E-commerce SEO is astir knowing however radical hunt for what you sell, past creating and optimizing pages to fertile for those terms.

That whitethorn dependable casual enough, but avoiding method issues on the mode is simply a challenge. 

This usher teaches you however to navigate the e-commerce SEO minefield to thrust much escaped postulation to your online store.

Technical SEO whitethorn look the astir daunting starting point, but it’s important for e-commerce sites. That’s chiefly due to the fact that of issues relating to faceted navigation, but determination are besides a fewer things to support successful mind. Let’s spell done them.

HTTPS

HTTPS is simply a unafraid protocol for transferring information betwixt websites and visitors. It prevents hackers from stealing delicate accusation that visitors commonly stock with online stores, specified arsenic their name, address, and recognition paper details.

It’s besides been a insignificant Google ranking origin since 2014.

You’ll cognize if your store uses HTTPS due to the fact that it’ll person a “lock” icon successful the code bar:

Most fashionable e-commerce platforms usage HTTPS retired of the box, truthful it shouldn’t beryllium a interest for astir people. But if it is, marque definite to fix it.

Learn more: What Is HTTPS? Everything You Need to Know

Site structure

Site operation is however your website’s pages are organized and interlinked. 

Most e-commerce stores signifier their pages astir like this: 

Here are 2 reasons this operation makes sense:

1. It’s casual to navigate – Visitors tin find what they’re looking for successful conscionable a fewer clicks.
2. It helps Google find your pages – Google tin “follow” interior links from leafage to page.

In general, it’s casual capable to make your main class pages. Just marque them the main things you sell. 

For example, if you merchantability audio equipment, they whitethorn beryllium headphones, speakers, and turntables. 

Your subcategory pages are wherever you tin people keywords radical are searching for, specified arsenic “wired headphones” and “wireless headphones.” You’ll larn however to find these keywords successful the adjacent chapter. 

Learn more: Website Structure: How to Build Your SEO Foundation

Faceted navigation

Faceted navigation allows visitors to filter the products connected class and subcategory pages. 

Here’s what it looks like: 

Despite its usefulness for visitors, it tin origin superior SEO issues due to the fact that filter combinations often make caller parameterized URLs.

For example, if you filter for reddish Sony wired headphones, it whitethorn make a URL like this:

/headphones/?color=red&brand=sony&type=wired

Even if you lone person a fistful of filters, determination tin beryllium thousands of combinations. That means thousands of caller URLs that Google tin extremity up crawling and perchance indexing.

That isn’t bully due to the fact that it can: 

1. Weaken important pages’ quality to fertile – Filter combinations tin often pb to the instauration of aggregate URLs with the aforesaid content. Unless Google realizes this (which doesn’t ever happen), ranking signals volition get divided betwixt the duplicate pages.
2. Prevent Google from crawling important pages – Google volition lone give finite resources to crawling your site. If it has to crawl a load of junk, it whitethorn not person the resources to crawl each important pages. 

There are assorted solutions to these issues. For beginners and intermediates, the champion enactment is usually to canonicalize faceted URLs to their maestro class oregon subcategory.

Some e-commerce SEO platforms bash this retired of the box. Check if this is the lawsuit for your tract by installing Ahrefs’ SEO Toolbar, visiting a fewer faceted URLs, and checking the “Indexability” tab. If the canonical URL is non-faceted, chances are this isn’t an contented connected your site.

Learn more: Faceted Navigation: Definition, Examples & SEO Best Practices

Keyword probe helps you recognize however radical hunt for what you sell. You tin usage this cognition to make subcategories and merchandise pages that cater to hunt demand. Let’s look astatine however to do this.

Finding subcategory keywords

Subcategory pages amusement the types of products you merchantability successful a category. 

For example, a headphones class whitethorn person subcategories similar wired and wireless.

You astir apt already cognize immoderate subcategories that marque consciousness for your store. But arsenic radical hunt successful galore ways, it’s utile for SEO to make subcategories that align with those terms.

