Last-minute Black Friday SEO prepping for ecommerce stores

Black Friday is three weeks away, so it’s time to finalize the last adjustments. Here’s what to focus on now, based on two Yoast Black Friday coffee chats with our own principal SEOs, Carolyn Shelby and Alex Moss. Alex states, “Black Friday isn’t one day anymore, but a season. If you’re not visible to AI now, you won’t be in the results when shoppers ask for recommendations.”

1. Stop breaking things (seriously)

• No major technical changes. Switching platforms, payment processors, or themes? Wait until January. Focus on optimizing what you have
• Code freeze starts now. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Test changes in a staging environment first
• Exception: Installing Yoast SEO or WooCommerce SEO add-ons is a low-risk activity. Do it if needed

Pro tip: If you must update plugins, test on staging and avoid updates one week before Black Friday.

2. Fix these right now (or regret it later)

Fraud attacks are ramping up

Fraudsters test stolen credit cards by buying cheap items (<$5). Signs you’re being targeted:

• Sudden spike in orders for your lowest-priced item
• High failure rates (declined payments)
• Orders from VPNs/rotating IPs

How to fight back:

• Raise your minimum price. Bundle items to push totals over $5 (e.g., “Buy 2 stickers, get free shipping”)
• Add friction (carefully):
  • Enable CAPTCHA on checkout
  • Turn on Stripe Radar (if using Stripe) or velocity checks (limits orders per IP)
  • Avoid disabling guest checkout, as this will hurt conversions
  • Contact your payment processor. Say: “I’m seeing fraudulent test orders. Here’s the pattern, please help me block them.”
  • Block high-risk countries (if you don’t ship there). Use Cloudflare’s WAF (Web Application Firewall) to filter traffic.

Warning: Fulfilling fraudulent orders costs you product + shipping + time. Verify payments before shipping.

Language and search alignment

• AI/LLMs (ChatGPT, Gemini) can’t “see” hidden text. If it’s behind tabs/toggles/accordions, they’ll miss it. Move critical info (FAQs, specs, reviews) to visible text.
• Avoid “clever” product names. Example: A dress colored “Pristine” won’t show up in searches for “ivory dress”.
  • Fix: Add generic terms in parentheses:
    • Wrong: “Pristine Midi Dress”
    • Right: “Pristine (Ivory) Midi Dress”
• Test your products with AI: Ask ChatGPT:
  “Find me [your product] in [color/size/price range].” If it misses your product, your descriptions need work.

Reviews are trust signals (for humans and AI)

• Encourage detailed reviews. Generic “I love it!” won’t help.
  • Ask customers: “How do you use this product? What problem does it solve?”
  • Example: “These hiking shoes fit my wide feet—finally no blisters!”
• Leverage brand reviews. If you sell multiple products, get reviews for your brand (e.g., via G2 or Trustpilot). LLMs pull these when answering questions like “What’s the best brand for X?”
• Last-resort tactic: Ask friends/family to leave honest reviews. (No fake ones, because Google penalizes that.)

Pro tip: Utilize Yoast SEO’s FAQ schema for reviews and Q&As. However, please keep FAQs visible; avoid hiding them in toggles.

3. Optimize for AI and search (quick wins)

Product pages: Lead with the good stuff

• First 100 words matter most. AI/LLMs and users skim, so put key details up top, such as price, shipping info, and bundling options
• Plain and concise language wins over clever marketing.
  • Example:
    • Original: “Experience luxury with our artisanal ceramic mug.”
    • Optimized: “14oz ceramic mug. Dishwasher-safe, holds heat for 2 hours.”
• Add videos. Show the product in use (e.g., flipping through a planner, wearing a dress). Yoast SEO Premium includes video SEO tools. Please use them
• Focus on your “underdog” products. These aren’t your top three bestsellers, but they’re the items ranking lower down your sales list. They might not sell as much, but they often have higher profit margins, making them a worthwhile consideration.
• How to optimize them:
  • Use Google Search Console to identify:
    • Products with steady sales and high profitability (promote these in bundles or via email).
    • Products that could benefit from topic clustering (group related queries to uncover hidden opportunities).
  • Give them a boost by:
    • Bundling them with bestsellers (e.g., “Buy our top-selling coffee maker, get 20% off these premium beans”).
    • Upselling or cross-selling (e.g., “Customers who bought this also loved…”).

Use email and social to seed the AI

• Send a Black Friday teaser email this week. Include:
  • Your brand name + product names (helps AI recall you later)
  • Clear discounts (e.g., “20% off all espresso makers—no code needed”)
  • Links to product pages (not just the homepage)
• Why? ChatGPT/Gemini now scans emails (if users connect their Gmail). If someone asks, “Where can I buy X?”, the AI may suggest your brand because it saw your email
• Social posts: 80% useful, 20% fun. Example:
  • Wrong: [Image of pizza with caption: “Ooooh”]
  • Right: “Our Chicago deep-dish pizza—now 15% off for Black Friday! [Link] #DeepDishDeals”

Remove friction from checkout

• Audit your checkout flow. Ask:
  • Do you need a phone number? (Many users abandon carts here.)
  • Is shipping info clear upfront? (e.g., “Free shipping on orders over $50”)
  • Can users save their cart for later?
  • Test with dummy orders. Use Shopify/WooCommerce’s test credit card numbers to simulate purchases

4. Last-minute hacks (do these soon)

5. What not to do before Black Friday

Don’t wait until the last minute to launch promotions or make critical changes. Big brands start their Black Friday campaigns in early November. If you hold off until Thanksgiving week, you’ll miss the early shoppers and the AI “training window.” LLMs prioritize brands they’ve seen mentioned in emails, social posts, or searches before the holiday rush.

