Where ecommerce SEO is different
An online store isn't a handful of pages; it's often hundreds or thousands of products and categories, each a potential entry point from search. The category pages usually carry the most ranking weight for high-intent shopping terms, while product pages capture specific, ready-to-buy searches.
The challenges are also different: duplicate content across similar products, thin descriptions pulled from suppliers, out-of-stock and discontinued items, faceted navigation creating endless URLs, and pages that never get crawled. Getting these right is what separates stores that rank from stores that don't.
- Category pages optimized for broad shopping terms like 'women's running shoes'
- Product pages targeting specific, high-intent searches and long-tail queries
- Unique descriptions instead of manufacturer boilerplate that duplicates competitors
- Structured data for products, prices, availability, and reviews
- A clean site architecture so link authority flows to money pages
- Handling of out-of-stock, discontinued, and seasonal products the right way
The technical and content foundation
Big catalogs magnify small problems. Faceted filters can spawn thousands of near-duplicate URLs that waste crawl budget; slow pages hurt both rankings and conversions; and poor internal linking leaves deep products invisible to Google.
On top of the technical work, content earns the rankings: buying guides, comparison content, and genuinely helpful category copy capture shoppers earlier in their research and funnel them toward purchase.
- Faceted navigation and filter URLs controlled with canonicals and indexing rules
- Site speed and Core Web Vitals tuned for large, image-heavy pages
- Internal linking that surfaces deep products and related items
- Buying guides and comparison content that capture upper-funnel shoppers
- Review and rating signals surfaced for trust and rich results
- Ongoing cleanup as inventory changes so you don't accumulate dead pages
More on seo & local search
Frequently asked questions
Should I focus on product pages or category pages?
Both, but they play different roles. Category pages typically rank for broader, higher-volume shopping terms and often drive the most traffic, while product pages capture specific searches from buyers who know exactly what they want. A good strategy optimizes both and links them together sensibly.
How do I handle products that go out of stock or get discontinued?
It depends on whether the item is coming back. Temporarily out-of-stock products should usually stay live with clear availability info, while permanently discontinued ones may be redirected to a relevant category or replacement. Deleting pages without a plan wastes the ranking value you built and creates dead ends.
Does SEO work if I sell on a platform like Shopify or WooCommerce?
Yes. Every major ecommerce platform can be optimized for search, though each has its own quirks around URL structure, duplicate content, and technical settings. We work within your platform's capabilities and configure it properly rather than fighting it, and we'll flag any platform-level limits honestly.