Traffic is essential for the success of an eCommerce business, which is why SEO holds great importance. We have compiled this eCommerce SEO guide to assist you in boosting organic traffic to your online store and consequently increasing sales. This comprehensive guide provides a step-by-step eCommerce SEO strategy and addresses various common eCommerce SEO errors.
eCommerce SEO Guide
Bright Edge reports that approximately 68% of all online experiences begin with a search engine, implying that a search engine is the initial destination for 68% of internet users. Incorporating SEO into your eCommerce marketing strategy is crucial as it aids in the discovery of your online store by these users, but this is only effective when SEO for eCommerce is implemented correctly.
To effectively use eCommerce SEO, the initial step is to gain a clear understanding of it. In order to achieve this, let’s examine certain definitions such as what eCommerce SEO entails, various types of eCommerce SEO, and additional reasons why SEO should be implemented if it is not already being utilized.
What Is eCommerce SEO?
An important aspect of improving visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) is the process known as SEO (Search Engine Optimization). When it comes to eCommerce businesses, this process becomes more complex compared to publisher’s sites or service-based businesses, mainly because of the numerous product and category pages found on many eCommerce sites. To achieve a good ranking on SERPs for your eCommerce store, there are four main types of SEO that should be considered.
On-Page SEO
The process of on-page SEO involves optimizing each individual page on your site to improve its ranking. This typically involves incorporating keywords that your target audience uses to search for products similar to yours. Additionally, on-page SEO encompasses the addition of these keywords to the following aspects of your page:
- Page URL
- Content
- Title tag
- Meta titles and meta descriptions
- Image alt-text
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to activities that take place outside of your website but contribute to its ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Such activities encompass link building, guest blogging, social media marketing, influencer marketing, and other similar marketing tactics conducted externally to your website.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO refers to the “backend” aspects that facilitate the indexing and crawling of web pages by search engines. This encompasses elements such as:
- Creating a sitemap
- Optimizing your site for mobile
- Improving page load speed
- Getting rid of duplicate content
- Adding structured data to your site
- Fixing technical problems
- Using web analytics tools
Local SEO
If you are a traditional business that has transitioned to eCommerce due to the global pandemic, it is important to prioritize local SEO. By utilizing local SEO, you can establish your business as a prominent leader in your area and attract more customers to your physical store while also increasing traffic to your website and online store. Local SEO involves implementing strategies such as:
- Creating a Google My Business account
- Adding your business name, address, and phone number to the footer of your website and submitting that info to local directories
- Creating content relevant to your local audience (both on your website and on social media)
Does eCommerce SEO Really Matter?
There are various factors involved in eCommerce SEO, as evident. Although you may consider skipping it, we highly recommend against it. SEO is the most effective method to attract organic (or “free”) traffic to your eCommerce store. Keep in mind that 68% of online experiences originate from a search engine. Will your potential customers come across your store when they search for your offerings, or will they end up on a competitor’s website?
Here are some additional statistics on eCommerce SEO that demonstrate the crucial role it plays in your eCommerce business.
- Position #1 in Google gets a 34.36% click-through rate (Safari Digital).
- 46% of all Google searches are local (Millimetric).
- Organic Google search results get 70% of clicks. Only 30% of clicks go to ads (Safari Digital).
- 81% of users conduct online research before making a large purchase (Millimetric).
- Only 25% of users visit the second page of a search engine. This means that 75% of searchers don’t look past the first SERP result (Intergrowth).
Top 5 SEO Strategies to Boost Organic Traffic to Your Ecommerce Website
1. Using Keyword Research to Optimize Your eCommerce Site
Keyword research is the process of finding search terms related to your business, services and products that users are actively searching so you can include them in your content. Keyword research is important because it matches your content with users’ search intent. Trone uses reliable online tools such as Moz Pro Keyword Explorer for keyword research. Brands should look at search volume, ranking difficulty and organic CTR to determine which keywords are best to target.After determining your targeted keywords, it’s important to optimize your landing page meta title, description, header and copy. Through keyword optimization, Google can better understand what type of products you are selling and match them to relevant search queries.
2. Building an SEO-Friendly Site Structure for Your eCommerce Site
The site structure refers to the arrangement of pages on your website and the way in which they are interconnected. Its main purpose is to minimize the number of clicks required to access the significant pages starting from the homepage.
The importance of site structure extends to both SEO and user experience. Enlisting the assistance of a UX specialist can aid in designing a site structure that allows users to navigate your site effortlessly and locate desired products. Using breadcrumbs can expedite and enhance users’ browsing experience, particularly when your site encompasses numerous products.
- Homepage: Amanda’s Coat Factory
- Product Category: Jackets
- Product Sub Category: Insulated & Down
- Product Page: Long Hooded Down Jacket
Once you have finalized your site structure, you will be required to generate an XML sitemap of your site and submit it to Google via Google Search Console. A well-organized site structure assists Google in effectively crawling and indexing your web pages.
3. Including Content on Your Product Pages
Google prefers websites that have substantial content and tends to prioritize product pages that provide more detailed information. To optimize your product page, it is advisable to incorporate targeted keywords, product reviews, and internal links to related products. Additionally, product descriptions, specifications, and alt image tags should be included. It is recommended to avoid duplicate content issues by ensuring that each landing page contains unique content.
4. Structured Data for Product Pages
To help Google categorize and index your content, it is beneficial to include structured data. By adding structured data to your product pages, you can enhance the display of your products in Google SERP through rich snippets. It is recommended to test the schema markup for any errors or warnings after implementing structured data on your product pages.
5. Fixing Technical SEO
Technical SEO focuses on enhancing technical aspects of an eCommerce site, aiming to create a faster, more easily searchable, and secure website. An excessive presence of site errors can adversely impact the search engine visibility of your eCommerce site, as Google tends to prioritize sites with superior technical SEO.
What Are the Most Common Technical SEO Errors?
- Non-HTTPS
- Missing XML Sitemap
- Slow Site Speed
- Missing or Incorrect Robots.txt file
- Missing Canonical Tags
- Broken Links
- 404 Errors & Redirect Chains
- Duplicate Content
An important thing to note is that certain technical SEO errors may be impacting your site, of which you might not be aware. In order to determine the necessary enhancements and subsequent actions to rectify the errors on your site, an ecommerce digital marketing agency can conduct an SEO audit.