Avoid hiding key details behind tabs, accordions, or images. AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini often skip hidden text when scraping product pages, and users tend to overlook shipping costs and return policies as well. Never ignore Fake Friday (the Friday before BF), the unofficial kickoff when bargain hunters start browsing. Run a pre-sale or teaser discount to capture this traffic before competitors do.

Steer clear of overcomplicating bundles or discounts. A “Buy 5 random items, get a mystery gift” deal might sound creative, but it confuses shoppers and dilutes profits. Instead, pair high-margin items with slower sellers (e.g., “Buy a camera, get 50% off a memory card”).

Don’t assume your payment processor can handle fraud spikes. If you’re suddenly hit with stolen card tests (look for a surge in cheap, failed orders), your account could get flagged or frozen. Set up Stripe Radar or PayPal’s fraud filters now—and have a backup processor ready.

Finally, never neglect mobile checkout testing. If your “Add to Cart” button is hard to tap or forms don’t autofill on phones, you’ll lose impulse buyers. Test on a slow 3G connection to simulate real-world frustration.

Your Black Friday success starts now

The countdown is on. Black Friday will be here before you know it. But here is the good news. You still have time to make a real impact. Whether it is tightening up your product descriptions, safeguarding against fraud, or making sure your site is AI-friendly, every small tweak you make now can translate into bigger sales when the shopping frenzy hits.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, remember this. You do not have to do it all alone. Tools like Yoast SEO Premium and WooCommerce SEO can help you optimize your product pages, structure your content for both AI and search engines, and even add schema markup to ensure your products are more visible to both AI and search engines. It is like having an SEO expert in your corner, guiding you through the chaos so you can focus on what really matters. Selling more and stressing less.

So take a deep breath, tackle one task at a time, and trust that you have got this. Here is to your most successful Black Friday yet. Now go get those sales. And if you need a little extra help, you know where to find us.

Edwin Toonen

Edwin is an experienced strategic content specialist. Before joining Yoast, he worked for a top-tier web design magazine, where he developed a keen understanding of how to create great content.

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A detailed guide to optimizing ecommerce product variations for SEO and conversions

Product variations are more than just an ecommerce feature. They give your customers choices, whether it’s size, color, style, or material, while helping your store stand out in competitive search results. When optimized correctly, product variations do more than display available options. They improve the customer experience by making shopping easier. At the same time, they boost conversions by catering to diverse needs and support your SEO strategy by targeting more keywords.

This guide will explain the best practices for product variations and show you how to optimize them for search engines and customers so your ecommerce site can grow in traffic, rankings, and sales.

What are product variations in ecommerce?

Product variations or product variants are different versions of the same product designed to give customers options. These variations can be based on attributes like size, color, material, style, or capacity. Instead of creating multiple product listings, variations group all options under a single product, making it easier for customers to browse and purchase.

For example, when you search for an iPhone on Amazon, you’ll see options for different colors and storage capacities, all available on a single page. This setup lets customers explore multiple choices without leaving the main product page.

Managing product variations depends on the platform you use:

• In WooCommerce, product variations are created using attributes such as size or color, and then assigning values to those attributes. Store owners can upload unique images, set prices, and adjust stock for each variation

  Read more: Variable Products Documentation – WooCommerce

• In Shopify, variations are managed under the ‘Variants’ section of a product. You can add options like size, color, or material, and then assign values. Each variant can have its own price, SKU, and image, making it simple to customize how the variations appear in your store

  
  

  Read more: Shopify Help Center – Adding variants

Why do product variations matter for customers?

Okay, now let’s see why you need product variants and not upload each option as a completely separate product. Think of it this way: customers don’t want to scroll through endless listings just to compare a black t-shirt with a white one or a 64GB phone with a 128GB version. Variations keep everything in one place, making shopping smoother and more intuitive.

Here’s why product variations are so important for your customers:

• Improved shopping experience: Variants reduce unnecessary clicks and allow customers to compare options side by side within a single product page. This saves time and makes decision-making easier
• Higher conversions and lower bounce rates: When customers find their preferred size, color, or feature right away, they are more likely to complete a purchase instead of leaving your store
• Reduced purchase anxiety: Variants ensure customers do not feel limited by stock. Seeing multiple choices available decreases the chance of cart abandonment
• Personalization and satisfaction: Offering customers options empowers them to choose a product that feels tailor-made for them, improving overall satisfaction
• Indirect SEO benefits: A better shopping experience often leads to longer session durations, fewer bounces, and more engagement. These signals may indirectly support stronger SEO performance, as they align with positive user experience metrics

How do product variations support your ecommerce SEO strategies?

Product variations are not just about creating a better shopping experience; they also bring direct ecommerce SEO benefits that can help your store attract more qualified traffic. When optimized correctly, variants can make your product pages richer, more discoverable, and more engaging.

