Ecommerce SEO plan: collections, guides and localisation

Why this matters

Work through the store in order: audit and fix the pages Google already indexes, map keyword families competitors own, build one collection per family with a supporting guide and comparison page, then localise into a neighbouring country that already sends orders. Each stage supplies the demand data and internal links the next one needs.

Before you start

• Access to an index report listing the URLs currently indexed (e.g. Search Console)
• A keyword research tool for competitor gap analysis
• Access to the store's collection and page templates

How to apply it

1. List the pages Google already indexes

   Export every URL the search engine currently holds for the store before touching anything. This inventory is the baseline the rest of the plan builds on.

   Check

   A file or sheet exists with one row per indexed URL, dated today.

   Copy

2. Fix the indexed pages before adding new onesGeneral best practice

   For each indexed URL, check status code, canonical target and whether the page matches the query it appears for. Correct the broken ones first.

   Check

   Spot-checked URLs return 200 and their canonical resolves to themselves, not to an unrelated URL.

   Copy

3. Map the keyword families competitors own and you do not

   Run a competitor keyword gap: collect the families where competitor URLs rank and the store has no targeting page. One row per family, with the competitor URL and the missing page.

   Check

   The gap sheet lists each family with at least one competitor URL and no matching URL on your site.

   Copy

4. Build one collection per keyword familyGeneral best practice

   Create a collection page for each family with commercial intent, with unique copy, a clear title and internal links from navigation and related collections.

   Check

   Each family has a live collection URL that returns 200, is indexable, and is linked from the site navigation or a related collection.

   Copy

5. Add a guide and a comparison page to each collectionGeneral best practice

   Write one buying guide and one comparison page per collection, and link them to the collection and back.

   Check

   View source of the collection page contains links to its guide and comparison URLs, and both pages link back to the collection.

   Copy

6. Localise into the country that already sends orders

   Pick the neighbouring country that already converts, research its own keyword set locally, and publish translated collections and guides under a country or language path.

   Check

   The localised collection URLs return 200 and target locally researched terms rather than translated home-market terms.

   Copy

7. Declare the language versions with hreflangGeneral best practice

   Add reciprocal hreflang annotations between the original and localised URLs, plus an x-default for the fallback version.

   Check

   Each localised page's head lists reciprocal rel=alternate hreflang tags that point back to the original URL.

   Copy

8. Automate the application with an agent, with reviewGeneral best practice

   Have an assistant apply the agreed changes through an MCP connection, but route the output through a pull request or staging review before merging.

   Check

   The changes exist as a reviewable diff or staged version, and production is unchanged until it is approved.

   Copy

Tags#hreflang#internal-links#keyword-research#search-intent

Source: @nicholasdulait on 2026-10-15original postreport an error