Ecommerce SEO checklist, in order of impact
Most ecommerce SEO checklists are a flat list of thirty things with no order. This one is ordered by impact, and every item says how to check it.
Last updated
Quick answer
An ecommerce SEO checklist should start with indexation (can Google find and keep the right pages?), then crawl waste from filters and pagination, then duplication, then the category and product templates, and only then speed, content and links. Work through it in that order, because each step depends on the one before.
Key takeaways
- Check indexation first. Nothing else matters if the right pages aren't indexed.
- Filters, sorting and pagination are where most stores waste crawling.
- Check templates, not individual pages: one fix applies to thousands.
- Re-run the indexation checks monthly; the rest when something changes.
How to use this checklist
Each group below is a table: the check, how to do it with free tools (mostly Google Search Console and your browser), and what good looks like. Work top to bottom. A store with indexation problems gains nothing from faster product pages.
1. Indexation: can Google find and keep the right pages?
| Check | How to check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Indexed pages match the pages you want indexed | Search Console, page indexing report | The counts are close and you can explain any gap |
| Important pages aren't blocked | URL Inspection on a sample of category and product URLs | "URL is on Google" for each |
| Sitemap lists only canonical URLs | Open the sitemap; check a sample against each page's canonical tag | No filtered, sorted or redirected URLs in the sitemap |
| Every product you want indexed is linked | Click through categories from the homepage | Each product is reachable through normal links |
| Empty categories are handled | Find categories with no products | Google recommends a noindex tag on categories with no items |
2. Crawl waste: filters, sorting and pagination
| Check | How to check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Filter combinations are kept out of crawling | Look at robots.txt and the URLs filters create | Filter parameters disallowed, except the few built as real pages |
| Empty filter results return a 404 | Pick a combination with no products and check the status code | A 404, not an empty page returning 200 |
| Filter order is consistent | Apply filters in different orders and compare URLs | Same filters always produce the same URL |
| Paginated pages have their own URLs | Open page two of a large category | A unique URL, linked from page one, not canonicalised to page one |
| Content doesn't rely on URL fragments | Look for # in category or filter URLs | Indexable content never sits behind a fragment |
3. Duplication and cannibalisation
| Check | How to check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| One URL per product | Reach the same product through two categories and compare URLs | One URL, or every path canonicalised to it |
| Variants handled deliberately | Check how size and colour change the URL | A separate URL only where variants are searched for |
| Categories don't compete | Search Console: queries where two category URLs both get impressions | One clear page per search |
| Same URL used everywhere | Compare internal links, sitemap and canonical tags | Google asks for the same URL in all three |
4. Category templates
| Check | How to check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Title and H1 match the search | Compare with the keyword the category targets | The product type people search for, in their words |
| Useful copy on the page | Read the category page as a shopper | A short introduction that helps choose, not filler |
| Products linked with normal links | View the page source | Product links are <a href> links in the HTML |
| Breadcrumbs | Look at the page and its structured data | Visible breadcrumbs that reflect the category path |
5. Product templates
| Check | How to check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Unique titles and descriptions | Crawl the store and look for duplicates | Each product's title names the product and its key attribute |
| Product structured data is valid | Google's Rich Results Test on several products | No critical errors; price and availability correct |
| Specifications are text | View the page source | Sizes, materials and dimensions in the HTML, not only in images |
| Images have alt text | Inspect the product images | Alt text describes the product shown |
6. Stock and product lifecycle
| Check | How to check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Out-of-stock pages stay live | Open a product that's out of stock | Page live, status shown, still indexable |
| Discontinued products redirect sensibly | Check a few removed product URLs | A 301 to a replacement or the closest category |
| No soft 404s | Search Console, page indexing report | No product or category pages flagged as soft 404 |
| No mass redirects to the homepage | Check old product URLs in bulk | Each goes somewhere relevant |
7. Speed on the templates that carry traffic
Check speed on the templates, not the homepage: a category page and a product page from each main section. Search Console's Core Web Vitals report groups similar URLs together, which matches how templates work. Core Web Vitals explained covers what each metric measures.
8. Content and links, once the structure holds
- Buying guides for the questions shoppers ask before choosing, each linking to the category it supports.
- Hand-written content on the products and categories that drive most revenue.
- Links from relevant sites earned through useful content, suppliers, and genuine coverage.
9. Platform notes
- Shopify: products can be reached through collection paths as well as their own URL, and the platform canonicalises them to the product URL. Check that theme links use the canonical product URL. See the Shopify SEO guide.
- WooCommerce: attribute archives and tag pages can create thin, indexable pages. Decide which should exist.
- Any platform: check what an app or plugin adds to the page, such as extra URLs or duplicate structured data.
How often to re-run each group
| Group | How often |
|---|---|
| Indexation | Monthly, because counts drift as the catalogue changes |
| Crawl waste and duplication | Quarterly, and after adding filters or apps |
| Category and product templates | When the theme or template changes |
| Stock and lifecycle | Monthly in a fast-moving catalogue |
| Speed | After theme or app changes, and quarterly |
Three things this checklist leaves out on purpose: using robots.txt to keep pages out of the index (it doesn't), adding rel="next"/"prev" (Google no longer uses them) and setting sitemap priority values (Google ignores them).
Common questions
What should an ecommerce SEO checklist include?
Indexation, crawl waste from filters and pagination, duplication, category and product templates, stock handling, speed on key templates, and then content and links, in that order.
Should filter pages be indexed?
Most shouldn't. Keep filter combinations out of crawling, and build the few that people search for, such as a brand within a category, as proper pages.
How should I handle product variants?
Give a variant its own URL only when people search for it specifically, such as a colour. Otherwise keep variants on one product URL. Google asks that each variant you want understood can be identified by a separate URL.
Do I need product structured data on every product page?
On every product you want to appear with price and availability in Google, yes. Validate it with Google's Rich Results Test, and keep it in step with the visible page.
How often should I run this checklist?
The indexation counts monthly, because they drift as the catalogue changes. The template checks only when something changes. Re-running a full audit every month mostly produces reports nobody reads.
Is the checklist different on Shopify and WooCommerce?
The checks are the same; the defaults differ. Shopify fixes much of the URL structure, while WooCommerce depends more on the theme and plugins, so more of the checks find problems there.
Where to next
If you would rather have someone do this than read about it, the commercial page for this work is Ecommerce SEO audit.
All guides Ecommerce SEO guideTechnical SEO guideShopify SEO guide