Increase in keyword targeting

Variants allow you to target a wider range of long-tail keywords that reflect real customer search behavior. For example, instead of only competing for ‘men’s wallet,’ you can rank for ‘men’s black leather wallet’ or ‘slim men’s brown wallet.’ These specific keywords usually carry higher purchase intent and face less competition

Richer content for search engines and AI engines

Each variation allows you to add unique attributes, descriptions, and specifications. This creates a more detailed and content-rich product page that search engines and AI-driven engines (like ChatGPT or Google’s AI Overviews) value when surfacing answers and shaping brand perception.

Improved user engagement and longer sessions

A well-structured page that clearly displays variations keeps users from bouncing to competitor sites when they don’t immediately find their preferred option. Instead, they spend more time exploring, comparing, and interacting with your store, which indirectly supports SEO through stronger engagement signals.

Better structured data for enhanced search results

When product variants are properly marked up with structured data, search engines can display rich snippets that include price ranges, availability, color options, and reviews. This not only makes your listings stand out but also boosts click-through rates (CTRs) from search results.

Yoast SEO’s Structure data feature describes your product content as a single interconnected schema graph that search engines can easily understand. This helps them interpret your product variations more accurately and increases your chances of getting rich results, from product details to FAQs.

In short, optimized product variants make your product pages more keyword-diverse, content-rich, and engaging while also improving how your store is presented in search results and generative AI chat replies.

Blueprint for optimizing your product variations

Here’s the part you’ve been waiting for: how to optimize your product variations for SEO, conversions, and user experience. In this section, we’ll cover the right technical implementation, smart SEO tactics, and the common mistakes you’ll want to avoid.

Technical implementation of product variations

Getting the technical setup right is the foundation for optimizing your product variations for both ecommerce SEO and user experience. Poor implementation can lead to crawl inefficiencies, duplicate content, and a confusing buyer journey.

Here’s how to approach it effectively:

Handling variations in URLs

One of the biggest decisions you’ll make is how to structure URLs for your product variations:

• Parameters (e.g., ?color=red&size=12): Good for filtering and faceted navigation, but they can create crawl bloat if not managed properly. Always define URL parameters in Google Search Console and use canonical tags to consolidate signals
• Separate pages for each variation (e.g., /red-dress-size-12): This can be useful when specific variations have significant search demand (like ‘iPhone 15 Pro Max 512GB Blue’). However, it requires careful duplication management and unique, optimized content for each page
• Single product page with dropdowns or swatches: The most common approach for ecommerce stores, as it consolidates SEO signals into one canonical page while providing users with all available variations in one place

Takeaway: Use a hybrid approach. Keep a single master product page, but only create dedicated variation URLs for high-demand search queries (with unique descriptions, images, and structured data).

Note: only create dedicated variation URLs if you can add unique value (content/images), otherwise, it risks duplication

Internal linking best practices

Internal linking is crucial in helping search engines understand the relationships between your main product page and its variations.

• Always link back to the parent product page from any variation-specific pages
• Ensure your category pages link to the main product page, not every single variation (to prevent diluting crawl equity)
• Use descriptive anchor text when linking internally, e.g., ‘men’s black leather wallet’ rather than just ‘wallet’

The Internal linking suggestions feature in Yoast SEO Premium is a real time-saver. As you write, it recommends relevant pages and posts so you can easily connect variations, parent products, and related content. This not only strengthens your site structure and boosts SEO but also ensures visitors enjoy a seamless browsing experience.

Takeaway: Build a clean hierarchy where category pages → main product pages → variations, ensuring both users and crawlers can navigate easily.

Managing faceted navigation and filters

Filters (like size, color, brand, or price) enhance user experience but can create SEO challenges if every filter combination generates a new crawlable URL.

• Use or noindex for low-value filter pages (like ‘price under $20’ if it doesn’t add SEO value)
• Block irrelevant filter parameters in robots.txt to prevent crawl bloat
• For valuable filters (e.g., ‘red running shoes’), allow them to be indexed and optimize the content

Takeaway: Conduct a filter audit in Google Search Console. Identify which filtered URLs actually drive impressions and clicks, and only allow those to be indexable.

Media content optimization for ecommerce product variations

When it comes to product variations, visuals and supporting media play a critical role in both SEO and conversions. Shoppers often make purchase decisions based on how well they can visualize a specific variation. In fact, 75% of online shoppers rely on product images when making purchasing decisions.

Also read: Image SEO: Optimizing images for search engines

Here’s how you can optimize media content for ecommerce product variations:

Use unique images for each variation

Avoid using the same generic image across all variations. Display each color, size, material, or feature with its own high-quality image set. For example, if you sell a t-shirt in six colors, show each color separately to help customers make confident choices.

Leverage 360° views and videos

Showcase variations with interactive media like 360° spins or short product videos. For example, a ‘black leather recliner’ video demonstrates texture and function more effectively than a static image, leading to higher engagement and conversions.

Optimize alt text, file names, and metadata

Every image should have descriptive, keyword-rich alt text that specifies the variation. Instead of writing ‘red shoe,’ use ‘women’s red running shoe size 8.’ File names (e.g., womens-red-running-shoe-size8.webp) and captions should also reinforce the variation for better indexing.

Implement structured data for media

Use the Product schema to explicitly define images and videos for each variation. Including structured data ensures that Google and AI-driven engines like ChatGPT can clearly interpret your variation visuals and display them in rich results or AI summaries.

For instance, assigning images to specific SKUs (via image markup) makes it easier for search engines to show the correct variation in shopping results.

