E-Commerce SEO Guide
Product Page Checklist
- Unique, descriptive title tag: Primary KW + Product Name + Brand (50-60 chars)
- Unique meta description with CTA (120-155 chars)
- Unique product description (avoid manufacturer copy)
- Target long-tail keywords in H1 and description
- User-generated reviews content for freshness signals
- Product schema markup (price, availability, reviews)
- Breadcrumb navigation with schema
- High-quality product images with descriptive alt text
- Video content where possible
- Related products / cross-sells for internal linking
- Clear canonical URL to handle URL parameter variants
- Out-of-stock products: keep page, add notify or show alternatives
Category Page Checklist
- Target head keyword in title: "Buy [Category] | [Brand]"
- Add unique introductory text (100-300 words) above product grid
- Add FAQs at bottom of page with FAQ schema
- Use H2/H3 for subcategories within page
- Canonical to the first page for paginated categories
- Breadcrumbs with schema markup
- Optimized filter/sort URL handling
Faceted Navigation Handling
| Scenario | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Color/size filters | Use canonical to category page; noindex filter pages |
| Valuable facet combinations (e.g., "red dresses") | Create dedicated landing page with unique content |
| Pagination | rel=canonical to page 1 or individual canonicals per page |
| Sort order URLs | Canonical to default sorted page; noindex or disallow sort params |
| Multiple filter selections | Block in robots.txt or noindex |
URL Structure Best Practices
# Good URL structure
/category/subcategory/product-name
/clothing/dresses/red-floral-midi-dress
# Avoid deep nesting
/category/sub1/sub2/sub3/sub4/product # too deep
# Handle parameters
/dresses?color=red&size=M # canonical to /dresses/red
/dresses?sort=price&page=2 # canonical to /dresses
# Seasonal products
/sale/summer-dresses # better than /?cat=12&promo=summer