Ecommerce SEO: 7 Proven Strategies to Try

When it comes to ecommerce, standing out from the competition is no easy feat – especially when the UK has the most advanced e-commerce market in the whole of Europe.

So, yes, the digital space has become more crowded. This means that businesses must start understanding strategic methods just to ensure their ecommerce stores remain visible and accessible to their potential customers.

One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through SEO. A well-executed ecommerce SEO strategy can elevate your store’s search engine rankings, drive more traffic, and, ultimately, increase your conversions.

In this article, we’ll be touching on 8 proven ecommerce SEO strategies that can help you improve your store’s online visibility and performance.

What is Ecommerce SEO?

Ecommerce SEO, very simply put, is the process of making your online store more visible in search engines (like Google) so that more people can find your products when they search online. It’s important because you want your product to show up near the top of the search results – not your competitor.

 7 Proven Ecommerce SEO Strategies to Try

There are many SEO strategies to consider when it comes to an ecommerce website. However, we’ve whittled it down to 7 that we think are essential.

1. Keyword Research. The (Overlooked) Foundation of Ecommerce SEO.

If you’re an avid reader of the Maxweb blog section, you’ll already have heard us harping on about how important keyword research is. So, before you can think about optimising your ecommerce website – you need to understand what your target audience is searching for.

Keyword research is one of the biggest (if not the biggest, actually) backbones of any successful SEO strategy. By identifying the right keywords, those your potential customers are using to search for your products, you can tailor your content and product pages to attract the right kind of traffic.

How to Conduct Effective Keyword Research:

• Start with broad terms: Have a look around. Search broad terms related to your business or niche. For example, if you sell skincare, terms like ‘skincare set’ or ‘men’s skincare’ are a good place to start.
• Use keyword tools: Whatever you have access to, use it to your advantage. Google Keyword Planner is a free tool, but there are also paid options (e.g. Ahrefs or SEMrush) to discover keywords with good search volume and low competition. This will give you an insight into the keywords that can drive traffic without being oversaturated.
• Long-tail keywords: These are longer and more specific search terms, such as ‘skincare for dry skin’. While they may have lower search volume, they often have higher conversion rates due to their specificity.
• Search intent: Understand the intent behind keywords. Are they looking to buy a product (this is known as transactional intent), are they in that sort of research and comparison phase (commercial intent!), or are they interested but simply looking for more information first (informational intent)? Focusing on transactional keywords is essential for ecommerce SEO, as they signal a higher likelihood of a purchase for you.

2. Optimise Product Pages for SEO

Your product pages are the heart of your ecommerce store. So, they must be fully optimised for search engines. A purposeful, well-optimised product page can help you rank higher for product-specific searches and convert visitors into customers.

Some key parts of optimising your product pages is to ensure you’ve considered the below.

• Meta titles: The meta title should be clear. Concise. Don’t forget to include the primary keyword if it’s natural to do so.
• Product descriptions: Write unique descriptions that include relevant keywords without keyword stuffing. The description should focus on the product’s benefits and features and why it’s valuable to the customer.
• Images and alt text: Images are huge for ecommerce stores, but search engines can’t ‘see’ them. Make sure to use descriptive alt text that includes keywords related to the product. For example, “red leather wallet for men” is better than just “wallet.”
• Product reviews and ratings: User-generated content, such as reviews and ratings, is gold. And can improve your rankings. Why? Because they provide social proof but also often contain long-tail keywords that help with SEO. Pull them through onto your product pages.

3. Mobile Optimisation: User Experience Matters

With the increase in mobile shopping (69% of people buy things through their phone, by the way), ensuring your ecommerce store is mobile-friendly is completely non-negotiable in 2025.

Also, Google’s mobile-first indexing means that the mobile version of your site is the one that is primarily evaluated for rankings. So, if your site isn’t mobile-optimised, you risk losing traffic, which can have an impact on your overall sales, too.

So, what can you do to make sure your ecommerce site is mobile-friendly? Here are a few simple tips:

• Your website should fit the screen size of the device being used, and it should adjust automatically. To make sure your website has this, you’ll need a responsive design.
• Mobile users are more likely to abandon a slow-loading site. Make sure your site has fast loading times to ensure your store is quick to load on mobile devices.
• Mobile users obviously have less screen space to navigate your site. So, simplify your menu structure and ensure that the most important categories and products are the easiest to find.

