Which eCommerce Platform Is Best for SEO in 2025? (Google + AI Search Compared)

What Makes a Platform SEO-friendly in 2025?

Before diving into platforms, let’s define what “SEO-friendly” really means today. It’s no longer just about adding keywords. The strongest platforms support:

• Core Web Vitals performance – fast load times, stable layouts, and responsive design.
• Clean URL structures – keyword-friendly and customisable.
• Mobile-first indexing – essential as most shoppers browse on mobile.
• Schema markup & structured data – critical for product rich results and AI search citations.
• Content publishing flexibility – blogs, landing pages, and guides that build topical authority.
• Technical SEO control – managing metadata, redirects, robots.txt, canonical tags, etc.
• Scalability & AI readiness – how well the platform adapts to semantic SEO and entity-based optimisation for AI-driven search.

Shopify SEO: Popular but Restricted

Shopify is the go-to eCommerce platform for startups and SMEs. Its sleek design, intuitive backend, and ability to get a store live quickly have made it the default choice for new businesses. But when it comes to SEO, Shopify is something of a double-edged sword. While it’s capable of ranking extremely well, it also comes with structural restrictions that can frustrate businesses looking for long-term organic growth.

Strengths of Shopify for SEO

Fast, secure hosting – Shopify handles security, server uptime, and CDN delivery out of the box. This gives most stores a solid performance baseline without additional setup.
SEO-friendly app ecosystem – Apps like Plug In SEO, Smart SEO, and Schema Plus extend Shopify’s SEO features, making it easier to optimise without custom development.
User-friendly backend – Non-technical store owners can manage titles, meta descriptions, and alt text directly from the dashboard.
Built-in SSL and mobile-friendly themes – Security and mobile optimisation are baked in, supporting Core Web Vitals performance.

Limitations of Shopify for SEO

Rigid URL structure – Shopify automatically adds /products/, /collections/, and /pages/ to URLs, and these can’t be removed. This limits how clean and keyword-focused your site architecture can be.
Reliance on third-party apps – Advanced SEO often requires multiple apps, which can cause code bloat, slower speeds, and maintenance issues.
Duplicate content risks – Product variants and collection filtering can create duplicate content if not managed with proper canonical tags.
Limited schema flexibility – Out-of-the-box schema is basic. Custom structured data requires developer work or heavy reliance on apps.

Shopify SEO Checklist

If you’re running Shopify, here are the top 5 SEO priorities to maximise performance:

1. Consolidate duplicate content – Use canonical tags to prevent product and collection variants from competing in search.
2. Optimise site speed – Minimise apps, compress images, and use Shopify’s built-in CDN to improve Core Web Vitals.
3. Implement custom schema – Go beyond Shopify’s default structured data with JSON-LD for products, FAQs, reviews, and breadcrumbs.
4. Refine URL handling – While you can’t remove /products/ or /collections/, ensure keywords are placed immediately after these slugs.
5. Optimise faceted navigation – Block low-value query strings in robots.txt to prevent unnecessary index bloat.

AI Search Readiness on Shopify

Shopify can rank highly in Google, but when it comes to AI search environments (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity), it faces challenges:

• Entity clarity is reduced due to rigid URL paths and duplicate content.
• Structured data control is limited unless you manually implement JSON-LD.
• App reliance introduces inconsistency in how schema is rendered, which can confuse crawlers and AI models.

That said, with expert configuration—tight site architecture, streamlined schema, and minimal reliance on bloated apps—Shopify stores can absolutely surface in both traditional and AI search results.

Verdict: Shopify SEO in 2025

Shopify is excellent for simplicity and scalability. It’s the best option for small to mid-sized businesses that value ease of use and quick deployment. But its restrictions mean that advanced SEO teams often feel “boxed in.” For businesses that want total SEO control or heavy content strategies, Shopify may not be the ideal long-term platform without significant customisation.