SEO tips for product variations

Optimizing product variations for SEO requires more than attractive visuals and solid descriptions. You need to apply some proven SEO techniques to ensure search engines correctly interpret your product pages and users get the best possible experience.

Here are a few key practices every ecommerce store owner should follow:

Use canonical tags to avoid duplicate content issues

Product variations often generate multiple URLs, which can cause duplicate content problems. Canonical tags help solve this by pointing to the primary version of a page, consolidating ranking signals, and avoiding internal competition.

Yoast simplifies this process by automatically inserting canonical URL tags on your product pages. This ensures search engines know which version to prioritize, prevents diluted link equity, and even consolidates social shares under the original page. For store owners, this means less technical overhead and stronger, cleaner rankings.

Apply global product identifiers (GTIN, MPN, ISBN) where relevant

Global product identifiers like GTINs, MPNs, and ISBNs act as unique fingerprints for your products. They help Google and other search engines correctly match your items in their vast index, which improves the accuracy of search listings and reduces confusion with similar products. They also add credibility, since customers can cross-check these identifiers before purchase.

With Yoast WooCommerce SEO, adding these identifiers becomes much easier. The plugin reminds you to fill in missing SKUs, GTINs, or EANs for each product variation and automatically outputs them in structured data. This not only helps your products qualify for rich results but also ensures that no variant is left incomplete from an SEO standpoint.

Regularly audit Google Search Console data to track performance

Google Search Console is a goldmine for understanding how product variations are performing. By monitoring which variant pages are driving impressions, clicks, and conversions, you can refine your SEO strategy.

For example, if certain variants attract little traffic but consume crawl budget, it might be better to consolidate them under canonical tags.

Regular audits also help you detect indexing issues, thin content problems, or underperforming structured data. This keeps your product catalogue lean, crawl-efficient, and focused on driving meaningful organic traffic.

Also read: How to check the performance of rich results in Google Search Console

Common product variation ecommerce errors to avoid

Even if you’ve implemented the right technical setup, added structured data, and optimized your media content, a few small mistakes can undo all that effort. To make sure your product variations support SEO and conversions instead of hurting them, here are some common pitfalls to avoid:

• Duplicate content: Creating separate standalone pages for each variation (like size or color) without consolidation leads to content duplication. This confuses search engines and dilutes rankings across multiple weak pages
• Poor user experience: If your variation options are hidden, unclear, or slow to load, users struggle to make choices. This friction reduces conversions and increases bounce rates
• Incorrect structured data: Applying schema inaccurately can cause search engines to display the wrong product details in search results, damaging credibility and visibility
• Thin content: Not providing unique descriptions, images, or metadata for each variation leaves the page with little value. Search engines tend to down-rank such content, reducing discoverability
• Crawl bloat: Generating too many low-value variation URLs (like separate pages for every minor option) wastes crawl budget and prevents high-priority pages from being indexed efficiently. Additionally, it could dilute internal link equity

By keeping these errors in check, you’ll ensure your product variation strategy strengthens your SEO and user experience instead of working against them.

Ready to unfold all variations?

Product variations are not just small details hidden in your catalogue. They play a major role in how both search engines and shoppers experience your store. When done right, they prevent duplicate content issues, improve crawl efficiency, deliver richer search results, and create a seamless journey for your customers.

The key is to treat product variations as part of your overall SEO strategy, not as an afterthought. Every unique image, structured snippet, and clear variation option makes your store more visible, more reliable, and more profitable.

This is where Yoast SEO becomes a game-changer. With automatic structured data, smart handling of canonical URLs, and advanced content optimization tools, Yoast helps you get product variations right the first time.

Ahad Qureshi

I’m a Computer Science grad who accidentally stumbled into writing—and stayed because I fell in love with it. Over the past six years, I’ve been deep in the world of SEO and tech content, turning jargon into stories that actually make sense. When I’m not writing, you’ll probably find me lifting weights to balance my love for food (because yes, gym and biryani can coexist) or catching up with friends over a good cup of chai.

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How to prep your Shopify or WooCommerce store for Black Friday before the rush starts  

Black Friday is the biggest rush of the year for most ecommerce businesses, and it is right around the corner. The most successful merchants prepare for Black Friday early and follow a structured plan to prepare their stores, ensure visibility, and convert first-time visitors into long-term customers.

This guide breaks down your preparation into three categories: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. Each section builds on the last so that you can grow your readiness over time, regardless of your team size or budget.

Basic: Start with what you can control for Black Friday

These actions lay the groundwork for everything else. Without these, no advanced strategy will stick.  

1. Optimize your metadata  

First impressions matter, and your metadata is the first thing users see in search results. So make it count and leave a lasting impact. 

Why it matters: Strong metadata can improve visibility and attract more clicks. When your titles and descriptions align with what shoppers seek, your chances of standing out rise significantly.  

Actionable tips:  

• Prioritize metadata for high-traffic products and category pages.  
• Include seasonal keywords such as “Black Friday deals” or “holiday gift ideas.”  
• Keep titles and descriptions concise and compelling.  

With Yoast SEO for Shopify and Yoast WooCommerce SEO, you can preview and improve your metadata in real time. The tools flag missing or duplicated fields and guide you on how to write content that earns clicks.  

  2. Optimize product pages for both humans and search engines

Product pages are the moment of truth. They’re where curiosity turns into clicks and clicks turn into customers.  

