The Complete Ecommerce Seo Guide For Beginners

Every online shop wants to thrust overmuch integrated postulation and summation sales.

And ecommerce SEO is simply a awesome measurement to do that.

This line explains what it is, why it matters, and really to instrumentality it.

What Is Ecommerce SEO?

Ecommerce SEO is nan process of improving an online store’s integrated rankings successful hunt engines specified arsenic Google and Bing. 

It helps thrust overmuch shoppers to your website by improving your online visibility. Without utilizing paid ads.

Common tasks associated pinch ecommerce SEO include:

• Performing keyword research
• Optimizing merchandise and people pages for target keywords
• Improving tract structure
• Creating worth content
• Building backlinks (links from different sites that constituent to your site)

And more.

Why Is SEO Important for Ecommerce Websites?

SEO is important for ecommerce sites because it helps them get overmuch postulation and thrust sales.

When your online shop appears higher successful hunt results, overmuch group will spot what you personification to offer. And this tin lead to overmuch customers.

Using SEO for ecommerce websites too allows you to:

• Reach your customers without paying for ads
• Build credibility, arsenic group bladed to spot integrated results overmuch than paid ones
• Gain a competitory separator complete different online stores that whitethorn not beryllium optimized for SEO

Now, let’s reappraisal immoderate ecommerce SEO champion practices and tips to thief you thrust overmuch customers to your online store.

6 Tips for Successful SEO successful Ecommerce

1. Perform Keyword Research

Keyword investigation involves uncovering nan words aliases phrases group usage to hunt for products for illustration yours online.

Optimizing your merchandise and people pages for these keywords tin thief them rank higher for hunt position your imaginable customers are typing in.

When researching keywords, net attraction to their hunt intent. 

This refers to nan logic personification looks up a hunt connection successful Google. In different words: what they’re looking to find aliases summation from that search.

Webpages that meet nan hunt intent personification a greater chance of ranking highly successful nan hunt centrifugal results pages (SERP) for a fixed keyword.

The main types of hunt intent are:

• Navigational: Users want to find a circumstantial website aliases page (e.g., “Walmart login”)
• Informational: Users want to study overmuch astir point (e.g., “how overmuch nutrient to provender my dog”) 
• Commercial: Users want to reappraisal different products earlier making a acquisition determination (e.g., “best barren canine food”)
• Transactional: Users want to bargain point online (e.g., “buy canine nutrient online”) 

For ecommerce businesses, transactional and commercialized keywords are peculiarly important. 

Because searchers who usage them are overmuch apt to bargain your products than those who conscionable want to study overmuch astir a circumstantial topic.

With that successful mind, let’s spell complete 4 ways to do ecommerce keyword research.

Use Keyword Magic Tool

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool generates thousands of keyword ideas from a azygous hunt term. And you tin prime nan results to find applicable keywords for your business.

Let’s opportunity your ecommerce tract sells canine food. 

All you petition to do is type “dog food” into nan hunt instrumentality and adhd your domain to get personalized keyword insights. Then click “Search.”

The instrumentality will show you a database of related keywords that group hunt for connected Google.

Having entree to each these keyword ideas is great. But really do you cognize which ones are nan best?

First, look for keywords applicable to nan merchandise aliases people pages connected your site.

For example, if you personification a people page trading barren canine food, nan keyword “dry canine food” could beryllium an fantabulous choice.

Click connected nan keyword group connected nan adjacent manus broadside to spot each keywords successful that category.

Use nan “Intent” prime to only spot commercialized and transactional keywords. Make judge to click “Apply.”

Next, usage metrics for illustration “Volume” and “PKD” (personalized keyword difficulty) to find valuable keywords to target.

Volume tells you nan mean number of times users hunt for a keyword per month. 

While PKD is simply a percent connected a modular from 0 to 100 that indicates really difficult it would beryllium for your domain to rank for a peculiar keyword.

If your ecommerce tract is caller and doesn’t personification overmuch authority, you astir apt won’t rank for keywords pinch precocious PKD scores.

Anything nether 30 is simply a bully spot to start. 

(This mightiness limit nan kinds of hunt volumes you tin target, arsenic high-volume keywords bladed to personification higher keyword difficulties.)

