Shoppers looking for the same cordless drill search for it in very different ways. Some type "cordless drill". Others type "brushless cordless drill", "cordless drill with battery and charger", "best cordless drill for home use" or "cordless drill vs impact driver".
Each of those searches comes from a shopper at a different point in buying, and each is best answered by a different page on your store.
Ecommerce keyword research finds those searches and matches them to the right pages. This guide walks through the process step by step with one product throughout, then covers where each keyword goes on the site.
What is ecommerce keyword research?
Ecommerce keyword research is the process of finding the words shoppers use to search for products, then assigning each search term to the page best placed to rank for it. That can be a product page, a category page, a comparison page or a buying guide. It covers product and category terms along with the questions shoppers ask before they buy.
Why is keyword research important for ecommerce?
Shoppers search in their own words, and those words rarely match how a catalog is organized. A product listed as "CDX-20 drill driver kit" misses the shopper who types "20v cordless drill with battery".
Keyword research shows which terms belong in product titles and category pages so they match real searches. It also shows where demand is big enough to justify a dedicated page, such as a category for brushless drills or a guide comparing drills with impact drivers.
For large catalogs, it also sets the keyword patterns applied to every product in a category. At 50,000 SKUs, product titles are written to patterns, so getting the pattern right for one category improves thousands of pages at once.
What types of keywords does an ecommerce site need?
Most ecommerce keywords fall into five groups, and each group maps to a different kind of page.
| Keyword type | Example | Monthly US searches | Best page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | cordless drills | 4,400 | Category page |
| Product | dewalt 20v max cordless drill | 1,300 | Product page |
| Attribute (long-tail) | brushless cordless drill | 320 | Filtered category page or product page |
| Comparison | drill vs impact driver | 5,400 | Buying guide or comparison article |
| Informational | how to use a cordless drill | 90 | Blog or help article |
Search volumes: Semrush, US, September 2026.
The best keywords for ecommerce combine purchase intent with enough search volume to matter. Product and attribute keywords tend to convert best, because the shopper already knows what they want.
Category keywords bring the most traffic and are the hardest to rank for. "Cordless drill" gets 18,100 searches a month in the US, with a keyword difficulty of 49 out of 100.
Which keyword metrics matter for ecommerce?
Four numbers do most of the work when choosing keywords.
- Search volume. Average monthly searches for a term. It shows demand, but on its own it says nothing about whether the searcher wants to buy.
- Keyword difficulty. A 0 to 100 score for how hard it is to reach the first page. Semrush rates "brushless cordless drill" at 29 and "best cordless drill" at 51.
- Search intent. What the searcher wants: to buy, to compare, to learn or to reach a specific site. Intent decides which page should target the keyword.
- Cost per click (CPC). What advertisers pay for a click in Google Ads. A higher CPC signals commercial value. "Brushless cordless drill" costs $0.38 a click, while "cordless drill vs impact driver" costs $0.03.
Difficulty scores differ between tools, so compare terms inside the same tool.
How do you do keyword research for ecommerce?
The seven steps below follow one example throughout: a home improvement retailer working on its cordless drill category.
1. Start with the searches you already appear for
Open the Performance report in Google Search Console and filter by page. Look for queries with plenty of impressions and few clicks. Google already connects these searches to your page, so a sharper title or more relevant copy can move it onto page one.
Example: the retailer's cordless drill category page shows impressions for "brushless cordless drill" at an average position of 18. That term goes straight onto the shortlist.
2. Build seed keywords from your category tree and attributes
Your catalog already holds most of your seed keywords. Pull category names from your product taxonomy, then add the attribute values shoppers filter by, such as voltage or motor type. Include the brand names customers search for.
Example: cordless drill, drill driver, 20v, brushless, drill with battery and charger, DeWalt, Milwaukee.
3. Expand the list with a keyword tool
Run each seed through a keyword tool to find variations and related searches. Google autocomplete and marketplace search bars such as Amazon's add phrasing that tools miss.
Example: expanding "cordless drill" surfaces "cordless drill with battery and charger" at 480 searches a month and "best cordless drill for home use" at 22,200.
4. Group keywords by intent, then rank by volume
Sort the expanded list into buying keywords and research keywords first. Intent decides which page a keyword belongs on, and volume and difficulty decide its priority within each group.
Example: "20v cordless drill" and "brushless cordless drill" are buying terms for the category page. "Best cordless drill for home use" and "drill vs impact driver" are research terms for a buying guide.