Here’s however to find ideas for subcategories successful Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer:

1. Enter a fewer wide keywords related to your category
2. Go to the Matching terms report
3. Look for the types of things you sell

Here are a fewer ideas for headphones subcategories: 

Note that this isn’t all astir hunt volumes. You should usage communal consciousness and take presumption that marque consciousness arsenic subcategories. 

For example, “audio technica unfastened receptor headphones” won’t beryllium a suitable subcategory due to the fact that it’s excessively specific. The aforesaid is existent for “bone conduction headphones” unless you merchantability much than a mates of pairs.

Here’s a speedy cheat expanse for choosing subcategories for SEO:

Repeat the process for different categories.

Finding merchandise leafage keywords

Product keyword probe isn’t truly a happening if you merchantability branded products, arsenic radical volition hunt for the products themselves. 

For example, determination are an estimated 857K monthly searches successful the U.S. for “airpods pro”:

If you merchantability these headphones, your merchandise leafage already targets that keyword.

However, if you’re selling unbranded products oregon products from chartless names, you whitethorn privation to find and people much descriptive presumption that radical hunt for.

For example, let’s accidental you merchantability a brace of feline receptor headphones. Unless radical are specifically searching for the marque oregon model, it whitethorn beryllium amended to people a applicable keyword that radical really hunt for, specified arsenic “cat receptor headphones.”

On-page SEO is the process of optimizing the contented connected your page. It includes optimizations to the contented you spot and codification nether the hood. Let’s spell done a fewer considerations and optimizations for e-commerce sites.

Title tags, meta descriptions, and H1s

Most e-commerce stores usage templates for their rubric tags and meta descriptions.

Here’s an example:

Using a templated attack makes consciousness due to the fact that penning unsocial transcript for thousands of merchandise and class pages is nobody’s thought of fun. Unfortunately, it tin pb to stale, duplicate transcript that doesn’t entice clicks.

You tin lick this with a hybrid attack wherever you usage templates for astir pages but unsocial ones for those with the astir hunt traffic.

Here’s however to find pages with the astir hunt postulation successful Google Search Console (GSC):

1. Go to the Search results report
2. Select the “Pages” tab

If you don’t usage GSC, you tin get a escaped estimation successful Ahrefs’ Site Audit with an Ahrefs Webmaster Tools account.

1. Select your task successful Site Audit
2. Go to the Page Explorer
3. Filter for Internal pages
4. Sort by integrated postulation from highest to lowest

For H1s, it’s simple—just usage the class oregon merchandise name. 

URLs

URLs should beryllium arsenic elemental and wide arsenic possible. 

Here’s a elemental template that works for class and subcategory pages:

domain.com/category/subcategory/

For example, present are a fewer categories and subcategories for our audio store that travel this template:

domain.com/headphones/ domain.com/headphones/wireless domain.com/headphones/wired domain.com/headphones/over-ear domain.com/headphones/in-ear

Things are a small much analyzable erstwhile it comes to products due to the fact that the evident operation volition be this: 

domain.com/category/subcategory/product

However, arsenic products often autumn into aggregate categories, this tin pb to duplicate content. In different words, the aforesaid merchandise being disposable astatine assorted URLs. 

For example, AirPods are some wireless and in-ear headphones, truthful they’ll extremity up with two URLs:

domain.com/headphones/in-ear/airpods domain.com/headphones/wireless/airpods

You tin lick this occupation by utilizing this template for merchandise URLs:

domain.com/product

Learn more: How to Create SEO-Friendly URLs

Product and class descriptions

Product and class pages often person small to nary content. That isn’t needfully bad, but adding unsocial descriptions tin assistance Google and visitors amended recognize the page.

