If you spend a lot of time in Google Analytics or Google Search Console, you’ve likely noticed that your traffic from organic search is on the decline, even if your rankings are stronger than ever.
Many of the 6- and 7-figure e-commerce brands I’m talking with are finally waking up to the reality that traditional SEO strategies aren’t delivering the same results as they did a year ago. That’s not because SEO is dead. It’s because the way people are using technology to discover, research, and choose products is evolving rapidly, and AI is leading that evolution.
Many buyers today don’t just search Google and click a link. Instead, they open ChatGPT and ask a question. They browse Reddit threads. They watch YouTube explainers. They consult AI Overviews directly on the Google results page. In this new world, ecommere SEO is no longer about simply ranking high; it’s about becoming relevant and useful to the engines and platforms that help people make decisions.
Let’s break down what this shift means and what e-commerce brands must do to stay visible, relevant, and recommended in an AI-powered search landscape… and just so we’re clear… SEO is not dead.
1. Your Rankings Might Still Be There… But Clicks Are Flat or On The Decline
One of the most frustrating changes for many brands is that their Google rankings haven’t fallen, but their traffic has. The culprit? Google’s AI Overviews and other zero-click search experiences are now giving users the information they need without requiring them to visit your site. Even more disruptive, tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude are acting as intermediaries in the research process. They summarize information, recommend products, and answer questions, often without citing or linking to your website.
That means the visibility you worked hard for might still exist, but it’s no longer translating into site visits, brand interactions, or conversions. If you’re only focused on where your brand appears in traditional Google rankings, you may be missing the bigger picture: the real competition now is for attention within AI-generated experiences.
2. Your Shopify Backend Is Either Helping or Hurting You
It’s not just your front-end design or keyword targeting that matters anymore. AI relies on structured, well-organized data to interpret and surface product information accurately. If your Shopify backend is inconsistent, missing key fields, or relying on vague or duplicate content, you’re not just creating friction for users; you’re making it harder for AI to understand what you sell and who it’s for.
Your backend should reflect a clear, structured, and complete representation of your products. From product specifications and metafields to collection hierarchy and internal linking, your site architecture influences how AI models interpret your brand and product relevance.
What matters more than ever:
- Structured product data (sizes, materials, use cases, specs)
- Consistent naming conventions and metafields
- Complete product descriptions written in natural, conversational language
- FAQs attached to product and collection pages
- Up-to-date LLMs.txt files
The better organized and more comprehensive your backend is, the more “legible” your brand becomes to the algorithms shaping consumer decisions.
3. FAQ-Based Content Is Now Non-Negotiable
The LLM’s don’t use keywords the way humans do. Instead of typing “vitamin D3 supplement,” users now ask, “What helps with fatigue but won’t upset my stomach?” LLMs like ChatGPT are trained on conversational data and are optimized to answer these types of questions directly. If your site isn’t addressing real customer questions in natural language, you’re not giving AI a reason to include you in the conversation.
That’s why FAQ-based content is one of the most high-leverage SEO tactics right now. Not only does it help with traditional SEO (especially inclusion in Google’s “People Also Ask” and featured snippets), but it also feeds the LLMs with language that aligns with real customer intent.
Why FAQs are powerful:
- They mirror real customer language.
- They address pre-purchase objections (shipping, sizing, usage).
- They increase inclusion in People Also Ask (Google) and LLM responses (ChatGPT, Perplexity).
- They improve internal linking and on-page time.
What to do:
- Add 3-5 FAQs to every key product and collection page.
- Answer them conversationally… not like a helpdesk, but like a brand advisor.
- Use schema markup so AI can easily identify them.
4. Reviews Are Now Visibility Tools, Not Just Conversion Tools
Most brands think of reviews as bottom-of-funnel tools that are important for building trust and improving conversion rates. But in the AI era, reviews are also top-of-funnel signals. Large language models crawl public reviews on platforms like Trustpilot, Google, and Reddit to learn how your product performs in the real world. These reviews help machines determine if your product is worth recommending.