WooCommerce SEO: Flexible and Content-Driven

WooCommerce, built on WordPress, is the platform most SEO professionals love to work with. Unlike Shopify’s “walled garden,” WooCommerce is open-source and fully customisable. This means almost every SEO element — from URLs to structured data — can be fine-tuned for maximum performance. For businesses where SEO is a primary growth driver, WooCommerce is often the best fit.

Strengths of WooCommerce for SEO

Full control over URLs – Unlike Shopify, WooCommerce lets you define product, category, and page slugs without forced prefixes. Clean URLs help both Google and AI crawlers interpret entities clearly.
Rich content capabilities – Since WooCommerce runs on WordPress, you get industry-leading blogging and CMS functionality. This makes it perfect for building content hubs, guides, and resources that support long-tail SEO.
SEO plugins & tools – Yoast SEO and RankMath are powerful plugins that make managing metadata, schema, redirects, and XML sitemaps straightforward.
Advanced schema markup – With plugins or custom code, you can add product, FAQ, HowTo, review, and breadcrumb schema at scale.
Strong developer community – Open-source flexibility means thousands of developers build extensions, speed optimisations, and integrations.

Limitations of WooCommerce for SEO

Hosting impacts performance – Because WooCommerce is self-hosted, speed, security, and uptime depend on your hosting environment. Poor hosting = poor SEO results.
Maintenance overhead – Plugins and WordPress core updates require ongoing attention to avoid conflicts and vulnerabilities.
Steeper learning curve – Non-technical teams may find WooCommerce more complex compared to Shopify’s simplified backend.
Scalability challenges – Large catalogues can require significant optimisation and caching to maintain speed.

WooCommerce SEO Checklist

If you’re using WooCommerce, here are the top 5 SEO actions to prioritise:

1. Choose premium hosting – Invest in fast, secure WordPress hosting with CDN support for Core Web Vitals optimisation.
2. Leverage RankMath or Yoast – Use plugins to manage metadata, canonical tags, and schema markup effectively.
3. Build content hubs – Create category pillar pages and blog resources to strengthen topical authority and internal linking.
4. Optimise images & caching – Use WebP, lazy loading, and caching plugins (e.g. WP Rocket) to keep load times competitive.
5. Implement advanced schema – Go beyond product schema; use FAQ, HowTo, and review markup to increase visibility in SERPs and AI search summaries.

AI Search Readiness on WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one of the most AI-ready eCommerce platforms because of its open flexibility:

• Entity clarity is strong – Clean URLs and semantic site structures allow AI engines to better interpret product hierarchies.
• Schema control is unmatched – You can implement JSON-LD directly, ensuring AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity understand your products.
• Content + commerce synergy – Since WooCommerce is built on WordPress, it naturally supports content marketing — the very fuel that AI search models favour when citing trusted sources.

For businesses serious about appearing in AI-powered search engines, WooCommerce is the best-positioned platform to future-proof SEO visibility.

Verdict: WooCommerce SEO in 2025

WooCommerce is the best platform for SEO-driven brands. If organic traffic, content marketing, and AI search optimisation are core to your growth strategy, WooCommerce gives you the flexibility and tools to execute at a high level. While it requires more technical oversight and investment in hosting, the payoff is maximum control and scalability.

Magento (Adobe Commerce) SEO: Enterprise SEO at Scale

Magento — now branded as Adobe Commerce — is one of the most powerful eCommerce platforms in the world. It’s designed for enterprise-level retailers who need customisation, scalability, and advanced product catalogue management. From a pure SEO perspective, Magento can be a powerhouse, but it requires significant technical and financial investment to unlock its full potential.

Strengths of Magento for SEO

Enterprise-level customisation – Magento allows complete control over URLs, metadata, canonicalisation, and indexing rules. For brands with complex product catalogues, this flexibility is essential.
Advanced faceted navigation control – Filtering, sorting, and layered navigation can easily create duplicate content in eCommerce. Magento has robust tools for managing canonical tags and crawl budget.
Multi-store & multi-language SEO – Ideal for international SEO campaigns, Magento supports regional stores, hreflang, and multi-currency configurations.
Custom schema implementation – Developers can implement advanced JSON-LD markup tailored to complex product attributes.
Scalable for massive catalogues – Magento can handle tens of thousands of SKUs without compromising on structured SEO architecture (when optimised properly).

