Learning eCommerce SEO from Scratch: a Dev's Journey to Visibility
What if your business could skip ads and social media marketing, and still pull a steady stream of traffic?
That’s what true search visibility can bring, and it’s what I’m going to figure out.
I built a fully functioning eCommerce website. Only, this site doesn’t just sell prints. It’s also my test bed for Search Engine Optimisation for eCommerce businesses. It’s going to be a tough journey, but I’m going to build a system to help businesses get discovered through the world wide web.
There’s going to be a lot to talk about on the way.
Here’s what we’re going into this time…
My pivot into digital marketing and what I can bring to the field
The test project I’ll be learning with
The goal of both the pivot and this newsletter.
Dev turns to SEO
I’ve been writing code for the last 11 years.
I’m not crazy about it. To be honest, writing anything that wasn’t web front end code did my head in a bit. But the good news is I’ve become pretty darn knowledgeable about the tech that underlies most websites.
And a good chunk of it transfers straight into digital marketing.
I already know how websites are built, how they break, and how search engines read them.
I’ve spent years fixing accessibility, responsiveness…core web vitals. All things search engines love.
The kinds of data schema for SEO are child’s play compared to some schemas I’ve worked with in 11 years as a software engineer.
Given I already speak “fluent dev”, this is definitely going to be a place I can bring value.
My very own eCommerce store: London Canvas
Turns out, when you shed the veil of “I’m too scared I’ll fail”, it’s surprisingly easy to start a small business.
I’m now the founder of a business called London Canvas, an eCommerce site which sells canvas prints of my photography. It’s small, sustainable, and rooted in an art I truly love.
Here’s the kicker — I never intended for London Canvas to make me into a millionaire. Whilst it’s a real business I’m invested in, it’s also going to be my test bed for that other important thing for online businesses: discoverability.
Here’s why London Canvas is the perfect place for this challenge.
The site is new. Who knows if Google’s sandbox effect is real? (Well, some people at Google probably know, but that’s neither here nor there). If I can convince Google to trust my site in 3-6 months from conception, I’ll know I’m onto a winner.
Getting discovered by LLMs is also going to be a huge challenge for a brand that barely exists on the web. But the challenge is not insurmountable.
SEO for eCommerce websites is an extremely valuable niche-within-a-niche.
And hey; if any extra traffic earns me a bit of extra beer money, great!
And how are London Canvas’ rankings so far?
Google is the big game.
There’s value in optimising for other search engines, but it’s not just Google’s larger market share that I’m interested in. With branding, trust signals and judgement of content quality, Google is much more particular.
For example, with some great technical SEO but only 2 blog posts and just a single backlink…
Already at the top of Bing search for “London Canvas”.
Second in search on DuckDuckGo.
On the first few pages for other search engines like Yandex and Ecosia.
Nowhere to be found on Google.
(These ranks were true of the time of writing; they might have changed in either direction by the time you’re reading!)
I reached rank 40 before I fell off the chart. I’m not totally sure why Google dropped me, but it’s likely to do with trust signals; this being, Google doesn’t trust London Canvas as a brand yet. And that’s fine. It’s one of the parts of the challenge I’m looking forward to.
I’m going to have a hell of a time figuring it all out.
My offer: discoverability for eCommerce websites
There are two goals for this project:
Reach the top of Google search for my brand name.
Be mentioned by any LLM. Tall order, but I’m not in a hurry.
In this newsletter, I’m going to document my journey. I’ll be sharing:
Everything I learn on building a system which boosts discoverability over time.
Insights on techniques I find and apply.
Progress with London Canvas and the various other projects I take on.
I’m going to build a system which helps brands — in particular, eCommerce businesses — get found.
I’ll make it happen for myself. Maybe I’ll make it happen a few times in the next year.
It won’t be easy. But man, it’s going to be rewarding.
If you care about search and discoverability, especially for eCommerce businesses, I’d love to have you follow along.
Wish me luck. If this sounds like your kind of rabbit hole, hit subscribe.
-tommy