SEO advice for a service business does not map cleanly onto an e-commerce store. Different page types, different schema, different intent, different competitors. Most generic SEO checklists miss the things that actually move e-commerce rankings.
This is a focused list. 10 specific wins you can ship over the next two to four weeks on a Shopify or WooCommerce store, each one with measurable ranking impact.
1. Product Schema on Every Product Page
Product schema (JSON LD format) tells Google your page is a product, with a price, availability, brand, and reviews. Done right, it unlocks rich results in search: star ratings, price, in stock status visible in the SERPs.
For Shopify, this is partially handled by themes but needs reviewing. For WooCommerce, Rank Math or Yoast SEO add product schema automatically. Test every product URL in Google's Rich Results Test. Fix any "Error" or "Warning" findings.
2. Fix Faceted Navigation Crawl Issues
Faceted navigation (filters like size, colour, price range) creates a near infinite number of URL combinations. Without controls, Google crawls and indexes all of them, diluting your ranking power across thousands of low quality URLs.
The fix: Use rel canonical on filtered pages pointing back to the unfiltered category. Block filter parameters in robots.txt or use noindex on filter combinations. Whitelist only the filters that match real search demand (e.g. /shoes/red/ might be worth indexing, /shoes/red-large-in-stock-under-50/ is not).
3. Optimise Category Page Titles and Descriptions
Category pages are the biggest SEO opportunity on most e-commerce stores. They sit higher in the funnel than individual products and they consolidate ranking signals across all products in that category.
| Element | Best Practice |
|---|---|
| Title tag | "[Category] | [Brand]" with primary keyword, 50 to 60 characters |
| H1 | Singular, matches the search intent (e.g. "Women's Running Shoes") |
| Intro copy | 150 to 300 words above or below the product grid, with secondary keywords |
| Internal links | Link to related categories and sub categories |
4. Write Unique Product Descriptions
Using manufacturer descriptions verbatim is a huge missed opportunity. Every other retailer selling the same product has the same description. Google sees duplicate content. Rankings get split.
You do not need to rewrite every product overnight. Start with your top 50 by revenue. Rewrite the description in your own words, add use cases, target a relevant long tail keyword in each. Watch what happens over 30 to 60 days.
5. Add a Genuinely Useful FAQ Section to Top Pages
FAQ sections (with FAQ schema) on category and key product pages give you three benefits at once: covers long tail queries, eligible for featured snippets, gives shoppers reasons to stay on the page.
For each top category or product, list 5 to 8 real questions buyers ask:
- How do I choose the right size?
- How long does delivery take?
- What is the return policy?
- Is this suitable for [specific use case]?
6. Image SEO Done Properly
Image search drives a meaningful percentage of e-commerce traffic that almost nobody optimises for. Three things to do for every product image:
- Descriptive file names (red-leather-handbag-tan-strap.jpg, not IMG_4521.jpg)
- Alt text that describes the product in detail
- Compressed to WebP or AVIF format, under 100KB ideally
7. Speed Up the Product Page
Speed matters more for e-commerce than any other category. Bounce rate on product pages is brutal if load time is over 3 seconds. For Shopify, the killers are usually:
- Apps that inject scripts on every page (audit and remove unused apps)
- Custom liquid loops that fetch external data
- Heavy hero images on the homepage that aren't compressed
For WooCommerce, the killers are usually:
- Cart fragments AJAX calls on every page (disable on non cart pages)
- Bloated themes (consider a fast theme like Astra or GeneratePress)
- Too many plugins, especially analytics and tracking plugins
8. Build Out Buying Guides as Blog Content
Buying guides target the upper funnel queries that lead to commercial intent. "Best running shoes for flat feet" is a query someone in market is searching, but they are not yet on a specific product.
For each major category, build:
- A buying guide ("How to choose [category]")
- A best of post ("Best [category] for [use case] in 2026")
- Comparison posts ("[Product A] vs [Product B]")
Internally link these to your relevant category and product pages. Each becomes a feeder into commercial pages.
9. Get Reviews Pulling From a Trusted Source
Reviews matter for both conversion and SEO. The reviews should:
- Pull from a trusted aggregator (Trustpilot, Feefo, Yotpo, Reviews.io)
- Display on the product page with schema markup so star ratings show in search results
- Be plentiful: at least 10 reviews per product on bestsellers
Important: Use Product review schema, not Aggregate review schema on the wrong type of page. Misuse can trigger Google penalties. If you use Trustpilot, install their official Shopify or WordPress widget which handles schema correctly.
10. Fix Out of Stock Page Handling
When a product is permanently out of stock, what does the URL do? Three options, in order of preference:
- Permanent: 301 redirect to the nearest equivalent product or category
- Temporarily out of stock: Keep the page live, add "Notify when back in stock" form, mark as schema OutOfStock
- 404 the URL only as a last resort. You lose any backlinks and ranking authority
Bonus: Watch for Cannibalisation
Cannibalisation happens when two pages on your site compete for the same keyword and Google does not know which to rank. Common on e-commerce stores between a category page and a closely related buying guide.
Audit your top 30 commercial keywords in Search Console. Filter to that query, check the pages tab. If two pages are appearing, decide which one you want to rank and adjust the other (deindex, internal link consolidation, or merge content).
Where to Start
Pick the three wins that map to the biggest revenue categories on your store. Ship them in week one. Repeat for the next category in week two. Most e-commerce stores can move category rankings noticeably in 60 days by working through this list. We run e-commerce SEO programmes for Shopify and WooCommerce stores. If you would like a free audit against the 10 wins above, just ask.
Brett Dixon
Founder & Managing Director of DPOM. Brett founded DPOM nearly 15 years ago after a career in marketing working with Harvey Nichols, BBC Top Gear, Formula One circuits, and UK Trade and Investment. His passion became helping smaller businesses grow, with honest advice, no jargon, and realistic expectations.
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