The Challenge:
Scalability, indexing & performance in the XXL range
A leading online store for DIY goods faced a complex challenge: over 350,000 products - from screws to building materials - needed to be visible, fast and correctly indexable. But this was precisely where the technical hurdles lay:
- Long loading times due to unoptimized server responses and missing caching
- Unclear URL structures that led to duplicate content
- Missing or duplicate canonical tags
- XML sitemaps not maintained - often outdated or incomplete
- Overloaded product pages that loaded important content late (JavaScript)
- Indexing problems with filter URLs (e.g. by color, brand, price)
- No structured data (Schema.org) - Google could not interpret product data correctly
- Missing mobile optimization concept
- Problems with internal linking, especially in deep category structures
- 404 errors, redirect chains and crawl traps in the URL system
In short: an enormous number of articles needs a robust, technical SEO foundation, otherwise valuable potential in the Google ranking will be lost.
The solution:
Scalable, technical SEO setup with best practices
Our approach was holistic and data-based. In several project phases, we implemented targeted technical SEO measures that were specifically tailored to the e-commerce and DIY sector:
1. crawlability & indexing optimized
- Creation of a dynamically updated XML sitemap (with priorities and load mod information)
- Implementation of a clean robots.txt, incl. exclusion of irrelevant filter URLs
- Pagination (rel="next"/"prev") and canonicals have been set correctly
- All important pages received individual canonical tags to avoid duplicate content
2. URL structure and parameter management
- Reorganization of the URL logic with speaking, SEO-friendly URLs (e.g. /category/accumulator-drilling-machine/)
- Filter URLs were controlled with the Google parameter tool or handled via noindex, follow
3. page speed & core web vitals improved
- Server-side caching solutions (Varnish, Redis)
- Lazy loading for images & resources
- Optimization of TTFB (Time To First Byte) through CDN and compression
- Elimination of unnecessary render blocking elements (JavaScript/CSS)
4. mobile usability & structure
- Conversion to Mobile First Design (Core Web Vitals optimized: LCP, FID, CLS)
- Introduction of a responsive HTML5 basic layout with ARIA roles for accessibility
5. structured data / Schema.org
- Integration of:
ProductBreadcrumbListReview & AggregateRatingOffer with stock, price & availability
- All data was integrated on the server side in JSON-LD format (no JavaScript reloading)
6. internal linking & crawling strategy
- Automatic cross-linking logic at category and product depth level
- Introduction of an internal "top products" link at category level
- Structured development of hubs for important brands & product topics
7. troubleshooting & status code management
- Cleanup of over 12,000 404 errors
- Elimination of redirect chains (301→301→200)
- Setting up an automated monitoring system (Screaming Frog + Google Search Console API)
The result:
Visibility, loading time & turnover measurably improved
Thanks to targeted technical optimization, we were able to achieve noticeable improvements in just a few months:
- +72 % visibility in Google according to SISTRIX (top 10 keywords)
- +43 % organic traffic with the same SEA budget
- -48 % Ladezeit (Startseite & Produktseiten < 1,5 Sekunden)
- Core Web Vitals in the green zone for over 92% of all pages
- Google indexing fully regulated (filter pages excluded, focus on transactional URLs)
- Sales increase of 38 % in the organic channel within 6 months
Technical SEO as a success factor in the large product range
Especially for stores with tens of thousands of items, technical SEO is not an optional extra, but a must. Without a clean, scalable foundation, companies lose valuable ground on Google - and therefore visibility, sales and customer loyalty. Our work shows: With targeted technical optimization, even complex product ranges can be brought under control in the long term.
