Search engine optimization is the method used by webmasters around the world to help improve the ranking of their websites in the organic search results of a search engine. There are two ways a website can appear on a search results page, either through paid search or organic search. Paid search involves paying the search engine company to display an ad with a link to your website in the special designated ad area. Organic search refers to website listings that appear naturally when a user searches for a relevant term. SEO can only help improve your organic search results. Unlike paid search, the results are not instant, but you will find that it is very beneficial for your site in the long run.
Unlike other types of websites, eCommerce sites are among the most difficult to optimize for search engines. This is caused by an inefficient amount of unique content. Search engines love sites with lots of original and detailed content. Ecommerce sites are the complete opposite, made up mostly of product images and offering very little in the way of detailed descriptions. For online shoppers, a picture is worth a thousand words and they are more likely to make a purchase based on how the product looks. Product descriptions often lack detail, it is common practice for most online stores to only use the manufacturer’s description when describing a product. On top of all that, the internal linking structure is weak and more attention is put on the back-end, as most eCommerce sites use shopping cart software to list their products online. As a result, online stores often don’t rank highly in search engines.
If you already have an eCommerce business or are planning to start one, don’t despair, there is still hope for you. There are actually a number of ecommerce SEO techniques that will help improve your site’s search engine rankings. Below is a breakdown of all the techniques you should use if you want a well optimized and search engine friendly online store.
SEO Meta Tags for Ecommerce
meta title – this is the title that only search engines can see, it can be the same as the page title or different, but it must contain the most relevant keywords to describe the product
meta description – this is the description that only search engines can see, it can be the same as the description on the page or different, make sure it is detailed and describes exactly what the product looks like and how it works
target keywords – these are the keywords that only search engines can see, they are used as tags to describe the product, use only the most relevant keywords
eCommerce SEO URL
Dynamic static HTML pages – these are pages that have relevant keywords in the URLs instead of generic numbers or product IDs, make sure each of your product pages, category pages, and content pages have their own unique, descriptive URLs
canonical tags – these are tags used to remove duplicate content that may have been created by having multiple versions of the same page
On-Page Ecommerce SEO Elements
header tags – use these tags when writing page or product titles, emphasize keywords to help search engines know they are important
Keywords – use relevant keywords on all your pages so you can demonstrate exactly what’s on the page
single description – make sure you have original content that cannot be found in any other online store selling the same product
Alternative and title tags – add these tags to all your images so they will not only find you in regular search results but also in image search
Other Important Ecommerce SEO Factors
Breadcrumb Navigation – text navigation on the page which adds an internal link structure which is much needed on an eCommerce website
Google XML Sitemap – shows Google each and every page on your site and alerts them to new content so they don’t forget to go back and crawl your site
It is critical that you implement all of these eCommerce SEO elements throughout your online store. Some of these small changes can go a long way and put you ahead of the competition, so don’t overlook their importance. It is a long-term strategy that will gradually help increase your traffic and revenue.
