I recently worked on an eCommerce SEO framework to boost traffic during Q4, and the results were impressive. With a systematic approach, I helped a DTC brand reach 218.72K clicks from Google to their site. Here’s the 11-step process I followed, and I’ll break it down so you can apply it to your own strategy:
1. Learn the Intent Behind Your Query
The first step is understanding the user intent behind the search queries. Every query has an intent: informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial. I spent time analyzing my target queries, identifying what kind of response users were looking for. This allowed me to tailor content to match their needs. The key is not just ranking for keywords but ensuring those keywords align with what users are seeking.
2. Audit Google Properties
Google properties, like Google Shopping, Merchant Center, and even YouTube, play a significant role in eCommerce visibility. I audited each property to understand how our products were being shown. This included checking how product feeds were being displayed, reviewing errors in Google Merchant Center, and looking at performance in Google Shopping ads. This insight gave me a full picture of how our product listings performed across different search avenues.
3. Audit Competitor Templates & Attributes
Next, I turned my attention to competitors. I analyzed their Product Display Pages (PDPs) for SEO attributes—meta descriptions, schema markup, image optimization, and other elements. Comparing their templates to ours, I identified gaps where we could improve. This isn’t about copying but seeing what works in your niche and adopting best practices to outrank them.
4. Look for Holes in Your PDP
After studying competitors, I did an internal audit of our own PDPs. This involved checking for things like incomplete product data, weak content descriptions, or missing technical elements like alt text and meta tags. I found areas where we were underserving search engines or failing to meet user expectations, and I worked to fill those holes.
5. Update Your PDPs for Search
With the audit complete, I started optimizing our PDPs. This meant refining product titles, using high-quality images, adding detailed descriptions, and ensuring each page was enriched with relevant keywords. I also implemented structured data (schema markup) to help Google understand the content of our pages better, resulting in better rankings in organic search results.
6. Feed Merchant Center Your Product Data
Google Merchant Center acts as a middleman between your product data and Google’s platforms like Shopping and Ads. I focused on cleaning up our product feeds, ensuring accurate and complete data for each product. Every attribute matters—product ID, title, description, GTIN, and pricing. This step helped in optimizing how Google Shopping and other properties displayed our products.
7. Let Google Systems Update
Once I made these updates, I gave Google’s systems time to process the changes. Whether it’s crawling new product information or adjusting Merchant Center feeds, allowing time for updates is essential. This stage isn’t active but necessary for things like indexing and updating product listings.
8. Create Annotations
I always keep track of significant changes with annotations in Google Analytics or any other tracking software. By marking when and where I made changes, I can track the exact impact of optimizations. This helps later when analyzing traffic patterns and determining which actions led to positive outcomes.
9. Revisit Your Queries
Once Google systems have updated, I revisit the initial queries I was targeting. Did my pages improve in ranking? How have click-through rates changed? I refine my strategy based on this data, often tweaking content or meta details to further align with user intent and search trends.
10. Revisit Merchant Data
Similarly, I go back and check the product data in Google Merchant Center. Did the feeds update correctly? Are there new errors or warnings? Keeping your Merchant Center data clean and updated is crucial for getting visibility in Google Shopping and Ads. If any issues persist, I address them right away.
11. Look for Free Listings Click Increase
Finally, I take a closer look at free product listings on Google. These are often underutilized, but they can drive significant traffic. By optimizing product data and PDPs, I’ve seen free listings gain more clicks over time. Monitoring these and ensuring they’re updated is an easy win for increasing organic traffic without additional cost.
Boosting Clicks Beyond Organic Listings
Once your eCommerce SEO strategy is in place, it’s time to ask yourself (or your SEO team) where else you can increase clicks. Organic listings are great, but there’s a whole ecosystem to explore. Here are some additional avenues I leveraged:
- YouTube: Product reviews, tutorials, and unboxings are an excellent way to drive traffic from YouTube to your product pages. Optimize your video content with relevant keywords and CTAs that direct users to your site.
Why am I stating YouTube here? Because it’s not just a video-sharing platform, it is an invaluable tool in any SEO strategy as it is a powerful search engine in itself. You can use it to create product reviews which people will see and watch your products in action. Then you can create how-to tutorials to establish authority and tell people you know your stuff. Just for a feel good thingy – believe me it’s huge on YouTube – you can create unboxing videos. Trust me, you will find all those views moving further down the sales funnel.
For instance, I helped a client in the beauty niche create a series of tutorial videos showcasing how to use their products. In each video, we made sure to use keywords that matched the search terms potential customers were likely using, and we included strong CTAs directing viewers to the product pages. Over time, we saw a significant uptick in referral traffic coming from YouTube—these weren’t just views, but engaged clicks that led to purchases.
Well-optimized video descriptions, titles, and even closed captions help videos rank both on YouTube and Google search. YouTube videos frequently appear as rich results on Google, which means you’re giving your brand more opportunities to be discovered. Plus, since videos naturally keep users on the page longer, they indirectly boost engagement metrics, which can also improve your overall SEO performance.
- Google Shopping: Google Shopping ads are key for product visibility. I focused on ensuring my product data was complete and accurate, making our products more likely to show up in relevant searches.
Google Shopping is another essential component in the eCommerce landscape, and I’ve found it to be one of the most effective ways to boost clicks beyond traditional search. When I started working with a fashion retailer, we made it a priority to ensure that every single product had complete and accurate data in Google Merchant Center. This involved ensuring that product IDs, descriptions, images, and prices were all aligned with Google’s requirements.
One issue we identified early on was incomplete product data—certain attributes like GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers) and detailed product descriptions were missing. Fixing this was a game-changer. After feeding the correct data into the Merchant Center, we saw a noticeable increase in product visibility, which led to more clicks from Shopping ads and organic Shopping listings alike.
- Google My Business: I explored Google My Business for local product visibility and used dynamic remarketing ads to capture users who’d previously interacted with our site.
To attract traffic from people around you, I recommend Google My Business (GMB) as your perfect tool for local SEO. This beauty gets you on the map which in turn brings traffic on your website and even increases local foot traffic as people will know where your physical store is located. It will also increase the space you get on the search results as GMB listings show up on Google Maps.
No More 10 Blue Links
Search isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days when the goal was to rank in the traditional 10 blue links. Today, we’re working in a more dynamic environment, where searchers may encounter product carousels, featured snippets, and rich results before they even see an organic listing.
When I implemented this framework for a DTC brand, it led to significant results—218.72K clicks directly from Google. That success was driven by focusing on holistic SEO that included optimizing for Google’s various systems, not just traditional organic search.
Are You Ranking Your Products for Clicks?
At the end of the day, traffic is one thing, but clicks are another. Ask yourself: Are your products positioned to get clicks, not just impressions? By following this eCommerce SEO SOP, you’re not just aiming for rankings; you’re setting up your products to succeed in an evolving digital marketplace. Implement these steps, and you’ll see how search can work for you, delivering results that go beyond a few blue links.
+971 582 871635
+971 582 871635