Ecommerce SEO: how to structure categories, product pages and landing pages

In an online shop, SEO is not about optimising one page, but a system of categories, products and content that Google can understand and that answers what people search for.

1. Architecture: simple and deep

A typical structure:

• Homepage → categories → subcategories → products.
• All important pages a few clicks from the homepage.
• Breadcrumbs on all inner pages.

Categories are the pages with the most potential: they capture generic searches (“coffee beans”, “tower fans”) with far more demand than an individual product.

2. Optimise category pages

• Title and H1 with the main keyword.
• A short introductory text at the top and, if needed, a fuller text below with buying tips and FAQs.
• Links to subcategories and featured products.
• Avoid giving them just a product list with no supporting content.

3. Optimise product pages

• Unique title with brand, model and differentiating feature.
• An original description, not copied from the supplier. It is the most widespread mistake and it is penalised.
• Quality photos with descriptive alt text.
• Product structured data (price, availability, real reviews).
• Product FAQs, measurements, compatibilities and warranty.
• Related and complementary products for internal linking.

4. Filters and parameters

Filters create many near-duplicate URLs. Decide which combinations deserve indexing (for example “women’s running shoes”) and block or canonicalise the rest so you do not waste crawl budget.

5. Out-of-stock or discontinued products

• If stock returns: keep the page with an availability notice.
• If it will not return: 301-redirect to the closest alternative or category.
• Do not leave hundreds of empty pages returning errors.

6. Landing pages for specific audiences or areas

When you sell to different audiences (by origin, province or type of customer), a specific page for each with its own content can attract very specific searches. They must provide real value (lead times, prices, local conditions), not be clones with a changed name.

7. Content that attracts and converts

• Buying guides and comparisons.
• Answers to the most frequent questions.
• Seasonal content (campaigns, key dates).
• All linked to the related categories and products.

8. Speed and experience

• Optimised images and lazy loading.
• Simple checkout, with no unnecessary compulsory registration.
• A fast mobile site: it is where most purchases are decided.

9. Measure what matters

• Organic traffic to categories and products.
• Conversions from that traffic.
• Queries that bring impressions but few clicks (an opportunity to improve the title).

A real example

In an international shop with a large catalogue, we combined optimised categories, landing pages by province and by country of origin and complete measurement. You can see how we approached it in the La Family Shop case study.

Want us to review your shop’s structure? Let’s talk about SEO.