Why Ecommerce SEO is Different
Most SEO agencies treat ecommerce like blog content marketing. That's a mistake. Here's what makes ecommerce SEO uniquely challenging:
Scale & Complexity
Managing SEO for 5,000+ product pages, dozens of categories, and faceted navigation filters requires technical expertise most agencies don't have.
Technical SEO Challenges
Duplicate content from product variants, pagination, faceted navigation creating infinite URLs, site speed with image-heavy pages—all unique to ecommerce.
Product Page Optimization
Product descriptions, schema markup, user reviews, image optimization, and conversion elements all need to work together for rankings and sales.
Category Architecture
How you structure categories, subcategories, and filtering directly impacts crawlability, rankings, and user experience. Most stores get this wrong.
Platform-Specific Constraints
Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento each have unique SEO challenges. Generic advice doesn't work—you need platform expertise.
Conversion Rate Optimization
Traffic means nothing without sales. Good ecommerce agencies optimize for add-to-cart rates, average order value, and conversion rates.
The Bottom Line:
Ecommerce SEO should drive revenue and ROAS (return on ad spend), not vanity metrics. If an agency can't optimize for transaction value, they're not ecommerce specialists.
What Good Ecommerce SEO Agencies Understand
They Master Technical SEO at Scale
Managing crawl budget for thousands of pages, implementing proper canonicalization for product variants, optimizing site architecture for Google's crawler, and fixing duplicate content issues from faceted navigation.
Key deliverables: Technical audits, crawl optimization, Core Web Vitals optimization, structured data (Product, Offer, Review schemas).
They Optimize Product & Category Pages
Not just stuffing keywords. Strategic optimization of titles, descriptions, images, and user-generated content (reviews) to rank and convert. Category pages become SEO landing pages, not just navigation.
Example: Turning "Men's Running Shoes" into a high-converting landing page with buyer's guides, filters, and comparison tools.
They Handle Faceted Navigation Correctly
Faceted navigation (filters like size, color, price) can create millions of duplicate URLs. Good agencies implement strategic canonicalization, noindex/follow patterns, and parameter handling in Google Search Console.
Red flag: Agencies that don't understand URL parameter handling will waste your crawl budget and create duplicate content penalties.
They Have Platform Expertise
Shopify has different limitations than WooCommerce. BigCommerce handles redirects differently than Magento. Good agencies know the technical constraints and workarounds for your specific platform.
Ask them: "How do you handle URL structure optimization on [your platform]?" Generic answers = red flag.
They Build Content That Supports Sales
Buyer's guides, product comparison pages, "best [product] for [use case]" articles that rank for high-intent keywords and drive conversions. Not fluffy blog posts about industry trends.
Example: "Best Running Shoes for Flat Feet" → Product category page with expert recommendations.
They Optimize for Conversion, Not Just Traffic
A/B testing product page layouts, optimizing CTAs, improving page speed, and implementing trust signals (reviews, guarantees, shipping info) to increase add-to-cart and checkout rates.
Key metric: Revenue per session from organic traffic, not just "organic traffic increased 200%."
They Track Revenue Metrics
Organic revenue, transaction volume, average order value, product-level performance, and revenue by landing page. They connect Google Analytics to your ecommerce platform and report on what matters.
Must-have: Revenue attribution from SEO traffic, not just keyword rankings.
Platform-Specific SEO Considerations
Shopify
- • Limited URL structure control (fixed /products/ and /collections/ paths)
- • Duplicate content from /products/handle and /collections/cat/products/handle
- • Need apps for advanced schema markup
- • Excellent page speed out-of-the-box
- • Limited control over robots.txt and redirects
WooCommerce
- • Full control over URLs, redirects, and technical SEO
- • Performance issues at scale (need hosting optimization)
- • Requires plugins for advanced SEO features
- • Complete customization flexibility
- • Higher maintenance and technical complexity
BigCommerce
- • Strong out-of-the-box SEO features
- • Good URL structure control
- • Built-in schema markup for products
- • Better performance than WooCommerce at scale
- • Advanced redirect management
Magento / Adobe Commerce
- • Enterprise-grade SEO capabilities
- • Complex setup requires specialized developers
- • Excellent for large catalogs (10k+ products)
- • Advanced faceted navigation control
- • Multi-store and international SEO support
Ecommerce SEO Pricing: What to Expect
- Technical SEO audit & fixes
- Product page optimization (up to 100 products)
- Category architecture strategy
- Basic content marketing (4-6 posts/month)
- Link building & outreach
Best for: New stores with under $500k annual revenue
- Advanced technical SEO (crawl budget, site speed)
- Product & category optimization at scale (500+ products)
- Faceted navigation & filter optimization
- Comprehensive content program (8-15 pieces/month)
- Conversion rate optimization
- Revenue-focused reporting & attribution
Best for: Growing stores with $500k-$5M annual revenue
- Enterprise technical SEO (multi-region, complex migrations)
- Programmatic SEO for thousands of products
- International SEO (hreflang, multi-currency)
- Full-funnel content program (20-40 pieces/month)
- Dedicated account team (strategist, SEOs, developers)
- Executive reporting tied to revenue & ROAS
Best for: Enterprise brands with $5M+ annual revenue
Red Flags: Avoid These "Ecommerce SEO" Agencies
🚩 No Platform Experience
They claim to be "ecommerce experts" but can't explain the SEO limitations of your specific platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.).
🚩 Focus on Blog Content Only
They want to write generic blog posts but ignore product pages, category optimization, and technical SEO at scale.
🚩 Can't Explain Faceted Navigation
If they don't understand how filters create duplicate content issues, they'll waste your crawl budget and hurt rankings.
🚩 Report Rankings, Not Revenue
Keyword rankings don't pay the bills. Good agencies report on organic revenue, conversion rates, and ROAS.
🚩 No Technical SEO Expertise
Ecommerce is 70% technical SEO. If they can't explain Core Web Vitals, structured data, and crawl optimization, run.
🚩 One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Fashion ecommerce is different from electronics. Consumer packaged goods are different from furniture. Generic strategies fail.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring
1. "How do you handle faceted navigation and URL parameters on [my platform]?"
What to look for: Specific technical answers about canonicalization, noindex strategies, and Google Search Console parameter handling.
2. "Can you show me an ecommerce site you've taken from $X to $Y in organic revenue?"
What to look for: Specific case studies with revenue numbers, not just traffic increases.
3. "How do you optimize product pages at scale without rewriting every description manually?"
What to look for: Process for templatized optimization, programmatic SEO, and prioritization frameworks.
4. "What conversion rate optimizations do you typically implement?"
What to look for: Specific examples like trust signals, product page layout tests, mobile optimization, checkout flow improvements.
5. "How do you track and report on organic revenue attribution?"
What to look for: GA4 setup, ecommerce tracking, multi-touch attribution, cohort analysis of organic customers.