E-Commerce Website SEO Guide

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about optimizing your eCommerce website to rank high on the search engine results page (SERP). This means that you need to do everything possible to make sure that your site will be deemed worthy by Google, Bing, Yahoo!, and other major search engines to take their top spots.

If you are a new or small business owner with an e-commerce website, this task may seem daunting. But don’t fret—we’ve got a few tips and tricks to help you optimize your e-commerce page for search engines.

1. Add meta information to your web pages

Meta information comprises the title, description, and keywords of each page on your site. Don’t forget to include a description of what you sell for it to be picked up by Google’s shopping engine.

2. Include relevant keywords

Your content needs relevant keywords. These are the words and phrases that describe or are pertinent to your brand, products, and services. Add them without making them seem unnatural or spammy. The best way to do this is by maintaining the proper keyword density. Having around 2% more than the normal word count on your pages will help optimize them.

3. Images and videos matter

Your content will look more appealing with images and videos. Use captions and alt text to help Google understand which words to associate with the media to optimize them better.

4. Use SEO toolbar

Weeding out pages that don’t rank well is difficult, but you can do this by using SEO tools to analyze search engine rankings and track your progress over time. Many free and paid tools can be used to look into which words people may use when searching for your product.

5. Optimize your title tag

The title tag appears in a browser window or tab about the same size as the text on an e-reader device screen. It should contain the relevant key phrases and up to 70 characters, including spaces. HTML standards limit this.

6. Optimize your website for mobile

Edit your website to make sure it is responsive and displays well on mobile devices. More searchers access the internet from their phones or other handhelds today; however, you should not optimize just for one device. Note that some features are better suited for viewing on larger screens.

7. Improve product pages

The content area should fit the whole text without the need to scroll and still have room for interactive elements such as a call-to-action button or video player that you may want to include. You may also need to optimize your images depending on how they appear in SERPs.

8. Create optimized product descriptions

Product descriptions can be optimized in the following ways:

•  Highlight major features of the product, such as size or color. This is crucial for products that are not easily identifiable by other factors than their description.
• Include a call-to-action so that customers will purchase your product from your website instead of shopping elsewhere (e.g., “shop now”) and, where appropriate, include information about related items offered on your site.
•  Figure out what images might appear with this content when displayed in SERPs before uploading them. For example, if you want a picture of yourself or your company logo next to the text, create it so that it will display well at a thumbnail size without unnecessary detail.

9. Include customer reviews and ratings

Aside from optimizing for the search engine, you should also design your site with your customers in mind. Include customer reviews and product ratings to help lead potential customers to see and buy your product on your website instead of shopping elsewhere.

10. Optimize your home page

Make sure that your home page is well organized, clean and easy to read. Keep in mind that this will be the first impression of your website for visitors. Add descriptions of what every image contains and make these captions as optimized as possible. Try to avoid using too many photos on a single post, or you may overwhelm people reading from mobile devices.

11. Highlight your top products

To make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for, use tags at the end of each post. Add keywords or product names in a subheading and link back to that specific category page where you have more items like that. Do not overwhelm people with too many choices.

12. Link your page to other categories

When writing a post, think as if it were an in-store tour of your store. You want to keep the customer interested and move them through the paths inside a physical location. Linking back to other categories will help people feel what else is available on your site besides just the product or category they view.

13. Use internal linking to help customers find what they need

If you have many products on your site, it’s essential to make people aware of related items and categories. Internal links are another great way of boosting online sales by reminding shoppers who may not know other things you offer beyond what they are currently looking at.

14. Consistent blogging

Your website will not rank high on search engine pages unless your blog is regularly updated with new content—preferably four times a week or more. Google uses web crawlers (bots) that index sites daily and tracks how often a site is updated.

15. Run a regular website audit

A website audit is done to check for broken links, duplicate content, and incorrect spellings. Check for any pages with not enough text on them or anything that may be considered spammy by Google’s standards, such as low-quality articles without images and videos.

E-Commerce Page Optimization is a Must!

Retailers know that if they want to attract more customers and get their products in front of as many people as possible, they have to optimize their e-commerce pages. It helps Google notice your page, so when someone searches for the product or service you offer, they are directed straight to you.

Don’t forget to work on your e-commerce customer service too. These and more are great ways to increase sales and are essential if you want to gain an edge against your competitors.

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