Why it matters: No matter how great your traffic or ads are, most people will leave without buying if the product page feels confusing or incomplete. A well-structured page improves your chances of ranking in search and helps buyers feel confident in their decision.  

Actionable tips:  

• Lead with benefits, not just specs. Tell shoppers how the product fits into their lives.  
• Use bullet points and headers to make details skimmable.  
• Reinforce trust by showing stock levels, customer reviews, and delivery clarity.
• Bulk update how you showcase your product on Shopify using Yoast SEO for Shopify Content Templates feature.

Yoast WooCommerce SEO and Yoast SEO for Shopify help your product pages appear cleanly and clearly in search results. They add structured data behind the scenes and check your content for SEO and readability so you can focus on turning visitors into buyers. 

3. Use internal links to guide traffic  

Internal linking guides customer to surface key pages, maps user behavior, and boosts your site’s SEO. 

Why it matters: Internal linking helps search engines understand your site structure, distributes authority to key pages, and guides visitors toward high-converting content. It keeps users engaged, supports SEO, and makes your promotions easier to surface across your site.  

Actionable tips:  

• Link to your Black Friday page from key blogs and evergreen content.  
• Feature top categories or bestsellers in your navigation.  
• Use anchor text that aligns with what users are searching for.  

Yoast WooCommerce SEO offers internal linking suggestions as you write, making keeping your content connected and strategic easier. 

Fast wins and common pitfalls

Once you have set up the basics, some steps can help you boost impact quicker and avoid costly missed opportunities. 

Fast wins:

• Swap stock photos for original product shots 
• Double-check coupon logic and expiration dates 
• Test any gift wrap or personalization options on product pages 

Big pitfalls to avoid: 

• Waiting until November to publish seasonal content 
• Using duplicate product descriptions from suppliers 
• Letting broken links or outdated pages remain live 

Once the technical foundation is stable, it’s time to focus on your content and promotions.  

4. Test and improve your site’s speed  

Site speed directly impacts user experience, especially during high-traffic periods like Black Friday. Slow-loading pages frustrate shoppers and lead to lost sales.  

Why it matters: A fast site supports smoother browsing and quicker checkout. Search engines consider page performance in rankings, and users are more likely to buy when the experience feels seamless.  

Actionable tips:  

• Use performance monitoring tools to identify slow pages.  
• Compress and resize large images to reduce page load times.  
• Deactivate unused plugins (WooCommerce) or apps (Shopify).  
• Clean up excessive code or bulky page elements.  

While Yoast SEO is not a speed optimization tool, clean site structure and proper internal linking help improve crawlability and engagement, indirectly supporting performance. 

5. Create a focused Black Friday landing page  

Your landing page is the command center for your seasonal promotions. It’s where visitors decide to browse further or bounce. 

Why it matters: A dedicated page gives your Black Friday campaign direction and cohesion. Instead of scattering your offers across the site, it provides a clear path for shoppers to follow. It simplifies navigation, allows for better internal linking, and gives you a consistent, trackable URL for email campaigns, ads, and site banners. Plus, it’s reusable! Just update the content each year.  

Actionable tips:  

• Create a short, memorable URL like /black-friday-deals and keep it live year-round.  
• Showcase limited-time offers, bundles, top-selling categories, and exclusive discounts.  
• Use persuasive headers, quick-loading images, and CTA buttons that lead directly to product pages.  
• Answer common buyer concerns upfront, e.g., shipping deadlines, return windows, and local pickup options. 

6. Segment your email list and automate flows  

Email isn’t just another marketing channel during Black Friday; it’s your direct line to customers ready to buy.  

Why it matters: Blasting the same message with monotonous tone to everyone no longer works. Crafting compelling emails with personalized messages that resonate with the reader is key to email marketing. People are more likely to open, click, and shop when an email speaks to their pain points and highlights the solution. A segmented email list means you’re talking to people based on what they care about: early access, bundles, or a product they viewed or left in their cart.

Actionable tips:  

• Break your list into clear segments, e.g., loyal customers, cart abandoners, and holiday-only shoppers.  
• Map out your flow: teaser email, early access offer, launch announcement, final hours.  
• Track performance with UTM parameters like utm_campaign=bf25 so you can optimize in real time. 

For more on syncing content and email, check out our basics of email marketing blog post.

7. Create content that helps people find your deals earlier  

Buyers don’t always search for discounts. Many start with questions or ideas like “affordable gifts for coworkers” or “best tech gift under $100.”  

Why it matters: Helpful blog posts and gift guides pull in people who aren’t searching for your brand yet. These early touchpoints introduce your products and lead them toward your Black Friday offers.  

Actionable tips:  

• Write guides and roundups tied to real shopper intent.  
• Use long-tail keywords that match seasonal search habits.  
• Add smart internal links to featured products or your Black Friday landing page. 

Fast wins and common pitfalls

Once your product pages are polished, tighten up the surrounding details.

 Fast wins:

• Set a calendar reminder for your campaign email and social media schedule 
• Add an announcement banner linking to your Black Friday page 
• Test your email signup and welcome flow to catch any issues 

Big pitfalls to avoid: 

• Forgetting to link email campaigns to relevant landing pages 
• Using inconsistent messaging and UTMs across channels 
• Launching your Black Friday page too late for indexing and ranking 

Advanced Black Friday preparation: Boost visibility, trust, and retention  

If you’re already doing the essentials well, these strategies will help you scale.  

