Getting your ecommerce store to rank well in search engines might seem like a Herculean task, but it all comes down to the details. If you can make changes to your website to show Google your online store is relevant and delivers a great shopping experience, your pages are more likely to climb to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs).
That’s why I recommend covering your bases with an ecommerce SEO checklist. The list below will guide you through essential tasks that boost search visibility, such as keyword targeting, structured data, and internal linking. I’ve created this checklist specifically for ecommerce businesses and to complement our comprehensive SEO checklist.
As you bring your website in line with search engine priorities, you should see a lift in rankings, traffic, organic click-through rate, and SEO conversions.
Optimize Website Architecture
The first task on your ecommerce SEO checklist is to review your site structure. It should be organized logically with a clear hierarchy. A well-structured site helps users find the products they’re looking for, and search engines to index your store accurately.
1. Organize Category & Product Pages
Organize your products into groups with common themes or attributes. Many ecommerce stores create a hierarchy with broad categories at the top, followed by subcategories and product pages. For example, Tiffany & Co. has a general category for earrings and subcategories for hoops, studs, and dangling earrings. This SEO-friendly hierarchy helps search engines understand which categories are most important and the context of each web page for indexing.
2. Add Strategic Internal Links
Once you’ve created your hierarchy, use internal links to improve SEO.
Internal links lead search engines through your site, helping them discover new pages and understand your site structure. Link equity from higher-ranking pages flow to and bolster the authority of newer or lower-ranking pages. Well-crafted anchor text explains the content of the pages you link to, providing more context to search engines.
Create links between parent and child pages to reinforce site structure, adding breadcrumb navigation that shows users exactly where in the store they are. You can also implement internal links between categories to improve user engagement, providing “You might also like” or “Others also viewed” recommendations to customers.
3. Optimize URL Structure
Search engines inspect the URLs of the pages they crawl for context. Create concise URLs that describe the contents of the page and where they sit in your site structure. Use keywords if possible and hyphens to separate words. For example, a furniture store might use the following SEO-friendly URLs for category and subcategory pages:
- example.com/office
- example.com/office/desk
- example.com/office/desk-chairs
If you have a lot of products divided across multiple pages, you don’t need each page competing for ranking or displaying to searchers. It’s best practice to only have the root page appear in the SERPs. Google recommends blocking paginated URLs from indexing using a noindex robots meta tag or a robots.txt file to discourage the crawling of URLs with certain patterns. The same applies to URLs for categories that have variations of the same products based on size, color, or other attributes.
4. Remove Duplicate Content
As Google prioritizes unique content, pages with identical or very similar content can negatively impact your rankings. These pages can occur when products appear in multiple categories or there are variations of the same product.
You can manage duplicate content by:
- Using canonical tags to tell search engines which page to display in the SERPs.
- Using 301 redirects to send users to the preferred page.
- Rewriting content so it’s unique.
- Deleting duplicate pages.
Do Ecommerce Keyword Research
To increase the chances of connecting with your target audience, create an in-depth keyword strategy. Adding high-intent and diverse search terms to your site lets you capture audiences at different stages of their journey.
5. Run Competitor Keyword Analysis
A Competitive Analysis can uncover fresh opportunities for ranking. Ecommerce SEO tools such as Semrush, Serpstat, and SpyFu compare your keyword performance with your competitors to find gaps in your approach. Keywords that you’ve overlooked are a valuable avenue for reeling in new leads and diversifying your strategy.
6. Find Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are especially promising because audiences performing detailed searches use them. For example, a customer still exploring their options might do a general search for “soccer cleats,” while someone who knows what they want to buy will do a more precise search, such as “laceless turf soccer cleats.”
To discover long-tail keywords:
- Analyze Google autocomplete suggestions.
- Review the keywords site visitors use in your internal search engine.
- Use keyword research tools.
- Take your broad keywords and add details or features your customers ask about (i.e., “desk chair with wheels”).
7. Filter By Search Intent
Users have different reasons for using keywords, known as search intent. When you understand whether a keyword has informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional intent, you can better optimize your ecommerce SEO content to meet audience needs.
Some keyword research tools filter results by user intent. If you’re planning blog content, for example, you might look for keywords with informational intent. These are searches meant to answer a question and commonly use words like “why,” “what,” or “how.”
If you’re targeting audiences further in the buyer journey, look for transactional keywords. Shoppers with a strong intent to purchase often use phrases such as “buy,” “sale,” “shop,” or “free delivery.” Incorporate these keywords on conversion-focused pages or in metadata. For example, a category page with the page title “Shop Deals on Gaming Laptops” in the SERPs may appeal to audiences who are ready to purchase.
Optimize Product Pages
Next up on our ecommerce SEO checklist are product pages. These pages are critical to the buyer journey as they can influence whether customers convert. Product pages need to perform well in the SERPs to drive traffic to your site and give customers the information they need to make a purchase.
