

They leverage social media to achieve this, using platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. They frequently post videos and photos of their products.

This multi-platform approach keeps their audience engaged—wherever they are—and creates new opportunities to reach a wider customer base.

Ultimately, it's a great way to leverage different channels to cater to your audience and build brand awareness.

Tool: Share your latest content using AIOSEO’s social media integration. You can add up to 11 social media accounts, ensuring your content gets maximum engagement.

Takeaways

In our analysis of USA Pan's SEO success story, key takeaways emerge that can be applied to grow your website's organic traffic.

Let's review which strategies to implement on your site and others to reconsider.

Top 3 Strategies to Emulate

1. Track performance and adapt to algorithm shifts. Search engine algorithms are dynamic, constantly refining how they evaluate and rank websites. To stay ahead, monitor your website's organic performance closely. You can analyze key metrics like keyword rankings and impressions to track the impact of algorithm updates. This proactive approach will allow you to identify fluctuations and adjust accordingly.
2. Leverage on-page SEO to cater to users and search engines. Strong on-page SEO will help your content rank and get to the right audience. However, it's important to remember that on-page SEO isn't just about keywords. Understanding search intent and creating high-quality content is paramount. You should also optimize for readability and navigation to create a holistic, positive user experience. These optimizations will also help search engines understand your content and site structure.
3. Earn trust with product reviews and schema markup. Trust is an important component of today's search landscape. Highlighting customer reviews on the SERP is a great way to showcase the quality and credibility of your products. Positive reviews provide social proof, encouraging potential customers to click and convert. Schema markup can help you display these powerful attributes directly on the SERP.

Bottom 3 Strategies to Reconsider

1. Avoid non-descriptive meta titles. Even though USA Pan does a great job at on-page SEO, I was surprised to find a handful of short, non-descriptive meta titles. Your website's metadata is like a mini billboard on the SERP. Strong meta titles and descriptions compel users to click, while weak ones leave them scrolling to the next search result. An SEO title tag generator can craft unique, click-worthy meta titles for you.
2. Don’t forget to optimize image filenames and alt text. It's easy for image optimizations to slip through the cracks when you're juggling a website and business. But with over 1 billion searches every day on Google Images, they're worth your time. USA Pan does a good job using natural image alt text, but I noticed that they don't optimize their filenames or use title tags. All these elements make it easier for search engines to understand and rank your images. You can even use tools like AIOSEO's Image SEO module to generate them automatically.
3. Stop pages from going live without meta descriptions. While meta descriptions don't directly impact search rankings, they can influence clickthrough rates. They take up valuable space on the SERP, and every indexable page of your site should have one. Meta descriptions should be clear and concise summaries of your content with relevant keywords. Like meta titles, an AI metadata generator can write them for you.

Steal Our Winning SEO Strategy: A Checklist for Your Website

Become the Next SEO Success Story With AIOSEO

Want to replicate USA Pan’s organic growth?

AIOSEO is your key to stronger optimizations, higher rankings, and more organic traffic.

AIOSEO's comprehensive suite of tools empowers you to take control of your website's SEO. You'll actionable insights and real-time guidance that gets results.

No more guesswork!

Here are some tools you're going to love:

• Search Statistics: Track your website’s organic performance with comprehensive and easy-to-understand reports. Search statistics include content decay tracking, allowing you to reinvigorate a page when it starts to slip.
• TruSEO Score: Level up your content and go beyond a simple pass or fail. TruSEO analyzes your on-page SEO, giving you actionable insights to maximize your content's reach.
• Rich Snippets Schema: Win more rich results with AIOSEO’s user-friendly schema generator. Just pick the schema type you want, and we’ll format the structured data properly for Google.
• Social Media Integration: Seamlessly connect your favorite social media platforms to your site and share content with your audience. Available integrations include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and more.
• Image SEO: Turn on automatic image alt text and title attributes with a single click. You’ll save time from manual entries while helping users and search engines understand your images.
• AI Title & Description Generator: This time-saving tool creates compelling metadata for any page on your site. With the click of a button, you’ll harness the power of AI and get options for unique meta titles and descriptions.