The ecommerce industry is more competitive than ever. In 2025, global retail ecommerce sales are projected to reach about $6.4 trillion, accounting for roughly one-fifth of all retail sales—and forecasts point toward the market approaching $8 trillion by 2027.
It’s safe to say consumers will keep buying from ecommerce platforms.
This is encouraging for ecommerce brands. But with global competition, you need clear differentiation and a search strategy that consistently puts your products in front of the right shoppers.
Maybe you’ve already nailed your first few sales from a new store.
Now it’s time for repeatable growth.
You can do this in many ways. For example, leveraging social commerce to increase ecommerce sales is still a profitable marketing tactic.
Additionally, offering smart discounts, targeting the right audiences, and accepting modern payment options are a few of our favorite ways to boost ecommerce sales fast.
But you’ll get far better results when you fully understand how people research and buy. Nearly everyone reads reviews during the buying process, and the #1 organic result in Google captures about 27.6% of clicks—with the top three results earning most of the traffic on page one.
What does this mean for you?
If your ecommerce site doesn’t appear near the top when people search for your products, you’re leaving money on the table.
How do you get there? Search engine optimization.
Use the tactics in this guide to drive more qualified traffic—and more ecommerce sales—with SEO.
Conduct keyword research
Every successful SEO strategy starts with smart keyword research.
Figure out the exact terms shoppers use when they look for your products (and the problems those products solve). Google Ads Keyword Planner is a solid starting point.
Use a mix of tools and data sources: Keyword Planner for volume and CPC; your Google Search Console queries for real phrases you already rank for; as well as third-party tools (Ahrefs, Semrush) for competitor gaps and product modifier ideas.
Group keywords by intent (informational, comparison, transactional) and by page type (category/collection, product detail, blog, FAQ). Then map your best terms to specific pages and fill gaps with new content.
Focus on search intent over sheer volume. The right phrase that matches what a shopper wants to do today often beats a bigger but vague term.
Start blogging
Once you have your keyword set, put them to work across the site—especially in high-quality blog content.
Yes, add relevant terms to product pages and category pages. But you’ll reach far more people by answering pre-purchase questions with helpful articles: buying guides, “best of” roundups, care & sizing tips, comparisons, troubleshooting, and how-to content that naturally links to your products.
Word count alone isn’t a ranking factor—cover the topic thoroughly and clearly. Use headings, images or short videos, step-by-step instructions, and internal links to key products and categories. Cite credible sources where appropriate and add a clear “what to do next” section so readers can move from research to purchase.
Blogging also strengthens internal links and earns backlinks when others reference your content—both are powerful signals for better rankings.
Use long-tail keywords in product names and descriptions
More than half of searches are four words or more. Long-tail phrases (color, size, material, purpose, model, compatibility) narrow competition and raise conversion rates because they match specific intent.
Add relevant long-tail modifiers to product titles, H1s, and descriptions where it makes sense for users. Include natural synonyms and common shopper phrases pulled from your reviews, site search, and support tickets.
Aim for clarity over keyword stuffing. Write product copy that answers real questions: specs, fit, materials, warranty, what’s in the box, compatibility, and use cases. That’s what convinces people to buy—and it gives search engines more context.
Example: instead of “bicycle,” use descriptive, buyer-language like “black 10-speed beach cruiser with front basket”—and mirror that specificity in filters and facets so shoppers can refine quickly.
Don’t complicate your website architecture
Search engines crawl your site with automated bots and store page data in an index. When someone searches, they retrieve the most relevant, accessible results. If your site is hard to crawl or your pages compete with each other, you’ll struggle to rank.
Keep architecture flat and logical: Home ? Category ? Subcategory (if needed) ? Product. Use breadcrumb navigation, clear internal links, and a clean URL structure. Provide an XML sitemap and keep robots.txt simple.
Handle faceted navigation carefully (color, size, price filters). Avoid creating infinite combinations that bloat indexation. Canonicalize the primary version, noindex thin/filter-only pages, and keep your category pages as the main ranking targets.
Simple architecture also improves navigation for shoppers—reducing friction and boosting conversions.
Identify and fix any errors
Technical issues hurt rankings and trust. Search engines don’t want to surface broken or confusing pages.
Common problems include:
- Broken links and 404s
- Redirect chains or loops
- Duplicate content and duplicate product variants
- Missing or invalid structured data
- Large images and blocking scripts
- Incorrect canonical tags or indexation settings
Use a crawler like Screaming Frog SEO Spider to audit pages, and monitor Search Console for coverage issues, Core Web Vitals, and structured data errors. Fix high-impact issues first (sitewide templates and top categories/products).
Prioritize clean redirects, consolidate duplicates with canonicals, and repair broken internal links. Validate Product schema so price, availability, and rating data are eligible for rich results.
