eCommerce SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation for online stores.
It’s the process of improving your website’s visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results, especially for product and category pages.
eCommerce SEO helps your product listings appear when potential customers search for relevant terms.
If someone types "wireless noise-cancelling headphones" into Google, your optimised product page should rank high enough to get clicks. This is a vital aspect because SEO generates long-term results with compounding returns. It is a known fact that shoppers trust organic results more than paid ads.
Models of e-commerce include: B2C (Business to Consumer), B2B (Business to Business), C2C (Consumer to Consumer), and DTC (Direct to Consumer).
Each model affects SEO differently.
B2B sites usually focus on technical content and documents; B2C sites rely on visuals, clear product pages, and user experience.
SEO strategy also depends on where products are sold. You might be using your site (like Shopify or WooCommerce), marketplaces (Amazon, Etsy), or social platforms (Instagram, TikTok Shops).
However, ensure the approach suits the platform.
Getting people to actually see your products online is half the battle.
The other half? Making sure they’re the right people, shoppers who are genuinely interested and ready to buy.
You can throw money at paid ads and see a quick spike in clicks. And yes, that’s useful for short-term goals. But if you're running an online store and thinking beyond next week, you need something more reliable. Something that keeps working when your ad budget takes a break. This is where organic search comes in.
Organic traffic doesn’t just show up on its own. It’s built through smart e-commerce SEO. No, it’s not stuffing keywords into your product pages or trying to ‘trick’ Google. You create a site structure, content, and product information that help people find what they’re already looking for.
The payoff? Higher-quality traffic, stronger buyer intent, and lower cost per acquisition over time. SEO takes longer to show results than ads, but once it kicks in, the returns compound. Every product you rank well for brings you customers without needing to pay for every click.
In this blog, we’ll explain how e-commerce SEO works, where to start, and what actually moves the needle, but without the fluff.
Online visibility is vital for e-commerce success. If people can’t find your store, they can’t buy from you. And in today’s world, most shopping journeys start the same way: with a Google search. Whether it’s “running shoes under $150” or “eco-friendly kitchen storage”, your potential customers are typing their needs into a search bar. If your store doesn’t appear where they’re looking, they’ll end up buying from someone else.
That’s where e-commerce SEO comes in.
It’s not the same as traditional SEO. The goals and challenges are different. Traditional SEO often focuses on blogs, news sites, or service businesses. It leans heavily on content creation, backlinks, and technical tweaks. E-commerce SEO, on the other hand, is built around products. It’s about making sure your product pages, categories, and collections show up when people are actively looking to buy.
That means optimising titles and descriptions, using structured data, improving page load speed, fixing broken links, and designing a clean site structure that helps both users and search engines. It also means thinking like a customer: using real search terms in your content, grouping products logically, and avoiding duplicate pages that confuse Google.
Good e-commerce SEO isn’t just about rankings. It’s about relevance. When done right, it puts your products in front of the people who actually want them, but without paying for every click.
In the sections that follow, we’ll walk through the practical steps to improve your store’s visibility and drive more high-intent traffic to your site.
To succeed with eCommerce SEO, optimise various aspects of your website.
Starting with the first essential building block, Keyword Research.
Target terms that your ideal customers are searching for whilst focusing on both short-tail (e.g., "running shoes") and long-tail (e.g., "women’s trail running shoes for winter") keywords.
Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to identify keyword volume, competition, and intent.
Utilising On-Page SEO also sets the foundation of any SEO strategy. Ensure each page on your site is optimised for both users and search engines.
One of the most important on-page SEO elements is the title tag. Include relevant keywords and keep it under 60 characters to avoid truncation in search results.
Another crucial element is the meta description. Write a persuasive summary between 150 - 160 characters that encourages users to click.
Use clear H1 tags for main page titles and H2/H3 tags to structure sub-sections logically.
Lastly, create SEO-friendly URLs that are clean, descriptive, and keyword-rich. For example: yourstore.com/womens-running-shoes.
Product pages are the heart of your store. Every click from search results that lands here should be treated like a potential sale. So make these pages work hard.
Start with your product descriptions. Skip the generic copy-and-paste job from manufacturers. Google sees that as duplicate content, and customers skim right over it.
Write your own descriptions that explain the product clearly, answer common questions, and use natural language that matches how people search. This gives you a better chance of showing up in results and converting once people get there.
