Keyword Research Guide for Ecommerce Businesses

Keyword research isn’t just for Google’s sake. Knowing the intent behind every search gives you a better understanding of customer demand, so you can create content that meets their needs. 

A GWI study shows that 33% of consumers find new brands and products via search engines like Google. In a FirstPageSage study, the first organic search result had a click-through rate of 39.8%, meaning that if 100 people saw that link, roughly 40 of them clicked on it. When those people click into content that delivers what they want, whether it’s quality information or a thorough product page, they’re getting the most out of their experience. And you’re getting the most out of your keyword strategy.

This guide explains how keyword research fuels ecommerce SEO, explains the four types of search intent, and details how to find the best keywords for your business.

What is keyword research?

Keyword research is the process of sorting through search queries your target customers use and finding the best keywords relevant to your business. Using the right keywords on your site, such as in meta information and copy, does not guarantee top ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). But keywords can improve how prominently you appear on SERPs—especially when paired with content that satisfies Google's EEAT (experience, expertise, authority, and trust) factors and a well-organized site structure.

Organic keyword research

Organic search results are non-sponsored links, answers, and summaries that show up in response to user queries. Keyword research tools like Semrush help you identify which keywords to target with content like blog posts and product descriptions, so your pages can land in those search results organically. 

These tools give you a list of keyword recommendations after you submit your website’s URL or a keyword idea that you have in mind. You can see how many queries each term received in the past month, as well as how difficult it is to rank in the top results for that keyword. 

Paid keyword research

With search engine marketing (SEM), you pay to have your site appear above organic results. To find the best keywords to put paid search ad spend behind, use tools like the Google Keyword Planner for keyword research. This is a free keyword tool, but you need a Google Ads account to use it. Click on Discover New Keywords to see keyword ideas related to your business. To discover the search volume and average ad cost of a list of keywords, click Get Search Volume and Forecasts.

Factors that impact the value of keywords

Monthly search volume, keyword difficulty, and intent all inform the relative value of a keyword.

• Monthly search volume (MSV). This measures the number of queries for a given keyword in the past month. For example, if the monthly search volume for your target keyword is 5,000, that means there were 5,000 searches in the past month for that specific term.

• Keyword difficulty. This measures how difficult it will be to rank on that term, based on the amount of content currently targeting the keyword and the strength of those competing sites. A keyword with a low difficulty score means there’s less content focused on that term, and a keyword with a high difficulty score means the results are already pretty crowded.

• Search intent. This addresses what the searcher means when they look for something. For instance, are they seeking knowledge about a topic (informational) or researching something before buying (commercial)? Discover intent by searching for the term and examining the kinds of results you get.

4 types of search intent

Search intent generally falls into four main categories. Understanding each type helps you create content that matches what searchers are looking for.

• Informational. An informational keyword relates to a searcher looking for an answer to a question, such as “What is retinol?” or “What are OLED screens?” 

• Navigational. Navigational search intent is when people search to find a physical or digital destination without typing in a URL, like “Sephora near me” or “Apple store login.”

• Commercial. A commercial keyword or query relates to someone researching a product to buy, but they’re at the consideration stage of the funnel. Examples include “iPhone 17 vs. Samsung Galaxy S26” or “best anti-aging cream.”

• Transactional. Transactional keywords show that someone is looking for a product page to make a purchase and usually include words like “buy,” “price,” or “subscribe.” In practice, this looks like “Where do I buy the iPhone 17?” or “Paula’s choice repair serum price.”

“Aligning intent with content is the whole point; otherwise you won’t rank,” says Kyle Risley, a senior lead of SEO at Shopify. “Or if you do manage to rank, it’s probably going to be short-lived, and you’re not going to make many sales. You can’t change someone’s intent with a page. You can only align with their intent.”

