E-commerce is projected to make up 41% of all global retail sales by 2027, and a majority of shoppers turn to search engines and marketplaces to find products, reports BCG. 

Google reports 75% of shoppers use search early in their buying process, and over 80% say it influences their decisions. So if you’re not visible—your competitors will be.

The good news?

We’ve compiled 12 proven SEO strategies – backed by data and real-world results – to help you outrank your competition and capture that organic traffic before someone else does.

1. Master Ecommerce Keyword Research for Buyer Intent

Every successful ecommerce SEO strategy begins with comprehensive keyword research. You need to discover exactly what your customers are searching for – from broad product terms to long-tail questions – and optimize around those queries. 

• Focus on buyer intent keywords: These are terms that indicate someone is ready to purchase. Prioritize keywords with healthy search volume and moderate competition, and don’t overlook long-tail phrases. Long-tails might have lower volume, but they often convert better because they’re highly specific.
• Spy on the competition: See what keywords your competitors rank for using SEO tools. If they’re outranking you for valuable terms, plan to target those keywords with better content or on-page SEO.
• Group and map keywords: Organize your keywords by intent and topic, then map them to specific pages on your site (product pages, category pages, blog posts). This ensures each page targets a unique cluster of terms, avoiding internal cannibalization.
• Use data to guide you: Nearly 68% of all online experiences begin with a search engine, so the keywords you choose can literally make or break your traffic. Build a strong foundation here to drive purchase-ready visitors to your store.
  

Pro Tip: Look for low-hanging fruit keywords – queries where you rank on page 2 or 3 – and give those pages a refresh. Often, a bit of extra optimization or content can bump you to page 1. 

“75% of users never scroll past the first page of results.” 

In e-commerce, page 2 might as well not exist, so aim for those top spots!

2. Optimize Product Pages to Rank and Sell

Your product pages aren’t just sales tools—they’re SEO opportunities. Well-optimized pages can rank higher and convert better. Each product page should be a SEO powerhouse that also compels visitors to click “Add to Cart.” 

Key product page optimizations:

• Title Tags & Meta Descriptions: Craft compelling, keyword-rich title tags (55–60 characters) for each product. Include the product name and a primary keyword. Write a meta description that highlights a unique selling point or offer (free shipping, 2-year warranty) to entice clicks from SERPs.
  
  
• Unique Product Descriptions: Avoid manufacturer copy. Write original, benefit-driven content with naturally placed keywords. Not only does unique content rank better, it also persuades shoppers by answering their questions.
  
  
• High-Quality Images with Alt Text: Include multiple angles, compress for speed, and use descriptive ALT text (e.g. “side view of brown leather boots”) – this helps with SEO and accessibility.
  
  
• SEO-friendly URLs & schema markup: Ensure product page URLs are short and include the product name/keyword (e.g. /mens-chelsea-boots-brown). Implement Product schema markup (price, availability, ratings) so search engines can display rich snippets like star ratings or price in results, which can boost your click-through rate (CTR).

Remember, pages that provide comprehensive info and great UX tend to rank higher. If your product pages answer all a shopper’s questions and make buying easy, search engines notice – and so do your customers.

In fact, one brand saw a 148% surge in organic traffic and 122% jump in revenue after revamping their product listings and on-page SEO – proof that optimizing product pages pays off in both rankings and sales.

Need help supercharging your product pages? Consider partnering with e-commerce SEO experts who know how to turn clicks into customers.

3. Create Content that Drives Organic Traffic

SEO isn’t just for product and category pages. Valuable content helps you reach shoppers at every stage of the funnel. By creating valuable, informative content, you can rank for a wider range of keywords and funnel readers to your products. 

Content ideas that convert:

• Blog Posts & Guides: Publish blog articles, how-to guides, and trend pieces related to your products or niche. Cover relevant topics like “How to Choose a Tent” or “2025 Style Trends.” These pieces can rank for informational queries and subtly promote your products.
  
  
• Buying Guides and Comparison Pages: Help users decide between products. Create in-depth buying guides or product comparison pages (e.g. “Smartphone A vs Smartphone B – Which Should You Buy?”). These target shoppers further along in the funnel who are deciding between options – a perfect time to introduce your products.
  
  
• User-Generated Content (UGC): Feature customer reviews, unboxing videos, and real-life usage on your site. Not only does this create fresh content, it also builds trust for new buyers who see real-life usage of your products.

Use internal links with keyword-rich anchor text to connect content to your product/category pages. Helpful content keeps users engaged—and closer to checkout.

A well-executed content strategy not only boosts rankings but also establishes your brand as an authority. Just ensure your content is genuinely helpful and matches the intent of the keywords. 

