Last Updated on July 14, 2025 by Becky Halls
Running an e-commerce business is hard enough: You’ve got products to upload, orders to manage, and customers asking if your dog beds are ‘hand stitched with organic cotton’. The last thing you want to worry about is e-commerce SEO.
But here’s the hard truth: if you don’t prioritise e-commerce SEO, your customers will never find those hand stitched organic cotton dog beds, or anything else you sell for that matter.
That’s where this guide comes in. We’re not here to bore you in out of date SEO rules and guidelines. This is a straight-talking, super modern playbook packed with practical tips and tricks we use at 3way.social to help e-commerce brands rank, grow, and actually convert traffic into sales.
Why E-commerce SEO Matters (Now More Than Ever)
If you’re relying solely on paid ads or hoping Instagram will send customers in droves, we’ve got news for you: search is still the highest intent traffic source out there.
When someone uses those long tail keyword searches such as “vegan leather laptop bag” or “gift for plant lover under £20,” they’re not browsing. They’re buying.
And guess what? You (and definitely not your competitor) want to be the store they land on.
The stats don’t lie:
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44% of people start their online shopping journey with a search engine
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70% of clicks go to the top 5 organic results
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Paid ads might get eyes, but SEO brings trust and long-term ROI
Step 1: Nail Your Technical SEO
Let’s get the boring-but-crucial bit out of the way. Technical SEO is the foundation your site sits on. Without it, the rest won’t matter.
Here’s what to check:
- Fast load times – Compress your images, use lazy loading, and consider a CDN
- Mobile-first design – Most shoppers are on their phones
- HTTPS – No SSL? Google’s not a fan (and neither are customers)
- Crawlable structure – Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to ensure Google can access all your pages
- No duplicate content – A big issue for product variants (use canonical tags!)
3way tip: Use a flat site architecture. Your most important product pages should be no more than 3 clicks from the homepage.
Step 2: Keyword Research (The E-comm Way)
Forget trying to rank for “trainers” as we all know you’re not beating Nike.
Instead, focus on long-tail keywords like:
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“white vegan running trainers for women”
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“eco-friendly yoga mat UK”
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“engraved silver dog tags for staffies”
These are specific, lower-competition, and purchase-intent gold.
Tools to use:
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Google Search Console (free, great for existing keyword wins)
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ChatGPT for quick brainstorming sessions
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Product-specific suggestions from Amazon autocomplete or “People Also Ask”
3way tip: Use filters like “under £50,” “UK shipping,” or “for gifts” to tap into buyer behaviour.
Step 3: Optimise Product Pages That Actually Convert
Your product pages shouldn’t just rank – they should sell. Here’s how:
🧠 Title tags: Include your keyword, but make it compelling (e.g. “Eco Yoga Mat – Non-Slip & Sustainable | Free UK Delivery”)
🧾 Meta descriptions: Make it benefit-driven. No one clicks “100% cotton t-shirt.” Try “Soft, breathable, & ethically made. Ships next day.”
🖊 Product descriptions: Ditch the manufacturer copy. Write for humans and sprinkle in keywords naturally.
📸 Images: Add alt tags and use high-quality, zoomable shots from multiple angles.
👥 Reviews & FAQs: These boost trust and give you fresh content Google loves.
3way tip: Add “quick wins” like trust badges, payment logos, and “Ships in 24h” to reduce bounce rates and increase conversions.
Step 4: Create Category Pages That Rank
Category pages are often forgotten, but they’re SEO gold.
Let’s say you sell eco products. You should have:
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/eco-friendly-gifts
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/plastic-free-kitchen
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/vegan-beauty
These pages should:
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Target a specific keyword (e.g. “vegan skincare UK”)
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Have a short, optimised intro paragraph (with H1/H2s)
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Include internal links to bestsellers and relevant blog content
Step 5: Blogging for E-commerce? Yes. Seriously.
Blog content isn’t just for lifestyle brands or marketers – it also works for product-based businesses too.
Why?
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Drives long-tail traffic
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Boosts authority
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Creates content to share on socials and email
Blog post ideas:
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“10 Gifts for People Who Love Plants”
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“How to Care for a Wooden Chopping Board (the Eco Way)”
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“Why We Switched to Compostable Packaging”
3way tip: Answer real questions your customers have. Use Google’s “People Also Ask” to mine ideas.
Step 6: Link Building Without the Headache
Yes, backlinks still matter, but you need to use them wisely – especially in e-commerce.
Skip shady “link packages” and focus on:
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Getting featured in gift guides, roundups, and product reviews
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Partnering with ethical influencers or small creators
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Listing in niche directories or marketplaces
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Using tools like 3way.social to ethically swap relevant links with other site owners in your niche
3way tip: Pitch seasonal content to bloggers. “Our sustainable Christmas crackers” got one brand 15+ backlinks in a week.
Step 7: Schema & Snippets
Want those pretty star ratings, price tags, and “in stock” labels to show on Google?
You need schema markup – in particular use these:
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Product schema
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Review schema
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FAQ schema (great for blog posts!)
Use tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper or Shopify/Woo plugins to get it sorted.
Step 8: Monitor, Measure, Improve
E-commerce SEO isn’t “set and forget.” Keep an eye on:
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Your top converting landing pages (Google Analytics 4)
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Your best keywords and impressions (Google Search Console)
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Your rankings and competitor movements (Ahrefs, Ubersuggest)
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Pages with high impressions but low CTR—these are ripe for better meta descriptions!
Final Thoughts: E-commerce SEO Is Your Superpower
If you’re in the e-commerce game, SEO is your long-term growth engine. Unlike ads that vanish when your budget dries up, SEO delivers compounding results. And in an AI-dominated future, the stores that inform, build trust, and show up early in the funnel will win the sale.
You don’t need to do everything at once. But you do need to start.
Need help building links ethically? That’s kind of our thing.
👉 Visit 3way.social
FAQs: E-commerce SEO
Do I need to blog for my online store?
Yes! Blogging helps drive traffic to category and product pages, boosts authority, and gives search engines more content to crawl.
What are the best keywords to target for e-commerce?
Focus on long-tail, product-specific keywords with purchase intent, like “biodegradable phone case UK” or “gifts under £25 for dog lovers.”
Is SEO better than ads for e-commerce?
Both have value, but SEO builds long-term traffic and trust. Think of ads as a sprint, and SEO as a marathon that keeps paying off.
How long does e-commerce SEO take to work?
Expect to see results in 3–6 months. But some optimisations (like better titles and descriptions) can improve CTR almost instantly.
Can I do e-commerce SEO on Shopify or WooCommerce?
Absolutely! Both platforms support strong SEO practices, especially when combined with plugins like Yoast, RankMath, or built-in schema tools.