Using these filters, you’ll find keywords that fto you to scope your target assemblage conscionable arsenic they’re considering a purchase. Helping maximize your chances of conversions.

Use Google and Amazon Search Features

Search features specified arsenic autocomplete and related searches connected Google and Amazon are fantabulous sources of keyword ideas for ecommerce sites.

Autocomplete is simply a Google hunt characteristic that makes it faster to complete searches erstwhile users commencement to type.

To usage it for ecommerce SEO, conscionable participate what your business sells into nan hunt box.

Then, Google will automatically propose related keywords. Like this:

These suggestions are based connected what group are actively searching for. As bully arsenic your location and hunt history (so you mightiness want to do it successful an incognito/private window).

Consider adding abstraction astatine nan opening of your query to get moreover overmuch keyword ideas:

Or adhd letters astatine nan end:

Another awesome (free) measurement to find ecommerce keywords is to cheque retired nan “Related searches” conception astatine nan bottommost of Google’s hunt results.

After you tally a search, scroll down until you spot nan instrumentality branded “Related searches.” It contains keywords intimately related to nan hunt query.

Similar to Google, Amazon has an autocomplete characteristic that shows celebrated searches that are related to your product.

Just commencement typing, and you’ll get suggestions:

Make connection of each nan keywords that look applicable to your business.

Knowing that these are existent searches is useful. But really do you prioritize them?

By utilizing Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool, you tin look into their metrics. Either 1 by 1 aliases successful bulk.

Open nan instrumentality and participate your keywords. As pinch nan Keyword Magic Tool, adhd your domain for personalized metrics. 

Then, click “Search.”

The study shows nan hunt intent, hunt volume, and PKD for each keyword.

These metrics will thief you find which keywords are worthy targeting.

Browse Subreddits

Using Reddit for keyword investigation tin proviso tons of ideas for your ecommerce site.

Just caput complete to Reddit and hunt for your product.

It will return subreddits that talk your product. These are places your target assemblage apt hangs retired connected nan platform.

Browse these subreddits to spot which words and phrases members usage erstwhile they talk astir your type of products.

For example, “dry food” and “wet food” cropped up aggregate times successful 1 of these subreddits.

Regularly browsing these subreddits will too thief you enactment connected apical of emerging trends. So you tin observe important keywords earlier your competitors.

Check Your Competitors’ Keywords

Finding nan keywords your competitors already rank for lets you observe overmuch keywords for your ecommerce site.

All you petition to do is participate a competitor’s domain into Semrush’s Organic Research tool.

If you ain a pet store, for example, you mightiness want to cheque retired Chewy. Just type successful nan domain and click “Search.”

Then caput to nan “Positions” tab to spot nan nonstop keywords they rank for.

Go done nan database and look for keywords that are too applicable to your ain products.

Like before, you tin benignant and prime by metrics for illustration keyword difficulty, hunt volume, and intent. To find keywords you’re apt to rank for and propulsion imaginable customers.

2. Improve Your Site’s Architecture

Site architecture describes really you style your pages, categories, products, and posts.

It’s an important method SEO accusation for immoderate ecommerce site. 

An optimized tract architecture:

• Helps Google crawl and scale each of your merchandise and people pages
• Makes it easy for users to find products and point different they need
• Transfers nexus equity (ranking “power”) passim your tract to amended rankings

But really do you amended your tract architecture?

First, style your tract truthful that visitors tin scope immoderate merchandise from your homepage successful conscionable a less clicks.

For example, let’s look astatine ecommerce elephantine Chewy again.

Thanks to a well-organized drop-down menu, you tin get from their homepage to galore of their people pages successful conscionable 2 clicks:

Now, you only petition to click erstwhile overmuch to get to an individual merchandise page. 

This tract building isn’t conscionable cleanable for UX—it’s awesome for SEO too. Because it makes it easier for hunt engines to crawl your afloat site.

A awesome measurement to execute this building is by connecting your homepage to people pages. And past connecting people pages to individual pages connected your site.

Like this: 

Bonus: When defining categories, make usage of your keywords.

Not only will that thief successful SEO, but it will too thief users find what they’re looking for faster.

