Shopee vs. Qoo10: A Tale of Two SEO Strategies

Shopee, The SEO Powerhouse

Shopee Singapore is one of the most visited e-commerce sites in Singapore, attracting over 17.42 million monthly visits (SEMrush, 2025). The company consistently ranks at the top of Google search results for keywords like "online shopping Singapore" and "best deals on electronics", but how do they achieve this level of performance?

On-Page SEO Excellence

• Shopee's website is lightning-fast, fully mobile-optimised and designed for a seamless user experience (UX).

• Each product page includes keyword-rich descriptions, high-quality images and user-generated reviews, which are all loved by Google.

• Shopee uses structured data markup which makes its product listings eligible for rich snippets (the extra details you see on Google search results).

A search for "TV" on Shopee

Off-Page SEO Strengths

• Shopee has an incredible backlink profile with thousands of external websites linking to its pages to improve their domain authority.

• The brand maintains an active presence on social media, blogs and influencer partnerships which all contribute to a stronger off-page SEO.

• Its Google Ads and retargeting strategies ensure that it appears in both organic and paid search results, increasing its visibility.

Shopee's SEO success proves that a well-optimised website, strong backlink strategy and effective user engagement drives rankings. On the other end of the spectrum, however-

Qoo10: The SEO Downfall

Once a leading e-commerce platform in Singapore, Qoo10 has lost significant market share in 2024, and even laid off 80% of its workforce due to financial struggles. What had caused this downfall?

On-Page SEO Issues

• The website loads slowly, leading to frustrated users and increasing bounce rates

• Qoo10 lacks wel-structured product pages (many listings with poor descriptions, blurry images and inconsistent formatting).

• Unlike Shopee, Qoo10 does not effectively use structured data, causing it to miss out on Google's rich snippet rankings.

Qoo10's TV and Entertainment Section

Off-Page SEO Weaknesses

• Qoo10's backlink profile has weakened, with fewer high-authority sites linking to it, causing a dip in domain authority.

• The brand has low engagement on social media which affects its ability to drive traffic through external sources.

• Unlike Shopee, Qoo10 has not invested significantly in content marketing, meaning it lacks blog posts or guides that could boost organic search rankings.

Qoo10's decline highlights the consequences of poor SEO maintenance. Without strong on-page and off-page optimisation, even established brands can lose vislibility in search results.

How can Qoo10 Improve Its SEO Game?

SEO is more than just having a website - it;s about making sure Google understands and ranks your content effectively. If Qoo10 wants to regain its online presence, it can:

1. Fix technical SEO issues by improving site speed, mobile responsiveness and implement structured data.

2. Optimise product pages by using better product descriptions, higher-quality images and user-generated content to increase search relevance.

3. Build a stronger backlink profile by investing in guest blogging, collborations and PR campaigns to increase external links to its site.

4. Leverage content marketing by creating blogs, how-to guides and video content to improve organic search rankings.

5. Enhance social media and influencer outreach as having a strong digital presence outside of Google can generate valuable backlinks and engagement.

Final Thoughts

This comparison between two e-commerce giants proves that SEO is a long-term investment. Shopee's dominnace is a result of ongoing optimisation, strong backlinks and a data-driven content strategy. Meanwhile, Qoo10's decline shows that neglecting the above mentioned can lead to lost visibility, fewer sales and declining brand relevance.

For businesses looking to compete in e-commerce, there is a clear lesson to learn here: If you're not optimising for SEO, you're losing customers to those who are!