How Important are Keywords in eCommerce?

If you sell products online, keywords play a crucial role, both organically and when targeting people with paid advertisements on platforms such as Google Ads.

When a person types “red shoes” into Google, they expect to see red shoes in the search results. If you want your website to show for this term, you will need either a website, collection page or indeed a product dedicated to satisfying this search query.

If you don’t have a page targeting the term red shoes, you are unlikely to show for it compared against competitors who do.

Here we will take a look at the critical importance of keywords within the eCommerce ecosystem, exploring their definition and significance to your business.

What are eCommerce Search Terms?

Keywords for eCommerce, also known as eCommerce search terms, represent the specific words and phrases that shoppers input into search engines like Google, Bing, and platforms such as Amazon and eBay when seeking products or services online.

These terms are a direct expression of the user’s needs and intentions. By strategically incorporating these keywords into online content, eCommerce businesses can boost their visibility within search engine results pages (SERPs) and marketplace listings.

The algorithms use keywords as part of the matching process, matching webpages against searches for specific items. This increases the likelihood of a customer finding and purchasing the desired product.

Think about this from a search engine perspective, they want to show you the best results, otherwise, you could be unhappy and start to use another search engine. So they look at keywords as a vital signal to help them decide on what pages to show in the results.

Now, if you have an eCommerce business, it helps to look at each page and think, “What is the target keyword for this page?”. A page can rank for many keywords, but this just sharpens your focus and helps you build your content based around a specific target keyword.

Why Are My Products Not at the Top of the Search Results?

So, you sell products online, great, I’m sure you would have checked before to see where some of your products are ranking in the search engines.

You may have looked at competitors and wondered why they are showing in 1st place, but your product is on page 2 or 3. This is where search engine optimisation comes in, helping to give your products the best chance of ranking high in the search results.

Now, I have been doing SEO full-time for over 15 years, and still, I cannot fully answer this question in some cases. You see, there are thousands of factors in search algorithms, and the honest answer is that it is out of our control and ultimately up to the search engines to decide.

But what I have done is tested lots of different strategies, keywords and experiments to see what has a positive impact or not. Sometimes, we can make a change, and a product can shoot to 1st place; sometimes, it can take time and move up slowly, and at other times, it can just stand still.

Different Types of eCommerce Keywords

In your eCommerce website, you should be targeting 4 main types of keywords.

• Product Keywords
• Long Tail Keywords
• Buyer Intent Keywords
• Informational Keywords

These can blend into each other in some cases; let us explain.

Product keywords

These are precise terms that potential customers are likely to use when searching for a specific product. Think “LFC Home Kit 2025” or “Nike Air Max 95”.

These keywords are very specific and often include brand names, model numbers, or unique product attributes.

For example, instead of a general term like “running shoes,” a product keyword would be “Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 39”, or the longer tail term “Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 39 in red”. See, this is a product term, but we have just made it a little longer by adding a colour.

If you are doing paid ads, the relevancy of a product listing to a user’s search improves the quality score of pay-per-click (PPC) ads, attracting highly targeted traffic and potentially reducing your CPC.

Long-tail keywords

Did I tell you that tail keywords are my favourite? Well, they are.

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases, typically containing three or more words.

While these keywords generally have lower search volumes compared to shorter, more generic terms, they can have high conversion rates.

An example of a long-tail keyword is “red shoes for women under £20” or “best retro LFC shirts from the 70s”.

The benefits of targeting long-tail keywords should be clear, you will face less competition and attract more qualified traffic. This is because the search intent can be highly focused compared to generic searches people use at the top of the funnel.

They can lead to higher conversions as users are closer to a purchase, increasing your overall revenue by capturing niche demands. This is a smart strategy, especially for smaller companies starting out in highly competitive markets.

Buyer-intent keywords

Buyer or purchase intent keywords search terms indicate a user’s readiness to make a purchase.

These keywords signal that the searcher is not just looking for information but is actively considering or intending to buy a product or service. Let’s just think of these as hot leads, they are ready to buy.

Buyer-intent keywords are often split into transactional and commercial intent in tools such as semrush. Transactional intent keywords directly indicate an intent to purchase, often including terms like “buy,” “order,” or “purchase,” as in “buy red shoes online”.

Commercial intent keywords show that a user is leaning towards a purchase after conducting some research, often using terms like “best,” “top-rated,” or “reviews,” such as “best running shoes 2024”.

So, commercial keywords may not be as hot as transactional keywords, but they do seem to have a high intent to purchase and can often have high search volumes, especially with considered purchases.

As you can imagine, targeting buyer-intent keywords is very important for any eCommerce businesses as they can be powerful drivers of converting traffic.