Just Whilst we’re on the topic of fast loading times, the overall speed of your ecommerce website matters no matter what device your audience is using. Site speed is not only a ranking factor for SEO but also a key component of user experience.

So, if your ecommerce store takes too long to load, whether it’s on a mobile, tablet or desktop, visitors are likely to leave before even seeing your products. This increases your bounce rate, and that can also negatively impact your search engine rankings.

4. Don’t Forget About Content Marketing

Content marketing is a fantastic way to boost your ecommerce SEO efforts. Not only does it help you rank for additional keywords, but it’ll also engage potential customers and provide valuable information.

Types of Content for Ecommerce SEO

• Blog posts: Write informative blog posts that address the needs and questions of your target audience, as they can attract visitors who are in the research phase of their buying journey.
• Guides and tutorials: If it’s applicable to what you’re offering, create detailed product guides or how-to content. These pages are often long-form and can rank well for informational keywords, attracting traffic to your site.
• Videos: Product videos or unboxing videos can help you engage with customers on platforms like YouTube or Instagram. Embed these videos on your product pages to increase user engagement.

5. Backlink Building: Strengthen Your Domain Authority

Backlinks (links from other websites to your website) are thought to be a significant ranking factor for search engines. High-quality backlinks signal to Google that your site is trustworthy and authoritative, which can improve your rankings.

How to build backlinks for ecommerce SEO:

• Write guest posts for reputable blogs in your industry. This can provide valuable backlinks and expose your brand to a broader audience.
• Reach out to influencers or journalists to review your products. Positive reviews from authoritative sources can help you earn backlinks!
• Develop content that’s likely to be shared, such as infographics, expert round-ups, or case studies. These types of content can naturally attract backlinks.

6. Use Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Structured data, or schema markup, is a type of code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content more effectively. For ecommerce websites, implementing schema markup can provide enhanced search results, such as rich snippets, which can increase your visibility and click-through rate.

The most important schema markups for ecommerce SEO:

• Product schema: This can display important product details like price, availability, and ratings directly in the search results.
• Review schema: If your products have built up some great reviews, using review schema can help display star ratings in search results, making your product more appealing.
• Breadcrumb schema: This provides a navigational structure that can be displayed in search results, helping users see the exact page hierarchy of your site.

7. Optimise for Local SEO: Capture Nearby Customers

If you also have a physical storefront or offer services to specific regions, focusing on local SEO can be really valuable. Optimising for local search terms helps you target customers within your area who are looking for your products.

Here are 3 ways to start strengthening your local SEO for your ecommerce site:

• Create (or optimise) your Google My Business profile. Ensure your business name, address, phone number (NAP), and business hours are accurate. Adding photos and collecting reviews will also improve your local presence.
• Include location-based keywords where it makes sense too, within your broader SEO strategy, as it can help you rank for local searches.
• Ensure that your business is listed on local directories and review sites, like Yelp or local chamber of commerce websites, with consistent NAP details.

Bonus Ecommerce SEO Tip: Keep Your Storefront Fresh

Search engines favour fresh content. And the same applies to ecommerce sites. Updating product listings, adding new products, and removing discontinued ones can signal to Google that your site is active and relevant.

How to Keep Product Listings Fresh:

• If applicable, ensure that new products are added to your store on a consistent basis. This helps keep your site dynamic and gives you more opportunities to target new keywords.
• If a product is out of stock or discontinued, remove it from your site or clearly mark it as unavailable. This prevents wasting your crawl budget on indexing obsolete pages.
• Periodically revisit and refresh your product descriptions, making them more informative or optimised for newer search trends.

Ecommerce SEO: The Key Takeaways

To sum it all up, ecommerce SEO is a powerful way to increase your online store’s visibility and drive more qualified traffic to your site. There are many ways to do this, so by giving some of these strategies a go, you’ll likely be closer to setting yourself up for long-term success.

SEO is an ongoing process, and staying current with algorithm updates and trends is a non-negotiable in this industry if you don’t want to fall behind. So, if you’re looking to get ahead of the competition, give us a call today on 0151 652 4777 to see how we could help you.

Posted on Friday, March 28th, 2025 in SEO.