6 SEO Strategies for E-commerce in 2024 - A Beginner’s Guide to Boost Sales
Feeling challenged by the competitive nature of the e-commerce landscape? Struggling to achieve your desired results?
The solution lies in mastering the art of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Imagine your online store standing out amidst a sea of competitors, enticing customers with irresistible product listings, and dominating search engine results pages for all the right keywords. With SEO, you can turn that dream into a profitable reality. By optimizing your site speed, ensuring mobile-friendliness, and providing secure payment options, you can convert casual browsers into loyal buyers.
Get ready to outshine your competitors, attract a stampede of eager shoppers, and become an unstoppable force in the world of online retail. With SEO, success is just a few clicks away. Let’s revolutionize your online store and make your ecommerce dreams come true.
What is SEO for Ecommerce?
E-commerce SEO focuses on strategies to elevate web retailers’ rankings in search engine results. By ensuring your website is well-designed and optimized with high-quality content, you enhance its visibility on platforms like Google, driving more traffic to your store.
Essentially, e-commerce SEO revolves around optimizing your site to facilitate lead generation and conversions, streamlining the process for potential customers to find and engage with your products or services.
Did you know that 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine? With the vast majority of online shoppers starting their journey by searching for products, it’s crucial for ecommerce businesses to prioritize Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Why Is SEO Important for Ecommerce Websites?
When you conduct a search on Google, you’re directed to a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) where you encounter around 10 organic results.
These organic listings are positioned below paid advertisements .
E-commerce SEO focuses on securing prominent placements for your product pages within these top organic search results on the first page of Google. Websites that fail to rank in the top 10 seldom receive visits, and even those positioned between three to five experience significantly lower traffic compared to the top results.
If your e-commerce website hasn’t been optimized yet, I strongly suggest following this guide step by step. If you’ve previously optimized your site, feel free to incorporate my recommendations as needed.
Are you ready? Let’s dive into the world of e-commerce SEO together.
1. Perform Keyword Research
When conducting keyword research, it’s crucial not to solely concentrate on the most popular keywords within your industry. It’s equally important to consider buyer intent.
Buyer intent refers to the underlying purpose behind a search query. To discern it, examine the specific phrases and terms people use when searching online.
There are two primary types of keyword intent:
Informational keyword intent:
These searches typically involve questions like “how do I?” or factual inquiries. In such cases, the searcher seeks additional details about a subject.
Commercial keyword intent:
These searches occur when a user knows what they want but isn’t sure where to find it. They may input search phrases like “buy smartphone” or “find London hotel deals.” Users employing commercial keywords generally have a higher intent to make a purchase.
Finding SEO keywords for the Ecommerce niche involves a systematic approach to identifying relevant and profitable terms.
Here are several steps you can follow:
- Brainstorming: Start by brainstorming a list of seed keywords that are directly related to your eCommerce business. These can be general terms that encompass your products, industry, or niche.
- Competitor Analysis: Analyze your competitors’ websites and SEO strategies to gain insights. Identify the key terms they are targeting and ranking for.
- Keyword Research Tools: Utilize keyword research tools to discover new terms and obtain valuable data. Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Moz Keyword Explorer, and Ubersuggest are popular tools that provide suggestions, search volumes, competition levels, and related terms.
Below is an example of the results obtained from analyzing keywords using Ahrefs’ keyword research tools.
4. Long-Tail Keywords: Focus on long-tail keywords, which are more specific and have lower competition. This often indicates higher purchase intent and can attract highly targeted traffic.
5. User Intent: Consider the intent behind the keywords. Are users looking for information, comparing products, or ready to make a purchase? Understanding user intent helps you align your content and product pages with their specific needs.
The table below showcases some key keywords related to ecommerce and their approximate monthly search frequencies.
| Search Queries | Query Frequency |
| Fashion wear online | 15,000 |
| Buy shoes online | 12,000 |
| Fashion wear for women | 9,200 |
| Best online shoe store | 8,500 |
| Athletic shoes online | 7,300 |
| Fashion wear for men | 6,800 |
| Trendy fashion wear | 5,400 |
| Kids shoes online | 4,900 |
| Shoe deals online | 3,700 |
Use Amazon Features
Much like Google, Amazon offers an autocomplete feature displaying popular searches related to your product.
Simply begin typing, and you’ll receive immediate suggestions.
Take note of all relevant keywords for your business that emerge from Amazon’s suggestions.
2. Improve Your Site’s Architecture
Website structure refers to the organization and interconnection of your site’s pages.
It’s a crucial part of technical SEO for any online store. (Technical SEO focuses on improving the technical aspects of your site that affect SEO.)
