Nov 12, 2026 · From the book eCommerce SEO That Ranks
Keyword Mapping: One Intent, One Page (With a Worked Example)
Ask ten store owners why their pages do not rank and nine will describe symptoms of the same disease: two or more of their own pages chasing the same search. Google picks one, ranks neither properly, and the owner concludes SEO does not work. The cure is a discipline called keyword mapping.
The rule
One search intent gets exactly one page. Every keyword on your list is assigned to a single URL — the page that will answer that search completely — and no other page on your store targets it. Your titles stop colliding, your internal links stop diluting, and Google never has to guess which of your pages you meant.
A worked example: a candle store
Suppose the research list contains: scented candles, soy candles, soy candles for gifts, best candles for a living room, how long do soy candles burn, candle care kit.
The map:
- /collections/soy-candles/ ← soy candles, scented candles (same intent: browse the range)
- /products/gift-box-soy-candle/ ← soy candles for gifts (one product answers this completely)
- /collections/living-room-candles/ ← best candles for a living room (a use-case collection)
- /guides/how-long-soy-candles-burn/ ← how long do soy candles burn (informational; the guide links down to the collection)
- /products/candle-care-kit/ ← candle care kit
Notice what did not happen: the homepage does not also target soy candles, and the gift guide does not fight the gift product page. Every intent has one home, and the guide exists to support the money pages, not compete with them.
Doing yours
The map is a spreadsheet, not software: keyword, monthly volume if you have it, allintitle count, assigned URL, page type. Filling it takes an afternoon for most stores. It is the least exciting step in this entire method — and the one that makes every later step work, because optimization aimed at a mapped page compounds, while optimization sprayed across duplicates cancels itself out.
The full treatment, with a second worked example and the repair process for stores that already have duplicates, is Chapter 4: Keyword Mapping
