Last updated on 6th November 2024 at 17:29 by Alex Nicholas
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving the ranking of a website on search engines. SEO for your online store is important in most cases and critical in others to help you attract more customers and increase sales. The higher the ranking, the more likely people are to find your store.
Whilst eCommerce SEO can be a complex process, there are some simple things you can do to improve your ranking and visibility. To rank high, your website must have high-quality (relevant to the user) content and be search engine friendly.
Many factors go into SEO for eCommerce websites, and it can be a complex process. However, by following our well-laid-out eCommerce SEO guide, you can optimise your online store for search engines and start seeing better traffic and conversions.
This article brushes you up on how SEO works and how you may utilise it to boost the ranking of your eCommerce site. The ultimate objective of eCommerce website owners is traffic and more sales. However, even if your site has a perfect design, products, and user experience, it may still not rank high on search engines. That's where optimising your website for SEO comes in.
Attaining Visibility through SEO for Online Stores
Even if you're not an SEO pro, you probably understand that search engine optimization may make or break a website's visibility. When people are looking for a specific product or service that your online store offers, you want them to find your site – not your competitor's. However, achieving this visibility is no easy task.
The idea of SEO is a major pillar of the internet, an amazing information superhighway that we use every day, often dozens of times. For some enterprises, eCommerce SEO is a significant factor in their success. This is because a great percentage of all web traffic now comes through search engines.
Because many clients look for specific goods on Google and other search engines like Bing and Yahoo, search engine optimization (SEO) aids in the development of eCommerce businesses to make their sites visible and profitable. The best eCommerce SEO firms understand how to make a site visible in search engine results pages (SERPs), as well as how to keep it ranking highly over time.
It is not enough to have a website alone, however. You must put in the necessary time and effort to optimise it for the search engines, through on-page techniques and off-page (backlink) methods. SEO done correctly can be very profitable for your eCommerce business, but only if you understand how it works and put in the necessary effort.
Get New Consumers by Using Google
In the United Kingdom, Google is undoubtedly the most popular search engine with over 92% of the UK market. As a result of this, Google should be able to determine whether or not your eCommerce site is a viable business.
Google Analytics
The best way to know how well your eCommerce website is doing, in general, is through Google Analytics. This is a free service offered by Google that gives you detailed information about your website traffic, including how people found your site and what they did when they got there.
If you want to improve your online store, you should learn about Google's requirements and follow them when building it. With over 60% of the world's market share, it is clear that optimising your eCommerce site for Google is a no-brainer.
Google has created a functioning system that can automatically distinguish excellent sites from low-performing ones. It doesn't just take the popularity of a website into account when making its ranking decisions, but also the quality of the site too.
Working the Algorithms
What works in Google, however, may not work as well with Yahoo or Bing. Different search engines have different algorithms, which are the equations they use to rank websites. You must test and measure to see which search engines are sending you the most traffic and then optimise your website for those engines.
To be clear, what you can learn about SEO is both ever-changing and not changing at all. What worked a year ago may not work today, and what works today may not work tomorrow. But the constant things that have been the same since day 1 will stay the same for the foreseeable future:
- Your website must be well-structured, fast, and have a good UX
- It must have relevant content that provides the user with everything they need
- Backlinks will continue to play a major role in SEO and ranking highly in the SERPs
That's why I provide you with lots of resources to help you in your SEO learning journey.
Optimizing for Success
eCommerce SEO, or search engine optimization for e-commerce sites, is the practice of optimising a website for Google and other search engines to increase the chances of the site being found, ranked, and clicked. It is no easy task and requires a significant amount of time and effort. However, if done correctly, it can be a very effective way to get new customers through the door.
The major benefit to utilising SEO is that it's organic, which means you're not paying for them through Google Ads or any other advertising platform. Once your site is optimised, you can essentially let Google do the work for you by bringing in qualified traffic through the search engine results pages (SERP).
The more highly searched results in your store appear the more people you will attract. To optimise your store for Google, you don't need to be a link building expert. You just need to know the basics and follow our simple tips below.
