How Chewy Can Win New Customers Through Search

How Keyword Strategy Drives Traffic + Where We Can Get Creative for Chewy

One of the biggest things we realized while building out our keyword strategy for Chewy, Inc. is that the more specific the keyword, the more opportunity there is—not just for traffic, but for creativity.

At first, we were looking at what we thought were the “obvious” Chewy keywords:

• Dog Food

• Cat Toys

• Pet Supplies

These are high-volume, but they’re also crowded and not very differentiated. What surprised us when we used Moz was that a huge amount of search volume is actually coming from medical and symptom-based searches or medications, like:

• “Why is my cat itching all the time?”

• “My dog is not eating, but acting normal..”

• “Dog ear infection treatment”

That completely shifted how we thought about search.

Why Specific Keywords Matter More Than Broad Ones

Broad keywords are competitive and kind of generic, but specific, long-tail keywords tell a much clearer story. They describe the:

• Thought

• Emotion

• Needed solution

So instead of just “dog food,” we’re now thinking:

• “best dog food for dogs with allergies”

• “food for dogs with sensitive stomachs and itching”

That’s where the opportunity is because those searches are basically handing us the creative direction.

Where Creativity Comes In

This is where Chewy gets interesting.

Search isn’t just performance, it becomes content inspiration.

1. Search = Content Ideas

A probe like “why is my dog scratching so much”, can turn into:

• A blog post that actually answers specific, "necessary" questions

• A short-form video explaining causes and translating complex info

• Product recommendations that feel helpful

It basically writes the creative brief for us.

2. Connecting Health + Products

What made everything click is realizing Chewy isn’t just retail anymore. With things like “Connect With a Vet” and specific dog food brands.

So a search like “dog not eating and lethargic”, doesn’t just have to end in a product page.

It can go: Education → Reassurance → Vet Support → Product Solution

That’s a much more complete experience.

3. Emotional Search = Better Storytelling

A lot of these medical searches come from anxiety. People aren’t casually browsing, they’re trying to figure out if something is wrong with their pet and what they can do for them.

That changes the tone completely.

The creative becomes:

• Calming

• Informative

• Supportive

• Solution-Oriented

And that actually builds more trust long term. Chewy becomes a trusted source.

SEO vs SEM

Organic SEO

• Focus on long-tail, question-based keywords

• Build content around pet conditions and symptoms

• Use internal linking to guide users into products and services

Paid SEM

• Still go after high-intent keywords like pet food, toy brands, and subscriptions

• But also test more specific medical + product combos

• Retarget people who engage with educational content

AEO + GEO

This is where things are changing fast.

AEO

We’re basically trying to make Chewy the answer.

So content needs to:

• directly answer questions

• be super clear and structured

• show up in AI summaries and snippets

GEO

Now it’s also about being the source AI pulls from.

So we need:

• Credible info

• Original insights and helpful content

Final Takeaway

What we learned is honestly pretty simple:

Specific Keywords = Real Problems

And real problems are where the creativity comes in.

Instead of just trying to rank for generic pet terms, Chewy has a chance to show up in the exact moment someone is worried about their pet—and actually help them.

And because of the way Chewy, Inc. is expanding into health, vet support, and private-label nutrition, we’re not just answering searches anymore—we’re building a full journey from: Question → Care → Solution.