Strategy•8 min read

SEO for E-commerce: What's Different and What Matters Most

E-commerce SEO isn't like blog SEO. Here's what actually moves the needle for online stores.

Benas Bitvinskas

Benas Bitvinskas

Co-Founder at Soro·

E-commerce SEO has unique challenges that don't apply to service businesses or publishers.

You're dealing with:

  • Thousands (or millions) of product pages
  • Category and filter structures that create technical complexity
  • Products going out of stock or changing
  • Competition from Amazon and massive retailers
  • Very different page types (product vs. category vs. content)

What works for a SaaS blog doesn't translate directly to an online store. Here's what actually matters.

The e-commerce SEO hierarchy

Not all pages are equal. Prioritize in this order:

1. Category pages (highest priority)

Category pages do the heavy lifting in e-commerce SEO. They target commercial keywords people search:

  • "men's running shoes"
  • "wireless headphones"
  • "organic dog food"

Product pages rarely rank for these. Categories do.

Why categories win:

  • Target broader keywords with more volume
  • Aggregate authority from multiple products
  • Better for user experience (more options)
  • Google prefers them for commercial intent

2. Product pages (medium priority)

Product pages rank for:

  • Specific product searches ("Nike Air Max 90 white")
  • Long-tail variants ("best running shoes for flat feet size 12")
  • Comparison searches ("product A vs product B")

3. Content pages (supporting)

Blog posts and guides rank for:

  • Informational queries ("how to choose running shoes")
  • Problem queries ("why do my feet hurt when running")
  • Top-of-funnel awareness

These drive traffic that category/product pages can't capture.

Related reading:

Category page optimization

This is where most e-commerce SEO effort should go.

Unique, substantial content

Most category pages have:

  • Product grid
  • Maybe a filter sidebar
  • Zero unique content

Google sees these as thin pages. Fix it:

Above the fold:

  • Brief intro paragraph (50-100 words)
  • Clear H1 with target keyword

Below the product grid:

  • 300-500+ words of helpful content
  • Buying guides relevant to the category
  • FAQs about the product type
  • Links to related categories

Proper title tags and meta descriptions

Formula: [Category] - [Unique Angle] | [Brand]

Examples:

  • "Men's Running Shoes - Shop Trail & Road Styles | Store"
  • "Wireless Headphones - Bluetooth Earbuds & Over-Ear | Store"

Not: "Category | Store Name" (too generic)

Internal linking structure

Category pages need:

  • Links FROM navigation and homepage
  • Links FROM related content
  • Links FROM related categories
  • Links TO product pages
  • Links TO supporting content

Pagination and filtering

If you have 500 products in a category:

Pagination:

  • Use rel="next" and rel="prev" (though Google deprecates, still useful)
  • OR consider "load more" / infinite scroll with proper implementation
  • Keep pagination pages indexable OR use view-all page

Faceted navigation (filters):

  • Filters often create thousands of URLs (/shoes?color=red&size=10)
  • These dilute crawl budget and create duplicate content
  • Solution: Canonicalize filtered pages to main category OR use JavaScript-based filtering that doesn't create URLs

Product page optimization

Each product page competes individually. Make them count.

Unique product descriptions

The #1 e-commerce SEO mistake: Using manufacturer descriptions.

If 500 sites use the same description, Google has 499 duplicates. Yours won't rank.

What to do:

  • Rewrite every product description uniquely
  • Include customer-focused benefits (not just specs)
  • Answer questions customers ask about this product
  • Include relevant keywords naturally

Sounds impossible at scale? It's time-intensive, but necessary for SEO. Consider which products are highest priority and start there.

User reviews

Reviews create:

  • Unique content that updates
  • Long-tail keyword coverage
  • Trust signals for conversions
  • Fresh content signals

Enable and encourage reviews on every product.

Schema markup

Product schema helps with rich results:

{
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Product Name",
  "image": "image-url",
  "description": "...",
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "99.99",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.5",
    "reviewCount": "24"
  }
}

This can display price, availability, and ratings in search results.

Technical SEO for e-commerce

E-commerce sites face technical challenges other sites don't.