Next, visuals matter more than you think. Use high-quality images that show the product from multiple angles.
Let people zoom in to see texture and detail. Don’t forget your image alt text as it’s not just for accessibility. It’s also a chance to describe the product in a way that helps search engines understand what’s on the page.
Schema markup is another must. This structured data tells search engines exactly what’s on the page liike pricing, stock levels, and reviews.
When done right, it can generate rich snippets in search results. That means your listing might show star ratings, prices, or stock info right on Google, which can improve click-through rates.
Finally, encourage reviews. They do more than build trust.
Customer feedback often includes natural keywords and long-tail phrases, which can help you rank for specific searches. Plus, fresh reviews keep your page active, which Google likes.
The goal is to create product pages that don’t just exist, but attract, inform, and convert.
A well-structured site helps both users and search engines get where they need to go, fast. If visitors can’t find what they’re after, they’ll bounce.
If search engines struggle to crawl your site, you’ll struggle to rank. Clean structure fixes both.
Start with your navigation. Keep it simple, logical, and consistent. A flat structure is best, so most pages are only a few clicks from the homepage.
Ideally, any product should be accessible in three clicks or fewer. That reduces friction for shoppers and helps search engines index your pages more efficiently.
Next, use internal linking to connect related products, categories, and blog content.
For example, link a product page to a related guide or comparison article, or connect categories that commonly go together. This improves user experience and keeps people on your site longer. It also helps search engines understand how your content fits together, which can improve rankings.
Don’t forget the technical side. Submitting an XML sitemap to Google Search Console makes it easier for search engines to discover all your key pages. Use robots.txt to control what bots can and can’t access, so they focus on the parts of your site that matter most.
A clear, crawlable site structure is like a well-organised warehouse. It makes everything easier to find, both for people and for bots, leading to better visibility and more conversions.
5. Mobile Optimisation & Site Speed
Google now uses mobile-first indexing, which means it looks at the mobile version of your site first when deciding how to rank it. If your mobile experience is slow, broken, or hard to use, it will hurt your visibility no matter how good your desktop version is.
Start by using responsive design. This ensures your site works properly on all screen sizes like phones, tablets, and desktops, without needing a separate mobile version. Menus should be easy to tap, text should be legible without zooming, and buttons should be spaced out enough to avoid accidental clicks.
A slow site frustrates users and sends them elsewhere, especially on mobile connections. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to test your site’s load times and get specific recommendations. Aim for a score above 90 where possible.
To improve speed:
Mobile experience isn’t a “nice to have”. It’s now central to how Google sees your store. If you want to rank well and convert mobile visitors, your site has to run smoothly on the small screen.
Despite its many benefits, eCommerce SEO has its hurdles. Here are a few to watch out for:
With multiple variants of similar products, duplicate content can become a problem. Use canonical tags, noindex tags on faceted pages, and write unique product descriptions.
Optimising hundreds or thousands of pages manually is a major task. Prioritise best-selling or high-margin products and use automation where possible.
Broken links, crawl errors, or slow page load times can hinder your SEO performance. Regularly audit your site with tools like Screaming Frog and Google Search Console.
Sites that aren’t mobile-optimised lose users and rankings. Adopt a mobile-first design strategy and rigorously test UX across devices.
Google Search Console: Track your performance, indexing, and fix site errors.
Ahrefs / SEMrush / Moz: Keyword research, site audits, and
competitor tracking.
Screaming Frog: Crawl your site for technical issues.
Structured Data Markup Helper: Add rich snippets for better SERP appearance.
Shopify SEO Apps: Tools like Smart SEO and Plug in SEO simplifies optimisation.
When premium coffee brand Grind teamed up with us, they didn’t chase a prettier product page; they wanted visibility. Competition was tight, and seasonal drops were hurting traffic. Organic growth had a ceiling.
We tackled keyword research, fixed technical issues, and rewrote key content. Things started to shift.
Organic revenue was up 386% year-on-year
Organic sessions increased by 108%
The results above did not come out of thin air. It was the result of consistent, systematic, and clear SEO work. A big part of it was fixing slow site speed, tightening titles and metadata, and auditing high-priority pages. Small steps that compound over time.
SEO builds momentum. Start now. In six months, you could be the next growth story.
Need help optimising your online store? Contact our SEO team or explore our in-depth eCommerce SEO checklist to get started today.