4. Streamline Site Architecture & Internal Linking

How you organize your e-commerce site can significantly impact your SEO. A clean structure helps search engines crawl your pages efficiently and helps users find what they want. Aim for a structure where every page is reachable in just a few clicks from the homepage.

• Logical hierarchy: Organize products into logical categories and sub-categories. (e.g. Home > Men > Jackets > Rain Jackets). This creates a clear breadcrumb trail and URL structure (your URLs should reflect this hierarchy for SEO clarity).
  
  
• Internal linking: Connect blog content, related products, and key category pages to pass authority and guide visitors. This not only improves UX but also adds internal links for SEO.
  
  
• No orphan pages: Every important page should be linked from somewhere (menu, footer, body content). Orphaned pages (with no internal links pointing to them) might be ignored by search engine crawlers.
  
  
• Sitemaps & Navigation: Create an XML sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console – this ensures Google knows about all your pages. On the site itself, use clear navigation menus and footer links for key pages. Many top e-commerce sites also include a search bar.

A well-structured site is not only good for SEO – it’s good for shoppers. Gartner found that seamless ecommerce experiences boost customer satisfaction by 25% and repeat purchases by 20%. Structure matters—for rankings and revenue.

5. Speed Up Your Site (Core Web Vitals + Technical SEO)

Site speed is non-negotiable. A faster site improves SEO, UX, and conversion rates—especially on mobile. Shoppers today are impatient – and search engines know it. Google’s algorithm rewards fast-loading, well-performing sites, so you need to tune up your site’s performance relentlessly.

Speed optimization checklist:

• Optimize Load Times: Compress images, minify CSS/JS files, use a fast hosting provider or CDN, and enable browser caching. Aim for your pages (especially on mobile) to load in 2-3 seconds or less. Deloitte found that a mere 0.1 second improvement in mobile load time boosted retail conversion rates by 8.4%.
  
  
• Core Web Vitals: Pay attention to Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics (Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, Cumulative Layout Shift). These measure perceived load speed, interactivity, and visual stability. For example, ensure images have proper dimensions and prioritize loading above-the-fold content quickly.
  
  
• Mobile Performance: Technical SEO goes hand-in-hand with mobile optimization. Given mobile shoppers often have slower connections, optimizing your mobile site speed is critical. Consider techniques like AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) for content pages.
  
  
• Fix Technical Errors: Regularly crawl your site to catch 404 errors, broken links, or duplicate content issues. Fix or redirect broken URLs promptly – both users and crawlers will thank you. Also ensure your site is HTTPS secure as Google gives a slight ranking boost to secure sites and browsers flag non-HTTPS as “not secure”.

Think of technical SEO as the foundation of your ecommerce site – if it’s shaky, everything else can crumble. A fast, technically sound site not only ranks higher but keeps visitors engaged. 

Pro Tip: Make it a habit to monitor and improve your technical SEO health. 

6. Go Mobile-First or Go Home

With over half of ecommerce traffic coming from mobile, optimizing for smartphones is no longer optional—it’s mandatory. In fact, mobile commerce is projected to account for about 75% of all e-commerce sales by 2023. Google has also shifted to mobile-first indexing, meaning it predominantly uses your site’s mobile version for ranking and indexing.

What to focus on:

• Responsive Design: Your site should look great and function smoothly on any device. Text should be readable, buttons and links should function, and images should scale appropriately. Test this on multiple devices or use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
  
  
• Mobile Site Speed: Many users are on 3G/4G connections; heavy elements that might be tolerable on desktop broadband can choke a mobile experience. Techniques like lazy loading (loading images as the user scrolls) can significantly improve initial load times on mobile.
  
  
• Streamlined Mobile UX: Simplify navigation for mobile users. Use a clean hamburger menu for categories, implement site search prominently, and consider features like sticky add-to-cart buttons on product pages for easier shopping.
  
  
• Mobile-Specific SEO: Optimize titles and meta descriptions with mobile in mind. Mobile SERPs show fewer characters, so front-load your keywords and key selling points. Also, voice search is rising with mobile – consider incorporating natural language, question-based keywords that people might speak into their phones (e.g. “Where can I buy affordable running shoes online?”).

By delivering a top-notch mobile experience, you’re not just pleasing Google’s algorithm – you’re pleasing your customers. 

In short, Mobile-first = Customer-first = SEO-first.
Embrace it, and you’ll lead the competition.

7. Implement Technical SEO Best Practices (XML Sitemaps, Robots & More)

Beyond speed and mobile, technical SEO is the behind-the-scenes engine that powers your ecommerce site’s visibility. Here’s what to prioritize:

• XML Sitemap: Keep an updated sitemap listing all key URLs (products, categories, blog posts) and submit it to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. This ensures new products or seasonal content get discovered and indexed fast.
  
