Search engine optimization (SEO) has the highest ROI for eCommerce marketing campaigns, so it should come as no surprise when we tell you that your shop needs to be optimized in consideration of search engines.

As a consumer, what is the first thing you do when you are interested in buying a product? You Google it, right?

Now, how much time do you spend combing through the search results that are returned to you? Probably not long since research has shown that 90% of internet users do not make it to the second page of search engine results.

Ranking high on the first page of search engine results will give your eCommerce shop a higher traffic conversion rate and, in turn, more sales.

If you have not already implemented SEO strategies into your online shop and listings, continue reading this article to determine how you can take your business to the next level.

SEO: The Basics

Before we take a deep dive into the specifics of your eCommerce business, let’s lay the foundation for what exactly SEO is.

Over the years, Google’s search algorithm has become increasingly complex. While marketing experts like us cannot crack Google’s exact code when it comes to ranking search results, plenty of research has allowed us to create strategies to make the most out of our online presence.

With the searcher’s query in mind, Google looks for relevant, high-quality information to present at higher rankings. By reading (also known as crawling) all of the written content on your website, Google indexes sites by evaluating whether or not the content is relevant based on the keywords it contains.

A few other factors that will impact your search ranking are engagement and traffic conversions, page loading speed, and the amount of unique content.

As for today, we will be focusing on the specifics of SEO as it relates to eCommerce shops, including written content and site architecture.

Keywords: Where To Include Them

One of the first steps in any SEO strategy is to perform keyword research. While your keywords may change over time, the original keywords you determine should be included in the blueprint of your website.

Considering the demographics and psychographics of your target customers, you will need to find keywords based on search volume, relevancy, and competition. There are plenty of online tools that can help you determine keywords (both free and paid), or you can choose to use a third-party SEO expert to streamline the process.

Keywords should be included in various locations on your website, but only where they make sense to use. The most important places to include keywords are listed below.

  • Page titles
  • Headers
  • Subheaders
  • Paragraphs
  • Product descriptions
  • Image file names
  • Image alt tags
  • Meta title and descriptions
  • URLs

Many businesses overlook some of these locations because they are not directly visible on the site, but Google’s algorithm indexes each part of the website.

It is recommended that keyword research be conducted for each page on your website, as categories and products require different approaches.

Writing a unique description that includes long-tail keywords will better help Google (and your customers) understand what is on the page when it comes to category pages. When it comes to individual products, you should do the same thing but ensure even more so that the description is accurate.

Link Building

Another important aspect of SEO is link building. Link building refers to if and where your site is mentioned on the internet. The higher quality links, the better influence it has on your search ranking.

There are a few ways to build links, some more time-consuming than others. The first and most basic link-building tactic is simply called “link adding.” If you can find a website that doesn’t belong to you and add your link, there should be no harm in doing it. The most common websites like these are job boards, forums, social media, and blogs.

Another option is to ask for links. Through guest blogging, testimonials, case studies, fixing broken links, image linking, and more, there are several reasons you can use to ask others to include links to your site.

If you have looked into link building before, you may have seen the option to buy links. This is not recommended by professional marketers as these services rarely have a good ROI and increase the likelihood of your website being penalized by Google itself.

Final Thoughts

Every eCommerce website is different, and while we wish there were a magic formula to create an SEO campaign, it is different for each business. Basic practices like keywords and building links are excellent for any business, as long as they are done right.

You don’t have to be a technological genius to implement SEO strategies, but it might take a bit more work and time if you are unfamiliar with specific technologies.

If you are ready to take your business to the next level with SEO, the experts here at Paton Marketing would be happy to help you. We will create a streamlined strategy to boost your traffic and sales by discussing your specific business goals.

Whether you are running an eCommerce business or a physical storefront, Paton Marketing’s SEO services have proven to be successful in various industries.