Key Takeaways
- Prioritize products based on revenue, margins, conversions, and search opportunity — not search volume alone.
- Look for quick wins among pages already earning impressions or ranking near page one.
- Target relevant searches that reflect customer intent, including specific long-tail keywords.
- Invest in differentiated products and recurring seasonal pages that can deliver long-term value.
- Review performance regularly and decide whether a product or category page offers the stronger SEO opportunity.
If your e-commerce site has thousands of product pages, you can’t optimize them all at once and do it well. The smarter approach is to focus on pages with the best chance of improving rankings, attracting qualified traffic, and generating revenue.
But popularity alone doesn’t determine which pages deserve attention. You also need to consider sales, conversions, ranking potential, seasonality, and how long a product will remain in your catalog.
To explain how to weigh those factors, I talked with Mark Greathouse, Straight North’s e-commerce SEO and GEO expert. He shares how to identify quick wins, evaluate product demand, and decide when a category page is a better investment than an individual product page.
Start With Best-Selling and High-Converting Products
First look at your sales data. Products that already sell and convert give you a clearer reason to invest than products chosen on search volume alone.
Prioritize Best-Selling Products
Your bestsellers are more than popular. They’re already generating meaningful revenue. So, any ranking improvement builds on momentum that’s already working. Nudging one of these products from the bottom of page one into the top few results can produce an outsized jump in traffic, simply because so much more search volume concentrates at the top of the page.
Use Sales and Margin Data
Revenue and unit sales are the obvious starting point, but they’re not the whole picture. Conversion rate and profit margin matter just as much, and sometimes more. A high-margin product may be worth prioritizing even if it’s not your top seller, because the payoff per additional visitor is simply bigger. The goal isn’t to chase traffic for its own sake; it’s to focus on products where more organic traffic is likely to translate into real, measurable business value.
Favor Proven Converters
High search volume can be tempting, but it doesn’t guarantee revenue.
Mark suggests looking at a product that already converts well.
So, when it comes to products, lots of times what we want to do is we want to optimize for the product that has the biggest market, you know, the one that appeals to the largest segment of your market. But when it comes to conversion, those are often going to be the ones that sell the best. They’re ultimately the ones that folks are choosing to hit the purchase button on, and that is going to be, ultimately, the greatest signifier of revenue growth. So we… we want to prioritize not just volume, but also what are products that customers, real customers, are actually purchasing, and what they’re actually interested in. It may surprise you sometimes what products will convert even more when they’re in a smaller segment.
A product that converts well — even in a niche market — shows real purchase intent. It may deliver more value than a broadly popular product that attracts clicks but few buyers.
Identify Products With Untapped Ranking Potential
Pages already earning impressions or ranking near page one may produce results faster than pages with no search visibility.
Find Products Close to Page One
Start by reviewing your current keyword rankings. Pay particular attention to product pages appearing on page two or near the bottom of page one. Google is already showing these pages for relevant searches, which suggests that they may be useful matches for the searcher’s intent.
“These products are great opportunities because Google is already starting to identify them as answering the customer’s question as best as possible.”
Senior SEO & GEO Strategist | Ecommerce SEO & GEO Expert
Look for Pages Already Earning Impressions
Google Search Console can help identify product pages that are appearing in search results, even if users are not clicking on them yet. Growing impressions are a sign that a page is being considered for relevant searches. If those impressions are paired with limited clicks or middling rankings, the page may be a strong candidate for optimization.
Compare impressions, average rankings, click-through rates, organic traffic, and conversions to find the most promising opportunities. For example, a page with rising impressions and a solid conversion rate may be worth prioritizing because greater visibility could lead to more sales. A page receiving impressions but few clicks may need a stronger title or a search listing that better reflects what customers are looking for.
Make Focused Improvements
Once you identify a promising page, look for focused ways to make it more useful:
- Strengthen the product title and description.
- Add missing specifications and common use cases.
- Explain what makes the product different.
- Answer questions reflected in the page’s search queries.
These changes can help customers evaluate the product while giving search engines clearer context about the page.
Consider Search Volume and Customer Intent
Search data helps you understand what customers want and whether that interest is likely to lead to a purchase.
Measure Demand With SEO Tools
Use several sources to evaluate demand:
- Google Search Console: Review queries, impressions, clicks, click-through rates, and average positions.
- Google Trends: Look for seasonal patterns and changes in interest over time.
- Keyword research tools: Compare estimated volume, related searches, and competition.
Treat third-party figures as estimates and compare them with your own sales and conversion data.