Here are a fewer tips for doing this:

• Keep them abbreviated and sweet
• Make definite they’re descriptive and helpful
• Mention long-tail keywords

To find long-tail variations and synonyms, plug a competing merchandise oregon class leafage for your main people keyword into Ahrefs’ Site Explorer and cheque the apical 10 rankings successful the Organic keywords report. 

For example, present are a fewer notable keywords 1 of the top-ranking pages for “wireless headphones” besides ranks for:

• bluetooth headphones
• wireless earphones
• bluetooth earbuds 

It volition beryllium casual and earthy to notation these words successful the page’s description. 

Link gathering for e-commerce stores is hard due to the fact that there’s usually nary worth for idiosyncratic other to nexus to a merchandise oregon class page. However, determination are a fewer tried and tested methods. You tin besides usage different methods to get links to your homepage. Let’s spell implicit a fewer tactics. 

Product feedback technique

If you person products that lone you sell, the merchandise feedback method tin assistance you get featured connected lists of the champion products successful that category. 

Here’s the process:

1. Find fashionable lists of the champion products
2. Offer the writer your merchandise successful instrumentality for feedback
3. Ask them to see including it connected their database (if they similar the product)

Given that astir authors volition nexus to the products they feature, this is simply a straightforward mode to physique links straight to merchandise pages.

To find lists of the champion products that don’t notation yours, hunt Google for champion [product category] -brandname.

Alternatively, tally an “In title” hunt successful Ahrefs’ Content Explorer for the aforesaid happening and filter for pages with postulation to find fashionable lists.

For example, here’s a database of the champion astute speakers that don’t notation immoderate Sonos speakers:

If Sonos wanted to physique much links to 1 of its astute talker merchandise pages, it could connection to nonstop the merchandise to the writer for escaped successful instrumentality for feedback. If the writer loves it, Sonos tin inquire the writer if they’ll see featuring it successful their post.

Unlinked mentions successful reviews

Unlinked mentions are online mentions of your products oregon marque without a nexus to your site. 

They tin hap for each kinds of reasons. However, they’re often hard to crook into links due to the fact that there’s seldom an evident oregon compelling pitch angle. 

For example, here’s an unlinked notation for Audio-Technica:

Unfortunately, successful this case, there’s nary compelling transportation angle. That’s due to the fact that the unlinked notation is successful an nonfiction astir a set selling cogwheel to money euphony acquisition and determination are nary links to different mentioned brands. 

However, if idiosyncratic reviews your merchandise and doesn’t nexus to you, asking them to nexus to the authoritative merchandise leafage truthful readers tin larn much astir the merchandise is simply a logical and astatine slightest somewhat compelling angle. 

Here’s however to find merchandise reviews with unlinked mentions utilizing Content Explorer:

1. Enter “your marque name” + review
2. Change the hunt mode to “In title”
3. Paste your domain into the “Highlight unlinked” filter
4. Click export, cheque the “Only pages with highlighted domains” box, and export the results

The resulting CSV record volition database merchandise reviews that don’t nexus to your site. 

Even if lone a fewer reviewers adhd the link, that’s a fewer casual links to merchandise pages. 

HARO

HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is simply a work that connects journalists and bloggers with sources. 

If you motion up arsenic a root (free), HARO sends you regular emails with requests like this: 

In this case, the blogger wants recommendations for the champion bureau headphones.

If we plug their website (Welp Magazine) into Site Explorer, we spot that it’s a DR 59 tract with plentifulness of integrated traffic. So it’s surely worthy pursuing the link.

Even better, we cognize the blogger volition nexus to those they diagnostic due to the fact that their petition says this: 

Long communicative short, we could astir apt get a nexus from this tract by sending our proposal to the blogger on with the different details they want. 

Everything supra volition get you disconnected connected the close ft with e-commerce SEO. But determination are different things you tin bash to pull adjacent much hunt postulation and sales. Let’s spell done immoderate of them.

Index faceted URLs with hunt demand

People hunt for products successful galore ways, truthful you astir apt came crossed presumption during keyword probe that didn’t marque consciousness for subcategories. But if you person faceted navigation connected your store, you apt already person parameterized URLs targeting galore of these terms.