So, utilizing nan illustration tract building from above, we tin specify categories for illustration this:

Note that, successful an optimized tract architecture, not each page needs to beryllium indexed. 

For an ecommerce site, an illustration would beryllium your “Thank You” page aliases acquisition confirmation. You don’t want these pages to look successful hunt results, but you do want users to scope them aft making a purchase. 

Add a “noindex” tag to nan HTML codification of each webpage that you don’t want to look successful hunt results.

Further reading: What Is Noindex Used for? An Overview + Best Practices

3. Optimize for On-Page SEO 

On-page SEO involves optimizing individual pages to rank higher successful hunt results.

For ecommerce sites, these are chiefly going to beryllium merchandise and people pages.

We’ll break down really to do it below.

Optimize Your Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

A title tag is nan title of a webpage that appears successful hunt results, while meta descriptions usually look consecutive below.

Note that Google often chooses its ain title tag and mentation to show. But they’re immoderate still worthy optimizing. 

Title tags are among nan astir important parts of on-page optimization. (Not conscionable for ecommerce sites, but for immoderate type of website.)

Google looks astatine your title tag to understand your page’s topic. And it tin effect its rankings.

Your title tag should ideally:

• Be little than 60 characters agelong (not a difficult limit, but going longer than this increases nan consequence of Google cutting it disconnected successful hunt results)
• Describe nan page’s content
• Use a target keyword
• Entice Google searchers to click connected it

Here are a less different things to do to get moreover amended results from your title tags:

• Mention a woody (e.g., “25% off”)
• Include a compelling usage (e.g., “[Free Shipping]”)
• Describe what makes your merchandise unsocial (e.g., “Best,” Fastest,” “Lightest”)

Here’s an illustration of a well-written ecommerce title tag:

As for meta descriptions, Google doesn’t spot them for ranking purposes. 

But users mightiness publication nan mentation erstwhile deciding which hunt consequence to click on. So having a compelling meta mentation could summation your click-through complaint (CTR).

Here are immoderate speedy tips for penning amended meta descriptions:

• Cap your meta mentation magnitude astatine astir 105 characters (again, not a difficult limit, but it minimizes nan chances of Google truncating it successful hunt results)
• Make each page’s meta mentation unique
• Use perks (like “free shipping,” “save X%,” “buy one, get 1 free”) to drawback users’ attention
• Include your target keyword

You tin usage Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to find retired whether your title tags and meta descriptions are well-optimized.

This will thief you recreation on-page SEO champion practices without over-optimizing your pages.

Create an SEO-Friendly URL Structure

Google whitethorn show a URL successful hunt results to show users wherever they’ll onshore if they click connected a page. 

Google whitethorn too usage nan words successful your URL arsenic a lightweight ranking factor.

Here are immoderate champion practices to recreation erstwhile creating URLs connected your ecommerce site:

• Keep them short and descriptive
• Use hyphens to abstracted words, not underscores
• Use lowercase text
• Avoid dates successful URLs to forestall them from becoming outdated
• Include your superior keyword successful a earthy way

Optimize Your Product Images

Optimizing your merchandise images tin thief them rank successful Google’s image hunt results. This tin nonstop further postulation to your site, and summation marque awareness.

How do you optimize images?

First, punishment them appropriately.

File names springiness clues to Google astir nan image’s taxable matter.

For example, “dietary-dog-food.jpg” is simply a amended grounds punishment than “IMG_1245.jpg.”

Second, spot replacement matter (called alt matter for short). This is simply a small mentation of what nan image portrays. And it tells hunt engines a spot overmuch astir nan image.

Alt matter too improves accessibility. Screen readers whitethorn publication it aloud, truthful that visually impaired users tin still understand nan image.

And third, make judge you’re utilizing compressed images. Because ample images tin slow down your page speed.

Compress your images pinch devices for illustration ShortPixel earlier utilizing them connected your site.

Include Unique Content connected Each Page

Having unsocial contented connected each page increases nan chances you’ll look connected nan SERP for applicable hunt queries. And it reduces nan consequence of copy content.

But if your tract has thousands of products, penning unsocial contented for each of them won’t beryllium easy.

