Search engine optimization (SEO) has always been crucial in driving organic traffic to e-commerce websites, but the landscape is evolving fast. With the rise of AI-powered search overviews and generative search, traditional SEO tactics are no longer enough. Google’s AI Overviews are reshaping how product and brand information is presented. If your direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand isn’t adapting, you’re losing visibility to competitors who are.
While most digital marketing teams understand the basics of SEO—optimizing keywords, improving site speed, and creating high-quality content—many still fall into avoidable SEO pitfalls that limit their brand’s potential. Whether it’s failing to structure content for AI-generated results or neglecting technical SEO, these missteps can reduce rankings, impact conversions, and ultimately hurt revenue.
8 E-Commerce SEO Mistakes To Avoid
Building on our article about e-commerce SEO best practices, below we take a deep dive into the most common e-commerce SEO mistakes and how to fix them. We’ll also cover leveraging AI search advancements to ensure your brand stays visible, competitive, and profitable as digital channels evolve.
Let’s dive in!
1. Ignoring AI Overviews and Generative Search
Search engines are no longer just displaying a list of blue links—Google’s AI Overviews and generative search are changing the game. These AI-driven summaries pull information directly from websites and present it at the top of search results, often eliminating the need for users to click through to individual pages.
For DTC brands, this means that if you aren’t optimizing content for AI-generated answers, you risk losing visibility to competitors who are.
Common Mistakes
Users increasingly rely on AI-driven summaries for quick insights, meaning brands must deliver clear, structured, and authoritative content to be included. Many e-commerce brands fail to account for AI-driven search changes, leading to:
- Not optimizing for AI-generated answers – If your content isn’t structured to be featured in AI summaries, your competitors will claim that space instead. Brands that fail to adapt risk being left out of key search conversations.
- Lack of structured content – Without schema markup and clear formatting, search engines may struggle to accurately understand and display your information.
- Focusing only on traditional rankings – AI-driven search is moving beyond keyword matching to prioritize authoritative and well-structured content that directly answers user queries.
Actionable Fix: Optimize for AI Search
To increase your chances of appearing in AI Overviews and generative search results, focus on the following:
- EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) – AI-generated answers favor sources that demonstrate expertise and credibility. Ensure your site features author bios, detailed product information, and links to authoritative sources.
- Answer-based content – Structure your content around questions and direct answers. Use clear headers (H2s and H3s), bullet points, and concise responses that AI can easily extract.
- Structured data markup – Implement schema markup for product pages, FAQs, and reviews to help search engines understand your content better. This increases the likelihood of being featured in AI-generated search results.
Adapt your SEO strategy to these changes to help your DTC brand increase visibility in AI-driven search results, drive more traffic, and maintain a competitive position in search results.
See How To Leverage Structured Data for AI Search
2. Overlooking Technical SEO Issues
Technical SEO is the foundation of a high-performing e-commerce site. Even if your content is strong, technical issues like slow loading times or poor mobile optimization can hurt your rankings and visibility in AI-driven search results.
Google prioritizes fast, user-friendly experiences, and AI-generated search overviews favor well-structured websites that provide seamless navigation.
Common Mistakes
Many DTC brands unknowingly hinder their search performance by neglecting key technical SEO aspects, including:
- Slow page speeds – Large images, unoptimized code, and excessive third-party scripts can slow your site down, leading to higher bounce rates and lower rankings.
- Poor mobile optimization – With mobile-first indexing, Google ranks sites based on their mobile version. A site that isn’t mobile-friendly loses search visibility.
- Broken links and 404 errors – A site with too many broken links signals poor maintenance and hurts user experience.
- Duplicate content issues – Duplicate product descriptions or category pages can confuse search engines and dilute ranking power.
Actionable Fix: Improve Technical SEO
A slow, buggy site discourages potential customers from completing purchases, impacting conversions and sales. To keep your site running smoothly and optimized for search, implement these best practices:
- Conduct regular SEO audits – Use tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, or Ahrefs to identify and fix technical issues.
- Optimize for Core Web Vitals – Improve Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) for a faster and more stable browsing experience.
- Ensure mobile-first compliance – Test your site using Google’s Lighthouse tool and fix any layout or usability issues.
- Fix broken links and redirect errors – Regularly check for 404 errors and set up proper 301 redirects when necessary.
- Address duplicate content – Use canonical tags to signal the preferred version of a page and avoid content duplication issues.
Keeping your technical SEO in check will help your brand improve rankings and ensure your potential customers enjoy a smooth experience on your site.
See How Your E-Commerce Platform Impacts Your SEO
3. Neglecting Product Page Optimization
Your product pages are the heart of your e-commerce store, but poor optimization can reduce visibility and sales. Because search engine results pull detailed product data directly from websites, your pages must be structured, informative, and engaging to stand out.
Common Mistakes
Many DTC brands miss opportunities to optimize their product pages, leading to:
- Generic product descriptions – Using manufacturer-supplied or duplicate descriptions makes it harder for your pages to rank. Unique, benefit-driven copy is essential.
- Missing schema markup – Without structured data (such as Product, Review, and Offer schema), search engines may not properly display your product details in search results.