Keyword Type Table

See these keywords can cross over at points. The term “best retro LFC tops from the 70s” could be classed as both a long-tail keyword and a commercial keyword.

It is important here that we do not forget informational keywords.

These are still important for e-commerce businesses but have less initial purchase intent behind them. They are searches people perform when they are looking for information.

So a search could be “what is the difference between HD and LCD screens. This user may be in the purchase funnel but, they are gathering information. The search engines will want to show these users informational pages, think of blog content for example.

Now, you could draw this traffic to your site and answer the question, but then you will need to divert them to purchase a TV from your eCommerce store and try to funnel them to a collection or product page with your recommendation.

If you get 1000’s of people visiting your website everyday and hardly sell anything, it could be because you are attracting people looking for information as opposed to people looking to purchase.

This is a distinction to make, and as an eCommerce business, the bottom line is you want traffic to convert visitors to customers. Keywords with a purchase intent behind them have a greater chance of converting compared to people who visit the site seeking information.

In Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Keywords serve as a foundation block in eCommerce SEO. They are the terms that help search engines understand the content and purpose of an eCommerce website.

By strategically placing relevant keywords into website elements such as product titles, descriptions, category pages, and blog content, businesses can significantly improve their search visibility and rankings.

This improved visibility will lead to a greater influx of organic traffic, which comprises potential customers actively searching for the types of products your business sells.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising

Google Ads campaigns also rely heavily on keywords. Keywords determine when and where an eCommerce business’s ads will appear in search results.

By bidding on keywords relevant to their products, businesses can target specific customer segments with precision. If a search query matches your landing page, this will impact your ad’s quality score, which in turn can influence the cost-per-click and the ad’s position in search results.

You may also wish to exclude certain keywords from your ads by adding “negative keywords”, these are words you do not wish to bid on because the chances of converting are decreased.

If you sell new Rolex watches, for example, you do not want your ad to show if somebody searches for “pictures of Rolex watches” or “Rolex watches ebay”.

In PPC we focus on buyer-intent keywords within campaigns; this can lead to higher conversion rates and a better return on advertising spend.

Optimising Product Listings in Amazon

Platforms such as Amazon also rely heavily on keywords in your product titles and descriptions. If your listing doesn’t contain the words your potential customer is searching for, you’re invisible. It’s as simple as that.

By understanding the language your customers actually use when searching, you can tailor listings to show up where it matters.

Quick Wins:

• Add relevant keywords naturally in your product title and bullet points.
• Include variations your customers might search.
• Think like a buyer, not a seller.

Where Do You Start?

Good keyword research is the foundation of every page you add to your website, PPC targeting and listing in marketplaces such as Ebay and Amazon. But where do you begin?

Start by flipping the script. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask:
“What would I search for if I wanted this product?”

• Brainstorm initial keyword ideas based on your products and niche.
• Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or even Amazon autocomplete to expand that list.
• Look at your competitors. What terms are they using? Any gaps you can fill?
• And don’t forget about niche or long-tail keywords, these often bring less competition and more qualified traffic.

You may put a long tail keyword into semrush and it may say it gets zero searches per month. But don’t believe the tools blindly; check your google search console, search for yourself online.

I say this to every client, SEO tools are important and can help us make good decisions, but we should not let them make decisions for us.

Look at it this way, if you and 10 competitors all use Semrush as a tool you use to decide what keywords to target, you all become sheep, following what a tool is telling you to target. When one breaks from the pack, they could be targeting keywords competitors fail to target because they are blindly following the recommendations of a tool. The lesson from this is don’t be a sheep. Your experience in the market you operate is worth more than any keyword tool.

So use keyword tools, but do not let them make decisions for you.

Tools That Make Keyword Research Easier

There are loads of tools out there, and new AI-based keyword tools coming out all the time, often with free trials. Here are a few worth trying in my experience.

• Google Keyword Planner – free, solid starting point.
• SEMrush / Ahrefs / Moz – paid tools, but they are full of competitive insights.
• Helium 10 – great for Amazon sellers.
• AnswerThePublic – brilliant for visualising common questions.
• Google Trends – perfect for spotting keyword seasonality.
• Search Console – your secret weapon for seeing what keywords you already rank for. This is gold in the right hands and should not be underestimated.

Wrapping Up

In eCommerce, keywords are the bridge between your products and the people actively searching for them. Mastering this will undoubtedly benefit your business.

Whether you’re running paid ads, optimising product listings, or writing blog content, your success hinges on how well you understand keyword intent and how effectively your pages deliver on it.

And remember, keyword research isn’t a one-time task; it’s an ongoing process that evolves with your market. Combine data with experience, stay curious, and always think like your customer, that’s how you get found, get clicks, and most importantly, get sales.