SEO for blogging or a WordPress website is pretty straightforward and easy to manage but when it comes to eCommerce and optimizing your online store for adequate searches – everything turns out to be like a new ballgame. Are you ready to learn this as well?
Not to mention this won’t be easy as you need to think about every page right from product and category pages to the home page, about us page, contact us page. Likewise, you will find a constant added pressure of making deals to demonstrate that SEO is one such thing your promoting group must concentrate on. In any case, the fundamental inquiry is how? The most effective method to transform an item or administration based site into one that rules SERPs and draws in a high bundle of value leads or clients.
Well, the answer is quite simple – use eCommerce SEO, and here’s why? No matter how many marketing tactics an eCommerce business uses, PPC or paid social media, content marketing, influencer marketing, email marketing, organic social media, Search Engine Optimization is one such channel that drives the best results.
According to research by HubSpot – SEO seems #1 challenge in inbound marketing around 40% of all global eCommerce web traffic comes from search engines and 80% of online shoppers tend to ignore paid ads in search results.
Also, do the simple math, the better you will rankings on Google as well as other search engines, the more sales you will be able to conduct. Also, you will come across several eCommerce service providers who can offer some actionable SEO strategies to use on your site right now.
FYI there is no magic bullet waiting to be pressed that ranks your site in the top spot without fail but it takes resourcefulness, dedication, persistence, and creativity – all thanks to the ever-changing nature of Google’s algorithm. I have learned this hard way but your fate isn’t as same as mine, clearly you don’t have to. To give you a proper head start, I have come up with certain SEO strategies that allow you to easily scale your online business significantly and generate higher profits in the long haul.
1. Website structure
The architecture of your eCommerce store is the foundation of your entire business. Creating a confusing website structure won’t give a lasting impression. Also, you are the one who will be compelling visitors to leave it within seconds.
So, to get fruitful results what needs to be done is come up with easy navigation, seamless payment gateways, and quick search options that become a solid reason for people to explore the website for more and even for a long time.
The best method to get the insights is to utilize Google Analytics and observe where you’re lacking from the UX point of view. It would be great if you simultaneously make changes to your lacking website areas.
2. Know the google ranking algorithm
Setting up long term success for your eCommerce store can be insanely tricky. Google executives like Gary Illyes and John Mueller have just affirmed the way that Google continues changing its calculation – 500/600 changes for each year (approx)!
What’s more, trust me, this is very gainful! Envision a circumstance where everybody knew precisely how to rank in the principal position without punishments for easy routes or dark cap SEO procedures, Google won’t have the option to prevail with regards to positioning simply the best outcomes.
Why Google is emphasizing on SEO? Google’s mission is to organize all the world’s information and make it universally available and useful. Some of the crucial algorithm updates include:
- Mobile-friendly update (April 2015), favoring websites with mobile-friendly versions and setting the stage for future penalties if sites don’t comply.
- Pigeon (July 2014), working to integrate local search results like Google Maps.
- Hummingbird (August 2013), aiming to understand the context and intent behind a user’s search instead of just looking at the literal words they typed.
- Penguin (April 2012), targeting spammers and sites that buy unnatural links to boost their rankings.
Did we mention panda, Private Blog Network too? However, there are some great resources to help such as Moz’s Google Algorithm change history featuring an awesome database that organizes updates chronologically. For further updates, you can check out Google Webmaster Central and The Webmaster too.
3. In-depth keyword research
Much like all other SEO campaigns, eCommerce SEO marketing should begin with simple keyword research. Without a proper start, you might be flying blind – relying on instincts, previous experiences, or gut feelings to drive your campaign. No that’s not how it works! What it takes to do appropriate keyword research for an eCommerce store.
- List all pages on your site
- Find and map appropriate keywords for each page
Also, it is advisable to do keyword research on a page-by-page basis. This is how I prefer doing keyword research for any website. Most eCommerce development companies emphasize on optimizing mainly two types of pages category and product page. Each one of these requires a slightly different approach. I would suggest consulting a reliable eCommerce SEO company that has the potential to address your requirements from the core. This won’t just improve your site ranking but also convert clicks into conversions.
4. Mobile experience
Mobile being the most crucial factor these days to succeed. Try making your eCommerce store available to browse online shopping portals over their smartphones. As a result, you are more likely to increase the traffic for portals which are mobile-friendly and can be easily accessed on devices having a wide range of screen resolutions.
Come up with a responsive interface that can be accessed by end-users seamlessly via their smartphones.
5. Content marketing for eCommerce SEO
Last but certainly not least, here you will find ample opportunities for eCommerce brands to capitalize on content marketing. And when done correctly, content marketing can successfully increase brand awareness, enhance your social media presence, and help you increase sales to a great extent.
Now if you think from the SEO perspective, content marketing has the potential to play a crucial role in helping you to increase your search engine rankings, not to mention visibility. And since the content is used everywhere right from the home page to product and category pages, it does drive traffic to the site.
Here where the keyword research process plays its role. Let me explain the point by giving an example – imagine you are owning a jewelry store where you may think of including product-related keywords like 18ct white gold wedding band” or “white gold engagement rings” on your product and category pages. Identify keyword opportunities and have a look at all Ahrefs. Time for some content creation for the eCommerce SEO project.
Right from blog posts to how-to videos, branded magazines, behind-the-scenes content, user-generated content, buying and comparison guides, influence marketing, all this can be used for your eCommerce store.
So that’s all for now! The competition between eCommerce stores is growing like fire and it can only be controlled when marketers or eCommerce SEO companies implement trending ways to rank their store on Search engines. Initiate the process by trying all the aforementioned ways.
Article by Henrik
Henrik Adams is an eCommerce industry analyst, who worked at Sparsh Technologies – Magento SEO Services Provider Company. He likes to write about eCommerce development, web development, marketing, sales, and more about current.