5. Check competitors for gaps
A keyword gap report in Semrush or Ahrefs lists the terms competitors rank for and you don't. Competitor category pages are worth a look too, because the filters they offer often reveal attribute keywords missing from your own navigation.
Example: a competitor ranks for "cordless drill with battery and charger" and offers a filter for kits that include a battery. The retailer has no such filter, so the term goes on the list along with a new filter.
6. Give every page one primary keyword
Assign each keyword to one page, with one primary keyword per page and a few close variants. When two pages target the same primary keyword, they compete with each other and both tend to rank lower.
Example: the retailer's keyword map.
| Page | Primary keyword | Variants |
|---|---|---|
| Cordless drills category | cordless drills | cordless drill, 20v cordless drill |
| Brushless drills subcategory | brushless cordless drill | brushless drill driver |
| DeWalt 20V MAX drill product page | dewalt 20v max cordless drill | dewalt 20v drill kit |
| Drill vs impact driver guide | drill vs impact driver | cordless drill vs impact driver |
7. Track rankings and refresh the list
Review rankings and Search Console data every quarter, and whenever you add a category or enter a new market. New products and seasonal demand both shift which keywords are worth targeting.
Example: after adding a line of 12V compact drills, the retailer adds "12v cordless drill" to the map and gives the line its own subcategory page.
Where should keywords go on an ecommerce site?
Once each page has its keywords, place them where shoppers and search engines look first.
- Product titles. Lead with the terms shoppers search for. "DeWalt 20V MAX Brushless Cordless Drill Kit with Battery and Charger" covers both the brand search and the attribute searches in one title.
- Product descriptions and bullets. Use the primary keyword where it reads naturally, and cover the attributes behind long-tail searches.
- Attribute values and filters. Filter labels such as "Brushless" or "Battery included" match attribute searches and can support indexable filtered pages.
- Category page titles and intro copy. The H1, meta title and a short intro should carry the category keyword. The category page SEO checklist covers the rest.
- Meta titles and descriptions. Put the primary keyword near the start of the title. A meta title generator speeds this up across many pages.
- Image alt text and file names. Describe the product in the words shoppers use.
Write for the shopper first and use each keyword where it reads naturally.
On a catalog of tens of thousands of products, this work runs on patterns: a title formula and a set of required attributes for each category, applied to every product in it. Hypotenuse AI works high-volume, low-difficulty keywords into product titles and descriptions across the catalog, fills attributes with keyword-relevant values and flags keyword opportunities that competitor product pages cover and yours don't. See SEO and GEO for ecommerce.
How does keyword research change for AI search?
Shoppers also ask AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Google's AI Mode for product recommendations, in full sentences: "what's a good cordless drill for occasional home repairs under $150?"
Queries like this rarely show up in keyword tools, because each one is phrased differently. They do show up as long, question-style queries in Search Console, and in "People also ask" boxes, on-site search logs, product reviews and customer service tickets.
The practical response is to answer them on the page, with complete attributes and FAQs written the way shoppers ask. More on this in our guide to generative engine optimization for ecommerce.
Which tools help with ecommerce keyword research?
- Google Keyword Planner. Free with a Google Ads account. Keyword ideas and search volume ranges from Google's own data.
- Google Search Console. Free. The queries your pages already appear for, with impressions and average position for each. The best starting point for step 1.
- Semrush. Paid. Volume and difficulty for any term, plus a keyword gap tool for comparing your site with competitors.
- Ahrefs. Paid. Keywords Explorer for volume and difficulty, and Site Explorer to see which keywords a competitor ranks for.
Frequently asked questions
How many keywords should an ecommerce product page target?
One primary keyword plus two to four close variants. The primary keyword goes in the product title and meta title, and the variants fit into the description and attributes.
How often should you do ecommerce keyword research?
Review your keyword map every quarter. Redo the research for a category when you launch it or enter a new market.
Can AI do keyword research for ecommerce?
AI can expand seed lists and group keywords by intent. It can also apply the chosen keywords across thousands of product pages, which is the slowest part to do by hand. Search volume and difficulty still come from keyword tools and Search Console. Hypotenuse AI finds keyword opportunities and applies them across your catalog.
Is ecommerce keyword research different from regular keyword research?
It follows the same method with a different focus. Ecommerce research centers on product and attribute searches, and most of the work is mapping thousands of them to the right product and category pages. For the general method, see our keyword research guide.
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