Are you finding it hard to drive traffic to your eCommerce store? You’re not the only one. With millions of businesses seeking for attention online, it can be difficult to make an impression.
But there is another excellent way to stand out in this crowded digital marketplace. With a strong eCommerce SEO strategy, you can give your online sales a real boost.
In this blog, we take a look at two things
- How you can leverage SEO to effectively promote your eCommerce store.
- How an e-commerce expert SEO agency can help you.
Understanding eCommerce SEO
You might think SEO is just a matter of keyword stuffing. Think again! It’s much more rewarding – and more complex – than that.
Good eCommerce SEO is all about how to create a great experience for your users.
- How do they find your products on your website?
- How do they browse through the site?
- What are they actually looking for, specifically?
Why Should You Care About eCommerce SEO?
The fact: 75% of users never go past the first page of search results.
If your products aren’t on that critical first page, you’re missing out on three-quarters of your potential customers.
A strong eCommerce SEO strategy can:
- Improve your search engine rankings
- Drive more qualified traffic to your site
- Increase your conversion rates
The Four Pillars of eCommerce SEO
To achieve these goals, you need to focus on four key areas.
- On-Page Optimization
- Link Building
- Technical SEO
- Measurement and Analysis
Here they are (in more detail), with a few suggestions on how you can use them in your eCommerce strategy.
- First, make it easy for your customers to find your products in search engine rankings and on their social networks.
- Supercharge your website with rich content that actually works hard for your business instead of being a boring brochure.
- Create a user-friendly experience that goes beyond pretty templates and simple reservations.
- Use smart analytics to make the most of your marketing efforts at the right time and place.
One thing I have to remind you, if you are not well-versed or you don’t have enough time, then it is best to hire an e-commerce SEO agency or digital marketing services who will help you with your e-commerce needs.
1. On-Page Optimization: The Foundation of Your SEO Strategy
The on-page optimization is where eCommerce SEO happens, making your product and category pages irresistible for search engines and users.
Keyword Research: The Building Blocks of SEO
The starting point is keyword research: what queries are your prospective customers typing into their search engines?
Google Search Console, Moz, and Ahrefs are all great tools for discovering the keywords that your site already ranks well on.
Use them. But that’s just the beginning.
Look at Amazon’s autocomplete, Google’s “People Also Ask”, and your competitors’ sites for new keyword opportunities.
Remember, in eCommerce, you’re looking for three types of keywords
- Navigational: Brand-specific terms
- Commercial: Product-specific searches with comparison terms
- Transactional: Keywords indicating purchase intent
Implementing Keywords
Now you have your keywords, here’s how to use them: Keyword stuffing is bad news – you need to use your keywords naturally, but place them in the right spots:
- Page title (H1 tag)
- Subheadings (H2 and H3 tags)
- Body text
Tip: Use common eCommerce heading categories such as ‘Product Description’, ‘Product Details’, and ‘Customer Questions’ to give your product a full picture.
Optimizing Metadata: Your Secret Weapon
Don’t forget about your metadata! It’s the invisible stuff that will make or break your SEO chances:
- Title Tags: Keep them unique, short (50-60 characters), keyword-rich, and compelling.
- Meta Descriptions: Craft unique descriptions under 160 characters that incorporate your target keywords.
- Alt Text: This is where you can add a description for your image, including any keywords for ranking purposes, but keep it under 125 characters long.
2. Link Building: Strengthening Your SEO Foundation
SEOs live and die by links. Deploy links to a page, and you’re transferring juice.
Internal Linking: Your SEO Powerhouse
Use your menu and ‘Recommended Products’ sections carefully. Link from your best-performing products to low-performing, or to just-launched products that need a push. Ensure there’s a logic between products – users expect it.
External Link Building: The Challenge Worth Tackling
While more difficult to achieve, backlinks from outside your site are what will ultimately give your eCommerce SEO efforts the boost you need.
Aim to gain backlinks from:
- Review blogs
- Top product articles
- Relevant industry listicles
When evaluating your backlinks, look for:
- High domain authority (50+ on Ahrefs)
- Relevant anchor text
- Specific landing page links
- “Do follow” links
3. Technical SEO: The Backbone of Your eCommerce Site
This is what technical SEO is for – it makes sure your site is healthy and easily crawlable. Key areas to address:
- Missing metadata
- Broken links
- Duplicate content
- Excessive redirects
- Large file sizes
- Mismatching SERP titles
4. Measurement: The Key to Continuous Improvement
The work of SEO is never done. The behaviour of your customers – and the entire digital landscape – is constantly changing, and your strategy has to evolve with it. Google Search Console and Google Analytics are tools that are worth tracking key metrics:
- Sessions from organic search
- Average session duration
- Bounce rate
- Conversion rate
Try not to get hung up on absolute numbers – remember you are trying to identify trends, not make sure your SEO efforts were a hit or a miss.
Partnering with an Expert SEO Agency
But this guide is only a starting point. SEO for eCommerce is quite a complicated and very time-consuming task. An SEO agency or digital marketing services who are expert in e-commerce strategy can help you
- Develop a comprehensive, tailored SEO strategy
- They will always stay up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and algorithm changes in search engines and other platforms.
- Outsourcing will free up your time to focus on the business’s other aspects.
- Achieve faster, more sustainable results
A good SEO agency will be able to handle all of these components, from technical SEO to content strategy, to make sure your eCommerce site gets the traction it deserves.