It’s not just the presence of reviews that matters. It’s the language inside them. When customers describe specific outcomes, benefits, and experiences, it gives AI more confidence in suggesting your product for similar queries.
Use reviews strategically:
- Seed reviews that include benefits and outcomes.
- Highlight customer objections that were overcome.
- Encourage storytelling: What problem did this product solve?
5. You’re Not Just Optimizing Your Website Anymore
Traditional SEO has always emphasized optimizing your own domain. But today, that’s only part of the equation. AI Overviews and LLMs pull from a much broader swath of the internet, including Reddit threads, YouTube video transcripts, forums, and aggregator review sites. If your brand is absent from those channels, you’re effectively invisible to the places AI is looking for proof and context.
This new reality means your SEO strategy must extend beyond your website. You need a presence on the platforms that shape modern conversations and consumer trust.
What to do:
- Repurpose your best blog content as Reddit replies, YouTube videos, and email content.
- Post video reviews and how-tos to YouTube (with transcripts).
- Monitor Reddit for product-related conversations and contribute authentically.
6. Your Blog Isn’t Optional – It’s a Visibility Engine
Publishing content consistently is no longer just about ranking for keywords. It’s about building a web of visibility that allows LLMs and AI models to understand, reference, and cite your brand. Fresh, educational content keeps your site relevant, reinforces your brand’s topical authority, and increases the odds of being included in AI-generated answers.
Just as important is how you repurpose and distribute that content. A single blog post should generate a dozen secondary assets that increase your exposure across channels.
A high-leverage content loop:
- Write a blog post around a pain point, use case, or question.
- Break it into FAQs for product pages.
- Turn key ideas into Reddit threads or answers.
- Film a short-form video and post it to YouTube with a transcript.
- Share snippets in email.
- Get the post indexed in Google, cited in Reddit, and surfaced in ChatGPT.
Consistency compounds. Brands that publish and distribute weekly gain exponentially more visibility than those who only blog when they “have time.”
7. Retention Is Now a Marketing Input
Your post-purchase experience is no longer siloed from your visibility strategy. AI models don’t just index your site; they see complaints, bad reviews, negative Reddit threads, and refund horror stories. If your fulfillment or CX is inconsistent, it’s not just a conversion problem… It’s a discovery problem.
Retention, customer support, and logistics all feed into your brand’s perception by both humans and machines.
Actionable takeaways:
- Fix fulfillment and CX issues fast.
- Respond to negative reviews across platforms.
- Monitor forums and Reddit for issues before they spiral.
Reputation and visibility are now deeply intertwined.
8. Short-Form Video Must Be Repurposed to Be Seen
Short-form content is powerful, but much of it is trapped in walled gardens. AI models don’t (yet) index TikTok or Instagram Reels. That means your most creative, engaging video might be invisible to the tools your customers are using to make decisions unless you repurpose it effectively.
To get full value from your video content, it needs to live where AI can crawl it, understand it, and connect it to relevant queries.
Make it machine-readable:
- Publish to YouTube with full transcripts
- Write blog posts that embed or quote your video content
- Share highlights in Reddit or other public platforms
This allows your social content to serve both humans and machines.
Be Legible to AI, Not Just Visible in Google
We are entering an era where comprehension is just as important as ranking. Your brand’s ability to surface in AI Overviews, ChatGPT responses, and LLM-powered shopping assistants depends on how clearly you communicate across all channels, not just on your website.
This means structuring your Shopify backend, publishing useful content, answering real questions, and getting mentioned on the platforms AI trusts.
The brands that win won’t just be the ones that rank. They’ll be the ones that are recommended.
The future of SEO isn’t just about search. It’s about showing up where decisions are made and giving the machines a reason to trust you.
Greg is the founder and CEO of Stryde and a seasoned digital marketer who has worked with thousands of businesses, large and small, to generate more revenue via online marketing strategy and execution. Greg has written hundreds of blog posts as well as spoken at many events about online marketing strategy. You can follow Greg on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
