As an online retailer, you know that SEO is crucial for getting your products in front of potential customers. But with all the ecommerce sites out there, how can you make sure your pages show up in those coveted top search results? Don’t stress. This intro guide to ecommerce SEO will walk you through some key tips for boosting your site’s rankings. In just a few minutes, you’ll learn easy but effective strategies related to keywords, content, tags, site speed, and more. Whether you sell handmade crafts on your own storefront or manage an entire digital marketplace, these 101 ecommerce SEO essentials will help you help your site stand out so you can sit back and watch your sales grow.
Keyword Research – Identifying the Right Keywords for Your Ecommerce Site
To drive organic traffic to your ecommerce site, you need to optimize your content for the keywords your target audience is searching for. But how do you find those keywords? Keyword research is key.
There are a few free tools you can use to uncover keywords for your ecommerce site:
- Google Keyword Planner: This tool provides search volume data for keywords and keyword phrases. Look for keywords with a high search volume that are also relevant to your products.
- Google Trends: See what keywords and topics are trending over time. Trending keywords may indicate opportunities to create content around popular products or seasonal themes.
- SEMrush: This tool provides keyword search volume, difficulty, and other metrics. Look for keywords that get a lot of searches but have medium to low difficulty, indicating there’s room in the rankings.
- Moz Keyword Explorer: Discover keywords and see their search volume, difficulty, and opportunity scores. Focus on keywords with a high opportunity score.
As you research keywords, look for:
• Product name keywords: The names of your specific products, e.g. “luxury silk scarves”
• Product category keywords: The category your products fall under, e.g. “handcrafted accessories”
• Product feature keywords: Descriptive words for your product features or attributes, e.g. “fair trade” or “reclaimed materials”
• Brand keywords: Your brand name, especially if you have a unique brand name • Location keywords: Your business location or the locations you ship to, e.g. “handmade goods Chicago”
Group keywords into themes to create content around, like blog posts, product pages, or landing pages. Use your keywords naturally throughout your content, including in page titles, headings, URLs, alt text, and meta descriptions. Doing effective keyword research and optimizing your content will help drive more organic search traffic to your ecommerce store.
Optimizing Your Product Pages – Meta Titles, Descriptions and More
The product pages on your ecommerce site are critical for search engine optimization (SEO) and conversions. Each product page should be optimized with buyer intent and search ranking in mind. Here are some key things you can do to improve your product page SEO:
Optimize Page Titles
Your page title, or meta title, is the single most important on-page SEO factor for product pages. The title should be a compelling, keyword-rich headline that includes your target keyword, product name and brand. For example, “Super Soft Bamboo Sheets | Brand Name | Luxury Bedding”. Keep your titles under 60 characters for the best search result visibility.
Write Product Descriptions with Keywords
Your product description is your chance to rank for important product keywords and also convert readers into buyers. Include your target keywords in the first paragraph and mention key product details and benefits. Use related terms and synonyms for your keywords throughout the description. Keep your descriptions between 150 to 300 words for the best results.
Include Image Alt Text
The alt text that describes your product images is read by search engines and used to determine relevance for search queries. Make sure each product image has an alt text of at least 125 characters that includes your target keywords and product name. For example, “Brand Name Super Soft Bamboo Sheet Set, White, King Size, 4-Piece”.
Internal Linking
Add links from your product page to related content on your site like buying guides, blog posts or complementary product pages. This internal linking helps search engines discover and index more of your product content. It also gives readers more useful information and encourages them to browse your site.
Technical SEO Factors
There are a few technical items to check for each product page. Make sure your page URL contains your target keyword. Have a clear page title hierarchy using H1 for product name, H2 for sections and H3 for subsections. Enable rich snippets like product reviews and ratings. Keep your page load speed optimized for the best user experience.
Following these steps for each product page on your site can significantly impact your product page SEO and ecommerce sales. Paying close attention to on-page optimization and keeping your content fresh will move the needle in search rankings and conversions.
Improving Site Navigation and Internal Linking
Internal linking and clear site navigation are essential for SEO and user experience. How easily can visitors find what they need on your site? If products and content are hard to locate, customers may get frustrated and leave.
Keep categories concise
Group products into a handful of high-level categories to make navigation simple. For example, have categories like “Women’s Clothing,” “Men’s Accessories,” and “Home Decor” rather than long lists of specific items. Within each category, use subcategories to further organize products. This makes it easy for visitors to browse and find what they want.
Use descriptive page titles
The page title, or what shows up in the browser tab, should clearly convey what that page is about. For product pages, use the product name and key details like size, color, price, etc. For category pages, use the category name. Descriptive titles help visitors know where they are on the site and find relevant pages in search results.
