01
Catalog architecture
Categories, subcategories, brands and products had to form a clearer hierarchy for both search engines and users.
Ecommerce SEO Case Study
Technical SEO for a 36,000+ Page Ecommerce Website
How technical SEO work was organized for Akvademi.ua, a large ecommerce site where categories, products, brands, filters, pagination and two language versions formed one interconnected URL system. The project required template-level and architecture-level decisions rather than isolated page fixes.
36,000+ URLs in the technical map
Categories, products and brands
Filters, parameters and pagination
Ukrainian and Russian versions
Structured product data
Systemic template fixes
Large catalogSEO decisions had to work across thousands of URLs
Two languageslocalized pages needed consistent technical signals
Commercial focuspriority remained on pages that support product discovery and purchase
Pattern-basedtemplate and rule changes mattered more than one-off fixes
Initial challenge
Why scale changed the technical SEO approach
On a large ecommerce site, a single template rule can affect thousands of pages. The technical work therefore focused on URL classes, page templates and recurring behavior across the catalog instead of treating every crawler warning as an independent task.
02
URL multiplication
Filters, sorting and parameters could generate repeated or low-value URL combinations at scale.
03
Localized versions
Ukrainian and Russian page versions needed consistent canonical and localization logic without conflicting signals.
04
Template dependency
Metadata, breadcrumbs, structured data and other recurring elements had to be corrected systematically.
Crawl strategy
The site was divided by URL role, not by error count
A large catalog contains pages with very different SEO value. The project separated URLs that should receive strong crawl and internal-link support from pages that required case-by-case evaluation or technical restriction.
Keep accessible and strengthen
CategoriesPrimary commercial landing pages
BrandsManufacturer demand pages
ProductsAvailable products with price and commercial value
Useful contentPages that support product discovery
Evaluate separately
FiltersBased on demand and standalone value
PaginationWithout competing with category pages
Language versionsWith consistent localization signals
Old productsBased on availability, value and historical signals
Restrict, consolidate or de-emphasize
SortingRepeated views of the same product list
ParametersTechnical copies and alternate URL states
Empty selectionsPages without useful product inventory
Service URLsSearch, cart and other non-landing pages
Work performed
Technical areas addressed in the project
The work covered the parts of the ecommerce system that could create recurring problems across large URL groups. Each area was reviewed in the context of Akvademi.ua rather than as a generic audit checklist.
Indexation and crawlability
Important URLs, XML sitemaps, service pages, duplicates, canonical signals and crawl restrictions were reviewed by page type.
Catalog structure
Categories, subcategories, brands, product pages, filters, pagination and breadcrumbs were treated as one connected architecture.
Filters and parameters
Repeated combinations, sorting states and technical URL variants were reviewed to reduce unnecessary search-engine noise.
Structured product data
Product, breadcrumb and organization markup were reviewed together with price, availability and image signals.
Page speed and mobile rendering
Images, scripts, styles and above-the-fold behavior were reviewed with the product-discovery path in mind.
Language-version consistency
The relationship between Ukrainian and Russian versions was checked so localized pages did not send contradictory technical signals.
Recurring template issues
Repeated Title, Description, H1, canonical and breadcrumb problems were handled at the template or rule level where possible.
Commercial path
Technical decisions were evaluated against the path from organic search to category, product, cart or inquiry.
Implementation sequence
How the technical work was organized
Map the technical surface
Catalog templates, language versions, URL types, sitemaps, crawl behavior and recurring page patterns were mapped first.
Control indexation
Commercial pages were separated from service URLs, duplicate combinations and other technical states that needed different treatment.
Correct catalog rules
Categories, filters, pagination, internal transitions and product templates were addressed as connected system components.
Improve rendering
Images, scripts and above-the-fold behavior were reviewed to reduce friction on important category and product pages.
Standardize product signals
Price, availability, images, breadcrumbs and organization/product data were checked for technical consistency.
Recheck after implementation
Changes were reviewed again at template and URL-group level to confirm that the intended technical behavior was in place.
Before and after
How the technical picture changed
Before the technical work
- Crawl attention was dilutedFilters, sorting and technical parameters created URL states that could compete with core commercial pages.
- The catalog was harder to interpretImportant categories, brands and product templates did not always communicate one clear site structure.
- Product signals were inconsistentPrice, availability, images, breadcrumbs and product data were not always expressed consistently across templates.
- Mobile friction affected product discoveryHeavy images, scripts and interface elements could slow the path to useful product content.
After implementation
- Indexation became more controlledURL groups had clearer roles: strengthen, evaluate separately, restrict or consolidate.
- The catalog hierarchy became clearerCategories, brands, products and localized versions were aligned more consistently.
- Product templates communicated more clearlyStructured data and recurring template elements were standardized around important commercial information.
- The path to product content became more stableTechnical and rendering work supported faster access to categories, filters and product information.
About numerical results
The original project page contains a visual metrics panel, but it also states that those values should be treated as factual results only where they are supported by project data, Search Console, analytics, server logs or internal measurements. This English version therefore does not present unverified percentages as client results.
What this case demonstrates
What changes when ecommerce SEO reaches this scale
Template-level thinking becomes essential
When one rule affects thousands of URLs, fixing the underlying template or generation logic matters more than editing isolated pages.
Not every crawlable URL deserves indexation
Large stores need explicit decisions about which filters, parameters and service URLs have standalone search value.
Technical SEO must support commercial architecture
The strongest technical work is connected to the path from search demand to category, product and the next purchasing action.
FAQ
Questions about the 36,000+ page ecommerce project
What made this project technically difficult?
The scale and the number of connected URL types. Categories, products, brands, filters, pagination and two language versions required systemic decisions rather than local fixes.
Why is the 36,000+ page count important?
It explains the implementation model. A recurring technical problem had to be judged by how many URLs and commercial sections it could affect, not only by the type of warning itself.
Which areas were central to the work?
Indexation, catalog architecture, filters and parameters, product templates, language versions, speed, structured data and recurring template-level issues.
Is this the same as a standard technical SEO audit?
No. An audit produces a diagnosis and plan. This case describes technical optimization work carried out against a specific ecommerce architecture and its recurring rules.
Similar project?
Need technical SEO for a large ecommerce catalog?
If your store has thousands of category, product, filter or parameter URLs, the first step is to understand which page groups matter commercially, which technical rules generate unnecessary search-engine noise and which changes can be implemented at template level.