So, here’s a template you tin recreation for each constituent connected nan merchandise page:

• Product name: Use nan circumstantial merchandise name, for example, “Pedigree Complete Nutrition Grilled Steak, Dry Dog Food.” Don’t conscionable opportunity “Pedigree Dog Food.”
• Product description: Write a short (50 to 100 words) mentation highlighting nan cardinal features and benefits of that peculiar product. Don’t conscionable transcript generic descriptions.
• Features: List nan circumstantial features of that product, including specifications for illustration ingredients, nutritional facts, and wellness benefits. Don’t conscionable database nan aforesaid generic features for each product.
• Longer description: Provide a elaborate paragraph summarizing nan merchandise and cardinal trading points. This is wherever you tin really “sell” nan merchandise to a user.

However, location are immoderate cases wherever transcript contented is unavoidable, specified arsenic erstwhile you personification different versions of your pages successful different languages (to cater to different regions). 

This is communal for ample ecommerce websites pinch thousands (or millions) of products.

In this case, you should usage hreflang tags to show Google which type of your page is preferred and applicable for each relationship aliases region.

Focus connected Internal Linking

Internal linking involves linking consecutive to different pages connected your site.

When you do it correctly, psyche linking tin boost your SEO. Because psyche links administer authority (ranking strength) passim your site.

How do you instrumentality a coagulated psyche linking strategy?

One of nan champion and easiest ways is to show related products connected each merchandise page.

Like this:

But you tin return it a measurement further and show items that spell bully pinch nan merchandise nan personification is looking at. Or items customers too acquisition alongside that.

Like ASOS does pinch their “Buy nan Look” section:

This onslaught whitethorn require overmuch effort connected nan betterment side. But it tin create a overmuch personalized acquisition for your customers.

Not only does this amended your psyche linking, but it could too lead to higher conversion rates.

Add Schema Markup

Schema markup is simply a type of codification that helps Google amended understand your pages.

By adding schema to your page’s HTML code, you summation nan chances of your pages getting rich | snippets successful hunt results.

Rich snippets show different accusation beneath nan title tag and description. Like ratings, reviews, and prices. This tin make your website overmuch noticeable and perchance boost your click-through rate.

This is peculiarly useful for ecommerce sites, wherever you petition your products to guidelines retired against competitors.

Google supports galore different types of schema markup. But for ecommerce sites, merchandise markup is nan astir applicable type.

Here’s what nan codification mightiness look for illustration for a merchandise page trading canine food:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/", 
"@type": "Product", 
"name": "Premium Dog Food",
"image": "https://example.com/photos/4x3/photo.jpg",
"brand": {
"@type": "Brand",
"name": "Your Online Store"
},
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"url": "",
"priceCurrency": "USD",
"price": "99",
"availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
"itemCondition": "https://schema.org/NewCondition"
},
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "4.2"
}
}
</script>

You don’t petition to represent this codification manually. There are galore free markup generator devices disposable that tin make this codification for you (e.g., Merkle).

And you tin usage a instrumentality for illustration nan Schema Markup Validator to guarantee you instrumentality it correctly. 

4. Leverage Content Marketing

Content trading involves utilizing videos, blog posts, email newsletters, and different types of contented to beforehand your brand.

This tin thief your ecommerce site’s SEO by:

• Bringing successful targeted traffic
• Generating backlinks from different websites
• Building a well-known brand
• Providing worthy to imaginable customers

To instrumentality a beardown ecommerce contented trading strategy, commencement by considering nan income funnel:

Create BoFu Posts

Bottom-of-the-funnel (BoFu) blog posts target customers astatine nan little extremity of nan trading funnel.

These customers are very adjacent to making a purchase. So capturing them pinch nan correct information of contented could lead to conversions.

BoFu blog posts include:

• Product comparisons (e.g., “Purina vs. Royal Canin”)
• Compilation posts (e.g., “Best Affordable Dog Food”)
• Customer stories and reviews (e.g., “What Our Customers Say About Purina Dog Food”)

For example, pet shop Chewy published a compilation position of nan champion canine Halloween costumes. It lists nan worth of each costume pinch a nexus to nan merchandise page wherever customers tin bargain it.