Limitations of Magento for SEO

High development costs – Unlike Shopify or WooCommerce, Magento typically requires a dedicated developer or agency to maintain.
Hosting resource-intensive – Magento needs enterprise-grade hosting or cloud solutions (like Adobe Commerce Cloud) to run efficiently.
Steep learning curve – The backend isn’t beginner-friendly; non-technical teams may find day-to-day SEO adjustments harder without dev support.
Maintenance demands – Ongoing technical updates and security patches are required, adding to overhead.

Magento SEO Checklist

For enterprises using Magento, here are the top 5 SEO actions to prioritise:

1. Audit faceted navigation – Implement proper canonicalisation and robots.txt rules to avoid duplicate indexation.
2. Optimise site speed – Use enterprise caching (Varnish, Redis) and CDNs to ensure Core Web Vitals remain competitive.
3. Structure product attributes – Align categories, filters, and product details with clean semantic markup for entity clarity.
4. Implement multi-language hreflang – Ensure international targeting is configured correctly to prevent duplicate content across regions.
5. Leverage advanced schema – Add rich product markup (reviews, availability, pricing) across the catalogue to boost visibility in rich results and AI summaries.

AI Search Readiness on Magento

Magento is one of the most AI-ready eCommerce platforms, provided you have the development resources to configure it correctly:

• Schema flexibility is unmatched – Developers can tailor structured data for complex product catalogues, improving AI model recognition.
• International entity clarity – Multi-store, multi-language setups feed AI systems clean signals about regional product variations.
• Enterprise content integration – Large retailers can use Magento alongside advanced content platforms, feeding AI search engines robust semantic data.

The challenge is that AI readiness in Magento is rarely “plug-and-play.” It requires ongoing technical SEO strategy and developer collaboration.

Verdict: Magento SEO in 2025

Magento is the gold standard for enterprise eCommerce SEO. It offers the most control, scalability, and long-term flexibility, making it the best fit for global retailers, multi-language brands, and businesses with complex catalogues. However, its steep costs and maintenance demands make it overkill for small to mid-sized businesses.

BigCommerce SEO: The Balanced Choice

BigCommerce positions itself between Shopify’s simplicity and Magento’s enterprise power. It offers more flexibility than Shopify, especially around URLs and built-in SEO features, without requiring the heavy development costs of Magento. For mid-market retailers looking to scale without being boxed in by platform restrictions, BigCommerce is often the sweet spot.

Strengths of BigCommerce for SEO

Flexible URL structures – Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce doesn’t lock you into rigid slugs like /products/ or /collections/. You have more control over creating clean, keyword-friendly URLs.
Built-in SEO features – Canonical tags, automatic sitemaps, and robots.txt access are included natively, reducing reliance on third-party apps.
Scalability without transaction fees – As sales grow, BigCommerce avoids the transaction fee model, making it more cost-effective for scaling stores.
Headless commerce compatibility – BigCommerce supports headless setups, enabling advanced site speed, design, and SEO customisation.
Good native performance – With a robust backend and fast default CDN delivery, BigCommerce sites tend to perform well on Core Web Vitals.

Limitations of BigCommerce for SEO

Smaller ecosystem than Shopify – While Shopify has a massive app marketplace, BigCommerce’s is more limited, which may require more in-house SEO/dev solutions.
Less intuitive for beginners – The backend is slightly more complex than Shopify’s, which can slow adoption for non-technical users.
Customisation can require developers – While more flexible than Shopify, advanced SEO setups (like custom schema or faceted navigation) often need technical support.
Fewer pre-made themes – Design options are less extensive than Shopify, meaning SEO-friendly UX might require extra development.

