It’s no secret that the majority of online businesses operate within an e-commerce framework: a business has products or services to sell and customers who want to buy them with just a few simple clicks. But regardless of your customer demographics, e-commerce SEO strategies are crucial to boosting sales and attracting new customers.
Today we’re going to take a look at e-commerce search engine optimization and how your business can leverage this information to grow your customer base and revenue.
The Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Ecommerce
With so many websites out there all vying for attention, one of the toughest hurdles is getting seen on search engine results pages. You should do everything possible to ensure that customers are exposed to your products or services and can find you when they search. You can have the best website in the world, but that means nothing if people don’t know you.
Most people (92%) are turning to Google as their search engine of choice, so it’s essential that you target the keywords that potential customers are looking for. This way your website and content appear as relevant answers to their questions. If you want to rank among the top, you will need to focus on SEO best practices.
Keep in mind that Google doesn’t reveal exactly how its algorithm ranks websites, as many aspects of the organic search results ranking system are confidential, but they have revealed enough to help you. SEO Expertscompile a list of best practices.
Know your business inside out
It might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s a crucial part of improving your e-commerce website and your SEO. By knowing your products or services, you will be able to determine your target audience. Then it’s just a matter of knowing more about your audience and how to attract them.
Visitors want the content presented to them to match their searches. No matter what demographic these customers belong to, they won’t buy your product or read your messages unless you provide them with answers that solve their immediate query.
SMART goals
Like any goal, your business goals must follow the rules of being specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound, or CLEVER.
Goal setting helps you measure your progress and test if new marketing strategies are progressing or if you need to change things. They also provide a source of motivation and clarity since you know what you are trying to accomplish and can plan accordingly.
Remember that goals can be adjusted. When you reach one, take some time to celebrate victory, then reconfigure it for your next step. On the other hand, if you go over the time limit you set for yourself without reaching the goal, it’s time to rethink the limits. Is the target too far away?
If so, try starting with a smaller or more limited goal and go from there. However, let’s say you didn’t achieve the goal due to unpredictable events or external influences that are unlikely to recur. In this case, you might consider keeping the goal and extending the time limit.
Research competitors
One of the best ways to get a sense of how business is doing is to monitor your competitors. Research companies that have been in the space long enough to establish themselves and see what they are doing well.
You won’t want to copy every aspect of their strategy, but if you notice that many companies in your industry are doing things a certain way, there’s probably a good reason for it.
Identify target keywords
As you get to know your business and your customers better, you will begin to find the keywords that should be related to your business. (Tools to help you do keyword research include Google Keyword Planner, SpyFu, and others.) With the right keywords, you drive more traffic and drive more conversions by capitalizing on their high search volume.
You’ll want to make sure your keyword research is relevant to your business, products, and content. However, you don’t want your keywords to be too vague because you might get clicks from people who are looking for something else entirely. This can theoretically hurt your search rankings if users can’t find the information they’re looking for, because search engine knowledge graphs show that your links aren’t being clicked on when returned in search results. Search engines will also take into account your bounce rate.
Also, always check the competitiveness of the keywords you choose. If you are competing against industry giants or tons of websites using the same keyword ideas, your business may never rise in search engine rankings and domain authority to become visible enough to attract customers.
However, be careful not to overuse keywords. Google penalizes websites to rank lower when they repeat the same keywords over and over instead of using content marketing to implement natural sounding content that adds value to their readers .
Make your website simple and straightforward
The most important part of your website, once potential customers find it, is making sure your e-commerce site is easy to navigate. You want your site architecture to make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for without wasting time with useless search results or pages that take forever to load.
Interactive design
When you have a website that users can interact with, they feel more connected to your eCommerce site and content. This can take the form of leaving reviews of products or services, having discussion forums to answer questions, or other ways for your users to connect with others on your platform.
Natural language searches
When your customers have questions, they don’t want to find the right combination of keywords to find the FAQ or answer page they need. They want to ask questions naturally, as they would any other human being. If you have a powered AI Site searchengine that processes natural language, you’ll make it easier for customers to find what they need in less time.
Generate useful blog content
Blogs are extremely useful for customers and brands in many ways. For customers, they are a way to understand the business and get an idea of what they are trying to accomplish with their products or services. This humanizing element is a good way for customers to connect with brands on a more personal level.
However, the main purpose of blogging is to build your brand awareness and use keywords, link building, backlinks, technical SEO and internal linking to increase the chances of a customer coming across your website. For example, you can use Google’s Keyword Planner to research your product name and generate a list of keywords for your specific products or services.
Blogs can also incorporate keywords that might not belong on your online store or on your product pages and category pages, but are related enough to drive relevant, organic traffic.
Additionally, blogs can provide answers to questions or product usage tutorials. This information is valuable to customers because it saves them having to call your help desk and it saves your business overhead.
Long tail keywords
Long tail keywordsare searches that involve more than one word. People often use them to find specific products or services online after doing some research. By finding out which long-tail keywords match your products, you can also increase recognition by creating blogs that address those phrases.
Naming your blog or your first header after these long-tail keywords is a great way to boost your search engine rankings and respond directly to your customers’ needs.
Learn the customer buying cycle
There are five stages in the customer buying cycle, and you will need to recognize them and how to encourage them to drive conversions.
- Consciousness – this is the first step when a customer realizes that he needs something. They will start looking for their options and your website should appear.
- To research – in the second stage, customers begin to do their research on their options. Customers often start browsing websites, reading a few blogs, or looking at product reviews.
- Comparison – the third stage is an extension of the second, but the customer has restricted his options to a few stores. These keyword searches will ask for direct comparisons between your store or product and a competitor.
- To buy – the fourth stage is where the customer makes his purchase. At this point, you don’t need strong calls-to-action since the customer has already decided to buy; just simplify the buying process.
- Retention – this step encompasses everything that happens after the purchase. You’ll want to make sure you’re giving the customer a fantastic experience, so they’ll want to come back in the future.
In conclusion
Understanding search engine optimization is a crucial part of being successful as an e-commerce store. Using keywords and blog posts to drive customers to your website and get high search rankings is the best way to get your product or service noticed. Once they get in, make sure you have a simple website that caters directly to their needs, and you have the makings of greatness.
Contact ustoday to learn more about how to increase sales and attract more customers to your website.
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