The act of leveraging the power of e-commerce platforms to consistently grow and expand a business entity is easier said than done. It is almost as if a false halo is created around the discussion of SEO and e-commerce platforms.
Yes, e-commerce businesses benefit immensely from various SEO strategies, the most common being on-page optimization. But certainly, this fusion is not magic rather it is just a pure application of tried-and-tested approaches to get more engagements. This approach would further bring into the play more sales.
At the end of the day, the basic goal is to increase sales in the sense that a click must end into a conversion. So, what can you do under the purview of on-page optimization to allow the potential consumers to remain anchored to the page and hope that an impulse for purchase kicks in?
1. Keyword Research
Keyword research is a crucial element that comes real handy for improving the SERPs ranking. Various ways in which keywords help to propel the ranking of a particular page have been studied extensively.
Ecommerce SEO experts have their line of thought as per keyword research and implementation. But the basic remains the same in every single decision where people are told to look for less competitive keywords and rank for them. There is no point in choosing a generic high ranking keyword, as it just reduces the chances of being visible on the first page of the search result.
There are various tools online that can give a comprehensive picture of the chosen keywords. But not all keywords are for the initial landing pages, some important keywords are crafted for blogs to avoid unnecessary keyword stuffing.
2. Internal Linking
Internal linking is one of the easiest ways to let users seamlessly navigate between pages within the website. This form of on-page optimization is most commonly used in e-commerce websites especially in the product pages. Think of it this way, when you look for a digital watch and visit the product, you might see a link to other similar products.
If internal linking seems to be a lot of fuss, you can opt for Breadcrumbs which serve a similar purpose of smooth navigation across pages. Breadcrumbs give you an idea about the pages that you have covered to land on to the page that you currently are viewing.
3. Content
The entire perception of the products placed in an eCommerce website is based on the content. Different forms of content pieces play a different role in elevating the communication of information. For instance, there can be a promotional content piece intimating the users about sales and offers.
Also, the importance of a complete specific product description page cannot be undermined. The basic aim behind creating a product page is to plug in all the information, even the minutest details, so that the users do not navigate away due to lack of information.
4. Use Structured Data Markup
Being at the top of the search engine results requires a lot of work on the detailing. It is easy to miss out on subtle elements like snippets.
Generally, it is the snippets that are displayed on the result page and give an inside view of the website to the visitors. Snippets generally include customers' reviews and ratings thus it becomes even more crucial.
Now the question is, how do you add a snippet? Well, you can add such attributes using the schema markup. It allows the crawlers to have an insight into the platform. The schema markup can be created manually, but a smarter approach is to use a Structured Data Markup Helper.
5. Title and Meta Description
It is hard to overlook the importance of meta title along with an intriguing description. These two elements are the first point-of-contact between the platform and the visitors. Having a title that stands amidst a sea of generic industry based monikers is the key here.
On the other hand, it is quite imperative to have a short and compelling description covering the essence of the platform. This allows the visitors to form an image of the nature of the platform that they are about to visit.
6. Heading Tag
There is a difference between a well-researched copy and well structured and researched copy. The only point of differentiating factors in the above categorization relates to formatting.
Proper uses of tags, like H1, H2, and H3 allows the visitors to follow the content matter with ease. From the SEO side of things as well heading is more important than plain text mentioned in the copy. Google takes into account the Heading tags used for crawling page contents.
7. FAQs
Now on an eCommerce website, the responsibility of transmitting information to the users is not limited just to blog creation and product description. The owners must be keen on providing every tiny bit of information about the website through the FAQ section. The end goal is to not divert the users away to other public directories for information.
Along with the FAQs page, it would fare quite well if there is an about page also. The about us page must showcase the human side of the platform story along with the values that members of the company abide by.
Finally, with the contact page, you are set to talk to the potential converts. Create the contact page in such a way that it encapsulates the social media connection as well.
8. Product Video
Be fluid with the medium use flow of information about the products. The mere presence of product descriptions won’t cut the deal. In today’s time, you must create a visual appeal for the product. So, the question is how do you do it?
Well, a short answer to this would be to create niche based product video, which caters to both promotional and informational needs. With the attention span of the people getting skewed, the probability of conversion might come from a two-minute short video rather than a 1500 word dry text.
9. Site Search
As your e-commerce platform grows, and products are added to the list, it becomes tough for the users to search for exact matches. Here, the platform owners must be smart enough to introduce a site search for ease in browsing the long list of products. It is the most basic yet important addition to the eCommerce platforms.
10. User Experience and Navigation
Any SEO specialist would be quite verbose when it comes to maintaining users' experience factors. The list of tips and tricks to ensure a high user experience might never end. In this effort to provide a better user experience a website audit must be carried to spot any broken links or buttons that do not work and any other such issues.
These issues go unnoticed and then silently hamper the user experience. A prominent way to spot a patchy user experience is to see the bounce rate for that page.
11. Website Structure
The so-called ideal web structure changes from platform to platform based on the domain in which the owners are operating. The website structure with which we are dealing here is thee-commerce site.
Now the website structure for online shopping sites can easily turn into a mess if the groundwork is not clear. A proper link should be created between the pages and accessing essential pages, like Home, should not require a lot of backtracking.
Each product page must be structured in such a way the switching between the category is also possible while viewing a product. The bottom line is that the important pages must not be more than three clicks away.
12. URL Structure
It is almost a given fact that a shorter URL tends to bring into play a higher ranking. But inherently the nature of the e-commerce platforms demands longer URLs. So, there are two things to it now - first is, the URL needs to be shortened and brought under 50 characters.
On the flip side, if you cannot reduce the length of the URL, you can choose for adding keywords in the URL, as it also impacts the ranking numbers. Ideally, the aim should be to use short URLs along with the primary keyword.
13. Technical Website Audit
Google algorithms rank pages based on certain ranking parameters that combine to show the overall usability factor. The ranking algorithms take into account three key elements for ranking page speed, the interactive lag time for user input, and layout shift.
A technical website audit can give the rating about the page speed, time-to-interactive, and CLS. These crucial elements must be brought under the scanner during the technical audit and must be continuously monitored.
14. Link Building
Link building is a way to get your platform out there amidst the competitors. Several backlinking strategies involve monitoring the online presence of the competitors in various platforms in a specific domain. If the competitor is not present on a platform, it creates an opportunity for you to establish your presence with link building.
Ending Note
E-commerce is an area where the competition is increasing disproportionately, and the key to performing well is to stick with tried-and-tested SEO strategies with a touch of dynamicity. It is the tools, like On-page optimization that gives equal opportunity for all e-commerce players to grow.
