E-commerce
September 17, 2026
Are you wondering how to improve the ranking factors specific to your e-commerce site? The answer is simple: stop copying generic lists and analyze your own data. Every store has unique strengths and weaknesses, and it is by comparing your high-performing pages to the others that you will discover what truly works for you.
The pitfall? Ready-made lists of ranking factors do not take into account your context, your audience, or your goals. A tailored approach, based on your statistics, is much more reliable for increasing your organic traffic and your sales.
So, how do you improve the ranking factors specific to your site? On the agenda:
Why are generic lists of ranking factors outdated?
How to compare your high-performing pages to identify your key factors?
What content length and meta description length should you adopt?
How to use the Index Coverage report to improve your indexing?
What data should you analyze and how should you visualize it to guide your actions?
Let's get started.
Summary
Why are generic lists of ranking factors outdated?
Generic lists of ranking factors, such as "the top 10 SEO factors," have long been popular. But they do not reflect the reality of your store. Every e-commerce site has its own strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. What works for a clothing merchant will not necessarily work for a software seller.
Furthermore, these lists often ignore contextual factors, such as geographical proximity for mobile searches. A customer looking for a "shoe store near me" will see different results depending on their location. A generic list cannot capture this nuance.
Finally, the opinions of SEO experts differ. If you ask five specialists for their top 10, you will get five different answers. Each speaks from their own experience, but this does not apply directly to your situation. Therefore, it is better to focus on your own data.
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How to compare your top-performing pages to identify your key factors?
An effective method is to analyze your own pages. Group your pages by performance: those that attract the most organic visitors, and those that attract fewer. Then compare their characteristics: content length, number of internal links, quality of meta descriptions, etc.
For example, if your most visited pages all have more than 3,000 words, that is a strong signal. You can then experiment by enriching the content of underperforming pages to reach this length. Similarly, if your pages with meta descriptions of around 150 characters perform better, adjust yours accordingly.
This approach does not guarantee that these changes will improve your rankings, but it gives you concrete paths to test. You will know exactly which SEO experiments to launch, based on real data rather than assumptions.
What content length should you adopt for your pages?
The question of the ideal page length comes up often. The simple answer: your content should be as long as necessary to help your audience. But in practice, data shows that longer pages tend to rank better.
By analyzing an e-commerce site, we find that pages with around 3,000 words attract, on average, more new organic visitors than shorter pages. The majority of pages on this site did not reach this optimal length, which offered an opportunity for experimentation.
This does not mean that every page should have 3,000 words. A short product page can be perfect if it meets the buyer's needs. But for guide pages, categories, or blog posts, aiming for a substantial length can help cover the topic in depth and satisfy search intent.
What length for your meta descriptions?
Meta descriptions play an important role in click-through rates from search results. Data analysis shows that pages with meta descriptions of around 152 characters attract more new organic visitors on average.
This does not mean you need to measure every character, but rather that you should write concise, informative, and compelling meta descriptions. They should summarize the page content and encourage clicks, while remaining relevant to the query.
Test different lengths and phrasings to see what works best for your audience. Use data from your high-performing pages as a starting point, then adjust based on the results.
How to use the Index Coverage report?
The index coverage report, available in Google Search Console, is a valuable tool. It shows you which pages Google has indexed and why some are not. It is a goldmine of information to improve your SEO.
For example, you can see pages classified as "indexed, low interest". By analyzing these pages, you may discover that they have less content or fewer internal links than well-indexed pages. This gives you concrete leads for improvement.
The report does not directly tell you if the problem comes from a lack of links or content, but by crossing this data with other metrics, you can identify the probable causes and act accordingly.
Why are internal links essential?
Analysis of data from an e-commerce site shows that the number of internal links pointing to a page is a major factor in its indexing. Pages with more internal links are more likely to be indexed and rank well.
This is because internal links help Google discover your pages and understand their relative importance. By strategically linking your key pages, you signal to Google that they deserve to be indexed and ranked.