- Unoptimized images – Large, slow-loading images hurt page speed, and missing alt text reduces accessibility and search visibility.
Actionable Fix: Optimize Your Product Pages
Optimized pages can appear in rich snippets, showing prices, reviews, and availability directly in search results. To ensure your products rank well and appear in AI-powered search results, implement these strategies:
- Use structured data markup – Add Product, Review, and Offer schema to help search engines understand and display key product details.
- Write unique product descriptions – Highlight benefits, use natural language, and include relevant keywords to improve rankings.
- Optimize images – Compress images for faster load times and add descriptive alt text to improve searchability and accessibility.
- Enhance user experience – Ensure pages load quickly, feature clear CTAs and include user-generated content like reviews and FAQs.
Good product pages include clear, detailed descriptions and high-quality images to help shoppers make informed purchase decisions. Here’s an example of a well-optimized product page.
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Now, let’s move on to internal linking, one of the easiest (but often ignored) ways to optimize your content so search engines understand your authority on a topic.
4. Poor Internal Linking Strategy
Internal linking is crucial in SEO and AI-driven search visibility, yet many brands overlook its impact. A well-structured internal linking strategy improves traditional SEO rankings and helps AI search engines understand content relationships.
Common Mistakes
A poor internal linking strategy can lead to:
- Orphan pages – Pages with no internal links pointing to them are harder for search engines to discover and index.
- Broken internal links – Outdated or incorrect links create a poor user experience and weaken your site structure.
- Inconsistent anchor text – Using vague or unrelated anchor text makes it difficult for search engines to understand content relationships.
Actionable Fix: Strengthen Your Internal Linking Strategy
Well-organized content wins. If your site lacks clear internal linking, your pages may be overlooked. To improve your internal linking and maximize visibility in AI and traditional search, implement these best practices:
- Use a topic cluster strategy – Organize content into pillar pages (broad, high-level topics) linked with supporting content (detailed subtopics). This improves site structure and helps AI-driven search understand topic relevance.
- Ensure all important pages are internally linked – Identify orphan pages and integrate them into relevant content.
- Fix broken links – Regularly audit your site to remove or update broken internal links.
- Use consistent, keyword-rich anchor text – Instead of generic phrases like “click here,” use descriptive text like “See our guide on AI-driven SEO strategies.”
- Implement breadcrumb navigation – This will help users and search engines understand the page hierarchy, improving UX and rankings.
Research by Authority Hacker shows that strong internal linking helps search engines discover and rank pages more efficiently. Take the time to map out your content and how it’s linked to ensure content relationships are reinforced with internal links.
5. Ignoring User-Generated Content (UGC) and Social Proof
User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most powerful yet often underutilized SEO assets for e-commerce brands. Consumers trust products with high-quality reviews, ratings, and UGC, leading to higher engagement and more sales.
Common Mistakes
Many brands miss out on the SEO and AI benefits of UGC by:
- Not leveraging product reviews – Reviews increase credibility and provide keyword-rich, natural language content that AI search engines favor.
- Ignoring UGC (photos, videos, testimonials) – AI-driven search considers real user experiences to assess authenticity and engagement.
- Lacking FAQ or Q&A sections on product pages – Customers ask real-world questions that can influence AI Overviews, but many brands fail to provide structured answers.
Actionable Fix: Leverage UGC for SEO and AI Search
To optimize your product pages and overall site experience:
- Encourage and display customer reviews – Highlight them on product pages and use Review Schema to improve visibility in search results.
- Integrate Q&A sections on product pages – Address common customer questions using FAQ Schema to improve AI-generated search visibility.
- Incorporate user-generated photos and videos – Showcase real customer experiences in product galleries and social media.
- Use structured data markup – Implement Review Schema and FAQ Schema to increase the chances of appearing in rich snippets and AI Overviews.
- Repurpose UGC in marketing efforts – Feature testimonials, social media mentions, and video reviews on landing pages, email campaigns, and ads.
Incorporating user-generated content into your SEO and AI strategy will improve your brand’s credibility and search visibility and potentially drive more conversions.
6. Keyword Stuffing Instead of Intent Optimization
While targeting the right keywords is essential for SEO, keyword stuffing—overloading your content with keywords to manipulate rankings—can backfire. Generative search and AI algorithms feature content that directly answers user queries, meaning content must align with search intent rather than just a specific set of keywords.
Common Mistakes
Content that feels unnatural or forced can lead to high bounce rates, damaging rankings and diminishing your site’s authority. Many brands make these common errors when focusing solely on keywords:
- Forcing keywords into content – Overstuffing product descriptions, blog posts, or landing pages with keywords in a way that feels unnatural to the reader.
- Not aligning content with user intent – Creating content based solely on high-volume keywords instead of considering what users truly want when they enter a query.
- Focusing on broad keywords – Failing to account for specific, long-tail queries or nuanced search intents that could drive higher engagement and conversions.
Actionable Fix: Optimize for Search Intent Instead of Keywords
Users are increasingly typing full sentences and natural language queries, so focusing on search intent rather than just keyword density will help you align with this behavior. To improve content relevance and ensure it meets user expectations, try these tactics:
- Focus on conversational search – Write content as if you’re answering a customer’s direct question. For example, instead of just “vitamin C serum,” use phrases like “What’s the best vitamin C serum for sensitive skin?”