7. Improve your chances of showing up in local search  

If you offer in-store pickup or have a physical store, don’t miss out on the people searching near you. Shoppers looking for same-day purchases often skip past online-only stores.  

Why it matters: When someone searches for a product near them, being present in the results can drive instant foot traffic and build trust before they even walk in.  

Actionable tips:  

• Ensure your name, address, and phone (NAP) are identical across all pages and listings.  
• Update your opening hours and add clear pickup instructions.  
• Add content to your site that mentions your location, city, or neighborhood.  

Yoast Local SEO is included in the Yoast WooCommerce SEO. It helps you create and manage local schema and landing pages that appear in search. (It is not available for Shopify.)  

8. Use structured data to stand out in search  

When someone searches for a product and your listing shows price, availability, or reviews, that’s not luck. That’s structured data.  

Why it matters:  Rich snippets give your products more space in search results, credibility, and clicks.  

Actionable tips:  

• Add structured data (schema) for Product, Offer, and Review to top-selling listings.  
• Use Google’s tools to check that your schema is implemented correctly.
• Use product variant schema to improve your chances of showing in rich search results.

Yoast SEO for Shopify and Yoast WooCommerce SEO automatically adds this, but you can also fine-tune it for special products or campaigns if needed.  

9. Set up post-purchase flows before the sale starts  

Black Friday may be over at checkout, but it’s just the beginning of your relationship with a new customer.  

Why it matters: People who buy during Black Friday often need reassurance and support. They’re far more likely to come back if they feel taken care of.  

Actionable tips:  

• Set up automated flows for thank-you messages, setup tips, and review requests.  
• Offer a discount for a second purchase or referral.  
• Guide people back to your product pages or Google review profile.  

Taking care of this now means you can focus on fulfillment and service during the Black Friday rush. 

Fast wins and common pitfalls

A thoughtful follow-up and last check make sure you build on opportunities and are ready for what might come your way.

 Fast wins: 

• Recheck your sitemap to ensure new pages are indexed 
• Update your business hours and contact details in your footer 
• Enable review requests to trigger automatically post-purchase 

Big pitfalls to avoid: 

• Making last-minute technical changes with no buffer 
• Ignoring mobile performance and checkout testing 
• Overlooking schema validation or broken structured data 

Final thoughts  

Preparing for Black Friday is about being proactive, not reactive. Every SEO improvement you make now, from product pages to local visibility, will help you attract more shoppers and turn clicks into customers.  

Yoast gives you the tools to stay ahead: clearer product listings, stronger search visibility, and smart automations that scale with your store. Whether you’re using Shopify or WooCommerce, optimize now to be ready before the crowds arrive.  

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Carl Henry Addoumieh

When I first started working in marketing, Yoast SEO was the first plugin I used. Today, I work with the tool that I depended on the most. I’m Carl Henry, my background is in SaaS growth marketing with a focus on content. I like basketball, padel, painting, and gaming.

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Ecommerce SEO checklist: 30 tips for a better online store

There is so much you can do to optimize your online store, whether for users or Google. To help you cover all your bases, we’ve written this ecommerce SEO checklist. It doesn’t cover absolutely everything, but if you at least start by optimizing all the aspects in this post, you will definitely be doing a great job!

Site-wide ecommerce checklist

The first part of our ecommerce checklist is all about changes you can make site-wide to make sure your online shop is up to scratch. Some of these tips will help with your ecommerce SEO, but — more importantly — they will give users a better experience when they visit your site.

1. Use consistent branding

The first thing you should be aware of is that you should always use consistent branding. Ensure your brand or logo is visible on your homepage and page title. This will build trust and help promote and build your business, helping trigger recognition offline and in search engine result pages.

2. Add social buttons and newsletter sign-up

Newsletters and social media are the easiest ways to get return visits from your customers. Be sure to draw attention to your social profiles and newsletter signups throughout your website. Add your social profiles to your footer at least (use icons, links, and social widgets), but if you have space left in your header, that would also be a great spot for them. Promote your newsletter in your sidebar and use scroll-triggered boxes to draw attention to it. A nice giveaway always helps motivate people to subscribe.

3. Take care of site navigation essentials

Make sure users can navigate to your most important pages from your site menu. It should always be easy to reach shopping pages and the shopping cart, as well as customer service information and FAQs covering essential information like shipping costs and payment options. If users can’t find these pages, they’ll find it difficult to shop on your site.

4. Use SSL and security seals

Here’s one vital thing about creating trust: If your site has an SSL certificate, it will have that nice green padlock in your visitors’ browser address bar, and you’ll let them know they are shopping in a safe environment. These things will help customers confidently insert their home address, credit card details, or other personal information you ask them to provide. You could also add security seals. Find more tips like this in our trust article.

5. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly

Don’t forget mobile users! Making purchases via mobile is a popular option for many shoppers. So be ready for them and don’t miss out on those transactions. Read our ultimate guide to mobile SEO to get started.

6. Get things up to speed

When we say speed, we mean the performance of your site. People have short attention spans, and we’ve all got used to faster internet everywhere. However, many places worldwide have to make do with less-than-perfect mobile connections and a small data allowance. Don’t take your situation as gospel. Also, Google tends to rank websites faster, which is another reason to make sure your website is as fast as possible.