Crawl budget

Google has limits on how many pages it will crawl per site. E-commerce sites with millions of pages need to be strategic:

Prioritize important pages:

  • Block low-value pages from crawling (out-of-stock, filtered variations)
  • Internal link to priority pages more heavily
  • Keep XML sitemaps clean (only include indexable, valuable pages)

Avoid crawl traps:

  • Infinite filter combinations creating endless URLs
  • Session IDs in URLs
  • Unnecessary URL parameters

Site speed (critical)

E-commerce sites are often slow due to:

  • Heavy product images
  • Third-party scripts (analytics, chat, recommendations)
  • Database queries for inventory/pricing

Impact:

  • Slow speed = worse rankings
  • Slow speed = lower conversion rates
  • Mobile speed especially critical

Fixes:

  • Image compression and lazy loading
  • CDN for static assets
  • Minimize third-party scripts
  • Server-side caching

HTTPS and security

Non-negotiable. E-commerce sites handle payments. HTTPS is required for both rankings and customer trust.

Mobile optimization

Most e-commerce browsing happens on mobile. Your mobile experience directly impacts rankings.

Check:

  • Product images properly sized
  • Add to cart functional on mobile
  • Checkout usable on mobile
  • No intrusive pop-ups

Content marketing for e-commerce

Category and product pages capture purchase-intent searches. Content captures everything else.

Buying guides

"How to choose [product category]" guides:

  • Target informational keywords
  • Drive top-of-funnel traffic
  • Link to relevant category pages
  • Position your products as recommendations

Comparison content

"[Product A] vs [Product B]" comparisons:

  • Capture research-phase traffic
  • High purchase intent (comparing = close to buying)
  • Feature your products when relevant

Problem/solution content

"How to fix [problem your products solve]":

  • Captures people searching for solutions
  • Introduces your products as solutions
  • Builds topical authority in your space

Integration with product pages

Content should link to:

  • Relevant category pages
  • Specific products mentioned
  • Related content pieces

This creates an internal linking network that supports SEO across the site.

E-commerce specific challenges

Out-of-stock products

When products go out of stock:

Keep the page if product will return:

  • Show "out of stock" messaging
  • Offer email notification for when back
  • Suggest alternatives

Redirect if product is discontinued:

  • 301 redirect to most relevant alternative
  • OR to category page
  • Preserve any backlinks and authority

Don't: Just show 404s. Lost authority and bad user experience.

Seasonal products

Products that sell seasonally (holiday items, seasonal clothing):

  • Keep pages live year-round
  • Update content for relevance
  • Plan content calendar around seasonal search trends
  • Start SEO efforts months before season

Product variants

Same product in different colors/sizes:

  • Generally: One URL per product, variants as options (not separate pages)
  • Exception: If variants have meaningfully different search demand, separate pages may work
  • If separate pages: Use canonical tags to indicate primary variant

Duplicate content from filters

Filter URLs (/shoes?color=red) create duplicate content risk:

Options:

  • JavaScript-based filtering (doesn't create URLs)
  • Canonical tags pointing filtered pages to main category
  • Block filtered pages from crawling (robots.txt or meta robots)
  • Allow only valuable filter combinations to be indexed

Measuring e-commerce SEO

Key metrics

Traffic:

  • Organic traffic overall
  • Organic traffic to category pages specifically
  • Organic traffic to product pages
  • Organic traffic to content

Revenue:

  • Revenue from organic traffic
  • Average order value from organic vs. other channels
  • Conversion rate from organic

Rankings:

  • Category keyword rankings
  • Product keyword rankings (for key products)
  • Informational keyword rankings

Attribution challenges

Organic often starts journeys that complete through other channels:

  • Customer finds blog post via organic
  • Leaves, returns via paid ad
  • Purchases

Last-click attribution credits paid. Multi-touch shows SEO's role.

The bottom line for e-commerce SEO

What matters most:

  1. Category page optimization — This is where commercial keywords live
  2. Unique product descriptions — Escape the manufacturer copy trap
  3. Technical foundations — Speed, mobile, crawl efficiency
  4. Content marketing — Capture top-of-funnel traffic

What to avoid:

  1. Thin category pages with no content
  2. Manufacturer description copy-paste
  3. Filter/URL structure that creates duplicates
  4. Ignoring content (only optimizing product pages)

E-commerce SEO is complex, but the fundamentals are the same: great content, solid technical foundation, and strategic effort allocation.

Related reading:

E-commerceSEOOnline StoreProduct SEO
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