How to perform keyword research

1. Brainstorm and build a keyword list
2. Examine keyword insights
3. Group keywords based on intent
4. Create a content plan
5. Monitor results to inform further research

Use this process to identify relevant, popular keywords for your ecommerce site, including product pages and blog posts.

1. Brainstorm and build a keyword list

Make a list of products or services you offer, focusing on key benefits. Plug these keyword ideas into an SEO tool’s keyword checker to get related SEO terms, MSV, and keyword difficulty. You can also link to your website’s URL to get keyword suggestions. Note that free tools and trials of tools like Ahrefs and Semrush have restrictions, such as a limited number of keyword results or the inability to sort columns by difficulty or MSV. You can unlock these features in paid plans.

You can also get keyword suggestions by searching for a term and looking at Google’s People Also Ask module, which appears on some searches and shows similar queries featuring keywords you can use. A keyword gap analysis using tools like Semrush or RankingGap shows the difference between where you and your competitors rank on search terms.

Polysleep cofounder Jeremiah Curvers recommends studying what your competitors are doing. “You don't need to be an expert, especially now with so many AI tools,” he says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “It's very easy to build a keyword list based on competitiveness or get a trial of Semrush.” If a competitor is ranking for a keyword that you have yet to target, consider adding it to your list. 

2. Examine keyword insights

Once you have a list, prioritize keywords that have a high search volume (around 1,000 MSV is a good baseline) and low keyword difficulty. Long-tail keywords, or keyword phrases like “best big and tall men’s suits in Las Vegas,” have lower search volume but high intent. You may have a greater chance of showing up in search results of those looking to buy when your products align with those specific searches. 

A strategic keyword list zeroes in on topics and phrases that you can realistically rank for and will help you bring in customers. For example, if you run a skin care boutique, words like moisturizer or lotion may have high MSV but also high competition and attract a wide range of searchers. “Moisturizer for dry skin,” and “gentle face cleanser” are more specific and help you reach customers searching for the types of products you offer. 

3. Group keywords based on intent

SEO tools can indicate a keyword’s search intent. When you look up terms in Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, for example, it indicates the intent for each keyword in the results.

You can also do this manually. Use Google to search the top keywords on your list to see the kinds of results that rank on the first page. Read those results to determine the intent and composition of top-ranking pages, so you can decipher what kinds of content perform well on SERPs. For example, if you see mostly product pages in search results, the keyword likely has transactional intent. If the results include product comparisons and buyer’s guides, the intent is typically commercial.

From here, group the keywords you want to rank on based on their intent, as this will serve as the basis for content plans. 

4. Create a content plan

Look through the keywords in each intent-based group to see how you can best use them in content. Know that not every term will directly lead to a conversion. Your informational keywords are a great resource for how-to content that targets the top of the funnel (people early in the buying process). 

For example, if you manage SEO for a coffee company, you might identify an informational keyword like “What is a light roast coffee?” You can then write a blog post focused on that term, explaining what makes light roast different from other types, including links nudging people toward your light roast beans. This kind of keyword research helps you build content that answers your audience’s needs instead of creating rudderless blog posts that don’t.

“Sometimes if you don’t have a direction, you’ll write a blog, and it’ll be a great blog, but no one’s actually searching for that,” Zero Waste Store cofounder JJ Follano says on an episode of Shopify Masters. “If you could drill down into the keywords you want to target, and build your blogs, your content, your pages around those, you can really get a jumpstart in getting organic rankings and also getting more revenue.”

5. Monitor results to inform further research

Keyword research is a cyclical process. After you publish new content and improve existing pages, keep tabs on performance to better understand which adjustments were the most successful. 

Shopify’s built-in SEO features help you use your keywords to their full potential in blog posts and throughout your site. Use Google Analytics to monitor pages with target keywords and search-optimized blog posts.

According to SEO.com, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to six months to see improvements in traffic as a result of your SEO efforts. If you don’t see an improvement in that time, revisit competitor pages and see what kinds of content you can add to strengthen your site.