Link internally
Adding links within your site helps visitors discover related content and products. On product pages, link to complementary products, the category that product belongs to, and any helpful resources. On blog posts or resources, link to relevant products or categories. Internal linking passes authority from page to page, which also benefits SEO.
Include breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs show visitors their path to the current page. Add breadcrumbs to product pages, category pages, blog posts, and any important content on your site. Breadcrumbs make navigation easy by allowing visitors to quickly go up a level or jump to a higher-level category. They also reinforce page titles by showing the full path.
Have a search function
A prominent search box allows visitors to quickly find what they need. Offer search filters to help narrow results by category, brand, price, or other attributes. Well-optimized product data and content will produce relevant search results.
Optimizing navigation and internal linking helps create an enjoyable user experience, builds authority between pages, and strengthens your SEO. Evaluate how easy it is to get around your site and make improvements to better serve both visitors and search engines. Keep tweaking and improving over time based on how people interact with your site.
Generating Backlinks and Earning Referrals
To improve your ecommerce SEO, focus on building high-quality backlinks and earning referrals from other sites. Backlinks are links from other websites that point back to your own, and referrals are mentions of your site that include a link. Both of these help search engines determine your authority and ranking.
Build relationships with other businesses and sites in your industry. Reach out and ask if they’d be willing to link to or refer your products and content. Offer to reciprocate by linking back to them as well. These reciprocal links and co-referrals carry more weight since they demonstrate a genuine connection between sites.
Create resources and content that others will want to link to. Things like:
- In-depth product guides or tutorials
- Curated lists of the best products in your niche
- Statistics and studies related to your industry
- Infographics that visually represent key data or concepts
Make these resources as useful, compelling and shareable as possible so that sites will link to them and share them with their audiences.
Reach out to influencers and ask them to review or mention your products. Having well-known industry experts vouch for your brand is a great way to earn high-value backlinks and referrals. Offer free products in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to link to the review from your own site as well.
Comment on other blogs and forums in your niche. Leave thoughtful comments that provide value, and include a link back to your site in your signature. Don’t spam or leave generic comments just to get a link. Provide genuine insights that spark discussion.
Submit your products and content to roundups and link directories. Look for lists of the best products in your category or directories where you can submit a link and a short description. These types of links, while typically nofollow, still demonstrate authority and send referral traffic.
Building a strong backlink and referral profile takes time and effort. But by creating great content, nurturing relationships, and looking for strategic opportunities to earn links, you can significantly improve your search rankings and drive more organic traffic.
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Analytics & Tracking – Measuring and Improving Ecommerce SEO Results
To improve your ecommerce SEO performance, you need to track key metrics and analytics. Some of the most important ones to monitor include:
- Organic traffic – The number of visitors who find your site through search engines like Google. Track how much organic traffic increases over time to measure the impact of your SEO efforts.
- Keyword rankings – See where your target keywords rank in search engine results pages (SERPs) and work to improve their positions. Use a tool like SEMrush, Moz, or Ahrefs to check rankings for your core keywords.
- Click-through rate (CTR) – The percentage of people who click your listing after searching. A higher CTR means your listings and content are relevant and engaging to searchers.
- Bounce rate – The percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate means people aren’t finding the information they need or your content isn’t compelling. Lower bounce rates indicate a good user experience.
- Average time on page – How long visitors spend on your pages, on average. Higher times suggest your content is valuable and informative. Short times may mean your content needs improvement to rank better in search.
- Conversion rate – The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action like making a purchase or signing up for your newsletter. Track how your SEO efforts impact conversions over the long run.
By regularly analyzing these key metrics and KPIs, you’ll gain valuable insights into what’s working, what needs improvement, and how to optimize your ecommerce SEO strategy. Make a habit of checking analytics weekly or monthly and look for trends over time. Then make data-driven decisions to boost traffic, rankings, engagement, and conversions. Continuous tracking and refining your approach is key to success.
Conclusion
So there you have it, folks – ecommerce SEO 101. As you’ve seen, ranking well in search engines can bring a steady stream of customers to your online shop. But achieving high rankings takes effort. By optimizing your metadata, building quality backlinks, providing a great user experience, and keeping up with ecommerce SEO best practices, you put your store on the path to search success. Sure, all that SEO stuff takes time – but the payoff of increased organic traffic makes it so worth it. Now that you know the essential strategies, you’re primed to crush it with ecommerce SEO. Just stay focused, work hard, and keep your customers in mind with every decision. Do that, and you’ll be well on your way to search engine stardom.