Optimize your BoFu contented for commercialized and transactional keywords that your target assemblage searches for.

For example, Chewy optimized their blog position for nan keyword “best canine halloween costumes.”

Which gets 1.3K searches each play successful nan US, pinch commercialized intent.

Find keywords to target pinch BoFu contented utilizing Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

A useful measurement to constrictive your hunt is to look for a group connected nan left-hand broadside for illustration “best.” And past premier nan “Questions” filter.

Alternatively, usage nan Ecommerce Keyword Analytics app.

It collects accusation from nan apical world portion websites. And helps you find high-converting ecommerce keywords.

For example, you tin spot which canine food-related keywords personification nan champion connected sites specified arsenic walmart.com, amazon.com, and bestbuy.com.

Promote Your Content

After you create your blog contented and group it connected your ecommerce site, beforehand it connected societal media. This helps you diversify your postulation sources beyond Google, while too reaching a wider assemblage and boosting marque awareness.

You don’t conscionable petition to banal your BoFu contented though. Informational aliases entertainment-focused contented tin too execute bully connected societal media. And thrust postulation to your tract that whitethorn beryllium consenting successful your products.

Chewy does this done their Facebook page, wherever they banal everything from pet connection to canine dainty recipes:

You tin too banal your blog contented pinch your email list.

A well-crafted email newsletter tin thrust postulation and summation conversions.

Further reading: For overmuch connected this, cheque retired our line to email marketing.

5. Manage Your Site’s Technical SEO

We’ve already covered really improving your tract building boosts your method optimization.

But coming are immoderate different speedy method SEO wins:

Make Sure You’re Using HTTPS

Hypertext proscription protocol (HTTP) is simply a postulation of rules that alteration web browsers to walk pinch web servers. And HTTPS is simply a unafraid type of HTTP.

It encrypts nan narration betwixt your tract and your visitors. And it prevents hackers from stealing accusation for illustration passwords and successful installments insubstantial details.

HTTPS is too a confirmed Google ranking facet (albeit a lightweight 1 nowadays).

To spot whether your website uses HTTPS, unfastened it successful your web browser and look for nan fastener icon successful nan reside bar. 

If it’s present, that intends your website is secure.

If you alternatively spot a “Not secure” informing and nary padlock, your website isn’t utilizing HTTPS.

To spread this, you petition to instal a unafraid sockets furnishings (SSL) certificate. You tin get this certificate from your hosting provider, often for free.

Make Your Online Store Mobile-Friendly

Google uses mobile-first indexing. Meaning it predominantly uses your site’s mobile type for ranking purposes.

Here are immoderate champion practices to recreation to amended nan mobile capacity of your website, and perchance boost your rankings:

• Use a responsive creation that adapts to different aboveground sizes and usage a viewport meta tag
• Make judge matter is readable connected mini screens without nan petition for zooming in
• Leave tin abstraction betwixt links, bargain buttons, and different clickable elements

Read our line to mobile SEO to study more. 

Submit Your Sitemap to Google

Your sitemap is simply a grounds that includes a database of each pages connected your website. Including your merchandise pages, categories, and posts.

It helps hunt engines find these pages truthful they tin look successful hunt results. For an ecommerce website pinch perchance thousands of pages, this is incredibly important.

Many ecommerce contented guidance systems (CMSs), including Shopify, create your sitemap automatically.

It’s usually recovered astatine 1 of these 2 URLs:

• yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml
• yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Once you find yours, each you petition to do is taxable it to Google.

Improve Your Page Speed

Page velocity is an important metric that measures really accelerated your webpages load. It’s an important accusation for ecommerce sites successful particular.

Why?

Because if your website takes a agelong clip to load, group will beryllium overmuch apt to clip disconnected it earlier making a purchase. 

It tin too effect your hunt rankings.

The first measurement to optimizing your page velocity is to usage PageSpeed Insights to measurement it and find immoderate issues.

You’ll get a group from 0 to 100. The higher nan score, nan better. 

There are a less speedy ways to amended your page speed:

First, minify your code. 

Minification is nan process of removing unnecessary characters and spaces from your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. 

This makes them smaller and helps them load faster. 

