Ecommerce SEO is a different beast compared to optimizing a traditionally content-driven site. You’re optimizing product pages, category pages, and an entire site structure designed to drive conversions. When I get an opportunity to hear from someone with this kind of expertise, I take it. Here I'm sitting down with ecommerce SEO consultant Freddie Chatt for a deep dive into best practices, technical fixes, and the common pitfalls many ecommerce businesses face.
Freddie was kind enough to share his ecommerce SEO checklist so that you could access the entire guide. He digs into on-page and off-page tasks that not everyone considers, but they make a dramatic difference in traffic levels and site performance. I'd recommend clicking through and then saving a copy for yourself so you can edit the progress bars and customize the list.
SEO for ecommerce isn’t the same as optimizing a traditional content site.The key difference lies in structuring product and category pages to maximize both visibility and conversion. Instead of just optimizing content for rankings, businesses need to balance their search performance with the shopping experience.
Freddie explains that the best-performing ecommerce sites create useful, engaging product pages that guide visitors toward making a purchase.
The key is to make sure potential buyers find exactly what they need and feel confident making a purchase. SEO and conversion rate optimization (CRO) work together to get here.
It might make sense to incorporate useful content below the grid, rather than interrupting the visitor's buying process if they don't need it.
Enhancing product pages is more than just adding keywords. Freddie suggests that the best pages provide real value through thoughtful descriptions, multimedia, and interactive elements. Rather than repeating the same generic product details, consider addressing common questions directly within the product page. If a product comes in different sizes or colors, it might make sense to create dedicated pages for each variation—especially if people are searching for those specific options.
Category pages also present a major opportunity. Many brands overlook the power of subcategories in capturing long-tail search traffic. Instead of a single page for “rugs,” a more comprehensive site structure would include pages for “gray rugs,” “mid-century rugs,” or “washable rugs.” This approach increases visibility for a wider range of searches, making it easier to compete with larger retailers.
Remember, Google favors category pages that feature:
Tip: Having a dedicated page targeting those terms is a strong SEO move. Even better, give the user a chance to move between options through a dropdown menu. For example, if that exact rug comes in a different color, letting them flip over is an excellent user experience.
One of the biggest technical SEO issues for Shopify stores is how product URLs are structured. By default, Shopify creates multiple versions of product pages when they’re listed in different collections like "men's jeans." And though these expanded product pages canonicalize back to the proper product page, Google's bots cannot naturally discover the true product page. From an internal link perspective, there aren't any links to get there.
This results in duplicate content and poor indexing.
The fix? A simple code tweak to ensure internal links point directly to the canonical product page. Freddie has seen traffic increase by 20% within weeks of implementing this fix for clients.
The fix is to create a breadcrumb that links to links to the URL. Fortunately, it's a fairly easy step inside the Shopify theme code. Freddie's ecommerce SEO checklist links to instructions on exactly how to fix it under the Product Page SEO section.
Over time, many ecommerce sites accumulate unnecessary scripts and outdated plugins that slow down page load times. It's not obvious when it's happening, so small audits can help. Cleaning up unused code helps maintain performance, and the experience overall is a better one for users and search engines alike.
In general, you will probably lean on your developers to find these for you. Mostly, you don't want to be wasting resources on things you don't need.
I get that not everyone has access to a developer who can run these audits for them. If you're running the show on your own, you can try this AI-assisted trick. Drop code into ChatGPT and ask it to find performance issues.
I used Developer Tools as my shortcut. With your website open in Chrome, click the 3 dots at the top of the browser and select More Tools>Developer Tools. The Network tab shows what's running. I found that I can often load details from tools like this into ChatGPT with a specific question about what you can improve.
It might take some practice and a few Google searches, but I've successfully used ChatGPT in a pinch for some helpful performance issue diagnosis.
Another valuable approach is internal linking between product pages. Cross-linking related products can improve SEO by strengthening the overall site structure and keeping visitors engaged longer.
For ecommerce especially, they might even lead to increased sales making them wins for CRO, UX, and SEO. If a customer is browsing a particular rug, for example, linking to complementary products like rug pads or matching décor items can enhance the shopping experience while signaling to search engines that these products are related. This strategy can also help spread ranking authority across key pages and improve their visibility in search results.
As your store grows, managing internal links manually gets harder and more prone to mistakes. Automate the process by:
Ecommerce stores can use AI to:
However, AI-generated content still needs human oversight to ensure accuracy and brand alignment.
Most ecommerce brands overlook branded search terms, saving them for PPC ads. But there's huge potential in branded SEO.
Customers searching for “[your brand] discount code” or “[your brand] reviews” should land on your own site—not a third-party coupon page or review aggregator. By creating dedicated pages for discounts and customer reviews, businesses can control their messaging and prevent visitors from getting lost in misleading or outdated third-party content.
Want high-authority backlinks? Get featured in gift guides. Influencers and publications love sharing their top shopping lists for occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and the holiday season, so Freddie shared his favorite method for getting more eyes on your product and your site. Reach out to these outlets early to share product samples. Be specific about what great gifts they make, and you can land valuable mentions that drive both referral traffic and SEO authority.
Freddie says this is one of his most effective tactics for clients, and he breaks down some tips to make it easier:
allintitle:"gift guide" "tween girls"When it comes to Content Strategy, lots of content gets created, so you can imagine how much builds up over time. As you're building content across multiple topics, your earlier pieces start to get dated. One of the most effective uses of your time and attention is to update your content and add depth. Keep a schedule to regularly update your pages with fresher information and meaningful examples--especially with fresher eyes.
Freddie and I are absolutely on the same page here, because this is RivalFlow's focus. Adding more depth will usually see a much bigger increase in traffic than creating something to target new keywords.
Tip: As a rule of thumb, you're safer with your content updates below the fold. Ecommerce conversions are so finely-tuned that changes to the top of the page could potentially hurt your sales. Let's not take that risk.
While traditional SEO focuses heavily on blog posts and informational content, ecommerce SEO requires a blend of product-focused content and user-friendly templates. Product pages must balance being informative while driving conversions.
By optimizing your structure, fixing technical issues, and balancing SEO with conversion best practices, you can significantly improve rankings and revenue. Freddie’s advice (and his checklist) help make sure you're not leaving easy wins on the table.
