Effective positioning of an online store
How does SEO affect e-commerce success?
Author
Piotr Nadolny
Running an online business is a constant fight for customer attention, and an online store that is not visible online loses its sales potential.
Online store positioning (SEO) is a process that allows your website to appear where customers are looking for it – in the search engine.
What is online store positioning and why is it so important for e-commerce?
Online store positioning is a series of activities aimed at increasing the website’s visibility in search results for key phrases related to the offer. For the e-commerce industry, it is the foundation of internet marketing.
Users trust the Google search engine (research confirms this). Therefore, if your online store is located in distant positions (e.g. beyond the first page of search results), you lose the opportunity to reach people who are actually interested in purchasing. SEO allows you to systematically build your brand’s visibility online and attract new customers.
75%
users never go to the second page of search results
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/google-search-statistics
about 55%
all clicks - this is how many the first 3 search results (TOP3) take
Source: https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats
The positioning process is not a one-off – it requires continuous work and adaptation to algorithms. Effective positioning of an online store translates into organic traffic, which is very valuable because it attracts users actively looking for a solution to a problem or a specific product.
Good SEO in e-commerce builds trust – a high position in the Google search engine is identified by customers with the credibility and popularity of a given online store.
What should an effective SEO strategy for e-commerce look like?
Each online store requires an individual approach, which is why the SEO strategy must be tailor-made. It is not enough to saturate the text with keywords.
The comprehensive approach includes on-site (on the website) and off-site (beyond it) activities. SEO for e-commerce is the synergy of technology, content and domain authority. Taking this into account, the strategy must take into account the specificity of the industry, sales seasons and the behavior of the target group.
An important element of the strategy is to understand that the positioning of an online store brings results in the long run. When planning activities, you should take into account, among others: expansion/reconstruction of the category structure, optimization of product cards or the company blog. An optimal strategy not only allows you to attract traffic, but also retain the user, which translates into a greater chance of conversion. It is precisely thought-out SEO activities that determine whether an online store will become a leader in its niche.
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Why is an SEO audit the first step to optimizing an online store?
Before you start any activities, you need to know where your online store is located. An SEO audit is a detailed analysis of the website in terms of technical and substantive aspects.
It allows you to identify errors that block the page from being indexed or lower its position. Auditing websites in the e-commerce industry is particularly complicated due to the large number of subpages and products, which is why it often requires the use of specialized tools.
A well-conducted audit indicates areas for improvement – from the structure of URL addresses, through 404 errors, to content duplication. The audit results are the basis for further optimization of the online store. Without this diagnosis, store positioning would be blind work. The audit allows you to assess the condition of the domain and plan a schedule for repair work.
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How to choose keywords to increase your store's visibility?
Keywords are the bridge connecting the customer with your offer. For your online store to be visible, you need to know what users are typing into the search engine.
The selection of phrases cannot be random. You can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner to find phrases with high sales potential. Both general phrases and the so-called long tail, which are more precise and often generate better conversions despite the lower number of searches.
Before the analysis process, you should:
- specify the industry in which the store operates,
- determine which products are high-margin and provide the greatest benefit,
- determine the categories that are most favorable in terms of demand,
- check product availability
With such knowledge, you can perform a precise analysis and use the full potential of the store’s offer. Additionally, the information will allow for more effective targeting of potential Google Ads and Meta Ads advertising campaigns.
How do content creation and product descriptions affect positioning?
In the world of SEO, content is king, and in e-commerce, unique product descriptions are king. Copying descriptions from the manufacturer is a common mistake, which leads to duplicate content and indirectly reduces the visibility of the online store (lack of distinctive elements).
Better product content can increase sales by up to 78%
Creating high-quality content that answers user questions and includes relevant keywords is essential.
What do we mean by “high quality”:
Content uniqueness
makes you stand out from the competition and better present your offer,
Response to the potential customer's intention
Content copied from the manufacturer of a given product most often does not answer all inquiries of potential customers
Appropriate content presentation
product descriptions should be formatted and presented in accordance with the principles of UI (user interface) and UX (user experience)
These 3 pillars will help you build trust in the eyes of your customers and contribute to higher positions.
In addition to product descriptions, it is worth investing in content marketing, including: running an advice blog. Expert articles build authority and attract traffic to information/guide phrases. This strategy supports positioning, providing substantive value for customers, building the image of an expert and increasing the time spent on the website. Content that actually solves users’ problems gains in the eyes of both customers and algorithms.
Technical optimization of an online store – what should you pay attention to?
Technical aspects of SEO have a huge impact on how an online store is rated by Google.
The most important elements are:
Page loading speed
if an online store is slow, they will leave. Loading speed is an official ranking factor that affects your positions in search results.
Responsiveness
a large part of e-commerce traffic is generated on mobile devices. Optimizing your store for mobile (Mobile First Index) is a must.
Correct page structure
we are talking about structured data, sitemap, robots.txt file and Crawl Budget. Clean website code makes it easier for search engine robots to scan and index content, which directly translates into better positioning.
How does acquiring links affect the authority of your store?
Link building, i.e. obtaining links from other websites, is still one of the most important pillars of positioning. Backlinks act as popularity signals on the internet. The more valuable links leading to your online store, the higher the domain authority in Google’s eyes.