8. Write Helpful Product Descriptions
Product descriptions summarize an item’s key features and help your audience make informed decisions. Include important details such as the product name, size, dimensions, materials, color, features and functions, and use cases.
For SEO purposes, make the description as unique as possible. You could copy and paste a manufacturer’s description onto your product page, but it won’t stand out as other companies may be doing the same thing.
To craft effective product descriptions:
- Write unique and engaging copy.
- Highlight the most important features first.
- Be concise and use bullet points for readability.
- Integrate keywords naturally.
- Explain how the product solves pain points or enhances a customer’s life.
- Incorporate FAQs, size guides, comparison charts, and other tools to support decision-making.
- Include reviews or ratings to build credibility and trust.
- Use a voice or tone that appeals to the audience (i.e., sophisticated, witty).
9. Use Product Schema
Product schema is a type of structured data used in your HTML code to provide information to search engines. It enables Google to confidently display details about your product right in the SERPs, such as images, ratings, and prices. These rich results can help your brand to stand out from competitors and improve click-through rates.
Use Product schema to highlight:
- Product name
- Brand
- Description
- SKU
- Color
- Material
- Size
- Price
- Availability
- Product image
- Review or ratings
10. Optimize Images
Online shoppers rely heavily on images to determine whether a product suits their needs. According to research by Baymard Institute, 56% of users begin clicking on product images as soon as they land on a product page.
Impress your audience with a selection of high-quality images showing your product from different angles. Products should be well-lit and in focus. Use a plain background to keep attention on the item unless you’re creating lifestyle images that show a product in use.
To help search engines understand the contents of the image, include descriptive image alt text and file names. Compress image files for faster load times and better user experience.
Optimize Category Pages
Ecommerce category pages typically feature product image thumbnails and links to groups of products, but they’re also excellent opportunities to implement SEO strategies to boost your presence in the SERPs.
11. Add Useful Content
Improve your audience’s shopping experience with informative content that helps with decision-making. This can enhance dwell time and conversions and signal to Google that your content is relevant to user searches. Category page content is also a chance to incorporate keywords and provide additional context to help search engines match your web pages to queries.
I’ll give you a couple of examples. You can add a short paragraph introducing the products on a category page, similar to Proctor Silex’s page for food processors. Keep opening content short so audiences can scroll quickly to the product listings. You can supplement this with longer-form content below the listings. Maxi-Cosi’s category page for strollers ends with information about product features and internal links to blog posts and other product categories.
FAQs also fit in well on category pages and help customers determine if a product suits them. Consider an accordion-style menu that hides answers until users click them to keep the page clean and uncluttered.
12. Include Structured Data
Optimize your category pages for rich snippets using structured data. For example, ItemList schema defines the subcategories on a page. You could mark up a category listings page for women’s shoes to highlight boots, sneakers, and dress shoes. This list can then potentially appear in a rich result to give searchers more information about the items you sell.
Google provides a handy Rich Results Test tool to help check that you’ve implemented your structured data correctly. Just enter your published URL to see if your page is ready to display as a rich result.
Register With Google Merchant Center
Google Merchant Center is a free platform that promotes your products to shoppers who are specifically searching for them. Your product information can appear in Google Search, Images, Shopping, and Maps. Google directs audiences who click your listing to your ecommerce store.
13. Verify Your Business
To get started with Google Merchant Center, register for an account and link it to your online shop. There are two steps: verifying ownership of your website and claiming it.
Google provides several options for verification. You can add HTML code to the index page of the site, upload an HTML file to the site server, or connect the website to Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics. Some ecommerce platforms may have alternate options for verification. You can skip this step if you’ve already verified your website with another Google product such as Search Console or Analytics.
Once verification is complete, sign in to Google Merchant and click the “Claim website” button. This will link your ecommerce store to your account.
14. Submit Product Data
Now you’re ready to share product data with Google and get your inventory in front of shoppers. Google pulls details such as descriptions, images, prices, and availability from your product feed. To create a feed, navigate to “Products” and then “Feeds” in your account, and click the plus button to add a primary feed. Here, you can specify the countries your store sells to, the language you’ve written your data in, and which Google destinations can include the information.
You can upload product data using Google Sheets or direct Google to fetch your feed from your server. If you’ve implemented structured data, Google can also crawl your website for the information.
Once you’re up and running, Google Merchant Center provides analytics about how audiences are engaging with your products in the search results to help monitor performance.
Take Your Online Store to the Next Level
A strong SEO strategy can propel your ecommerce store up the search rankings, putting your products at your audience’s fingertips. Our SEO services pave the way with keyword research, Competitive Analysis, and site audits, ensuring your website aligns with the needs of search engines and customers. Schedule a free consultation with our ecommerce SEO agency and tap into opportunities for your online store to display in relevant searches, attract organic traffic, and ring up ecommerce sales.
