Ecommerce SEO for online stores and physical shops
A store gets found in Google through two kinds of pages: categories, for broad searches (“winter tyres”), and products, for exact ones (“winter tyres 205 55 r16”). If you also have a physical shop, there's a third door: your Google Business Profile, the map. We work on all three: we fix the structure and the product data, replace copied manufacturer descriptions with your own text, and keep your shop's profile up to date.
We don't promise page one in 30 days, and we never inflate price, stock or ratings in Google's results. Below you'll find what shoppers search for, what we actually do, the mistakes that cost stores the most, and how long it takes.
Category, exact product, shop on the map: three different searches
People looking for a product usually type one of three kinds of searches:
- broad, category searches: “winter tyres”, “fishing gear”;
- exact searches with a model, size or spec: “winter tyres 205 55 r16”;
- local searches, when they want to see it on the shelf: “fishing shop cluj”, or the name of a mall.
Google answers each one differently. Broad searches bring category pages and, often, rows of products with a photo and a price. Exact searches bring product pages, sometimes with price, stock and stars right in the result, if the page has correct structured data. Local searches bring the map, with nearby shops, opening hours and reviews.
That gives you the basic rule: categories catch broad searches, products catch exact ones, and your Google Business Profile catches people who want to walk in. A store with bare product grids and the manufacturer's descriptions usually misses all three.
Canonicals, product data and Merchant Center
In the SEO Foundation we start with structure: which categories you have, how they link to each other, and which pages get duplicated by filters and variants (colour, size, sort order). We fix what we find ourselves; we don't just hand you a list:
- canonical tags on variants and filter pages, so Google indexes one version;
- Product structured data on product pages (price, availability, reviews), matching exactly what the shopper sees;
- a sitemap and Google Search Console, so you can see which products are indexed and which aren't;
- a properly set up Google Business Profile, if you also have a physical shop;
- a list of searches worth targeting, by category and by the products with good margins.
Correct product data is also the base for Google Merchant Center, where free product listings can bring your products into the Shopping tab and regular results. For a physical shop, Merchant Center can also show what's on your shelf, in Search and on Maps; Romania is one of the eligible countries. The Merchant Center account stays in your name.
With Growth we work on content every month: big categories and best-selling products first, with your own descriptions, full specs and FAQs, then buying guides for the categories where shoppers hesitate. The Local package suits a physical shop: holiday hours, photos of the shelves and shop window, posts when new stock arrives or a season starts.
Copied descriptions, runaway filters, wrongly calculated discounts
- Manufacturer descriptions. When the same text sits on dozens of sites, Google groups the pages and shows only one, often not yours. Your own text, full specs and real photos make the difference.
- Categories with no text. A product grid doesn't answer “which one should I pick?”. A short buying guide on the category page helps both the shopper and Google.
- Filters that create thousands of URLs. Every combination of colour, size and sorting can become a separate page for Google unless canonical tags are in place.
- Structured data that doesn't match the page. Price, stock and rating in the markup must be the ones on screen, or you risk losing rich results.
Some rules come from the law, not from Google. In Romania, any announced discount must show as the previous price the lowest price applied in the last 30 days (Law 363/2007, as amended by GEO 58/2022), and the consumer protection authority (ANPC) checks it. For reviews, you must say whether and how you check that they come from real buyers, and fake reviews are banned. We don't write, filter or buy reviews. Your store's legal information (company details, the 14-day right of withdrawal) also builds trust, so we check it's easy to find. For legal compliance itself you need a lawyer; we take care of the site.
What climbs first: exact products, then categories
In the first 2–4 weeks we do the technical fixes: canonical tags, sitemap, structured data, Search Console. You'll see them in Search Console within a few weeks, as more pages indexed correctly and fewer duplicates.
Rankings usually move in 3–6 months. Products with exact searches and little competition often climb first; big categories, where you compete with stores that have years of history, take longer. A new store doesn't overtake a site with years of authority overnight, and anyone promising that isn't telling you the truth.
The monthly report shows what changed: impressions and clicks from Google for your categories and products, and for a physical shop, views, calls and visits from your Google Business Profile. We don't promise a number of sales; we show you the figures and what we'll do next.
Frequently asked questions
- My store runs on Shopify or WooCommerce. Can you work on it?
- Most of the time, yes. Both let you set canonical tags, structured data and your own category text. In the free mini audit we tell you what access we need and what can't be changed without a developer.
- I have thousands of products. Will you rewrite every description?
- Not all at once, and not in bulk. We start with the products and categories that bring in money or have clear searches, 2–4 pages a month on Growth. Mass-generated text for thousands of products does more harm than good.
- Do I need Google Merchant Center if I'm doing SEO?
- It isn't required, but it's worth it: basic listings are free and can put your products in the Shopping tab. Merchant Center must show the same prices and stock as your site, which is why we get the site's data right first. You open the account in your store's name.
- I only have a physical shop and don't sell online. Is SEO worth it?
- Yes, mostly on the map. People search for “fishing shop cluj” or the name of the mall. What matters most here is a correct Google Business Profile, with hours, real photos and replies to reviews, which is exactly what the Local package covers.
Start with a free mini audit
Send us your site's address on WhatsApp. We'll tell you what we found and where we'd start, with no obligation.