Why Optimize E-commerce Site Structure?
Here are two compelling reasons:
- Enhanced User Experience: A well-structured e-commerce site allows visitors to easily find what they’re searching for, typically within a few clicks.
- Improved Search Engine Visibility: A clear site structure enables search engines like Google to efficiently navigate and index your pages by following internal links.
By establishing a solid site architecture from the outset, you can avoid the hassle of restructuring your website later on.
Let’s Examine a Well-Optimized E-commerce Site Structure
As illustrated, the site’s link authority is primarily directed towards its product and category pages.
This focused authority contributes to these pages ranking well on Google and facilitates comprehensive indexing by search engines.
Not only does this benefit SEO, but it also enhances user experience. A straightforward, linear architecture simplifies product discovery for shoppers.
Now, let’s explore a live example of outstanding site architecture: chewy.com.
Let’s say you want to get a new dog’s bed.
You’d head to the homepage and click “Dog”.
And you get a list of products in that subcategory:
Within three clicks, you’ve found what you want.
And because Chewy uses a flat site structure, Google will fully index all of their pages.
3. Optimize On-Page SEO for Ecommerce
Once you’ve completed your keyword research and finalized your site structure, it’s crucial to optimize the content on your two primary page types:
- product category pages
- product pages
Let’s look at an example of a “perfectly optimized” page from an ecommerce site.
Ecommerce content basics:
Shopify stores offer automatic SEO features like canonical tags, sitemap.xml, and robots.txt files generation, as well as themes that automatically generate title tags including your store name.
However, manual optimization is required for certain features:
- Edit title tags, meta tags, and meta descriptions to include relevant keywords.
- Ensure the alt text of product images accurately describes visuals.
- Incorporate keywords into file names.
- Thoughtfully craft URLs for various pages and collections.
When optimizing title tags and descriptions, keep in mind that they are primarily aimed at ranking on the first page of search results and convincing users to click through to your site.
Including modifiers like “Deals,” “20% Off,” “Free Shipping,” and “Wide Selection” can enhance visibility and target long-tail keywords.
Optimize Product Pages to Improve Ranking:
To attract and convert more customers, focus on optimizing key areas of your e-commerce site, such as product descriptions, images, and reviews.
Before diving into optimization, consider these questions:
- What are the most critical elements on the page?
- How can you maximize their visibility and impact?
- How can this information enhance the effectiveness of your product descriptions?
Strategies for optimizing product descriptions include:
- Adding high-quality unique images.
- Incorporating relevant keywords into descriptions.
- Including persuasive CTAs.
- Integrating testimonials or reviews.
Create internal links:
The more time visitors spend engaging with your content, the greater the likelihood of converting them into customers and making a sale.Relevant internal links to other pages on your site help potential customers browse and discover information or products.
Ensure that the anchor text of your internal links includes the target keyword. This practice effectively directs users to relevant product pages, category pages, and educational content.
Avoid Excessive Internal Linking. One or two links every few hundred words is enough.
By implementing these strategies, you not only improve search engine rankings but also enhance user experience and drive engagement and conversions.
4. Enhance Your Backlink Profile
Exceptional content is vital for your ecommerce website, but achieving visibility requires more than that alone. Quality backlinks serve as endorsements from reputable sources, validating the reliability of your content and boosting your ranking on search engine results pages.
In the competitive landscape of ecommerce, effective off-page SEO and link building are crucial for securing top positions in search engine rankings. Here are several strategies to achieve this:
- Create internal backlinks: Embed links within your website’s content to improve navigation and enhance user experience.
- Contribute guest posts: Write for authoritative websites in your industry to gain exposure and earn valuable backlinks.
- Utilize social media ads: Promote your content through paid ads on social media platforms to expand your reach and engagement.
- Share valuable content: Regularly share informative and engaging content across your social media channels to attract traffic and encourage sharing.
- Distribute press releases: Reach out to relevant media outlets with press releases to generate buzz and earn backlinks from reputable sources.
- Participate in discussions: Engage in conversations on blogs and forums related to your niche, providing insights and linking back to your site where appropriate.
- Create infographics: Design visually appealing infographics to present data and information in an easily digestible format, making it more shareable and link-worthy.
- Publish whitepapers and case studies: Showcase your expertise and insights through in-depth research and analysis, attracting links from interested parties seeking authoritative sources.
Claim Unlinked Mentions
Regularly monitor online mentions of your brand or products. If you find any unlinked mentions, reach out to the website owner or author and kindly request that they add a hyperlink to your ecommerce site. This proactive approach can help you reclaim lost backlink opportunities and strengthen your backlink profile.
