I’ve watched too many ecommerce sites burn through budgets chasing vanity metrics. Rankings that don’t convert. Traffic that doesn’t buy. You want sales, not screenshots.
This guide covers the ecommerce SEO strategies that actually put money in your bank account. These are real tactics which our agency uses on our clients’ stores. We’re skipping the beginner SEO basics in this article. If you need those fundamentals, read our ecommerce SEO audit guide first.
Also before we dive in, if you would like the experts at Mint SEO to analyse your store and create a fully bespoke strategy for your site, take a look at our SEO audit and strategy service page.
Let’s get started.
Target Buyer Keywords on Category and Product Pages
Your category pages need to target broad, high-volume transactional keywords. Think “buy noise cancelling headphones” not “what are noise cancelling headphones.”
Category page URLs have the authority to rank for competitive terms because they naturally accumulate internal links from across your site. Every product page links back to its category. Every breadcrumb strengthens that authority.
Meanwhile, your product pages should handle the specific, long-tail searches that consumers are searching for. Traditionally this will be the product name but they’re exceptions:
- Sony WH-1000XM5
- Bose QuietComfort 45
- Black noise cancelling headphones under £200
Long-tail keywords have higher conversion rates than short-tail keywords. Why? Because someone searching “Sony WH-1000XM5 free shipping” knows exactly what they want. They’re not researching. They’re hunting for the buy button.
I tested this across dozens of BigCommerce and Shopify stores. The pattern never changes. Category pages rank for broad commercial terms bring qualified traffic. Product pages ran for specific model numbers and descriptions. Mix them up and you’ll struggle to rank for either.
Create Buyer Advice Content That Actually Converts
Standard blog posts are dead weight and don’t belong in most ecommerce SEO strategies. “How to” guides and informational content might bring traffic, but they rarely generate purchases.
Buyer advice content is different. These aren’t educational posts about industry trends or beginner guides. They’re comparison articles, product roundups, and alternative recommendations that target people actively shopping.
This type of content gives you carte blanche to talk about your products openly in a natural and organic manner to interested readers. It doesn’t feel forced. It also presents a natural user journey to your product pages.
These keyword formats consistently deliver buyers, not browsers:
[Your product] vs [competing product]
Shoppers comparing specific options need detailed comparisons. You control the narrative while highlighting your product’s strengths. Someone searching “Dyson V15 vs Shark Stratos” has narrowed their choice to two options. They’re buying today. Your comparison guide determines which one.
Best [product] lists
Curated roundups attract shoppers in research mode. Include your products naturally alongside genuine alternatives to build trust. Yes, you’re featuring competitors. But you’re controlling how they’re presented and ensuring your products get prime placement with compelling descriptions.
[Your competitor] alternatives
Capture shoppers dissatisfied with competitors. Someone searching “Peloton alternatives” probably balked at the price or subscription model. Present your solution as the logical next choice. Explain what frustrated them about the competitor and how you solve that specific problem.
Gift ideas for [your target audience]
Seasonal goldmines that let you showcase product ranges while helping gift-givers solve real problems. “Gift ideas for remote workers” lets you naturally feature everything from desk accessories to coffee subscriptions. The gift framing removes the promotional feel entirely.
Buyer intent keywords generally lead to higher conversion rates and a shorter buyer journey than other types of keywords.
Stop Deleting Out-of-Stock Pages (You’re Burning Money)
Once you delete a product page from your site, Google stops sending traffic to that URL. Even out-of-stock products still retain backlinks and organic traffic. By removing that page you’re throwing that traffic away.
Here’s the data that changed my entire approach: When confronted with an out-of-stock product, 60% of customers will buy a substitute from the same retailer (compared to the 15% who switch to a competitor). You want to bring that traffic into your ecommerce website’s ecosystem and still have a chance to convert that visitor.
What to do instead? Keep the URL live, set the product to out of stock, then implement one of two strategies:
Strategy A: Recommend related products
Display three to five similar items with clear CTAs directly on the out-of-stock page. Include a brief explanation about the original product’s status and when it might return. Make your alternatives prominent and compelling. Explain why each alternative might suit their needs. Use comparison tables if helpful. The goal is keeping them shopping on your site, not bouncing back to Google.
Strategy B: Setup an email capture for restock notifications
Adding visitors to your mailing list while their purchase intent remains high is a smart ecommerce SEO strategy. Offer to notify them when the item returns to stock. This approach secures a possible sale later while building your email database. Include fields for size or color preferences to make the notification more relevant when stock returns.
A furniture retailer I advised generates around £2,000 monthly by implementing email capture on 200 out-of-stock product pages. This is an ecommerce SEO strategy that works.
Google Merchant Center: The Revenue Stream Everyone Ignores
Most website owners don’t realise that Google Merchant Center is crucial for getting products featured in Google Shopping. This gives you the opportunity to have two listings on the SERP: your organic result and your Shopping result.
The Google Shopping widget appears for 76% of retail search ad spending. Think about that. Three quarters of commercial searches show Shopping results. If you’re not there, you’re invisible to buyers.