For example, determination are an estimated 200 monthly searches for “jabra implicit receptor headphones” successful the U.S.:

If you merchantability these products and fto visitors filter for them utilizing faceted navigation, they’ll astir apt extremity up astatine a URL like this:

/headphones?brand=jabra&design=over-ear

Since astir e-commerce stores canonicalize faceted URLs to a maestro class oregon subcategory, this URL astir apt isn’t indexable. However, you tin hole that by changing the canonical to a self-referencing one.

If you bash this for each faceted URLs with hunt demand, you often pull much hunt postulation without creating immoderate caller content.

Here’s a cheat expanse from Aleyda Solis to assistance you fig retired which ones to index:

Create product-led contented for search

Product-led contented helps readers lick their problems utilizing products you sell. Creating this contented astir keywords radical are searching for tin pull much imaginable customers from integrated search.

For example, this blog station astir fixing headphones that lone enactment successful 1 receptor gets an estimated 12.8K monthly hunt visits:

It explains however to hole communal issues earlier recommending new, durable headphones for readers who didn’t negociate to get things working.

In this case, the tract recommends products connected Amazon. But there’s nary crushed you can’t urge and nexus to your merchandise pages successful these articles.

To get started, you’ll request to bash a spot much keyword probe to find what radical hunt for. 

Here’s the process:

1. Enter a fewer products you merchantability into Keywords Explorer
2. Go to the Matching terms report
3. Toggle the “Questions” tab

Look for keywords relating to problems that your products assistance to solve.

For example, keywords similar “how to cleanable headphones” don’t enactment due to the fact that the searcher isn’t successful the marketplace for caller headphones. But keywords similar “how to hole breached headphones” mightiness enactment due to the fact that astir headphones aren’t easy fixable—so a caller brace mightiness beryllium the champion solution. 

Learn more: Product-Led Content: What It Is, Why Use It, and How to Get Started 

Add schema markup to merchandise pages

Schema markup is codification that helps hunt engines amended recognize and showcase your pages successful the hunt results. Adding it to merchandise pages tin assistance them triumph affluent snippets like this: 

Here’s what the schema markup mightiness look similar for a leafage selling AirPods Pro:

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org/", "@type": "Product", "name": "AirPods Pro", "image": "", "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Apple" }, "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "url": "", "priceCurrency": "USD", "price": "249", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "itemCondition": "https://schema.org/NewCondition" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.9" } } </script>

It tells Google the product’s name, brand, price, reappraisal rating, and if it’s in stock.

There are plentifulness of escaped schema markup generators similar this one, truthful you don’t person to constitute the codification by hand. Some e-commerce platforms besides person the enactment to adhd schema markup built in. 

Learn more: What Is Schema Markup? How to Use It for SEO

Keep connected apical of method issues

A coagulated method instauration helps you debar communal issues that often plague e-commerce stores. But method SEO isn’t a one-time thing. New problems volition originate over time.

That’s wherefore monitoring your method SEO wellness and fixing issues arsenic they popular up are essential.

Using Site Audit with an Ahrefs Webmaster Tools account, you tin bash this for free. It monitors for 100+ communal SEO issues, including those you often spot connected e-commerce sites similar duplicate content, canonicalization issues, and orphan pages.

You tin docket daily, weekly, oregon monthly crawls to enactment connected apical of issues.

Keep learning

E-commerce SEO is acold from straightforward. Getting the basics close is casual enough, but catering to hunt request portion avoiding communal method issues is often much analyzable than you may think. 

Here are a fewer adjuvant resources to larn much astir those issues:

• Faceted Navigation: Definition, Examples & SEO Best Practices
• Duplicate Content: Why It Happens and How to Fix It
• Canonical Tags: A Simple Guide for Beginners
• What Is Crawl Budget and Should SEOs Worry About It?