There are WordPress plugins that tin thief pinch this, and different platforms whitethorn do it automatically. But you whitethorn petition to get thief from your developer.

Next, usage a contented proscription web (CDN).

A CDN is simply a web of servers astir nan world that shop copies of your webpages.

When a visitant requests a page from your site, nan CDN delivers it from nan closest server. Which reduces nan clip it takes to load nan files.

Find and Fix Other Technical SEO Issues

Technical SEO issues are a superior liking for immoderate website. But peculiarly for ecommerce websites, arsenic they bladed to personification tons of pages.

Why?

The overmuch pages you have, nan group higher chance location is for point to spell wrong. And fixed really galore of these pages are designed specifically to convert, you want them each to activity properly. 

Use Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to cheque for communal method SEO issues.

Site Audit tin thief you identify:

• Duplicate content 
• Slow page speeds
• Broken soul links
• Broken images
• Crawling and indexing issues
• Core Web Vitals issues

In summation to identifying issues, nan instrumentality provides connection connected really to spread each one.

Site Audit too collects humanities audit data, meaning you tin schedule regular audits and comparison them.

So, arsenic you (or your betterment team) instrumentality fixes, you tin show nan advancement to guarantee everything is moving arsenic expected.

6. Build Backlinks

Backlinks (links from 1 domain to another) are 1 of nan astir important ranking factors for Google. 

They enactment a spot for illustration votes of assurance for your site. And nan overmuch backlinks you personification from relevant, reputable websites, nan greater nan effect it tin personification connected your rankings.

Here’s really to commencement building worth links to your ecommerce store:

Claim Unlinked Mentions

Find domains that mention your marque aliases merchandise but don’t nexus to your site. 

Then, email them and inquire them to make nan mention a clickable link. 

Use Semrush’s Brand Monitoring app to find unlinked mentions. It’ll show you mentions crossed nan web, societal media platforms, and successful forums.

Perform a Backlink Gap Analysis

A backlink dispersed study involves uncovering websites that nexus to your competitors but not to you. 

Semrush’s Backlink Gap instrumentality tin thief you behaviour this analysis. 

When you find suitable nexus building candidates, scope retired to them and spot if they’d beryllium consenting successful featuring your marque connected their website. 

Because they’re already linking to your competitors, they mightiness beryllium happy to nexus to you arsenic bully (or instead).

Get Links from Suppliers aliases Distributors

If you’re a reseller aliases portion ecommerce seller, relationship nan supplier aliases distributor. Ask them to nexus to your shop arsenic an charismatic reseller. 

Like this:

Doing SEO for ecommerce sites tin beryllium reliable without specialized tools. And you petition a measurement to show whether what you’re doing is moving aliases not.

Whether you want to make keyword ideas, find method SEO issues, aliases build backlinks, ecommerce SEO devices thief pinch astir each measurement progressive successful nan optimization process.

Here are a less to cheque out:

Semrush Position Tracking

The Position Tracking instrumentality lets you understand whether your ecommerce SEO efforts are translating into higher rankings.

You get a speedy overview of really your rankings personification changed complete time. And which keywords personification mislaid aliases gained visibility. 

And you tin comparison your ranking capacity for important keywords pinch your apical competitors.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is simply a free instrumentality that lets you measurement integrated traffic, find and spread tract issues, and show your site’s indexing.

This is highly useful for diagnosing method issues. 

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is different free instrumentality from Google that monitors your website traffic, personification behavior, conversions, and more.

It tin thief you understand wherever your postulation comes from. And really visitors prosecute pinch your contented erstwhile they get to your site.

Use Ecommerce SEO to Grow Your Business

By improving nan SEO of your ecommerce site, you tin spot higher rankings, overmuch integrated traffic, and overmuch conversions.

But it’s important to retrieve that hunt rankings change. This could hap owed to algorithm updates aliases caller competitors connected nan market.

To enactment connected apical of these changes, usage a instrumentality suite for illustration Semrush. 

Semrush offers 55+ devices and reports for each facet of your ecommerce SEO.

These include:

• Keyword Magic Tool for ecommerce keyword research
• Site Audit to enactment connected apical of method issues
• Position Tracking to show nan results of your optimization efforts

Try these devices coming pinch a free trial.