  
• Robots.txt: Use this file to guide search engine crawlers away from low-value pages (like admin dashboards or internal search results) while ensuring you’re not accidentally blocking crucial product or category pages.
  
  
• Canonical Tags: Ecommerce sites often have duplicate content—think a product listed under multiple categories or filtered URLs. Canonical tags tell search engines which version is the “master” copy to consolidate ranking signals and avoid self-competition.
  
  
• Pagination & Indexing: If your categories span multiple pages (e.g., page=2, page=3), consider no-indexing the additional pages or ensuring product links remain discoverable. Google’s no longer relying on rel=prev/next, but it may still help on other engines.
  
  
• Structured Data Markup: Beyond product schema, use structured data to mark up breadcrumbs, navigation, organization details, and FAQs. This helps search engines interpret your site more accurately—and may unlock rich results.

Staying on top of technical SEO might not be glamorous, but it’s a secret weapon. Sites that neglect it often struggle with poor crawlability, broken pages, and duplicate content issues that quietly hold rankings back. 

By regularly auditing and fine-tuning these aspects, you’ll gain an edge. Think of it like having a faster, more efficient race car in a competition; even if content and links are the “engine and fuel,” technical SEO is the chassis that ensures all that power actually reaches the road.

8. Leverage Schema Markup & Rich Snippets

Schema markup helps your listings shine in the search results. By adding structured data to your site, you give Google more context—and the chance to display rich snippets that boost your visibility and click-through rates.

• Product Schema: Product Schema: Mark up key product data like price, availability, and review ratings. Seeing a 4.7-star average and “In Stock” tag under your listing can build instant trust and drive more clicks. This can dramatically improve your CTR.
  
• Review Schema: If your site displays customer reviews or ratings, mark them up with schema to increase the chances of those star ratings appearing in the SERP. Seeing ★★★★☆ (4/5) in the snippet can increase the likelihood of a click.
  
• FAQ Schema: Add schema to FAQs on product or content pages. If Google picks it up, your listing could show expandable dropdown questions—taking up more space on the results page and giving users instant value.
• Breadcrumbs Schema: Help search engines display your site’s structure in the snippet—e.g., Home > Apparel > Men's Jackets—instead of just a URL. It looks cleaner and reinforces site organization.

Implementing a schema is essentially giving search engines explicit clues about your content. While it’s not a direct ranking boost, it enhances your visibility. It’s a way of out-competing others even if they rank near you, because your result simply looks more relevant and trustworthy.

Use Google’s Rich Results Test to ensure your markup is valid and correctly implemented (JSON-LD is Google’s preferred format). And always match your schema to the content on the page—no fake reviews or inflated ratings. Schema may not guarantee a rich result, but it increases your odds dramatically. When it works, you’ll stand out even if you’re not in the top spot.

9. Build High-Quality Backlinks to Boost Authority

Google’s algorithm still heavily relies on backlinks to assess a site’s authority. For ecommerce brands, a strong link profile can be the difference between page 1 and obscurity.

Here’s how to earn links the right way:

• Create Link-Worthy Content: This ties back to strategy #3 (content creation). Publish resources that offer real value—original research, calculators, buying guides, or helpful blog posts. These assets naturally attract backlinks over time.
• Digital PR & Outreach: Got a compelling data point? Share it with niche bloggers or journalists. Even better if you can offer exclusive insights or expert commentary to secure a backlink in return.
• Influencer and Affiliate Collaboration: Partner with relevant influencers who can review your product and link back to it. Bonus: Combine this with an affiliate program to drive both SEO and sales.
• Recover Lost Links & Unlinked Mentions: Use SEO tools to find where your brand is mentioned without a link—and reach out. Also, set up 301 redirects to capture lost equity from broken or outdated URLs.

Focus on white-hat strategies. One strong, relevant backlink from a reputable site is more valuable than dozens of spammy ones. Over time, these links compound—making your site harder to outrank.

See what links your top competitors have that you don’t, and devise strategies to get similar ones, perhaps they’re listed on a supplier’s “Where to Buy” page or contributed an expert quote on a news article. 

Backlinks remain one of the most powerful ranking factors, and building a strong, clean link profile is like accumulating SEO capital that your competitors will struggle to match quickly. It’s an investment in long-term dominance.

10. Encourage Customer Reviews & Ratings

Customer reviews do more than build trust—they also boost SEO by generating fresh, keyword-rich content on product pages. Here’s how to leverage reviews:

• ‍Implement a Review System: Enable reviews on your product pages (using your platform’s built-in system or third-party tools). After each purchase, solicit feedback – send follow-up emails asking customers to rate and review the product. Perhaps incentivize with a small coupon for their next purchase to encourage more responses.‍

• Display Reviews Prominently: Show the average rating and number of reviews at the top of the product page. This info can also feed into your schema markup to improve how your snippet appears in search.‍

• Respond and Engage: Reply to reviews, especially negative ones. It shows future shoppers you care and may surface long-tail keywords in your replies.‍

• Leverage Reviews in Content: If a product has hundreds of glowing reviews, mention it! Social proof can improve conversion rates—and higher engagement often leads to stronger rankings.