Please remember that it is quality, not quantity, that counts – links from low-quality sites, e.g. spammy, may lower your rankings.
The link acquisition strategy should be diversified. They can be obtained through sponsored articles or cooperation with bloggers. It is important that your link profile looks natural. A strong link profile helps you get ahead of the competition and stabilizes high positions in search results.
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How do AIO and LLM models change the approach to store positioning?
Traditional SEO is evolving towards AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimization), i.e. optimization for artificial intelligence.
With the development of language models (LLM) such as Google AI Overviews, Gemini and ChatGPT, users are increasingly looking for answers in a conversational mode, and not just by searching through keywords.
This means a revolution for the e-commerce industry – your online store must be prepared to be recommended not only by the Google algorithm, but also by AI virtual assistants that synthesize information from many sources.
To be visible to LLM models, content creation must be based on authority and accurate data.
AI robots “like”:
- clear content structure,
- specific answers to users' questions (e.g. purpose of the product),
- structured data.
Optimizing your store for AIO means ensuring that product descriptions and guides are substantive and easy to interpret by a machine. If AI considers your content to be the most valuable, the online store will be displayed as a direct source of responses (e.g. in Google AI Overviews), which can generate very high website traffic and sales.
Competition analysis - what does the market teach us about positioning?
In e-commerce, you don’t operate in a vacuum. Your competition is also investing in online store SEO.
The analysis allows you to understand what strategies your rivals are using, what words they are positioning for and where they are getting links from. This form of analysis allows you to assess what your e-commerce is missing.
By observing industry leaders, you can learn how they structure product pages, what activities they do and what their category structure looks like. This is a valuable source of knowledge that allows you to avoid mistakes and achieve the intended results faster.
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Do Google My Business and local SEO activities make sense in e-commerce?
A Google My Business card increases the company’s credibility and allows it to be displayed on Google maps.
For many customers, the company’s physical address is confirmation that the online store is a real, safe business. Additionally, local SEO can support sales if you offer curbside pickup.
Your Google business card is also a place for customer opinions, which have a huge impact on the purchasing decisions of others. Positive reviews build trust in the online store.
93%
users admit that online opinions influence their purchasing decisions
Source: https://www.podium.com/article/online-reviews-statistics/
How to measure the effects of online store positioning?
Online store positioning is a data-driven process. To assess effectiveness you need:
Google Search Console
Google’s service allows you to monitor visits only from organic search results. Therefore, you can obtain information about the number of visits to the store, click-through and impression rates, and the number of visits to specific subpages.
Google Search Console
the service allows you to track website traffic, user behavior and conversions.
Analysis of this data allows you to optimize your strategy on an ongoing basis.
What is worth monitoring?
- number of entries from organic results,
- average position of phrases,
- revenue generated from the organic channel.
Remember that the cost of positioning an online store should be returned in the form of increased sales. Regular reporting and analysis of results allow you to check whether the online store is going in the right direction and whether SEO activities are beneficial.
What is the cost of store positioning?
The topic of online store positioning costs is very complex.
It is worth mentioning that compared to other forms of business promotion, such as Google Ads campaigns or social media advertising, the cost of acquiring a customer from Google’s free search results is among the lowest.
The final cost of the service is influenced by the following factors:
Store size
the greater the number of categories and products offered, the more subpages require thorough analysis and optimization.
Industry and competition
a large number of market rivals, especially those actively investing in SEO activities, significantly increases the level of difficulty.
Link building and content creation
the costs of obtaining links and creating high-quality texts increase in proportion to the competitiveness of a given industry.
The current state of the site
the starting point is the current visibility of your store in organic search results and its initial technical condition in terms of SEO.
When you plan a budget for positioning, you should treat it as a long-term investment – professionally conducted SEO activities generate organic traffic that works for your store’s profits 24 hours a day, without the need to constantly add funds in the form of advertising budgets.
How long does it take to position an online store?
Compared to paid Google Ads campaigns, positioning is a much more time-consuming process. It requires patience and iron consistency.
The first noticeable changes in the store’s visibility usually appear between the 3rd and 6th month after the start of work. In turn, you can count on a real increase in revenues after a few or even a dozen or so months, depending on the initial condition and initial visibility of the website.
The pace of achieving the expected results is influenced by a number of factors, such as the age of the domain, the history of the store (including possible malware infections or errors in the page structure), the profile of external links, the general technical condition of the platform and the scale of competition in a given industry.
Importantly, once established positions may turn out to be extremely durable, but only if regularly, carefully planned optimization is carried out. The industry saying is clear: SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
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Summary - what is worth remembering?
- An online store without SEO is invisible to most customers,
- A comprehensive SEO audit allows you to detect errors and plan store optimization.
- The selection of keywords and the creation of high-quality content (category and product descriptions, blog) directly affect the website's position.
- Technical elements of the store, such as loading speed and adaptation to mobile devices, are critical to the success of the website in search results.
- Acquiring valuable links builds domain authority and helps you get ahead of the competition.
- Regular analytics (Google Analytics, Search Console) are necessary to measure the effectiveness and profitability of online store positioning.
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Author
Piotr Nadolny
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