Tory Gray joins the SEO Rant Podcast to discuss if eCommerce SEO is different than other types of SEO:
How unique is eCommerce SEO
Do you need to hire an eCommerce SEO specialist?
Are there areas of SEO that are truly unique?
Why eCommerce SEO Is Not That Different Than Other Types of SEO: Episode Synopsis
It seems like every day there's another new type of SEO out there. Whether it be "Saas SEO" or whatever. One of the areas of SEO specialty that has come to the forefront over the last few years is eCommerce SEO. While the web is filled with all sorts of content describing the unique characteristics of eCommerce SEO Tory Gray challenges the notion that eCommerce SEO is that much different from "standard SEO."
If the algorithm is the same for all kinds of pages and types of sites (not that there aren't unique aspects depending on the vertical) and the technical considerations are the same as for any site... then why is eCommerce SEO considered to be that different? That's not to say there are not considerations that are more common with an eCommerce site. The question is are these problems and considerations qualitatively different than any other site? It's not like eCommerce is the same as news content. With a news site, you have all sorts of unique factors to consider - mainly that the content is only relevant for a matter of hours in many cases (and, of course, the whole syndication nightmare SEOs have to face).
While you may have considerations around faceted navigation and seasonality, etc. these are not aspects of SEO that are entirely and extremely foreign to other areas of SEO. If anything, working on a big website can be arguably closer to enterprise SEO than what is often called "eCommerce SEO."
So what? So we've come to think of eCommerce SEO as a specialization, what's the big deal? To Tory, the issue is when SEO agencies claim they are "specialists in eCommerce SEO" and actively discourage folks from using someone who is not a self-proclaimed "eCommerce SEO expert."
Bottom line, there are unique aspects to eCommerce SEO but the vertical is not as specialized as some would like you to think.
Resources:
For more of the SEO Rant Podcast check out our previous episode on the reasons why structured data matters for SEO.