BigCommerce SEO Checklist

For businesses running on BigCommerce, here are the top 5 SEO priorities:

1. Optimise URL structures – Take advantage of customisable slugs to create short, keyword-rich product and category URLs.
2. Audit canonicalisation – Ensure category and product variations are properly canonicalised to avoid duplication.
3. Leverage built-in SEO tools – Use the robots.txt editor, sitemap controls, and redirects natively (instead of third-party apps).
4. Implement custom schema – Extend product schema to FAQs, breadcrumbs, and reviews for maximum SERP visibility.
5. Plan for headless setups – For larger stores, consider a headless build to achieve Magento-level flexibility without enterprise-level overhead.

AI Search Readiness on BigCommerce

BigCommerce is better positioned for AI search than Shopify, thanks to its URL flexibility and schema potential:

• Entity clarity is stronger – Cleaner URLs and improved canonicalisation options feed AI search systems more accurate signals.
• Schema customisation is possible – Developers can extend structured data for richer AI recognition.
• Headless integration future-proofs – With headless commerce, BigCommerce stores can deliver lightning-fast, semantic-rich experiences that AI models favour.

While it lacks WooCommerce’s complete freedom or Magento’s enterprise sophistication, BigCommerce is still a strong performer in AI search environments for mid-market retailers.

Verdict: BigCommerce SEO in 2025

BigCommerce is the balanced choice for scaling eCommerce businesses. It avoids Shopify’s most frustrating SEO limitations while sidestepping Magento’s heavy resource demands. For brands moving from startup to mid-market and prioritising SEO as a growth driver, BigCommerce is often the most future-proof choice.

Wix & Squarespace SEO: Accessible but Limited

Wix and Squarespace are often the first choice for micro-brands, solo entrepreneurs, and creative businesses because of their low cost and drag-and-drop simplicity. They make it easy to launch a store without development expertise. But when it comes to SEO, especially as a growth channel, both platforms fall short.

They’re great for getting started quickly, but businesses serious about long-term visibility often need to migrate to Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce to stay competitive.

Strengths of Wix & Squarespace for SEO

Beginner-friendly – No coding needed; anyone can launch a store in hours.
Affordable entry point – Low monthly costs make them accessible for startups and side hustles.
Drag-and-drop design flexibility – Allows for creative, brand-led store design.
Basic SEO controls available – Titles, meta descriptions, alt text, and basic redirects are built in.
SSL & mobile-ready templates – Both platforms offer HTTPS and responsive designs as standard.

Limitations of Wix & Squarespace for SEO

Limited technical SEO control – No access to server-level configurations, advanced robots.txt handling, or granular redirects.
Weaker Core Web Vitals – Page speed and performance tend to lag behind Shopify or BigCommerce.
Restricted schema flexibility – Structured data support is basic; custom JSON-LD implementation is difficult.
Poor scalability – As product catalogues grow, performance and site management become bottlenecks.
Limited integrations – Smaller ecosystems mean fewer advanced SEO or analytics extensions.

Wix & Squarespace SEO Checklist

If you’re running a store on Wix or Squarespace, here are the minimum SEO actions to take:

1. Optimise metadata manually – Ensure every product and page has unique, keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
2. Compress and optimise images – Help offset weaker performance metrics with fast-loading media.
3. Set up redirects carefully – Avoid broken links during product or category changes.
4. Use simple navigation – Keep menus and categories clean to help crawlers (and users) find products faster.
5. Plan for migration – If SEO is a major growth driver, start preparing to re-platform before you hit scalability limits.

AI Search Readiness on Wix & Squarespace

When it comes to AI-driven search, Wix and Squarespace are the least ready platforms:

• Entity clarity is weak – Limited URL control and schema support make it harder for AI search engines to interpret site structure.
• Minimal structured data – Out-of-the-box schema is basic, with little ability to customise for products or FAQs.
• Scalability issues compound – AI search models favour brands with robust, structured content ecosystems — something these platforms struggle to support at scale.

