Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond): How SEO Testing Drives Sales — Not Just Traffic

Most eCommerce teams are stuck on the SEO Hamster Wheel — constantly making changes, hoping something works, and struggling to prove what actually moved the needle. In this talk, Ryan Jones (SEOTesting) breaks down the three biggest challenges SEOs face today: lack of time, the “black box” of Google, and the constant pressure to justify impact to stakeholders.

You'll learn practical frameworks to escape guesswork, eliminate the SEO Guesswork Tax, close the “Prove-It” Gap, and run SEO tests that translate directly into revenue gains — not just vanity metrics like clicks or rankings.

Packed with real SEO test examples (time-based and split tests), eCommerce-specific playbooks, and actionable steps you can implement immediately, this session shows how modern SEO teams can build trust, earn buy-in, and scale what works using data-driven experimentation.

Perfect for in-house SEOs, agencies, and eCommerce marketers who want to prove — not just report — the impact of their work.

Transcript

2. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond) Three Problems
3. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Your Problems: - You are an incredibly busy person. You lack time. - Google’s “Black Box” means you don’t know what works. - You feel underappreciated by managers, stakeholders, and clients. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
4. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Stick with me for just 30 minutes, and I’ll explain why you are (probably) experiencing AT LEAST one of these problems. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
6. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO I’ll also show you the exact playbook to solve these problems for yourself and your wider team. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
7. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO We’ll Cover: 1) The Three Main Problems Facing SEOs in 2025 (And 2026) 2) Frameworks for Solving these Problems 3) The Link: SEO Testing 4) What SEO Testing Is 5) The Two Types of SEO Tests 6) How to Run Successful SEO Tests eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
8. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Hi, I’m Ryan! 󰗝 Marketing Manager @ SEOTesting Over a Decade in SEO & Digital Marketing International Conference Speaker Lover of All Things Sports 🏈⚽⚾🏀 eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
9. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Why Listen? - I work for an SEO testing tool. - I’ve run hundreds of SEO tests across different sites & niches. - I work closely with other SEOs to understand what works. - I regularly speak and write about SEO testing topics. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
10. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO You Lack Time eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
12. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO The SEO Hamster Wheel - We change lots of things on websites weekly, hoping something works. - When something does work, we don’t know what moved the needle. - So we keep tweaking, guessing, hoping to find that magic bullet again. That’s the hamster wheel! 😉 - More work → more uncertainty → more work again! eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
13. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO “All of that, while we could be testing, finding what works, doubling down on that, and saving a whole bunch of time!” - Ryan Jones, November 2025. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
14. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Finding What Works eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
16. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO The SEO Guesswork Tax - We make changes. Metrics move. But we don’t know why. - Every unmeasured change is a “guesswork” payment. A tax. - These payments compound into wasted time and lost focus. That’s the SEO Guesswork Tax! 😉 - We can’t double down on what works if we don’t know what did! eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
17. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO “When you make changes without testing the impact, you lack the ability to understand what’s actually working for your site.” - Ryan Jones, November 2025. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
18. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Not Feeling Valued eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
20. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO The SEO “Prove-It” Gap - We do the work. But then we struggle to show the results. - Wins feel anecdotal. Not analytical. - Stakeholders ask “What caused this?” And we can’t give an answer. That’s the “Prove-It” Gap! 😉 - Without proof, SEO looks like guesswork instead of a strategy! eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
21. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO “When you can’t prove your impact, it’s so difficult for stakeholders to trust you enough to give you budget for other work. Leaving you feeling undervalued!” - Ryan Jones, November 2025. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
22. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
23. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Okay, cool, now I have your attention! 😉 So what’s the thing that solves these problems? eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
25. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Come on, Ryan… We’ve been doing that the entire time! 😩 eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
26. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Time-Based Testing (Old) eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
27. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Checking a rank tracker (such as Ahrefs or Semrush) shows that this page has lost prime position for a crucial keyword: Keyword: Performance Polo Shirts Search Volume: 1,450 Previous Position: 2nd Organic Result New Position: 8th Organic Result Lost Rankings eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
28. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO - We could improve the page speed. - We could re-work the wording on the PLP itself. - We could improve internal linking to the page. - We could remove intrusive interstitials to improve on-page metrics. Potential Actions eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
29. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Following some improvements to the page, we can check our rank tracker and see that the performance of this page for our keyword has improved again. Keyword: Performance Polo Shirts Search Volume: 1,450 Previous Position: 8th Organic Result New Position: 3rd Organic Result Ranking Recovery eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
31. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO We now have more/better data (and tools) to do SEO tests the right way. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
32. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
33. Work Done (Test) 1) Removed “Top of the Fold” Text 2) Changed Meta Title (Keyword | Brand | Emotional Language) 3) Improved Filter/Sorting 4) Optimized for On-Page Metrics (Speed, Interstitials, Imagery) Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
34. The Results Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Clicks Per Day - 524.14% Increase Site Clicks Decreased Impressions Up 42% CTR Up To 1.32% eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
35. The Results Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
36. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Why SEO Testing? eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
37. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Building a Business Case - Prove what works for your niche/site. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
38. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Building a Business Case - Prove what works for your niche/site. - Avoid making costly mistakes. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
39. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Building a Business Case - Prove what works for your niche/site. - Avoid making costly mistakes. - Prove hypotheses and get larger project buy-in. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
40. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Building a Business Case - Prove what works for your niche/site. - Avoid making costly mistakes. - Prove hypotheses and get larger project buy-in. - Show the impact of your SEO team. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
41. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Building a Business Case - Prove what works for your niche/site. - Avoid making costly mistakes. - Prove hypotheses and get larger project buy-in. - Show the impact of your SEO team. - Add team accountability by tracking the results of changes. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
42. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Building a Business Case - Prove what works for your niche/site. - Avoid making costly mistakes. - Prove hypotheses and get larger project buy-in. - Show the impact of your SEO team. - Add team accountability by tracking the results of changes. - Use past tests to build a backlog of what’s happened on the site. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
44. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Breaking the Hamster Wheel - SEO testing gives every change a clear purpose and outcome. - You run smart, controlled experiments. Not endless tweaks. - You find what works, and you double down on that. The SEO Hamster Wheel is motion (work) without learning. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
46. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Stop Paying the Guesswork Tax - Testing gives us measurable cause and effect. No guessing required! - Every test acts as a data point that leads to learning, not confusion. - You can replace “it depends” with “I can show.” The SEO Guesswork Tax is paid every time we act without evidence. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
48. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Closing the Prove-It Gap - Testing bridges that gap with data that we can show off. - We can demonstrate the exact impact of the work we do. - Testing builds trust with clients, managers, and executives. The “Prove-It” Gap is the space between effort and evidence. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
49. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Types of SEO Tests eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
50. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Two Main Test Types 1) Time-Based Tests 2) Split Tests eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
51. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Time-Based Tests Before After TIME eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
52. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Results eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
53. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Split Tests eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
55. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Results eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
56. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Split Test Candidates - High Traffic-Volume - Large Sets of Similar Pages - Ecommerce Websites - Marketplace Sites - User-Generated Content Sites eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
57. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Split Test Examples eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
58. New Page Design Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
59. Simplifying Page Titles Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
60. Adding Action Words Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
61. More Data on PDPs Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
62. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Not All Tests Win eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
63. New Page Design (Fail) Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
64. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO “Is this not just A/B testing?” No. Not really. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
65. Split Testing Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤 Control Pages Test Pages Page Version ‘A’ Page Version ‘B’ 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤👤👤 👤👤 eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
66. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
67. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Sad Times :( eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
68. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Split testing is the “gold standard” when it comes to testing. Since we can’t A/B test SEO, using control and test groups is our most accurate way of finding what changes drive results. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
69. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO “But, Ryan, you’ve not mentioned AI/LLMs at all during this talk!” Well, I’ve got an answer for that too! 😉 eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
70. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO LLM Tests Did this change lead to more traffic from LLMs? eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
71. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO LLM Tests We can do this in the same way we do time-based tests. Measure data before test, and then measure data for the same period after the change. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
72. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Results eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
73. How to Run SEO Tests Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
74. 1) Form Your Hypothesis 2) Select Your Test Page (Or Pages For Split Tests) 3) Make Your Change 4) Monitor Over Time 5) Next Steps (Rollout, Rollback, Iterate) Five Steps Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
75. Your hypothesis should be statement-based, including something you’re not happy with, something you can change, and something that you can measure to determine whether you were correct or not. Hypothesis Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
76. Hypothesis Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Bad Hypothesis: What will happen if we remove the product carousel from our polo shirt PDP? Will organic traffic / conversions increase or decrease? eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
77. Hypothesis Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Good Hypothesis: Our category page for “running shoes” has a below average CTR of 2.1% in the SERPs. By adding FAQs & structured FAQ schema markup answering common questions, we can improve our CTR to 3.5% or above within six weeks. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
78. Hypothesis Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Something You’re Unhappy With: Current CTR Something to Change: Adding FAQs and FAQ Schema Something to Measure: The Page’s CTR (After The Test) eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
80. Selecting Pages Performance-Based Questions: 1) Which pages get the most impressions but low clicks? 2) Which pages have high exit rates? 3) Which pages have dropped in traffic recently? 4) Which pages have stagnated in rankings? 5) Which pages rank on Page 2 or Page 3 for target keywords? Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
81. Optimization Opportunity Questions 1) Do any pages lack internal links pointing to them? 2) Do some pages include outdated or “thin” content? 3) Are some pages missing structured data we could add? 4) Are any title tags too long, or missing important keywords? 5) Do similar pages perform very differently? Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Selecting Pages eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
82. Testing Value Questions 1) Can I isolate this page from others for a test? 2) Will changes on this page affect site performance? 3) Is this page part of a large group I can test across? 4) Can I measure the test results easily? 5) Is this page important for conversions/leads? Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Selecting Pages eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
83. The key is to find a combination of those prior questions to find good candidate pages for SEO tests! Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Selecting Pages eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
84. An Example: 1) Has this page dropped in traffic recently? YES ✅ 2) Is there any thin/outdated content on this page? YES ✅ 3) Can I isolate this page as part of a test? YES ✅ Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Selecting Pages eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
85. Step 1) Make the change to the test page/s. Step 2) Note the start date of the test. Step 3) Inform ANYONE that could impact your test data. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Making Changes eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
86. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Enterprise Solutions (seoClarity & SearchPilot) Hands-On Solutions (GSC/SEOTesting) Yourself/your team will be the one making the changes to your website. These types of tools will automatically make the changes on your site for you. ** Reflected in the cost… eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
87. Metrics to Track (SEO): - Clicks - Click-Through Rate - Impressions - Average Position - On-Page Metrics Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Monitoring eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
88. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Monitoring Metrics to Track (Ecommerce): - Revenue / Total Sales - Purchases / Transactions - Product Views - Checkout Starts eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
89. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO “An SEO test can technically be successful and increase traffic, but if it tanks conversion-based metrics, then was it really a successful test?” - Ryan Jones, November 2025. eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
90. ✅ Test Worked → Roll Out Sitewide ❌ Test Failed → Iterate Further 🤔 Unclear → Try a New Variation Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO ❌ Test Failed → Revert & Learn Next Steps eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
91. If you take one thing from this presentation… Let it be this: Use your site’s data to tell stories. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
92. 1 2 3 4 Problem Solution Test Results We realised that images on our PDPs were slow to load. And we believe this is why these pages are underperforming. We propose spending $2,500 in developer time to make these images quicker to load and improve the on-page experience. We ran a split test on this. “Fixing” 500 PDPs and leaving 500 PDPs unchanged to act as our control pages. The “fixed” PDPs increased in performance almost immediately. Leading to $14,000 more revenue. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
93. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Tools eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
94. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO 1) Google Search Console 2) Google Analytics 3) Any Other Free Analytics Software Remember: Takes time, and you’ll need to pair this with Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. Free Tools eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
95. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Paid Tools eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
96. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Resources eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
97. Ryan Jones | SEOTesting | @RyanJonesSEO Go Here 1) SEOTesting’s Blog (https://seotesting.com/blog/) 2) SEOTesting’s SEO Test Ideas (https://seotesting.com/blog/seo-testing-guide/) 3) Giulia Panozzo’s SEO Testing Workshop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzTwC77WW5g) 4) Adam Gent’s SEO Case Study Database (Paid $125) (https://adamgent.gumroad.com/l/seo-case-studies-database) eCommerce SEO Summit Winning in eCommerce in 2026 (And Beyond)
98. Thank You! 󰚥
99. Connect With Me! 󰛈 LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/ryan-g-jones/ X - x.com/ryanjonesseo Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/ryanjonesseo.bsky.social