SEO for an online store: categories, product pages, filters
A store has hundreds or thousands of pages and they cannot be optimised by hand. So SEO for an online store is first of all work on structure and templates, not on individual texts. Here is what produces results and where traffic is usually lost.
A store's main traffic goes to categories, not product cards: categories gather the high-volume queries and do not disappear along with a product. The three technical priorities are closing off duplicates from filters and sorting, speeding up the catalogue, and not losing pages for out-of-stock items. Product cards are optimised for exact queries with the model and part number.
In this article7 sections
Where the main traffic sits in a store
Contrary to expectations, the money comes not from the home page or product pages but from category and subcategory pages.
| Page type | Example query | Share of traffic | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | «buy a kitchen tap» | The main one | High |
| Filtered category | «black taps» | Significant | High |
| Product page | «Grohe 32843 tap» | Targeted but converting | Medium |
| Informational articles | «how to choose a tap» | Top of the funnel | Medium |
| Home page | «store name» | Small | Low |
If the budget is limited, start with the 10–20 categories that bring the most money. Optimising thousands of product pages while categories are unoptimised is doing things in the wrong order.
Catalogue structure
The structure must mirror how people search, not how it is convenient to keep accounts. A common mistake is arranging products by internal codes or by supplier.
- Every demand group from your keyword research needs its own page.
- No more than three or four levels deep: any product within 3–4 clicks of the home page.
- Category names in customers' words: «shower cabins», not «sanitary equipment group 4».
- Readable, logically nested addresses: /bathroom/taps/kitchen/.
Filters: the main source of both traffic and trouble
Filters generate thousands of addresses automatically. Some of them are gold, some are junk that clogs the index.
The rule is simple: if people search for a filter combination, that page should be open to indexing with its own heading and description. If they do not, it should be closed.
| Combination | Is there demand | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| «black taps» | Yes | Open it, give it its own heading and text |
| «Grohe taps» | Yes | Open as a brand page within the category |
| «black Grohe taps 12000–14000 in stock» | No | Close from indexing |
| Sort by price | No | Close, this is not a separate page |
Without this work a store ends up with tens of thousands of near-identical pages in the index and a search engine that cannot tell which to show.
Category text
Text in a category is needed, but not the kind written «for robots» in grey type below the products. The version that works answers the questions that come up while choosing.
- A short block at the top: what is here, how the options differ, what to look at.
- Answers to common questions about this group of products.
- Delivery and returns terms — the things that actually affect the decision.
- Links to subcategories and related sections.
Length: 300–600 words. More than that usually gets in the way in a category: the person came to look at products, not to read.
Product pages
The main problem with product pages is identical supplier descriptions. Thousands of stores publish the same text and the search engine picks one of them, usually not yours.
- Make the important ones uniqueAt least for your bestsellers: your own text, your own photos, your own specifications.
- Add what the supplier does not haveReviews, customer questions, photos in real use, comparison with similar items.
- Fill in the specificationsThey help the person and give the search engine structured information.
- Add product markupPrice, availability, rating — this appears directly in search results and raises clicks.
- Decide what happens to discontinued itemsDo not delete the page; show alternatives instead, or the accumulated positions are lost.
Technical specifics of stores
- Speed. A catalogue with a hundred products per page and no proper image loading is the classic cause of a slow site.
- Pagination. Listing pages must be linked correctly, otherwise products on later pages never get indexed.
- Products duplicated across categories. One product available at several addresses needs a canonical.
- In-stock and out-of-stock items. Mass disappearance of pages hits traffic harder than it seems.
- The mobile catalogue. Filters on a phone are a separate and often failed story.
Where to start if the store is large
- Do keyword research by category rather than by product.
- Check that every demand group has its own page.
- Sort out the filters: what to open, what to close.
- Fully optimise the 10–20 highest-earning categories.
- Set up heading and description templates for the rest.
- Work on the bestseller product pages.
- And only then do the bulk work across the catalogue.
Frequent questions
Does every category need text?
The priority ones, yes; small ones only need a templated heading and description. Text for the sake of text across a hundred categories delivers nothing and costs a lot.
What should we do with products that are gone for good?
Do not silently delete the page. Show that the item is unavailable, offer alternatives, and when it is withdrawn entirely, redirect to the category. That preserves accumulated positions and does not serve people a 404.
Do reviews on product pages help?
Yes, on three fronts at once: they add unique text, raise buyer trust and allow a rating to be shown in search results.
We sell on a marketplace — do we need our own site?
If you want to be independent of the platform's rules and commission, yes. A marketplace brings sales but not an asset: the audience, the history and the customer data stay with the platform.
How should seasonal products be handled?
Do not delete or hide the pages after the season. Leave them with a note about delivery times and a suggestion of something similar — the accumulated positions carry over to the next season.
Does an online store need a blog?
It helps where people research before buying: electronics, building materials, equipment. For everyday items the money is better spent on categories and product pages.
The materials answer general questions. We will look at your specific case — free and without obligation.