E-commerce businesses can attract site visitors in various ways, whether through direct engine searches, paid ads, or social media links. Because the success of your e-commerce SEO strategies depends on the clicks or traffic, it’s in your best interest to narrow down your search engine optimization goals.
This won’t be easy if it’s your first time implementing SEO practices. Fortunately, with the proper knowledge, implementing successful SEO is doable even for those less tech-savvy.
Watch out for a few things to simplify the process because it can be pretty complicated – especially for first-timers. Keep reading for our all-inclusive SEO checklist to boost traffic and revenue.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is the foundation of any good e-commerce SEO strategy. First, you need to ascertain your product niche, and once you’ve done that, you have to discover which keywords are most used for that specific niche.
The most important aspects of your keyword research will be the keyword volume and the keyword competition.
Keyword volume refers to the frequency with which internet users search a keyword, which means you want to aim for a high-volume keyword. On the other hand, keyword competition refers to the existing contest to rank for a particular keyword. This means you should aim for keywords with low competition.
If you are unsure how to go about doing the keyword research, there are tons of tools that you can apply.
Heading Keywords
Once you have done your keyword research, it is time to put that knowledge to good use. As you know, the title, or H1 heading, is the most prominent feature of any search result. To increase your online store’s traffic, you should focus on crafting a good title when writing blog posts.
Use keywords related to your niche in the H1 and H2 headings a couple of times while sounding natural. You can also sprinkle the keywords throughout the body of the text, but not too frequently to avoid sounding robotic and too salesy.
You can decide how many times you should use each keyword according to your text word count. For example, a 500-word text should include the main keyword three to four times, excluding the H1.
Unique Headings
Using keywords in the headings is a step in the right direction, but if you want your search result to really stand out and boost your search engine optimization strategy, you need to make your headings distinctive.
The three most important facets of creating a distinctive heading are:
- Using a keyword
- Using your brand name to become associated with that product
- Introducing the product with a bit of flair
The length of your headings also matter. For example, over-explaining things and writing more than 300 words per heading is a no-go. In this case, less is more. So, aim for no more than 200-250 words per heading, and exclude any unnecessary info or fluff.
Optimized Meta Description
Aside from the title, the first information users will encounter about your product is the meta description. The meta description is a chunk of text just below the title and is visible in search engine results.
It has to be brief, two sentences or 160 characters at most. It must also be informative enough to entice users to click the link. Finally, it should contain at least some form of the main keyword.
Keyword-Optimized URL
Including keywords in the URL is the third and last approach to ensure that the keywords generate traffic to your online store. Many people and practically all search engines consider the URL when choosing search results.
You want to write a URL that is easily recognizable and contains the primary keyword to succeed in your e-commerce SEO tactics.
Avoid Repetition
If you want more traffic to your online store, ensure the content you upload is original and authentic. Search engines have algorithms that spot and downgrade repetitive content because they filter it as spam.
To avoid making this mistake, ensure you do not use two different pages for different colors of the same product or anything else that might be needlessly repetitive. You also want to avoid plagiarism or somebody else’s pre-existing content.
Error Management
Errors are an unfortunate but common part of the online experience. We all encounter them almost daily; they are nothing more than a nuisance.
However, it could negatively affect your online store traffic if you do not deal with the errors that pop up promptly and efficiently.
Nobody wants to click on a product page they’ve been looking for, only to be met with an Error 404. If you let these errors hang around for a long time, search engines will lower your site’s ranking, and it might even stop appearing in the search results.
Mobile Version Prioritizing
Most people are constantly on the move, meaning they use their hand-held devices such as smartphones and tablets to search for the products they need.
In line with the rising popularity of mobile devices, search engines have started prioritizing the mobile versions of websites. A practice called mobile-first indexing, made popular by Google, is a process in which the search engine ranks your website by analyzing the mobile version of it.
This method may seem like a potential risk, but it can be highly beneficial in increasing your website traffic. Doing this will make your site easily accessible and adaptable to various screen sizes, making it more intuitive and crawlable.
Simplicity of Structure
Nobody wants to browse and buy products from a confusing and overwhelming site. Internet users prefer elegant and simplistic designs, which offer easy access to the products and services they are looking for.
If your website has a good structure, it will receive better rankings from potential clients and search engines. Furthermore, if your online store is appropriately structured with all on-site elements, it will make it easier for search engine crawlers to find it, eventually increasing traffic.
Exclude Less-Relevant Pages
A successful e-commerce search engine optimization strategy is knowing which pages of your online store to exclude. Not all of the pages on your website need to appear in the search results.
The way it works is that you add certain pages that you deem less relevant to the users’ interests, such as the Contact Us page, or the shopping cart page, to the excluded pages list, and the search engine will not index them, nor include them in the search results.
Excluding pages does not mean that these pages are not crucial to the potential client’s experience in your e-commerce store, but rather it means that those pages should not be the first result the client gets when they search for your store.
E-commerce SEO Summary
Your business’s success depends on increasing traffic to your online store. However, this is no simple feat – there are so many rules, tricks, and pitfalls.
Having an e-commerce SEO checklist containing crucial points is a great start, but in reality, the online world is constantly changing and shifting. Sometimes, a simple list might not always be enough to help you reach your goals.
So, what is the solution then?
Set yourself up for success by picking a reputable and skilled SEO firm, like Digital Heart Media. Our staff consists of individuals with a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and a commitment to professionalism.
Contact us today to get a free quote, and let us take the responsibility off your hands. Trust us to take on the task of increasing the number of potential clients visiting your online store, and you’ll see the results in no time.