So, it's time to dive in on some effective SEO tips that will get you on the first page to fire up your eCommerce SEO strategy.
10 Sure-fire Ways to Bolster Your E-commerce SEO
1. Analyse the Competition
This is a well-known term among newer internet marketers. The goal of keyword research for eCommerce sites is to ensure that your website includes the keywords that people are likely to use when they are looking for the products or services that you offer.
The intent is a significant component of keywords. You must verify that your keywords match what the consumer truly wants, even if it isn't immediately apparent from their search.
Once you have your core list of target keywords, it's time to do some competitive research. This will give you a good idea of what your competition is doing well and where you can focus your efforts to differentiate yourself.
Tools like SEMrush and Spyfu allow you to see what keywords your competitors are targeting, as well as the ads they are running and the backlinks they are acquiring.
Keep in mind that you don't want to copy your competition; you just want to learn from them. Find the areas in which they are successful and emulate those on your website.
When you know the correct terms, you can use them in your product names and descriptions as well as in the metadata of your pages. That will be of great help to the potential customers using Google search.
2. Keep Track of Metrics
One of the most important aspects of SEO is tracking your website's progress and diagnosing any potential issues. This means regularly monitoring your website's search engine rankings, organic traffic, and conversion rates.
If you're not sure where to start, consider using a tool like Google Analytics. This will give you all of the data you need to see how your website is performing and make adjustments as needed. The best eCommerce SEO minds never stop learning; the same goes for your website's SEO.
When deciding the best SEO strategy for eCommerce, it is important to keep in mind that the ever-changing algorithms of Google could affect your ranking and visibility at any time. This is where tracking your website's metrics can be very helpful. By monitoring your website's progress, you can quickly diagnose any potential issues and make the necessary adjustments.
3. Repurpose Existing Content
Successful eCommerce websites are always creating new content, but that doesn't mean you can't reuse existing content. Reusing existing content is a great way to improve your website's SEO.
Just make sure that you're not simply copying and pasting the same content from one page to another. That will not only hurt your SEO but also irritate your customers.
Instead, take existing content and re-configure it into a new format and add more value to it. For example, you could make a blog post and turn it into a video or an infographic. You could also break it down into a series of smaller articles.
By reusing and repurposing existing content, you can improve your website's SEO while also providing more engaging and informative content for your customers.
4. Ensure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly.
On an eCommerce website, this should be part of any SEO plan. Why? Because people love to shop on the go!
This eCommerce SEO tip is intended to enhance your customers' online shopping experience on your website. Making your website mobile-friendly ensures that no matter where they are, they can have a great shopping experience.
Ideally, your website should be responsive so that it looks good and functions properly on any device. You can also test your website using Google's Mobile-Friendly Test Tool.
It's crucial to thoroughly scroll through each of your web pages on your phone (and tablet, if you have access to one) to ensure that it looks and works well. If something doesn't look right or if it's difficult to navigate, you'll need to fix it ASAP.
5. Begin Working on Your Link-Building Efforts.
Backlinks are a critical tool for eCommerce businesses seeking to improve their search engine rankings since they are a major part of off-page SEO.
Therefore, backlinks are one of the most significant metrics to track. These are links that link one page of a website to another. They're also known as inbound links.
Google uses backlinks as one of its main ranking factors, so it's important to have a solid link building strategy in place.
In general, the more times your site is linked to other websites, the higher your SEO rankings will be.
There's a huge exception, though: You must ensure that you're obtaining high-quality backlinks from trustworthy, high-ranking websites. The all-important Google algorithm takes this into account when ranking your website.
There are a variety of ways to build links, including creating great content, participating in online communities, and reaching out to bloggers and journalists.
Remember, the quality of your links is more important than the quantity. So, focus on getting links from high-quality websites.
6. Perform an SEO Audit
One of the best ways to improve your website's SEO is to conduct a thorough SEO audit.