Investigate Long-Tail Keywords
Broad product terms may attract more searches, but they do not always reveal what customers need. Long-tail keywords are more specific. They often reflect the questions, comparisons, and problems customers consider as they move closer to a purchase.
Mark recommends starting with Google Search Console to see which detailed searches are already leading people to your site. Then, think beyond keyword data. Consider the questions customers ask about a product: How is it used? How does it compare with another option? Could it replace a tool, product, or process they already use?
Customer conversations can be especially useful here. Review feedback from sales and support teams to learn what buyers want to understand. Use those insights to explain:
- Who the product is for
- How it is used
- What it replaces or improves
- What problem it solves
These details can help your page match more relevant searches while giving customers the information they need to make a purchase.
Balance Search Volume With Conversion Potential
High search volume can signal strong demand, but it does not tell you whether a keyword will reach the right customer. Broad terms often bring more competition and may attract visitors whose needs do not closely match the product.
More specific, lower-volume searches can be valuable because they reveal what the customer wants. Someone searching by feature, material, size, or use case may be much closer to making a purchase. As Mark explains, visibility only matters when the keyword and product are a strong match.
Usually high search volume is a really good indicator, but sometimes a really good indicator is, again, conversion. We want to look at not just the visibility of products, ultimately that’s a very good indicator of, you know, market value, but also we want to make sure that we’re matching intent with the product, you know? It’s not going to provide your business a lot of value if you’re ranking for a term that is not necessarily closely related to the product that you’re… you’re optimizing for. So search volume is important, but conversion intent is also paramount to consider as well.
When comparing keywords, ask whether the term:
- Accurately describes the product
- Matches the intent of the page
- Reaches customers who may be ready to buy
- Has a realistic opportunity to drive sales
Use search volume to understand the size of the opportunity, but weigh it alongside relevance and conversion potential. A smaller, better-matched audience may ultimately deliver more value.
Prioritize Products That Stand Out
Proprietary, patented, or specialized products often face less direct competition. Their distinctive features can also align with more specific searches.
That’s because Google still pulls related products into the results for any given search. It’s trying to surface every reasonable match. But when a product has a real differentiator, customers can tell the difference between a direct competitor and one that’s only loosely related. That gap between direct and indirect competition is what gives distinctive products room to rank at the top and stay there.
Proprietary, patented, or specialized products often face less direct competition. Their distinctive features can also align with more specific searches.
That’s because Google still pulls related products into the results for any given search. It’s trying to surface every reasonable match. But when a product has a real differentiator, customers can tell the difference between a direct competitor and one that’s only loosely related. That gap between direct and indirect competition is what gives distinctive products room to rank at the top and stay there.
“The more you can differentiate your products, the better for those easier rankings.”
Senior SEO & GEO Strategist | Ecommerce SEO & GEO Expert
Look for differences customers care about, such as:
- Materials or construction
- Quality or durability
- Size or design
- Specialized applications
- Easier maintenance
- Compatibility with another product
Customer reviews, sales conversations, and support questions can help identify which differences matter most. Use that language naturally in product titles, descriptions, specifications, and metadata.
Differentiate Commodity Products, Too
Not every product starts out unique, but commodity products can still be differentiated with the right framing. Mark points to three places to look: the specific use case a product is typically bought for, the quality or materials that set it apart in customers’ eyes, and the products people are switching from. That last one is easy to miss — if customers are choosing your product over a competitor’s, sales conversations and support tickets often reveal exactly why. Those same reasons are frequently what customers are searching for, which makes them valuable material for product descriptions and specifications.
Plan Ahead for Seasonal and Trending Products
Seasonal demand moves quickly, but SEO takes time. Prepare important pages before customers begin searching in large numbers.
Mark recommends working one to two months ahead, depending on the product and its availability.
I would usually say around 1-2 months, depending on the season and depending on, the availability of the product. Of course, if a product is only available during a specific window, that’s going to provide a little bit more of a strict deadline of when things can be optimized, but beginning the content writing processes and preparing those pages for launch and such. Getting pages live at least a month before the seasonal window truly, truly begins is usually good, because that gives Google a lot of time to begin indexing and understanding the changes that you made. The more time, the better, but usually one to two months, I would say, is good.
Use Google Trends to identify when interest typically begins rising rather than focusing only on the highest point of demand. Reviewing several years of data can reveal recurring patterns and help determine when customers start researching or purchasing. This information can guide deadlines for keyword research, content updates, page launches, and promotional support.
Prioritize Recurring Seasonal Products
Keep valuable seasonal URLs live when practical. Before demand returns:
- Update product descriptions and specifications.
- Confirm pricing and availability.