7. Add an ‘About us’ page if you don’t have one

People like to know about the company they’re buying from. Who is behind it? What’s their story? What motivates them? If we share the same values and beliefs, people are likelier to return to that shop and buy more products. Adding an about us page, and perhaps a team photo will help build a connection between your company and your customers. If you want some inspiration, Patagonia and Dopper are nice examples.

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Homepage

While you don’t necessarily need to optimize the homepage of your ecommerce site for SEO, you shouldn’t just ignore it completely, either. There are a couple of things you can do to make sure any visitors landing there will continue to shop and make a purchase:

8. Show featured products

You also need to reserve a prominent spot on your homepage for featured products or something similar, usually your core products or the items you currently have on sale. This will provide an immediate trigger for visitors and a good way to let them know whether or not they have come to the right online shop.

9. Include a compelling call to action

Your homepage needs a compelling call to action. This may change if you want to promote particular products or run seasonal promotions like a Black Friday sale. But whatever your CTA is, you need to make sure it’s always easily visible and meets your visitors’ needs and expectations.

Product search and categories

Having a great site is one thing, but if visitors can’t find the products they want to buy, it won’t be much of use to anyone. That’s why the following section of our ecommerce checklist is all about making your products easy for customers to find when searching on your site.

10. Add a search option

Every online store with more than 20 products should have a search option. Make sure you put the search option in a visible spot, as this will probably be the navigation of choice for your visitors. Besides optimizing your search option, be sure to give the search result pages some TLC. More on that later.

11. Use product categories

How you set up your categories and make these accessible to visitors matters – a lot. Categories help visitors get to different groups of products as quickly as possible, especially those who aren’t sure which specific products to buy. Amazon has a large list of categories (or departments), but makes the kind of products a category contains as clear as possible. That has much to do with naming these categories and logically using subcategories. Put yourself in the place of your visitors and go over your shop’s categories. Do they make sense? Are these the terms a visitor would use? If the answer is yes, you’re on the right track.

12. Add introductory content on category pages

Besides being clear about the name of your category, be sure to add a nice introduction to your category pages as well. This introduction is like the glue that holds the collection of products on that page together. This is really helpful in determining the subject of the page, especially for search engines. This also helps the category pages function in a similar way to cornerstone content.

13. Add thumbnail images for your products

In most cases, product images say more than a thousand words. This is especially true for those pages that simply don’t have space for a thousand words about a single product, such as your category or internal search result pages. Adding a stunning thumbnail image of that dress or painting will encourage more clicks to that page. Good thumbnail images make it easier for visitors to choose from a wide variety of products in category or search result pages.

14. Include calls to action in overviews

Besides having killer product thumbnails, your overview pages also need a call to action for each product, which means the visitor can add that product to their cart right from the category or search result page. Although it isn’t always possible for every product, you should do this wherever you can. There are online shops that allow you to choose the color and size of jeans, for example, without having to go to the product page. Choose the option you like, click add to cart, and proceed to checkout, all from the overview page.

Product pages

You’ve probably already put much effort into crafting your product pages. But are you sure nothing is missing, and nothing can be improved? This section of our ecommerce SEO checklist will help you ensure your product pages look the best they can.

15. Add great product images

Be sure to add great product images to your product pages. They should be zoomable and give multiple views of the product. Remember that even the filename and alt text of the product image matter for SEO. There’s a lot more on this in our detailed article on product images.

16. Write a fantastic product description

Optimizing your category pages is often much easier than optimizing all your product pages. If you’re selling bolts, screws and nails, adding an awesome and unique product description to each page is a lot of work. If you need your product page to rank as well, be sure to invest some time and effort in optimizing your product descriptions for the product name and/or SKU. Our Yoast SEO plugin will be useful if you have a WordPress site or a Shopify store.

17. Be clear about pricing

We can’t emphasize this enough: be clear about your prices. Adding surprise costs like shipping or taxes later in the checkout process will backfire, and shoppers may abandon their purchase. Be clear about these additional costs (if any) right from the start. You could even leverage this by offering free shipping on orders of more than a certain value, say $20 or $50. Surprise costs are a major turn-off, and they are illegal in the EU.

18. Show product reviews

Creating trust is a good thing for all online shops. Genuine product reviews help a great deal with this. One thing we would recommend for websites that include user reviews from third parties is to copy a couple of those reviews to your own website. Including third-party reviews in, for example, a widget, would be a great solution. Add these near your call to action for the best results.

19. Promote related products

When you’ve got their interest, leverage it. If someone buys an iPhone from your site, chances are they’ll need a cover and might even want a pair of those expensive wireless ear pods. But they might feel a bit less expensive when a customer has just paid full price for a new iPhone! Adding a related products section or an ‘other customers also bought’ section to your product page will trigger upsells, allow for bundles, and much more. We highly recommend adding these.

20. Add a call to action on your product page

Your visitor needs to click the Add to Cart button on your product page to start the purchase. Don’t hide that button! The number of shops that accidentally disguise the Add to Cart button is lower than it used to be, but we’d still like you to look at that button and make sure it stands out. This is especially true when you have a secondary call to action like ‘Add to wish list’. Making sure that the Add to Cart button stands out the most and is the largest and first major button on your product page is essential.