- Target long-tail queries – Long-tail keywords often reflect more specific user needs and tend to convert better than broad keywords. Include terms that mirror the way users search for solutions.
- Create content that directly answers questions – Focus on solution-oriented content that helps users find answers quickly. Use FAQs, how-to guides, and other formats that can be featured in AI-generated answers.
- Incorporate natural language optimization – Write in a natural, human-like tone that’s easy to read. Variations of your target keywords can make the content sound authentic rather than robotic.
Optimizing for search intent and providing valuable, answer-driven content will help you improve both traditional SEO and your chances of being featured in AI-generated search results.
See How Our Intent-Focused SEO Strategy Increased Organic Traffic 120%
7. Underestimating Content Strategy for AI Search
Many e-commerce brands invest in SEO but overlook the content depth required to rank well in search results. Comprehensive, well-structured, and authoritative content wins out over shallow or fragmented content.
Common Mistakes
- Publishing shallow blog posts – Short, surface-level content that doesn’t provide in-depth answers or unique insights.
- Neglecting topical authority – Failing to cover a subject comprehensively across multiple pages makes it harder for search engines to recognize your expertise.
- Ignoring evergreen content – Producing only trending or promotional content rather than sustainable, high-value articles that remain relevant over time.
Actionable Fix: Strengthen Your Content Strategy for AI Search
Covering key topics holistically signals to search engines that your brand is an expert in your niche, boosting rankings across multiple pages.
- Create long-form, research-backed content – Focus on producing in-depth guides, comparisons, and educational articles that provide actionable value to users.
- Optimize for featured snippets – Structure content with clear headings, bullet points, and concise answers to increase the chances of being pulled into AI-generated search results.
- Build topical authority – Instead of publishing random blog posts, develop a topic cluster strategy by linking related articles to create a cohesive knowledge hub on a subject.
- Refresh older content regularly – Content that remains useful over time continues to attract visitors, build backlinks, and support search visibility. Update past blog posts with new insights, data, and internal links to keep them relevant and improve their chances of ranking in AI Overviews.
Prioritizing depth, authority, and evergreen content will help your e-commerce brand secure higher rankings, increased visibility in search, and long-term organic growth.
A topic cluster strategy revolves around one pillar page that covers a broad topic comprehensively and multiple cluster pages that dive into specific subtopics. Each cluster links back to the pillar page, strengthening site architecture, improving internal linking, and enhancing topical authority for AI-driven search.
Here’s an example of a topic cluster strategy for an e-commerce vegan handbag brand. The pillar page is a comprehensive page covering materials, benefits, sustainability, and styling tips. And the cluster pages go in-depth on related topics.
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8. Not Adapting To Voice Search and Conversational Queries
Nearly 50% of U.S. internet users use voice search features daily (Oberlo, 2023), and optimizing for them can give brands a competitive edge. Whether through smart assistants like Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, or AI-powered search overviews, people increasingly phrase their searches like natural conversations. E-commerce brands that fail to adapt risk losing visibility.
Common Mistakes
- Ignoring voice search optimization – Not structuring content in a way that directly answers spoken queries.
- Failing to target question-based queries – Overlooking long-tail, conversational phrases like “What’s the best organic coffee for espresso?” instead of just “best organic coffee.”
- Lack of FAQ-style content – Not leveraging dedicated FAQ pages or sections to answer commonly searched questions concisely.
Actionable Fix: Optimize for Conversational and Voice Search
Well-structured, question-answer-based content is more likely to appear in featured snippets and AI-generated responses.
- Create an FAQ section on product pages and blog posts – Answer common customer questions concisely to improve chances of ranking for AI-driven and voice search queries.
- Use natural language and long-tail keywords – Write content that mirrors how people speak, such as “How do I store coffee beans to keep them fresh?” rather than just “coffee bean storage tips.”
- Implement conversational content strategies – Write in a clear, direct, and engaging tone, mimicking real conversations while providing structured, fact-based answers.
- Leverage structured data markup – Use FAQ schema to increase the likelihood of your answers appearing in AI-generated search results and voice search responses.
Adapt your SEO strategy to focus on conversational and voice search-friendly content so your e-commerce brand can capture new search opportunities.
Future-Proof Your E-Commerce SEO Strategy
Avoiding these common SEO mistakes can mean distinguishing between strong search visibility and getting lost in the competition. From ignoring AI overviews and neglecting product page optimization to overlooking voice search and internal linking, each misstep can hurt your brand’s ability to rank and convert customers.
To stay ahead, brands must adapt to AI-driven search trends, leverage structured data, and prioritize user experience. Google’s evolving algorithms reward comprehensive, authoritative, and user-friendly content, making it essential to build an SEO strategy that aligns with these priorities.
Is your e-commerce store optimized for AI search and the latest SEO trends? Conduct an SEO audit with SMA Marketing to identify and fix these mistakes—so your brand can dominate search results and drive more revenue.
Contact us to schedule your free consultation today!
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