- Refresh images when needed.
- Restore prominent internal links.
- Offer relevant alternatives if the item remains unavailable.
Reusing the page allows it to build on its previous search visibility instead of starting over each year.
Be Selective With Short-Lived Trends
Not every trending product justifies a significant SEO investment. Before prioritizing one, consider how long demand is likely to last, how much revenue the product could generate, and how much effort the page will require. If the product is expected to disappear quickly, the opportunity may end before the optimization work produces meaningful results.
Products with repeat potential or longer-term relevance may be better candidates. A trending item that returns annually, becomes a catalog staple, or supports a broader product category can continue generating value after the initial surge in interest.
The goal is to balance speed with staying power. Temporary SEO priority can make sense when a product has strong demand and clear business value, but long-term resources should generally favor pages that can continue attracting qualified traffic across multiple seasons.
Should You Optimize Product Pages or Category Pages?
Choosing which products to prioritize also means deciding which type of page offers the best SEO opportunity. Individual product pages can connect customers directly with a specific item, while category pages capture broader searches and remain useful as inventory changes. The stronger investment depends on the product, the search intent, and the stability of the catalog.
Why Category Pages Are Often Stronger Investments
Category pages often outlast the products listed on them. They can continue targeting broad searches as inventory changes.
Mark explains why these evergreen pages are often a dependable SEO investment:
So, category pages are usually what most SEOs tend to recommend when it comes to optimizing pages for e-commerce sites, and a big reason for that is because category pages are evergreen. Category pages usually will last a little bit longer, because, like we mentioned earlier, product pages can ebb and flow. Some products are limited time, some products are only around for certain periods of the year, but usually category pages remain, even as products go in and out of stock. So when you build all of this search equity onto these category pages, Google can continue to rank those pages for month over month, year over year, and those pages will still provide value, no matter whether the stock of products comes in and out. So as you add new products to the category, you take old products away, the search equity isn’t erased. In fact, it’s strengthened with… as you continue to attract new traffic.
That makes category pages especially useful for businesses with frequently changing inventory.
When to Prioritize Product Pages
Prioritize a product page when the item:
- Is a permanent catalog staple
- Has strong sales or conversions
- Attracts meaningful standalone demand
- Represents a major purchase
- Does not fit neatly into a broader category
If customers are searching for that specific product or model, sending them directly to its page creates a shorter path to purchase.
How Category Pages Support Product Rankings
Category pages help customers and search engines understand how related products fit together. They can capture broad searches, while subcategories and filters help shoppers narrow their options.
Links from category pages also make individual products easier to find. Category pages cast the wider net; product pages answer more specific searches and move customers closer to a purchase.
Use Performance Data to Refine Your E-commerce SEO Strategy
Priorities change as inventory, customer interest, and sales performance change. Regular reviews help you spot new opportunities and stop investing in pages that no longer justify the effort.
Mark explains which signals to evaluate and why they matter when time and resources are limited.
So the more you evaluate your performance: the keyword rankings of your current, your current products, the search volume of terms that may be related to your products that you may not be ranking for, and also the sales data. What’s selling well, what may not be selling well, what has a large market, and what has a more niche but likely to convert market. All of this is key when it comes to refining your e-commerce SEO strategy and focusing on the pages that are most important to you in your business. You know, we have limited time as, professionals. And especially if you are running an e-commerce strategy on your own, it can be very time-consuming optimizing all of the different pages, but no matter what, it’s always important to put those resources towards where they’re going to be most lucrative. And your performance data can be a key indicator of what’s going to perform best for you.
Use the data to identify emerging bestsellers, profitable niche products, and pages close to stronger rankings. Keep investing in pages that show potential, and reconsider those that no longer support your business goals.
Turn Product Data Into Smarter SEO Priorities
E-commerce SEO works best when prioritization is treated as an ongoing business decision, not a one-time optimization project. Search demand can point you toward opportunity, but revenue, margins, conversion intent, differentiation, seasonality, and catalog stability determine where that opportunity is most likely to pay off. By reviewing those signals regularly, e-commerce businesses can focus their SEO resources on the product and category pages most likely to attract qualified customers and produce profitable, sustainable growth.
In practice, that means building a short priority list instead of trying to improve every page at once. Start with the pages where the data, the customer need, and the business case all point in the same direction.
The strongest SEO priorities are rarely chosen by search volume alone. They are the product and category pages where customer demand, business value, ranking opportunity, and staying power overlap. Review those signals regularly, then invest first in the pages with the best chance of turning organic visibility into qualified traffic, sales, and long-term growth.