Leverage HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
HARO is a valuable platform connecting journalists with industry experts. By signing up as a source on HARO’s website, you can receive daily emails containing journalist queries. Responding to relevant queries and providing insightful expertise increases the likelihood of journalists including your input in their articles, along with a backlink to your ecommerce website. This proactive approach can help you secure high-quality backlinks and enhance your site’s visibility and authority in your industry.
If you sign up as a source (free), HARO sends you daily emails with requests like this:
This comprehensive approach to building backlinks for your ecommerce business encompasses a variety of strategies, each aimed at improving your site’s visibility, authority, and ultimately, its success in the online marketplace.
5. Find and Fix Other Technical SEO Issues
Technical SEO is instrumental in fine-tuning your Ecommerce website and server to streamline the crawling and indexing process for search engines. Rectifying technical issues not only enhances your site’s organic rankings but also amplifies its visibility online.
Common technical issues that warrant attention include:
- 404 errors and broken backlinks
- Poor URL structure
- Duplicate or thin content
- Inadequate internal linking
- Suboptimal website architecture
- Missing metadata such as page titles and meta descriptions
- Absence of H1 tags
Failure to address these technical errors can undermine your prior SEO efforts, rendering your content invisible to search engines like Google. Without proper indexing, your Ecommerce site fails to appear in relevant search results, hampering its online presence.
Key areas where technical SEO is applied include:
Site Speed Optimization:
Aim for a load time of 2-3 seconds to provide users with a seamless browsing experience and earn favor from Google’s ranking algorithms.
Effective Website Structure and URL Optimization:
Craft a logical website structure that facilitates easy navigation for users and incorporates relevant keywords into URLs to enhance search engine visibility.
Mobile-Friendly Design:
Ensure that your Ecommerce website is responsive across diverse screen sizes to cater to the increasing prevalence of mobile browsing and align with Google’s preference for mobile-optimized sites.
Structured Data and Schema Markup:
Integrate structured data and schema markup into your website to provide search engines with additional context about your content. This can lead to the creation of rich snippets in search results, amplifying visibility and click-through rates.
The image below displays the sample Schema Markup of a website.
Rich snippets display extra information below your website’s title and description in search results, making your site more noticeable and potentially boosting your click-through rate (CTR).
Secure HTTPS Protocol with an SSL Certificate:
Safeguard your website with an SSL certificate to encrypt user data and establish credibility. Websites with HTTPS protocol are favored by search engines, translating to improved SEO rankings and enhanced website credibility.
By addressing these technical SEO aspects, Ecommerce websites can elevate their performance and attract more customers and stakeholders in the competitive digital landscape.
6. Track SEO Performance
You’ve put in the work to optimize your pages for on-page SEO, crafted new content, and acquired backlinks. But how can you determine if these efforts are paying off?
The answer lies in measuring your SEO performance.
Here are the most relevant ways you can tell your SEO efforts are working:
Organic Traffic:
Measure the number of visits to your website from organic search engines, indicating the effectiveness of your SEO strategy. Utilize Google Analytics to track organic traffic over time.
Organic Click-Through Rate (CTR) and Bounce Rate:
Evaluate how well your meta-titles and descriptions attract visitors and encourage engagement. Analyze CTR from search engine results pages (SERPs) using Google Search Console and Analytics to understand visitor interaction with your content.
Keyword Rankings:
Monitor your rankings for target keywords to assess the performance of your content. Tools like Google Search Console or SEMRush can help track keyword performance and identify relevant keywords for your e-commerce store.
Revenue:
Measure the conversion of organic traffic into revenue to determine the monetary value generated by your e-commerce SEO efforts. A natural increase in revenue indicates successful driving of qualified traffic to your online store.
By monitoring these KPIs, you can gain insights into the effectiveness of your e-commerce SEO strategy and make informed decisions to optimize your online store’s performance.
CONCLUSION
As we wrap up our discussion on SEO for e-commerce, it’s crucial to acknowledge the profound impact that optimizing your online presence can have on your business.
With the right strategies and SEO practices, you can ensure that your e-commerce venture stands out in the digital realm. By reaching a wider audience and attracting more customers, you can elevate your business to new levels of success.
However, it’s important to recognize that SEO is an ongoing journey. Keeping abreast of the latest trends and adapting to changes in search engine algorithms are essential for sustaining your achievements.
So, what’s the next step? It’s time to take action and give your e-commerce venture the digital boost it deserves! Reach out to one of our consultants at JetTrinet today to explore how we can assist you in implementing customized SEO strategies to propel your business into the future.