An SEO audit is a review of your website's SEO health. It includes an analysis of your website's on-page and off-page SEO, as well as your website's overall visibility, technical issues, and online presence.
This in-depth analysis will help you to identify any areas that need improvement and will provide you with a roadmap for improving your website's SEO.
If you're not sure where to start, we recommend using an SEO audit tool, such as Moz's Open Site Explorer or SEMrush's Site Audit Tool.
7. Reroute or fix Broken Pages
Don't forget to use redirects for broken pages when performing technical SEO for eCommerce.
Broken pages can be a major hindrance to your website's SEO. Not only are they frustrating for your customers, but they can also hurt your website's search engine rankings.
You may be dealing with several broken links, poor URL structure, or no products.
Broken pages may show a “404” in the page title or elsewhere on the site, or display a placeholder message stating “page not found.”
Because most stores will be advised to remove such pages, doing so may produce crawl-related problems that might take some time to correct.
The best way to handle this is with a 301 redirect, which tells the search engine that a specific page (or group of pages) has permanently moved to a new location. But only do this if you are redirecting to an almost identical product page. Therefore, redirecting to a closely related category page might be best.
If however the product that has a 404 error on it isn't coming back in stock, it's probably best to “410” that page.
8. Boost the Performance of Your Website.
Start by assessing your website's current performance to improve its speed. Pingdom and GTmetrix are excellent resources for measuring site load time.
There are a variety of things you can do to improve your website's performance, including optimising your images, using a content delivery network (CDN), and minifying your files.
You can also use Google's PageSpeed Insights tool to get specific suggestions for improving your website's performance.
9. Make Use of Social Media.
Social media platforms can be a powerful tool for eCommerce businesses looking to improve their SEO.
Not only can social media help you to drive traffic to your website, but it can also help you to improve your website's visibility and online presence.
This is because if you're found on social media and people remember your brand, they'll often Google your brand which is a positive sign for the algorithm.
Mainly though, social media can help you to connect with your customers and create a loyal following.
10. Receive the Featured Snippet.
The Featured Snippet is a box that appears at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs).
It contains a summary of the page's content, along with a link to the page.
The Featured Snippet can help you to stand out from the competition and increase your website's visibility.
To increase your chances of being featured, make sure your content is well-researched, accurate, is up-to-date, and has structured data. You should also ensure that your website's title and meta description are both accurate and enticing.
SEO for your online store FAQ
Is Learning Search Engine Optimization easy?
There is no definitive answer to this question because it really depends on your willingness to learn the ins and outs of how SEO works. However, many people make incredible sums of money through SEO by working out how and why it impacts their eCommerce store. Others make money by ranking their own websites or blogs high on the search engine results pages and monitize through display ads.
Some people also make money through affiliate marketing, by promoting products or services and earning a commission when someone clicks through their link and makes a purchase.
Finally, many people make money through paid search engine optimization, by bidding on keywords and then placing ads next to the search results.
Why Hire an SEO Expert?
There are several reasons why you might want to hire an SEO expert. One of the most important is that SEO is a complex and ever-changing field. It takes a lot of experience and knowledge to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices.
An SEO expert can also help you to identify and correct any problems with your website that are preventing it from ranking high in the search engine results pages. They can also help you to develop a comprehensive SEO strategy that will help you to achieve your desired results.
Finally, an SEO expert can help you to track the progress of your company and measure the success of your SEO efforts. This is essential to make sure that you are getting the most out of your investment in SEO.
How Much Revenue Does SEO Really Produce?
This is a difficult question to narrow in on because the amount of revenue that SEO produces will vary depending on several factors, including the competitiveness of your industry, the age of your website, and the amount of traffic you are currently generating. However, SEO is often one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing and can produce a significant return on investment.
Summing up
SEO is a powerful tool for eCommerce businesses looking to improve their online presence. Though it can be intimidating, the process of SEO begins with identifying your target audience and then delivering the content that they want effectively. If you're interested in learning more about how SEO for your online store works or would like help implementing these principles on your website, don't hesitate to get in touch with an SEO expert today.