The statistics make the case clear:
- Click-through rates for Google Shopping Ads average 0.86%
- Google Shopping Ads have an average conversion rate of 1.91%
- The average cost per action from a Google Shopping click is $38.87
Setting up Merchant Center properly requires attention to detail. You need clean product feeds with accurate pricing and inventory synchronisation. Include detailed product descriptions, multiple high-quality images, and complete attribute data. Regular feed updates prevent disapprovals that tank your Shopping visibility.
The setup process involves connecting your ecommerce platform, configuring your product feed, setting up shipping and tax information, and maintaining data quality. Most importantly, you need to keep your inventory data synchronised to avoid showing out-of-stock items in Shopping results.
If managing Merchant Center optimisation feels overwhelming, Mint SEO’s Google Merchant Center service handles the entire setup and ongoing management process. Use our contact page to start the conversation.
Turn High-Traffic Pages Into Email Goldmines
In my personal experience, email marketing can generate up to 30% of ecommerce stores’ annual revenue. The data backs this up: email marketing generates an average of $40 for every $1 spent, which is an ROI of 3900%.
The largest stores with annual revenue of $10M or more bring in nearly a third of their store revenue via email in Q4, according to Klaviyo. If the top players rely on this ecommerce SEO strategy, you should too. The difficult part however is building that email list, but SEO solves this issue.
By including pop-ups and sign-up widgets on your high-traffic, low-conversion pages, you can quickly generate email signups to your list. Blog posts, buying guides, and resource pages attract thousands of visitors who aren’t ready to purchase immediately. These pages are perfect for email capture because you’re not interrupting a purchase journey.
But the key is to offer the subscriber valuable incentives in return. Nobody gives their email address away freely. Consider these offers:
- Exclusive discount codes (10-15% often converts well)
- Early access to sales and new products
- Downloadable buying guides or checklists
- Free shipping on first order
- Entry into monthly prize draws
Target pages with over 100 monthly visitors but under 1% conversion rates. These pages provide volume while avoiding disruption to your highest-converting content. Test different offers, timing, and designs to find what resonates with your specific audience.
Donald Miller, the creator of StoryBrand, built one of the most successful marketing email lists by giving away a short PDF titled “5 Mistakes Companies Make in Their Marketing.” The guide distilled his storytelling framework into a simple, actionable resource that demonstrated real value upfront. That single download became the backbone of StoryBrand’s growth, pulling in thousands of subscribers each month and positioning Miller as a trusted authority in brand communication.
Reviews: The Ranking Factor That Prints Money
Google loves social proof. It’s how they verify that your website is legitimate. E-E-A-T, or Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust, became increasingly important after Google made drastic core algorithm updates in March 2024.
Google will never send traffic to a website it thinks could be a potential scam, hence verified reviews are a major positive algorithm ranking factor. Whitespark’s polled SEO experts point out that high star ratings and positive sentiment in review text are the most important review characteristics for Google Business Profile conversions.
Reviews influence rankings through multiple mechanisms:
- Schema markup for ratings appears in search results, improving click-through rates
- Fresh review content signals active business operations
- Customer reviews generate keyword-rich content as customers comment on the business, products, or services
- Review velocity (how quickly you gain new reviews) indicates a thriving business
Develop a system to collect customer reviews and incorporate that social proof throughout your website. Incentivise reviews carefully using loyalty points or monthly prize draw entries rather than direct discounts. Direct payment for reviews violates most platform policies and can get your account banned.
Display reviews prominently throughout your site. Product pages obviously need ratings, but category pages benefit from aggregate scores too. Homepage testimonials and dedicated review sections build trust while providing internal linking opportunities.
Implementing this ecommerce SEO strategy also boosts your conversion rate tremendously.
Using Digital PR to Generate Backlinks
Boring old guest posting isn’t scalable. Digital PR campaigns deliver results when they’re directly relevant to your industry niche or products. You need stories that journalists actually want to cover, not another “5 tips” listicle.
Include real stats and original data and you will land links from top-tier publication websites. But the data needs to matter to your audience and the publications serving them.
A great example would be a stat on purchases: “The Apple AirPods 4 are Gen Z’s most requested Christmas gift for 2025; with 78% of survey participants citing them.” Simple, specific, newsworthy.
Original research drives the best campaigns:
- Survey your customers for exclusive insights
- Analyse your sales data for surprising trends
- Compare industry practices others haven’t studied
- Create visual data stories that photograph well
Package your findings professionally with clear methodologies and compelling visualisations. Journalists receive hundreds of pitches daily. Yours needs to stand out immediately.
Our digital PR & link building service has secured links from global media outlets for our ecommerce clients. Use the link above to learn more about digital PR and the campaigns we can create for you.
Each strategy I’ve outlined addresses a specific revenue opportunity within your ecommerce SEO strategy. Implementation requires dedication and consistent execution, but the compound returns justify the investment. Start with the tactics that align closest to your immediate needs, then expand systematically as resources allow.
