The good news about developing an e-commerce SEO strategy is that it is something you can likely do yourself. After the initial time investment that comes with putting the strategy into place, you can then sit back and enjoy the far-reaching benefits for your business. Here is how to develop an e-commerce strategy for your business:
Keyword Research
Keywords are the words and phrases that people plug into search engines when they are trying to find information about products or services. Keyword research is the process of determining which of those words and phrases your target audience is typing in when they are searching for the products or services you sell. For example, if your e-commerce store sells organic dog treats, your target audience may be performing searches for “best organic dog treats” or “high-quality organic dog treats.”
Here are three steps to performing effective keyword research:
Make a List of Keywords
You can start your keyword research by simply making a list of the keywords and phrases that best describe what you sell. Next, make another list that includes the keywords and phrases your target customers might be entering into a search engine.
Find the Best Options
Once you have your keyword lists, you’ll want to determine what the best and most popular options from those lists are. You can either simply type words into a search engine and see what pops up, or use the help of a keyword research tool. Google offers a Keyword Planner, which is free but does require that you create an account.
Note Your Competitors’ Keywords
Your competitors are most likely also working on their e-commerce SEO strategy and, since you are all fighting for the same audience, using the same or very similar keywords makes sense. Google the top keywords that you came up with and see which websites pop up at the top. Note what terms they are using and be sure to work some of the same keywords into your site.
Site Development
Search engines such as Google know which websites offer the best user experiences and those are the results that people see towards the top of the SERPs. Building a well-developed e-commerce website is an important part of creating those top user experiences, which leads to more traffic and, therefore, more customers.
Well-developed sites all contain these components:
User-friendly interface: This is a fancy way of saying that your website is easy to navigate. Customers want the e-commerce sites they visit to follow a logical browsing pattern, provide the information they need and feel inviting.
Optimized for mobile: The overwhelming majority of your target audience will be doing at least some of their browsing from a mobile device. As such, your interface needs to adapt seamlessly to all different types of screens and browsers.
Strong security: Consumers want to know their information is safe when they shop online, so having a strong security system in place is a vital part of your website development. You’ll want to have antivirus and anti-malware software in place, as well as programs that authenticate and encrypt links.
Fast-loading pages: People are not patient, and that’s especially true when it comes to waiting for websites to load. Having a fast-loading website helps with Google algorithm ratings and improves SERP rankings.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is the process of optimizing your website’s pages so that they rank well in SERPs. Search engines quickly interpret the content of web pages in order to ensure that the matches they are providing line up with what a user is looking for. Also known as on-site SEO, the goal of this technique is to assist both search engines and potential customers in identifying the pages that are the most relevant, as well as help them understand what a web page is about.
These are the elements that your on-page SEO should focus on:
Keywords
Remember all the steps you did for keyword research? This is where you are going to implement the results. Once you have determined the best keywords and phrases to use for your niche, begin adding them strategically to the relevant pages on your website.
HTML Components
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) defines the meaning and structure of your web content. The targeted words and phrases used in your page titles, meta descriptions, headers and page URLs help users find what they are looking for more easily.
Visual Content
Images and graphics are an important part of most websites, as they provide visual appeal and help break up blocks of text. Consumers gravitate towards content that is designed to be scanned and are more likely to engage with brands that they find to be visually inviting.
Site Architecture
Site architecture refers to the elements that make up the layout and organization of a website. It’s the structure for your product pages, category pages and links. Your home page serves as the most authoritative page on your site, and no page should be more than three clicks away from any other page.
Link Building
Google ranks websites based on their content and their links. Building high-quality links is important for an e-commerce SEO strategy because it establishes authority, which, in turn, helps boost your SERP rankings.
These are some of the best ways to build links on your website:
Research Your Audience’s Interests
Once you know who your target audience is, it’s time to figure out where they like to get their information and who they consider to be trusted experts. Find the websites they are frequenting and add in appropriate links from those sources. The key is to use these links thoughtfully, in a way that is designed to truly help your potential customers learn more.
Create Great Content
Creating quality content comes with a myriad of benefits, one of which is the opportunity for other websites to link to what you have created. Understanding your target audience and publishing blog posts or infographics that speak to their pain points or answer common questions is a great way to build trust and demonstrate your knowledge.
Make Connections
Once you have figured out where your audience is spending time and you have created your own solid content, it’s time to connect with those other businesses. Short, polite notes via email or social media are a good way to break the ice. Approach them about the content you have available and politely ask if they might be willing to share it.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/ecommerce-seo/