For pages that generate revenue, such as product or category pages, it is essential to make them easily accessible via internal links from other pages on your site. This increases their visibility and ranking potential.
How to visualize your data to guide your actions?
To make informed decisions, it is helpful to visualize your data. A business intelligence tool like Tableau can help you create clear charts. But you can also use Google Sheets and its add-ons to analyze your data.
The idea is to group your pages by characteristics (content length, number of internal links, etc.) and compare them to their performance (traffic, conversions, revenue). This allows you to spot trends and correlations.
For example, you can create a chart showing the word count per page and the average organic traffic. If you see that pages with more words have more traffic, you know what to test. This data-driven approach is much more reliable than guesswork.
What data should you extract from Google Analytics?
To start, you need to extract the right data from Google Analytics. Focus on performance metrics: new users, pages per session, average session duration, bounce rate, average order value, and revenue.
Also add dimensions such as source and medium, to filter only organic traffic, and landing page, to analyze each page individually. This allows you to compare pages with each other.
Use a Google Sheets add-on to query the Google Analytics API and bypass the interface limits. This will allow you to extract large volumes of data and analyze them more easily.
How to clean and organize your data?
Once your data is extracted, it is essential to clean it. Remove unnecessary rows of information, correct formatting errors, and ensure the data is consistent. For example, check that URLs are uniform and that metrics are in the correct units.
Next, group your pages into relevant categories: for example, pages with fewer than 500 words, between 500 and 1,000, between 1,000 and 3,000, and over 3,000. This allows you to compare the performance of each group.
Good cleaning ensures that your analyses are reliable and that the conclusions you draw from them are valid. Take the time for this step, it is crucial for the quality of your decisions.
How to interpret correlations and test your hypotheses?
When you visualize your data, you will see correlations. For example, pages with more words have more traffic, or pages with more internal links are better indexed. But beware: correlation does not mean causation.
These correlations give you clues about what might work, but you need to test them. For example, if you find that pages with 3,000 words perform better, try enriching a 1,000-word page and observe the impact on its traffic.
This experimental approach allows you to validate your hypotheses and continuously refine your SEO strategy. This way, you avoid blindly following generic checklists and build a tailored strategy for your shop.
How can Qstomy boost your ranking factors?
Qstomy, the AI agent of your Shopify store, does not just improve the customer experience. It can also contribute to your SEO by optimizing key elements of your site. For example, by generating unique and rich product descriptions, it helps to increase the length of your pages, an important ranking factor.
In addition, Qstomy can create smart product recommendations that encourage visitors to explore more pages, thereby increasing page views and time spent on the site. These engagement signals are positive for SEO.
Finally, by integrating customer service answers into your content, Qstomy helps you create useful pages that answer customer questions. These pages can attract organic traffic and improve your topical authority, thereby strengthening your ranking factors.
Checklist to improve your ranking factors
Before you get started, here is a checklist to structure your approach:
Audit your pages: identify your high-performing and low-performing pages.
Data collection: extract key metrics from Google Analytics and Search Console.
Comparative analysis: compare the characteristics of high-performing and underperforming pages.
Hypothesis formulation: formulate hypotheses on the factors to improve.
Experimentation: test one change at a time and measure the impact.
In short, improve your ranking factors based on your data, not on generic lists. Test, measure, iterate.
FAQ
How long does it take to see results? SEO takes time, often several months. Be patient and consistent.
Should I follow all SEO trends? No, focus on what works for your site and your audience.
Can Qstomy really help my SEO? Yes, by improving content and engagement, it helps strengthen your ranking factors.
To go further: SEO for e-commerce sites: strategies that really work - Qstomy, E-commerce CRO: how to transform traffic into sales - Qstomy, E-commerce SEO strategy for category pages - Qstomy, Using AI in your SEO strategy: Google framework, Shopify Magic and governance - Qstomy, How does SEO work for e-commerce sites? - Qstomy, Training an e-commerce chatbot with Shopify: using the right data without creating wrong answers - Qstomy, Increase sales with smart product recommendations - Qstomy.
Enzo
September 17, 2026