21. Show stock availability

These days, the availability of a product drives sales. With online shops everywhere, people want to buy things at a shop that will deliver the products they want tomorrow or even the same day. If you tell users a product is in stock, people are likelier to buy it. But this isn’t just about competition; it’s about managing expectations. If your website shows something isn’t in stock, people can still decide to buy at your shop and know they’ll have to wait a bit. If people buy at your shop and won’t get the product for three weeks because it’s out of stock, they’d likely have bought it elsewhere. Not making availability clear also badly affects your brand, by the way.

It can be easy to overlook the details of your shopping cart and checkout process. However, these parts of your site are vital to the customer journey. In this section of our ecommerce checklist, we encourage you to take some time to ensure everything is working seamlessly.

22. Make the shopping cart easy to find

Regardless of how noble your intentions are, in most cases, your main goal is to make as much money as possible, and that money is made through your shopping cart. For this reason, your shopping cart should always be available and visible – don’t make people look for it. We recommend adding the number of products in the cart to the cart icon. It will help people remember if they have already added products to the cart.

23. Show the payment options early on

Like in number 16 of this ecommerce SEO checklist, this one is about preventing surprises. It’s frustrating to get to the end of the checkout process only to find that your preferred payment option isn’t available. And again, if your ecommerce shop is in the EU, it is now a legal requirement to display your accepted payment methods to customers before they get to the checkout.

24. No account needed

Always allow customers to buy without forcing them to create an account. We think that making customers create an account is bad practice. It’s only valid if creating an account gives customers perks like easy license renewal, managing recurring payments, etc. These are tasks customers probably would want to do in a secure environment, so they wouldn’t mind setting up an account, but when they’re shopping for clothes, having an account only makes sense for convenience reasons (not having to fill in address details next time and so on), and therefore it should be optional.

25. Set longer cookie expiration times

Perhaps ‘cookie expiration times’ are too narrow for what we’re trying to say. Our article on shopping cart abandonment will tell you a lot about how people use your shopping cart. Read that entire article, and you’ll discover why using longer cookie expiration times for your cart is better.

26. Use discount codes wisely

Discount codes and vouchers can be a great way to increase sales. But before you put a field to add a discount code on your checkout pages, consider whether you want to do this carefully. Once users see the option to add a code, they will want a discount code. And often, that means they’ll stop mid-transaction and search for one! So, if you want to offer discount codes, it’s a good idea to make it easy for users to find a discount (even if it’s to remove the delivery costs from their order). If you’re not planning to offer discount codes soon, leaving the discount code field off your checkout pages is probably better. Otherwise, it might increase your cart abandonment rates.

Search and social appearance

All right, by now, your online shop should be ready to go. One thing left to do for our ecommerce SEO checklist: make sure your site looks its best wherever it appears. That could be in the Google search results or social media, so be ready to make a good impression!

27. Optimize your SEO titles and Meta descriptions

With ecommerce sites, more so than all other websites, SEO titles and meta descriptions serve a very important purpose. Where Google is probably able to come up with a proper and keyword-related invitation to your website for information pages, the chances are your product page doesn’t have enough product information, or it contains details about your customer service or warranty that Google might use instead. Add a product-focused meta description to your product pages to encourage Google not to show the wrong text in search results! Use Yoast SEO Premium’s AI tools to speed up the creation process.

28. Add structured data to your pages

We recommend adding structured data to your product pages for technical SEO reasons. Schema markup will help search engines and Google Shopping understand your page’s contents better, and it might even help your page stand out in the search results!

Add at least schema.org/Product and schema.org/Offer, and see if you can extend this to even more detailed schemas. Adding structured data markup is more technical than optimizing your product description, so if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, please ask your web developer for help. You can also use our WooCommerce SEO plugin or Shopify SEO app, making it much easier!

Read more: Schema.org is hard, Yoast SEO makes it easy for you »

29. Make sure you look great on social media

Besides structured data, be sure to add OpenGraph and X Cards. Again, Yoast SEO can help you add images to your page to be displayed on social media. With Yoast SEO Premium, you can even preview those! These ensure that when people share your content or products, they will be displayed as attractively as possible. This and more are explained in our article about product page SEO.

Keep reading: Positioning your shop in the online market »

One last thing…

30. Make ecommerce easier with Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO plugins and apps can help you to optimize loads of aspects of your site:

• Making sure your texts are readable? Check.
• Keyword research and optimization? Check.
• Managing your SEO titles, meta descriptions and social outputs? Check.
• Using AI to speed up the hard work? Check.
• Adding structured data to your pages with minimal effort? Check.
• Extra features for WooCommerce with our dedicated WooCommerce plugin? Check.
• And for your Shopify store? Check.

Try Yoast SEO for WordPress (available in free and Premium versions) on your site today. If you’re using WooCommerce, add on our WooCommerce plugin for the ultimate ecommerce optimization. Alternatively, if you’re working with Shopify, try our Yoast SEO for Shopify app instead.

Lastly, boost your ecommerce SEO expertise with our ecommerce training at Yoast SEO Academy! You can follow a trial lesson for free or unlock the full course when you buy Yoast SEO Premium, Yoast WooCommerce SEO, or Yoast SEO for Shopify. Still want more? Check out our ultimate guide to ecommerce usability.

Edwin Toonen

Edwin is an experienced strategic content specialist. Before joining Yoast, he worked for a top-tier web design magazine, where he developed a keen understanding of how to create great content.

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