Optimize your site for mobile devices
Most searches now happen on phones, and Google evaluates pages with a mobile-first perspective. In the U.S., over 60% of searches occur on mobile devices. If your site struggles on mobile, you’ll lose both rankings and sales.
Use responsive design, fast media (WebP/AVIF images, compressed video), readable font sizes, and large tap targets. Keep sticky bars and pop-ups minimal. Test checkout on real devices and connections.
Make sure critical content and links are visible on mobile. Don’t hide what shoppers need to evaluate a product (specs, reviews, returns, shipping).
Improve your page loading speed
Slow sites get fewer sales—and poorer visibility. Google recommends achieving “good” Core Web Vitals for loading, interactivity, and visual stability.
Targets to aim for: LCP ? 2.5s, INP ? 200ms (replaced FID in 2024), and CLS ? 0.1. See Google’s guidance on Core Web Vitals and INP.
Practical fixes: optimize images and serve scaled versions, preload the LCP image, defer non-critical JavaScript, inline critical CSS, use HTTP/2+CDN caching, reduce third-party scripts, and keep apps/plugins lean. Check performance with PageSpeed Insights and your real-user data in Search Console.
A few seconds can drastically change bounce and conversion rates. Faster sites win more often.
Simplify the design of your ecommerce site
Complex layouts and cluttered pages slow things down and distract shoppers. Simpler designs tend to convert better—and they’re easier to crawl.
Keep navigation intuitive, surface top categories on the homepage, and make filters obvious. Streamline checkout: enable guest checkout, offer express wallets (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay), show total cost early, and clearly state shipping/returns.
Independent research continues to show that extra costs, slow delivery, forced account creation, and long checkout flows drive abandonment. Fixing these issues helps both UX and SEO signals.
Design also shapes credibility. Clear layouts, consistent branding, trust badges, review snippets, and real product photography increase confidence—so people stay longer and buy more.
Add meta descriptions to your pages
Meta descriptions are short page summaries (typically ~150–160 characters) that can appear under your title in search results. They don’t directly boost rankings, but strong descriptions can lift click-through rate—especially on competitive queries.
Write unique, action-oriented copy that matches search intent and includes key terms naturally.
Here’s a broad “Men’s yoga apparel” example with action words like “Find,” “Discover,” and “Shop” highlighted. That approach still works today when it’s specific and honest about what’s on the page.
Note: search engines sometimes rewrite snippets. Well-written descriptions still help with other engines and social shares—and they guide how your brand presents itself in search.
Implement structured data for rich results
Add Product, Offer, Review, and Breadcrumb structured data so search engines can display rich results with price, availability, ratings, and navigation. Validate with the Rich Results Test and monitor errors in Search Console. See Google’s docs for Product structured data.
Keep price and availability synced to your live catalog. If you show variants, include variant-specific attributes (size, color, SKU) and use canonical tags correctly to avoid duplicates.
Leverage reviews and UGC (the right way)
Reviews are essential for ecommerce. Display them on product pages, summarize ratings in list/grid cards, and mark them up with schema. Respond to reviews and make it easy for verified buyers to submit photos and videos.
Be transparent. Don’t gate or suppress negative reviews, and never use fake reviews—regulators actively crack down on manipulative practices. Clear policies and authentic UGC build trust and help rankings over time.
Strengthen on-page SEO for category & product pages
Write concise, descriptive title tags (brand + primary keyword + modifier) and scannable H1/H2s. Add short, unique intro copy to category pages that explains selection and key benefits. Link to top subcategories and best sellers.
On product pages, cover specs, sizing, compatibility, care, shipping/returns, and FAQs. Use comparison tables where helpful. Add internal links to related items and buying guides to reduce pogo-sticking and keep shoppers exploring.
Use Google Merchant Center & free listings
Upload a clean product feed to Google Merchant Center to power free product listings and richer shopping visibility alongside your ads. Keep GTINs, pricing, and availability accurate, and sync promotions. Learn more in Google’s Merchant Center overview.
Product feeds, structured data, and strong PDP content work together to earn more visibility across Search, Images, and Shopping surfaces.
Conclusion
To maximize reach and generate consistent ecommerce sales, invest in SEO that puts shoppers first.
Conduct rigorous keyword research. Use long-tail terms in your product titles and descriptions. Publish helpful blog content that answers real questions and links to your products. Keep your site architecture simple and crawlable.
Fix technical issues quickly, optimize for mobile users, and hit Core Web Vitals targets with a faster site. Simplify your design and checkout to reduce friction. Write clear, action-oriented meta descriptions to earn more clicks.
Enhance search visibility with Product structured data, authentic reviews, and strong on-page SEO for categories and products to level up your ecommerce SEO and grow revenue from organic search.