The story of Buttercloth.com - How this brand is putting a twist on the soft t-shirt niche

The Weekly Click Newsletter #25

Welcome to The Weekly Click by Adogy! Each week, we analyze real-world websites to uncover valuable SEO insights. Our goal is to help readers learn from real-world successes and opportunities, offering actionable tips to boost organic search traffic.

Kate Shaw, VP of Digital for Adogy

About the Author

The newsletter is written by Kate Shaw, the VP of Digital Strategy for Adogy. She equips businesses, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, to increase their organic visibility and establish thought leadership within their industries.

Imagine wearing a dress shirt so comfortable that it feels like your favorite t-shirt. That's not just a dream – it's the reality that Danh Tran, the founder of Buttercloth, created after years of hating how stiff and uncomfortable traditional dress shirts felt.

Born in Vietnam, Danh grew up working in his family's small tailor shop, developing skills and a passion for clothing design from a young age. After immigrating to the United States at 18, he landed his first fashion job designing clothes for Barbie at Mattel. His talent eventually led him to become Head Designer at Affliction Clothing, where he spent 10 years honing his craft.

But throughout his career, one thing bothered him – the discomfort of dress shirts. This frustration sparked an idea: what if he could create a dress shirt that felt as comfortable as a t-shirt?

Taking a leap of faith, Danh quit his job, sold his house, and cashed in his 401K to pursue his dream. The result was Buttercloth – shirts made from an innovative fabric with incredible breathability and 6-way stretch that, as Danh says, "makes you look like a Friday night, but feel like a Sunday morning."

The risk paid off when Danh appeared on Shark Tank Season 10 and secured a deal with Robert Herjavec. Since then, Buttercloth has expanded its product line and built a loyal customer base who rave about finally finding professional shirts they actually enjoy wearing.

Today, I'm diving deep into Buttercloth.com to uncover how this innovative brand can grow its digital presence even further and capitalize on the massive opportunity in the comfortable men's apparel market.

Butter Cloth Homepage

The brand has links from major publications including Newsweek, AOL, US Magazine, Hollywood Life, and StartupNation, giving them a solid backlink profile from authoritative domains.

The men's apparel market is thriving in 2025, with the global men's wear market valued at over $587 billion. Comfort is now a primary factor in men's fashion choices, with consumers increasingly prioritizing fabrics that feel good while maintaining a professional appearance. This positions Buttercloth perfectly within a growing trend toward comfortable yet professional clothing.

In this week's analysis, I analyze a premium men's clothing site focused on comfortable dress shirts. The site receives 12.3k monthly traffic and ranks for 5.1k keywords.

Here’s what I cover in this report:

  • Website overview

  • Major highlights

  • Competitor overview

  • Easy wins to increase revenue and/or traffic

  • Actionable takeaways you can apply

Let’s get into it.

How I collect the data: I do not have access to direct Google Analytics accounts and earnings. To collect data and information, I only use tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and my personal experience to provide the report.

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Website Overview & First Thoughts

Buttercloth.com currently generates 12.3k monthly traffic and ranks for 5.1k keywords. While these numbers show a solid foundation, there's significant room for growth compared to competitors.

The site has quality backlinks from notable publications like Newsweek, AOL, US Magazine, and Hollywood Life, which helps build domain authority and credibility.

The website design is clean, minimalist, and product-focused – an effective approach for showcasing premium products. The use of verified buyer reviews helps build trust with potential customers. The site also uses a translation plugin on Shopify to reach international markets, showing their commitment to global expansion.

Highlights

Buttercloth has a unique selling proposition that perfectly aligns with current market trends. Their shirts combine the look of professional dress shirts with the comfort of t-shirts – addressing a real pain point for many consumers.

The brand gained significant visibility after appearing on Shark Tank (Season 10) and securing a deal with Robert Herjavec, which has helped build brand credibility.

Their patented 6-way stretch technology and use of premium long fiber cotton creates a genuine product differentiation that's hard for competitors to replicate.

Why is this site winning?

Buttercloth is winning because they've identified a clear gap in the market – dress shirts that are actually comfortable – and created a product that directly addresses this need.

Their founder's story adds authenticity to the brand. Danh Tran grew up working in his family's tailor shop, giving him genuine expertise in clothing design and manufacturing.

The Shark Tank endorsement provides social proof and trust that many competitors lack, helping to convert visitors who might be hesitant about trying a new brand.

Top 3 competitors

4 Easy Ways to Improve This Site

  • Idea 1: Aggressive keyword expansion strategy

  • Idea 2: Creation of targeted collection pages

  • Idea 3: Affiliate partnership program

  • Idea 4: Shopify theme optimization

Idea 1: Implement a comprehensive competitor keyword analysis

Looking at competitors like Untuckit.com (which ranks for over 240,000 keywords), there's a huge opportunity to identify and target high-value keywords that Buttercloth isn't currently ranking for. By analyzing what's working for competitors, Buttercloth can find content gaps and expand their keyword universe.

Over 16,000 traffic coming in from their ‘men’s polo shirts’ collection page

Takeaway: Competitor keyword analysis is one of the fastest ways to find new ranking opportunities that are already proven to work in your niche. This isn't about copying content, but understanding search intent and creating better content to address it.

Idea 2: Create strategic collection pages targeting high-intent keywords

Develop category and collection pages that target specific search terms like "comfortable dress shirts," "stretch dress shirts," or "wrinkle-free business casual shirts." Each collection page should include relevant products but also valuable content that satisfies search intent.

See how untuckit.com uses a collection page to rank strategically for keywords like “men’s polos”

Takeaway: Collection pages serve dual purposes – they improve user experience by organizing products logically, and they create powerful SEO assets that can rank for valuable keywords, driving targeted traffic that's likely to convert.

Idea 3: Launch an affiliate partnership program

With high-value products (shirts that sell for around $100), an affiliate program could significantly expand Buttercloth's reach. Bloggers, influencers, and content creators in the men's fashion and business attire niches would be perfect partners to showcase these premium products.

One ranking page that you can offer commission to for sales.

Takeaway: Affiliate marketing creates a win-win scenario where partners are incentivized to promote your products, effectively creating an extension of your marketing team that only gets paid when they drive results.

Idea 4: Optimize Shopify theme for better performance

The current Shopify theme may be limiting site speed and performance. Switching to a faster, more optimized theme could improve user experience, reduce bounce rates, and potentially improve search rankings since page speed is a ranking factor.

Takeaway: Site speed directly impacts both user experience and search rankings. Even small improvements in load time can lead to significant improvements in conversion rates.

Takeaways for your website

  • Finding gaps between competitors' keyword portfolios and your own can reveal huge growth opportunities.

  • Collection pages aren't just for organizing products – they're powerful SEO assets that can rank for valuable keywords.

  • For high-ticket items, affiliate partnerships provide a cost-effective way to expand reach and generate sales.

  • Site speed matters more than you think – technical SEO improvements can deliver real business results.

  • Premium products need premium positioning – Buttercloth's story, unique technology, and expert craftsmanship justifies their price point.

  • What SEO strategies have you found most effective for e-commerce sites? Comment below and share your thoughts!

The information and views expressed in this newsletter are based on independent research conducted by the Adogy team. To ask how you can have your website featured on the weekly click, email [email protected].

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