BigCommerce is widely considered one of the more SEO-friendly e-commerce platforms out of the box. Compared to some alternatives, it handles many common technical SEO issues automatically and provides good controls for metadata, URL structure, and canonical tags. However, "better than average defaults" is not the same as "fully optimised," and most BigCommerce stores have significant headroom for improved organic performance through targeted technical and content optimisation.
What Does BigCommerce Get Right for SEO by Default?
Understanding BigCommerce's native SEO strengths helps you focus your optimisation time on areas that require action rather than repeating work the platform already handles.
Canonical tags: BigCommerce automatically generates canonical tags that point to the preferred URL for each product and category page. This handles the most common faceted navigation and parameter-based duplicate content scenarios without manual configuration.
SSL by default: All BigCommerce stores include HTTPS, which eliminates the HTTP vs HTTPS duplicate content and security issues that require manual resolution on older platforms.
Mobile-responsive themes: BigCommerce's built-in themes are mobile-responsive, which is a prerequisite for mobile-first indexing.
Structured URL structure: BigCommerce generates clean URLs by default. Products are accessible at /[product-name]/, categories at /[category-name]/, and there is no requirement to include .html extensions (though they can be enabled).
XML sitemaps: BigCommerce automatically generates and updates XML sitemaps for products, categories, and pages. The sitemap URL is typically yourdomain.com/xmlsitemap.php.
What Are BigCommerce's SEO Limitations?
Subfolder structure for products: By default, BigCommerce places all products under a single path structure. This is fine for most stores, but some specific URL architecture requirements are harder to implement on BigCommerce than on more customisable platforms like Magento.
Limited control over URL structure: BigCommerce does not allow you to completely customise your URL structure in the way a self-hosted platform does. You can edit individual page URLs but cannot apply global URL rewrite rules.
Blog is limited: BigCommerce's native blog module is basic. For stores that want to run a comprehensive content marketing programme, the native blog's lack of features (no categories, limited tagging, basic editor) is a constraint. Many BigCommerce stores supplement with a headless CMS or a WordPress blog for content.
App dependency for some SEO features: Some advanced SEO features require third-party apps from the BigCommerce App Marketplace, which adds cost and dependency.
How Do You Optimise BigCommerce Product Pages?
Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
BigCommerce allows you to customise title tags and meta descriptions for every product, category, and content page. This is the most important on-page SEO element to configure correctly.
Navigate to your product in the admin panel and find the "Search Engine Optimization" section. Set:
Title tag: Include the primary keyword early. Follow the format: [Product Name with key descriptors] | [Brand or Store Name]. Keep within 55 to 60 characters. For products, including key specifications (size, colour, key feature) in the title helps differentiate and match long-tail queries.
Meta description: Write a compelling 150 to 160-character summary that includes the primary keyword, a key differentiator (free UK delivery, in stock, UK specification), and a call to action. Do not leave this as BigCommerce's auto-generated default, which is typically the first sentence of the product description.
Product Descriptions
Product descriptions on BigCommerce are editable rich text. The quality of your product descriptions directly affects both ranking and conversion.
Unique product descriptions are essential. If your store uses manufacturer-supplied descriptions, your content is duplicated across every other retailer using the same supplier copy. Google cannot differentiate your product page from competitors' using the same text.
Write original descriptions that: explain what the product is and what it does, highlight the key benefits (not just features), address common questions buyers have, include relevant keywords naturally, and describe dimensions, materials, compatibility, and other specifications that buyers search for.
For products with multiple variants (colours, sizes), ensure the product description addresses the range of variants rather than describing only the default variant shown.
Product Images and Alt Text
BigCommerce supports multiple product images and allows alt text to be configured for each image. Alt text should:
- Describe the image accurately for accessibility purposes
- Include the product name and key descriptor naturally (not keyword-stuffed)
- Be unique per image where multiple images show different aspects or variants
BigCommerce does not automatically generate WebP versions of your images. Consider using an image CDN or app (such as TinyIMG or similar BigCommerce apps) to serve optimised image formats and sizes.
How Do You Optimise BigCommerce Category Pages?
Category Page Descriptions
BigCommerce allows you to add custom HTML content to category pages above the product grid. This is one of the most impactful improvements for most BigCommerce stores, because the default category page has no unique content beyond the product listing.
Add a category description of 150 to 300 words that:
- Includes the primary category keyword naturally in the first sentence
- Describes the range of products available and what differentiates your selection
- Includes relevant secondary keywords and related terms
- Links to key subcategories or related categories
This description provides Google with the textual content to understand what the category page is about and rank it for category-level queries.
Faceted Search and Filter Management
BigCommerce's faceted search (product filtering) creates URL variants for filtered product views. BigCommerce handles these with canonical tags pointing to the unfiltered category URL, which prevents indexing of filter combinations in most cases.
However, verify this is working correctly by:
- Navigating to a filtered category URL on your store
- Viewing the page source and searching for the canonical tag
- Confirming the canonical points to the clean category URL without filter parameters
If the canonical tag is missing or incorrect on filtered URLs, investigate your theme's implementation and the BigCommerce plan level, as some features are plan-specific.
How Do You Handle BigCommerce Structured Data?
BigCommerce themes typically include basic Product structured data by default, but the completeness and accuracy of this markup varies by theme.
Verify Existing Structured Data
Use Google's Rich Results Test to check what structured data is currently generated on your product and category pages. Identify which properties are present and which are missing.
Product schema should include: name, description, image, sku, brand, offers (with price, priceCurrency, availability, url).
Review/AggregateRating schema: If you display product reviews, add AggregateRating schema to your product pages. BigCommerce's built-in review system can be marked up with schema if your theme supports it; otherwise, a custom schema implementation may be needed.
Adding Missing Schema
BigCommerce allows you to add custom code via theme files and script manager. For schema that is not generated by default:
- BreadcrumbList schema can be added to category and product pages to enable breadcrumb display in search results
- Organization schema can be added to your homepage for brand entity signals
- FAQPage schema can be added to product pages with FAQ sections
How Do You Improve BigCommerce Page Speed?
Page speed is a ranking signal and a conversion factor. BigCommerce's hosted infrastructure provides good baseline performance, but there are store-specific optimisations:
Theme selection and customisation: Some BigCommerce themes are significantly heavier than others. If you are building a new store, evaluate theme performance with PageSpeed Insights before committing. If your existing theme is slow, identify which elements are causing the most slowdown.
App script management: Third-party apps inject JavaScript into your storefront. Too many app scripts significantly increase page load times. Audit your installed apps and remove any that are no longer needed. For scripts that are needed, ensure they load asynchronously rather than blocking render.
Image optimisation: Use BigCommerce's app marketplace to find image optimisation tools that compress and serve images in next-gen formats (WebP).
BigCommerce CDN: BigCommerce includes a CDN for static assets. Ensure your store is configured to use BigCommerce's CDN for image and asset delivery.
Monitor Core Web Vitals performance in Google Search Console's Core Web Vitals report, and address any "Poor" URLs as a priority.
Dynamically optimises BigCommerce stores for UK e-commerce brands as part of our technical SEO and conversion optimisation service. If your BigCommerce store is not generating the organic traffic your product range warrants, get in touch for an e-commerce SEO review.
