How can online stores optimise product feeds, schema, and categories for better traffic?

Most ecommerce brands fail at the basics. Out of 100 clients, more than 60% had no optimized product feed. A strong product feed in Merchant Center is the foundation: it must reflect real availability, correct attributes (like size, color, brand), and be updated regularly. Add schema markup so Google can surface products in Shopping and organic listings.

Also, collect data from all three key sources:

• Google Merchant Center: Product feed performance.
• Google Search Console: Visibility and impressions.
• Google Analytics: Conversion data.

Finally, own your niche. Google rewards topical authority. Build deep taxonomy and content around your best-selling categories. If you sell shoes, don’t just have “shoes” as a category. Add dedicated pages for each brand, gender, color, and style if that makes sense with your products.

To recap:

1. Product Feed as a Growth Lever:
   • Brands with optimized feeds see 20–30% more impressions in Google Shopping.
   • Visibility in both paid and free Shopping listings.
2. Schema Markup:
   • Product schema helps Google understand pricing, availability, reviews, and categories.
   • Studies show that schema can increase CTR by up to 30% because of rich snippets.
3. Category Expansion:
   • Instead of 20 categories, ecommerce brands often could have 200+. Each subcategory acts as an SEO asset.
   • Example: “Running shoes” can expand into “Nike running shoes,” “red Nike running shoes,” “Nike Air Zoom Pegasus.”
4. Topical Authority:
   • Create supporting content like blogs, copmarisons and guides. For example, “How to choose the right running shoes” builds trust and drives long-tail traffic.
   • Internal linking between guides, categories, and product pages strengthens your SEO.

Related questions

What is topical authority for ecommerce, and how do you build it?