In short, while Wix and Squarespace can rank in Google for small sites, they’re not well-positioned to appear consistently in AI Overviews or AI-powered assistants.

Verdict: Wix & Squarespace SEO in 2025

Wix and Squarespace are fine starting points for hobby stores, micro-brands, or businesses with low SEO ambitions. But for any brand planning to scale, invest in content marketing, or appear in AI-powered search, they quickly become limiting. Migration to a more SEO-ready platform should be a key part of any long-term digital strategy.

Comparison Table: SEO Strengths by Platform

Key Takeaways from the Comparison

• WooCommerce and Magento are the clear winners for SEO + AI search readiness, offering the deepest control and flexibility.
• Shopify and BigCommerce strike a balance — both capable of ranking very well, but Shopify is easier while BigCommerce is less restrictive.
• Wix and Squarespace are stepping stones — fine for starting out, but limiting for SEO-driven growth.

Beyond the Platform: Intelligent Visibility Optimisation (IVO)

The platform sets the stage, but SEO success comes from strategy. At Phoenix Wolf, we use Intelligent Visibility Optimisation (IVO) — blending semantic SEO, schema optimisation, and AI-first strategies to ensure clients don’t just rank in Google but also appear in AI-powered search experiences.

Even the best platform won’t deliver results without:

• Structured content architecture.
• Regular technical audits.
• Entity optimisation for AI recognition.

Ethical automation to scale SEO without cutting corners.

Decision Framework: Choosing the Right eCommerce Platform for SEO

No single platform is perfect for every business. The “best” eCommerce platform for SEO depends on your size, goals, resources, and how central SEO is to your growth strategy. Use the framework below to guide your decision:

1. Startups & Small Businesses Recommendation: Shopify or BigCommerce

• If speed to market, ease of use, and low maintenance are your priorities, Shopify is the simplest choice.
• If you want slightly more SEO flexibility (cleaner URLs, built-in tools) without sacrificing simplicity, consider BigCommerce.
• Both are great if you don’t have in-house developers but still want a store that ranks and scales.

2. Content-Driven Brands Recommendation: WooCommerce

• If content marketing, blogging, and SEO are your primary growth levers, WooCommerce is unmatched.
• Built on WordPress, it allows you to combine commerce with a publishing powerhouse.
• Best suited for brands competing in content-heavy niches like fashion, beauty, health, or lifestyle.

3. Enterprise & Global Retailers Recommendation: Magento (Adobe Commerce)

• If you’re running a large product catalogue, multiple stores, or multi-language operations, Magento is the most scalable option.
• With full control over schema, URLs, and international SEO, it’s designed for complex operations.
• Requires significant investment in hosting and development, but pays off for global reach.

4. Micro-Brands & Hobby Stores Recommendation: Wix or Squarespace (short-term only)

• If you’re launching a side project or testing a new brand, Wix or Squarespace can get you live quickly.
• But if SEO becomes a serious growth driver, plan to migrate to Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce before scaling.

How to Think About Your Choice

• If you want simplicity → Shopify.
• If you want flexibility + content SEO → WooCommerce.
• If you want enterprise scalability → Magento.
• If you want a scalable middle ground → BigCommerce.
• If you want a quick start, low cost → Wix or Squarespace (but only as a stepping stone).

Phoenix Wolf Insight: Optimisation, Not Just Platforms, Wins SEO

At Phoenix Wolf, we see the platform as just the foundation. What matters most is how you optimise it — technically, semantically, and for AI-driven search.

Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and BigCommerce all have the potential to dominate rankings and AI search — but only with the right optimisation. Without structured data, content architecture, and intelligent visibility optimisation, even the best platform will underperform.

That’s where we step in — helping brands choose the right platform, fix technical roadblocks, and optimise for both Google and AI search engines.

👉 Explore our eCommerce SEO Services and future-proof your store.