Competition is fierce.
Your online store won't thrive without getting seen, and your ecommerce website’s SEO is the best way to have the visibility you need.
Learn why ecommerce website SEO is important and what the most crucial factors are when SEO-ing your pages.
This is done by making sure that the content within your ecommerce website is written specifically to include certain keywords that are pertinent to your business and its audiences.
Here's what you need to know.
On-page SEO tells Google – or other prominent search engines – who you are and that you should be at the top of the search results when your keywords are entered in.
Without on-page SEO, your website could be left in the dust. And that’s not good for any ecommerce business.
So why chance it? Especially since you’ve invested thousands of dollars to get it up and running.
Feeding the Google Crawler as much information as possible about your website is crucial.
However, some people focus too much on their SEO efforts and don’t keep their content in balance to ensure it’s also enjoyable for their users.
While content needs to be optimized for search engines, it must also be readable and valuable for the viewer.
Here’s the info you need to make sure your on-page SEO will get the results you want:
The keyword or keyword phrase that is chosen for each page is the most important aspect of your ecommerce website’s SEO optimization.
Here are a few tips for choosing a keyword.
Come up with keywords based on what you know about your audience, your customers, the people you want to become customers, and your product.
You can use Google Analytics and/or a tool like Ubersuggest to determine which keywords may already be pulling traffic to your online store.
Optimize your website for the keywords that are already working for you.
Do a Google search to look up words and phrases you think your audience would use to find your products.
Pay attention to the search box suggestions, but also look at the related terms and the “people also asked” section.
You’ve got your list of keywords ready to roll, so where do you put them?
Each page, product or category, should be optimized for one keyword. That way, your own website’s pages aren’t competing against each other to rank for the same keyword.
But keep it simple. And it’s always a good idea to place the keyword close to the domain.
Here's an example from Allbirds.
That means your keyword needs to show up on product pages, category pages, and in your product descriptions.
Here's a section of the same Allbirds page with a focus on "Tree Dasher."
This is the one that will show up in search results. When you include the keyword in the title meta tag, Google knows how to classify the page topic and where to include it on the search engine.
This is not the same as the title that appears in search results, rather, it’s the headline on the actual website page.
This description is what will show up as the small paragraph under the title when search results are returned to the viewer.
Here’s an example from Sperry that shows the meta description and page title. (This was after searching the term “Sperry Duck Boots.”)
This is the first piece of information that the viewer sees before clicking on the page, so make it count!
Adding your keyword or keyword phrase to the alt tag on images sends Google a relevancy signal for your pictures.
If you’re unsure what an alt tag is, it’s the HTML code that tells the viewer – in text – what the picture is about.
This text can be seen when hovering over the picture with a cursor. A well constructed alt text contributes to the page’s relevancy rating.
It also helps to bring the photo and link up on image searches.
When getting intentional about ecommerce website SEO, include these six most important elements to make sure your online store gets seen, your traffic goes up, and your revenue climbs.
Managing SEO for your ecommerce business can be overwhelming – especially when you’re dealing with all the other facets of running your online store.
But you don’t have to go it alone. Consider partnering with an ecommerce digital marketing agency that has the solutions you need.
Originally published 11/17 ; updated 4/21
