Small ecommerce store vs big retailers in SEO, is targeting head terms even worth it?

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amyleon

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Hey everyone,

Been doing SEO for a website for about 8 months and organic traffic is growing but I'm struggling to rank for competitive laptop keywords against big retailers like Currys and Argos who dominate page 1.

As a smaller store is it even worth targeting head terms like "buy laptop UK" or should I focus entirely on long tail keywords? Would love to hear how others are competing against big brands in ecommerce SEO.
 
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I wouldn't build anything for buy laptop up, yet

those big suckers dont even have good pages, just a gproduct grid and that's it, so go for the other side,everythingg pple usually asks before buying (best laptop for video editing under 800, refurbished vs new,... gets answered by review sites and Reddit. You sell the things, so you can answer those better than either.

But I wouldn't just go long tail too. probably those big suckers don't answer stuff like best laptop for editing under 800 or refurb vs new, their category pages are just product grids, you actually sell the stuff so you can answer it better than them...

Perso, what worked for me, pick one niche you can cover properly (in ur case probably refurb business laptops or student ones, whatever you're strongest in) and link the guides into your category pages.
 
Hetneo said:
Not worth it at 8 months, and probably not at 24 either. The gap on "buy laptop UK" is not your content, it is that Currys and Argos have years of links and brand searches behind them that you cannot close in a quarter.

Where it does pay is the middle. Not the ten word long tail everyone means, but sub category and comparison terms with real volume that those product grids answer badly. "refurbished business laptops", "best laptop for video editing under 800". The point above about you being able to answer those better than they can is right, and the intent converts harder than a head term would anyway.

One I have watched closely: a small apparel store sitting at DR 30, 5,627 monthly organic, 336 keywords in the top 3. Almost none of those are head terms and the revenue does not care.

Your links should follow the same logic -> aim them at the guides and the sub category pages rather than the homepage chasing a term you will not win. A relevant mid tier page pointing into that cluster moves more than one big authority link aimed at a page Google already thinks belongs to Argos.
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thanks for this detail

dvc said:
I wouldn't build anything for buy laptop up, yet

those big suckers dont even have good pages, just a gproduct grid and that's it, so go for the other side,everythingg pple usually asks before buying (best laptop for video editing under 800, refurbished vs new,... gets answered by review sites and Reddit. You sell the things, so you can answer those better than either.

But I wouldn't just go long tail too. probably those big suckers don't answer stuff like best laptop for editing under 800 or refurb vs new, their category pages are just product grids, you actually sell the stuff so you can answer it better than them...

Perso, what worked for me, pick one niche you can cover properly (in ur case probably refurb business laptops or student ones, whatever you're strongest in) and link the guides into your category pages.
Click to expand...
Yes I am working on the same strategy that you both guys are sharing,
 
Hetneo said:
Not worth it at 8 months, and probably not at 24 either. The gap on "buy laptop UK" is not your content, it is that Currys and Argos have years of links and brand searches behind them that you cannot close in a quarter.

Where it does pay is the middle. Not the ten word long tail everyone means, but sub category and comparison terms with real volume that those product grids answer badly. "refurbished business laptops", "best laptop for video editing under 800". The point above about you being able to answer those better than they can is right, and the intent converts harder than a head term would anyway.

One I have watched closely: a small apparel store sitting at DR 30, 5,627 monthly organic, 336 keywords in the top 3. Almost none of those are head terms and the revenue does not care.

Your links should follow the same logic -> aim them at the guides and the sub category pages rather than the homepage chasing a term you will not win. A relevant mid tier page pointing into that cluster moves more than one big authority link aimed at a page Google already thinks belongs to Argos.
Click to expand...
Did u just give my reply to AI to make yours lol.
 
amyleon said:
Yes second reply was just rephrased.
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Yeah, that's how BHW is now. Most of his past replies are copy past from llm. I though it was chatgpt with an account here.

