SEO for online stores: which improvements really matter?

A store can be technically accessible yet visible in the wrong places. A guide attracts visitors while the relevant product group is rarely found. Or there are countless filter URLs, but no clear page for a frequently searched selection. That is why we do not treat SEO as a list of as many individual activities as possible.

What order do we recommend when getting started?

• Select the parts of your range that truly matter to your business.
• Check that the relevant pages are accessible and indexed.
• Match search queries to a suitable category, product page or buying guide.
• Improve structure and content where you identify a specific need.
• Later, review search traffic and business results together.

This is our editorial recommendation for planning, not a rigid set of Google rules. If a key category has accidentally been excluded from indexing, correcting that takes priority over writing new guides. In a technically sound store, missing buying advice may be the more urgent issue.

Why are categories more than a product list?

A category should make a product range easy to understand. Which products belong here? Which differences matter? Which subgroup leads to the intended use? Google recommends a linked hierarchy from categories to subcategories and products. Products should not be accessible only through internal search. Google’s guidance on store navigation.

For example, someone searching for work gloves for a particular task needs selection criteria and suitable products. A long general text about the history of gloves is of little help. Be specific about uses, differences and limitations, where you have the expertise to support those statements. Put important buying advice where customers need it when choosing.

Which filter pages should Google be able to find?

Not every combination of size, colour, price and sorting needs its own search landing page. Faceted navigation can generate large numbers of URLs and consume crawling resources. Decide which combinations offer distinct value. Google describes several technical ways to control this; the approach must suit the individual website. Faceted navigation documentation.

We would not apply these rules blindly to every filter. First check which URLs already bring visitors and whether a useful landing page will remain. robots.txt, noindex and canonical tags serve different purposes. For example, a URL blocked from crawling cannot also be reliably controlled by a noindex directive that is only visible when it is fetched.

What should product descriptions achieve?

They should answer questions that basic product data leaves open: what is the item suitable for, what is it compatible with, what is included, and what are its limitations? In B2B, packaging units, technical specifications and operating conditions may be decisive. Use questions from sales and support rather than describing every product with interchangeable adjectives.

For sjmedia, collaboration with the retailer is essential here. We can handle structure and technical implementation; reliable statements about applications must come from sound product knowledge. AI-generated text does not replace this review. Read more about improving product pages with the right information.

Does a poorly performing store need a new platform?

Not automatically. In a B2B project described by Jochen Schmid, poor performance had prompted discussion of moving from PrestaShop to Shopify. After a PrestaShop update and a move from shared hosting to a managed server, he reported that the store was fast again. Because both changes were made, the effect of either measure cannot be isolated.

This example does not demonstrate an SEO improvement; we have no measurement data here to support that. It does illustrate our approach: listen first, assess the current situation and explore the available options. We mainly work with PrestaShop, but do not judge a problem by the platform name alone.

How does this work help with AI search results?

Clear answers and unambiguous product information make content easier to use. The usual SEO principles apply to Google AI Overviews and AI Mode; Google does not require a special AI file or specific schema. A page needs to be indexed and eligible for a search snippet. Inclusion is still not guaranteed. Google’s guidance on AI features.

In our knowledge articles, we therefore distinguish vendor facts, our own recommendations and supported project experience. We identify the people responsible for the content and link to relevant detail. This helps readers assess and understand the answers. It is not a promise that ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude will recommend sjmedia.

What is a useful first step?

Take one important category and review the whole journey: search query, landing page, product selection and order. Record where information is missing or technology gets in the way. This often produces a far more useful first task than a general ambition to “do more SEO”.