Did you know that by 2023, eCommerce will account for about $6.5 trillion in sales?
If anything, you should capitalize on this information if you own an eCommerce website and get ahead of your competitors. The question is, how do you achieve this?
E-commerce websites need to be carefully designed with SEO in mind. This is because search engines base many of their optimizations on search engine optimization. You need to use the best SEO for eCommerce sites tips to rank high on SERPs and get more organic traffic to your site.
In this guide, we'll look at some best practices that eCommerce marketers should keep in mind when designing an online store. Keep reading to find the best SEO strategies to put in place for your eCommerce website to thrive and rake in the profits and growth you desire.
Control Navigation with Site Maps and Internal Linking
The control of your website navigation is one thing that search engines look at closely when indexing a website for its listings. A site map can define the hierarchy of information on a website, which is then mirrored by how it's coded in the HTML head tags.
In eCommerce, this also helps the customer see where the things they are looking for are located across multiple categories and product pages. This control should extend to internal linking as well, which helps direct customers from one product page to another within your site, or from your site to a related site. This is one of the best SEO for eCommerce sites tips you should implement.
Consistent URL Structure
An eCommerce website's shopping cart and product pages need to use an identical URL structure. This way, customers can be led directly to the page they want without having to guess or search for it on your site. A common mistake many eCommerce website owners make is creating a new directory for every addition of a category or product line.
The thing is, this only serves to confuse customers and dilutes link authority. Instead, create categories that resemble an inverted pyramid with the broadest category at the top and more specific subcategories below each one. The most specific directory should just mirror this pattern as well, even if it only has one product inside it.
Search engines will not index directories that do not contain any content within them. In other words, a bunch of subdirectories with no content. It's imperative to have at least three categories within every directory in order to draw traffic from search engines. Essentially, your eCommerce site structure plays a vital role in your ranking.
Meta Tag Optimization
Search engine spiders read through your meta tags in order to determine the relevance of the page they are crawling. Additionally, some search engines use keywords or phrases within these tags as ranking factors. To optimize meta tag content for an eCommerce website, you need to focus on a few things.
The most crucial thing is the meta title length. Try not to exceed 60 characters because it will display truncated if it goes over. The next thing is keywords. Try not to stuff them with too many keywords since this will over-optimize a page and send a spam signal to search engines.
Instead, stick with 2-3 related words that best describe the product or service offered on that page. The last thing is the description length. Try not to exceed 160 characters because it will display truncated if it goes beyond that length.
What other Reads?
Optimize Images and Videos
Adding keywords into your image ALT tags is an easy way to further optimize the content on individual pages. Now, this can be time-consuming for larger websites with higher-quality images that need ALT text written for them.
The best way to automate this process is by using free plugins like SEO Friendly Images or WP Smush Pro, along with Google's Image Optimizer tool. For videos, make sure they are both embedded using the proper HTML coding and optimized using keyword-rich titles and descriptions. Utilize as many free SEO tools as possible to get things done.
Maintain Unique Titles and Descriptions for Every Product Page
ECommerce sites have hundreds, if not thousands of products. It's important to maintain unique titles and descriptions for every product page. This prevents duplicate content issues that can cause search engines to ignore them.
Search engines place a lot of weight on what you write within these tags. They are used as indexing factors by spiders looking at how good your site is at providing the information customers are looking for. Here are some best practices related to meta optimizations.
First, avoid automated processes like templates, as they mostly create problems with indexing down the line. Second, ensure product names follow certain guidelines to prevent duplicate content. Third, always use keywords that are relevant to the product, but try not to stuff them into titles and descriptions.
Use a Responsive Website Design for Mobile Devices
Mobile device compatibility is one of the most important factors in eCommerce SEO. Google has already shifted its algorithm towards mobile-friendly websites. They are by far more desirable when it comes to top rankings.
You want your site to have the best chance of rising within search results. The best way to do this is to focus on using a responsive design that adjusts your site's layout according to the screen size. If anything, SEO for eCommerce sites requires that you implement this tip.
Update Fresh Content Regularly
The fresher content you can update on your eCommerce website, the better off your rankings will be. Spiders are far more likely to revisit pages that provide new information or relevance within their niche. Make sure you use a blog section of your site and regularly relevant text and multimedia content about industry news, product launches, events, etc.
This will help increase customer engagement over time and attract quality links from other sites that are looking for this type of information.
Optimize for Email Newsletters and SMS Text Message Marketing
You can always use email newsletters and text message marketing to drive more traffic to your site. This is particularly important if you're trying to target specific customers with time-sensitive offers or flash sales.
Make sure you don't spam customers by sending them messages too often or using outdated contact information. Also, optimize the content of these messaging campaigns, so it doesn't get marked as spam by search engines.
Use Schema Markup for Product Images Whenever Possible
Optimizing product images with schema markup is one way for eCommerce websites to increase visibility in search engine image carousels. This helps create richer snippets of information about products within SERPs. You'll stand out among competitors without having to rely entirely on off-page factors, such as backlinks.
Incorporate Logos in the Product Images Whenever Possible
Google uses product images within search results. Make them more relevant by incorporating your company logo in the bottom right corner of each image whenever possible.
This helps associate your brand with the products on display. It also makes it more likely that you'll get more clicks when people identify with what your site is selling. Search engine optimization is all about putting yourself out there.
The Best SEO for ECommerce Sites
If you have an eCommerce website, you already know that the competition online is nothing short of fierce. You want to make sure that your site ranks high on search engines, and SEO is the best way to ensure it does. SEO is not easy, however, and you need to follow the SEO for eCommerce sites tips stipulated above to win.
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