From an SEO perspective, fresh reviews indicate to Google that your page is being updated, UGC updates count. A steady stream of new reviews can help your product pages stay fresh in the index. Also, think about quantity and quality: a product with 1,000 reviews averaging 4.5 stars is likely to rank better and certainly sell better than one with 5 reviews averaging 5 stars. The volume shows popularity and trust in the eyes of the algorithm and the consumer.

Over time, you’ll build a virtuous cycle: more sales → more reviews → higher rankings → even more sales. Meanwhile, competitors without review strategies will have a hard time catching up to that level of social proof.

11. Monitor Analytics & Competitors—Then Iterate

SEO is not a set it and forget it game. It’s a moving target – especially in e-commerce, where trends, algorithms, and competitors are always in flux. The 11th strategy is about staying vigilant: continuously monitoring your performance and your competitors, and adapting your strategy accordingly.

• Track Key SEO Metrics: Use Google Analytics and Search Console to monitor organic traffic, top-performing pages, keyword rankings, and conversion data. Watch for sudden drops or gains—each tells a story.
• Conversion and Behavior Data: Pages with high bounce rates or low time-on-page may not match user intent—or might have performance issues. Use heatmaps or session recordings to uncover friction points.
• Competitor SEO Audits: Regularly check in on competitors. What content are they publishing? Who’s linking to them? Are they creeping up the rankings for your core keywords? Use their moves as inspiration to do it better.
  
  • For example, if a competitor launches a holiday gift guide that’s ranking well, perhaps you should create an even better guide. If they got a mention in a major publication, maybe you can pitch a story to the same or similar outlet.
• Stay Updated on SEO Trends: Google updates its algorithm often. Keep up with trusted SEO blogs or forums so you can adjust early. Being quick to adopt new best practices gives you a serious edge.
• Iterate and Improve: The best ecommerce SEO strategies are iterative. Test new ideas, review results, and refine your approach. Small optimizations compound over time into serious growth.

Treat your ecommerce SEO strategy as an ongoing cycle: research → implement → measure → tweak → repeat. 

Companies with a data-driven, agile approach to SEO will outpace those who do it once and coast. Gartner found that data-driven companies are 23% more likely to acquire new customers – in SEO terms, that means those who actively use data and analytics can capture more searchers. So be proactive: watch the landscape and never stop optimizing.

Overwhelmed by the data? Our team has helped brands large and small navigate the analytics and stay ahead of competitors – sometimes a fresh pair of expert eyes makes all the difference.

12. Expand Your Reach: Optimize for Amazon & Other Marketplaces

Outranking your competition isn’t just about Google. In e-commerce, Amazon is its own search engine — and a powerful one. Globally, 44% of shoppers start their product search on search engines like Google, while 41% begin on Amazon, according to Statista. That’s nearly an even split. To truly dominate, you need to rank on both: traditional search engines and e-commerce marketplaces.

• Amazon SEO (A9 Algorithm): Optimize your Amazon listings with relevant keywords (in titles, bullet points, and backend search terms), high-quality images, and competitive pricing. Like Google, Amazon values relevance and performance. Keywords boost visibility, while conversions and reviews push your rankings higher.
  

• Leverage Amazon’s Scale: Amazon accounted for over 40% of U.S. e-commerce sales in 2023. Ignoring it means missing out on serious traffic. Even if your focus is your own site, treat Amazon as a discovery and acquisition channel. Many shoppers trust Amazon first — and with branded inserts or packaging, you can drive them to your direct site later.

• Cross-List on Niche Marketplaces: Platforms like Etsy (for handmade goods) or Wayfair (for home décor) may offer better visibility for niche products. These marketplaces often have less SEO competition, giving you a better shot at top rankings within their ecosystems.
  

• Consistency and Analytics: Monitor product performance across channels. If you have access to Amazon Brand Analytics, use it to find top-converting keywords. Apply those insights to your Google SEO — and vice versa. A term performing well on Amazon might be a missed opportunity on your site.

• One last stat to remember: 70% of Amazon shoppers never click past the first page — just like Google. That means your marketplace listings need the same level of SEO care as your website: optimized titles, compelling descriptions, strategic keywords, and strong reviews.

Don’t let your competitors steal the spotlight. It’s time to implement these ecommerce SEO strategies and own the search results. 

Get started today with our free comprehensive Amazon SEO guide to ensure you’re dominating every platform!