Edit: mods took care of it (quickly)
 
Last edited:
dvc said:
Yeah, that's how BHW is now. Most of his past replies are copy past from llm. I though it was chatgpt with an account here.
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and i am sure the person will have gotten a warning already
 
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I think the better approach is to cover both. Use long-tail and product-specific keywords for quicker opportunities, while creating strong category and informational content that can eventually support more competitive head terms.
 
I’d still keep the head terms on the main category pages as a long term play , but trying to rank for them at eight months old against Currys or Argos is going to be tough. For a smaller store, I’d put more effort into pages targeting specific buyer intent, like lightweight laptops for music production or proper side by side spec comparisons where the big retailers often just have generic copy. Those queries can be easier to convert , and the extra content also helps build the internal linking and topical depth you’ll need when you start going after the bigger terms
 
amyleon said:
Hey everyone,

Been doing SEO for a website for about 8 months and organic traffic is growing but I'm struggling to rank for competitive laptop keywords against big retailers like Currys and Argos who dominate page 1.

As a smaller store is it even worth targeting head terms like "buy laptop UK" or should I focus entirely on long tail keywords? Would love to hear how others are competing against big brands in ecommerce SEO.
Click to expand...
Honestly, targeting broad head terms such as 'buy laptop UK' as a small store amounts to allocating budget with little return, given that you're competing directly against major brands like Currys and Amazon, both of which possess years of established authority.


Your focus should instead center on highly specific long tail keywords. Rather than simply 'laptops,' consider targeting phrases like 'lightweight laptop for video editing under 1000' or specific model comparisons.
 
I’m actually doing this in another market at the moment. Small kitchen business competing with B&Q and the other big retailers.


I don’t ignore the big terms, but I don’t spend all my time trying to beat them head on either. I look for the questions around the purchase that the big sites either answer badly or don’t answer at all, then use those pages to support the commercial/category pages.


Smaller sites can often be much more useful than a massive retailer because they actually know the product and the customer’s questions.
 
I wouldn’t ignore head terms completely, but I also wouldn’t make them the main battle early on. Long tails can bring targeted buyers while the site gradually builds enough authority to compete for the bigger terms.
 
Keep the head term on the main category page, but don’t make it the main focus yet. Watch its impressions in GSC while you work on easier buyer-intent terms around it.
 
frankhernandez said:
Keep the head term on the main category page, but don’t make it the main focus yet. Watch its impressions in GSC while you work on easier buyer-intent terms around it.
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That makes sense too. Just let the category get its relevancy organically while going for the easier search terms.
 
amyleon said:
Hey everyone,

Been doing SEO for a website for about 8 months and organic traffic is growing but I'm struggling to rank for competitive laptop keywords against big retailers like Currys and Argos who dominate page 1.

As a smaller store is it even worth targeting head terms like "buy laptop UK" or should I focus entirely on long tail keywords? Would love to hear how others are competing against big brands in ecommerce SEO.
Click to expand...
head terms will be black holes when it come to link building for small businesses. create some good subcategorie nd let the internal link do the job.
 
frankhernandez said:
Keep the head term on the main category page, but don’t make it the main focus yet. Watch its impressions in GSC while you work on easier buyer-intent terms around it.
Click to expand...
Of course, I would retain the head term on the category page, and target other, more easily reachable keywords. Observe your GSC impressions while doing so.
 
For a small store, I’d start with long-tail and more specific terms. They’re usually easier to target and can bring more relevant traffic.
 
amyleon said:
Hey everyone,

Been doing SEO for a website for about 8 months and organic traffic is growing but I'm struggling to rank for competitive laptop keywords against big retailers like Currys and Argos who dominate page 1.

As a smaller store is it even worth targeting head terms like "buy laptop UK" or should I focus entirely on long tail keywords? Would love to hear how others are competing against big brands in ecommerce SEO.
Click to expand...
the best approach would be to leave the head term on the category nd target the buyer intent sub-terms since they offer low-hanging fruit in terms of relevancy.
 
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