Understanding the Importance of SEO for Ecommerce
SEO is a term that often gets thrown around in e-commerce circles, and many business owners pay lip service to the need for search engine optimisation. And yet, I still see many businesses fail to grasp its full significance.
Like why does it matter. Itâs far more than a technicality; itâs about building your brandâs visibility and credibility in a highly competitive online marketplace. For me, SEO is about having an engaging conversation with your target audience through your content.
Why. Because youâre trying to get into the head of someone who doesnât know you exist. What keywords are they typing. Sort of.
How can you be helpful with their search. SEO isnât about stuffing keywords on a webpage; it's about building a robust online presence that resonates with both users and search engines.
The best e-commerce websites Iâve seen optimise every aspect of their website - from product pages to blog posts - because they see the difference in conversion rates when they do this. And more than the numbers, it allows them to build real relationships with customers online, allowing them to connect with their customers even before they land on their site. Itâs not so much a marketing strategy but a necessity for anyone looking to succeed in the digital age.
Without SEO, e-commerce businesses risk becoming invisible. Your website could be beautifully designed, but if it doesnât show up in search engine results, it might as well not exist.
Keyword Research Strategies for Online Stores
People donât go online looking for an âecommerce frameworkâ. Theyâre usually after something more specific - like comfortable menâs slippers. Or, say, a pretty dress for their dog.
I think itâs crucial to put yourself in the shoes of your audience and try to imagine what they might type into Google. Sort of. For instance, an online store that sells dental supplies could be relevant to dentists and laypeople alike but their keywords would probably not match each otherâs search intents. Itâs fairly important to choose keywords that are quite directly related to your products.
But thereâs also value in straying a little and taking on some risk. It seems like for instance, a clothing brand that caters to plus-sized people can consider using keywords such as âsummer tops for womenâ, âcasual shirtsâ or even âoversized t-shirtsâ if it is aligned with their aesthetic. After all, the demographic youâre looking for may not always use the exact words you want them to.
Of course, you neednât just imagine what people might be searching for. You could conduct keyword research through search engines or tools designed specifically for this purpose such as Moz Keyword Explorer or Google Trends. Platforms such as Reddit can also offer helpful insights into trending or common searches in your niche. Finding the right keywords requires some work but it can help attract more traffic and better leads.
Sometimes, going a little rogue with your keyword strategy helps capture an untapped part of the market so donât be afraid of occasional experimentation either.
Optimizing Product Pages for Better Search Rankings
It seems like a lot of ecommerce pages, especially fashion brands, really miss the mark when it comes to optimising product pages for search engines. Which is almost never a shame because thatâs where a large chunk of your sales come from. But hey, being a little overconfident and focusing on social media as your main avenue for driving sales can be an oversight. In general, product page content should flow naturally with an equal balance of relevant keywords and phrases you would use if you were shopping for those products online.
So not anything too artificial or forced to trick the bots - think more like your customers and what they would type in that search bar. Try the trick I love to do - type out what you have in mind on Google (or ChatGPT) and see what else comes up. Add some more relevant words and take note of how these autocomplete suggestions change.
In my humble opinion, good content goes hand in hand with great images. If youâre using product photos supplied by manufacturers or distributors, thereâs a very good chance that other sellers also use those same images, which makes it tough to rank higher than them on search results. If possible, get custom images made or try to infuse some originality in your images through editing - and always always ensure that all image names are descriptive and keyword-rich. Not using keywords (especially long-tail ones) anywhere on your site is like actively trying to hinder business growth (yes - itâs dramatic but true).
Both product titles and descriptions should be well-optimised with a mix of high-intent keywords designed for ranking better. While everyone knows about meta descriptions, did you know that product reviews can also help boost rankings. These add more textual content while also providing social proof and different points of view.
Leveraging User-Generated Content for SEO
Engagement is the keyword when it comes to boosting traffic. Itâs not about getting bots to mindlessly click on your pages for a few seconds and then bounce. I mean, sure, that works for the traffic analytics but it doesnât exactly move the needle on conversions or sales.
Then thereâs the fact that search engines today are all about delivering relevant, helpful results. Yes, maybe a keyword-rich piece of content with external links and optimised meta tags might push you to the top. But it wonât keep you there if people immediately click away. So, whatâs the solution.
Involvement. And weâre talking user-generated content here. You donât need to work around endless blog posts and never-ending campaigns with an army of copywriters to get eyes on your ecommerce store. Instead, run a simple campaign encouraging customers to leave feedback, reviews or share their own experiences on social media and boom â youâve got organic content that boosts your search ranking and is compelling enough for people to stick around and explore your offerings.
Not many people know this but some of the most popular brands out there like Nike and Apple have managed to hold on to their top spots because of engagement thatâs off the charts. Users want content they relate to, that shows them others like them are loving the same product or service â not what a business has to say about itself - no offence.
Technical SEO: Enhancing Site Performance and Indexing
I think thereâs a lot of talk about how technical SEO isnât sexy. Seems like weâre all supposed to focus on keywords, content, and links because those are more âcreativeâ spaces - but Iâve seen a good technical setup make or break an ecommerce site. When youâre dealing with frameworks that need to scale and move fast, the backend does matter. The way I see it, this is less about buying a template and going wild with plugins and more about optimising for speed, usability, and indexing.
Ecommerce audiences are the most fickle - especially if you arenât Amazon. People want information right away, images that load properly, videos that donât buffer, and details that have a good 360° view. In fact, Iâve seen users get distracted while waiting for sites to load - sometimes even closing the site entirely.
If a developer can get this right on desktop and mobile, thereâs also higher clickthrough rates for paid ads. But itâs not always as easy as plugin + plugin + plugin. Itâs still best to stick to trusted SEO plugins on well-known frameworks - for example Shopifyâs native tools or the Yoast SEO suite on Wordpress.
It might feel like these arenât necessary if youâre already investing in paid marketing but they work in tandem rather than one against the other. Why slow down your paid acquisition when fixing your internal linking will do. Seems like there are quite a bit far too many opinions about what works for organic traffic today but one thingâs clear: people have zero patience for slow loading sites.
So much so that Google actually accounts for slow loading sites in its search results algorithm now. This does put more pressure on e-commerce teams working with suboptimal code (and budgets) but it only means youâll see better results sooner than later.
Building Quality Backlinks to Boost Authority and Visibility
You know what's wild. Backlinks are still the backbone of SEO, despite everyone acting like they're out of fashion. Everyone talks about content - and yes, thatâs hugely important - but a bloody great ecommerce site with zero backlinks will never make it to page one on Google. Not unless theyâre paying for ads, or theyâre niche enough for there to be little competition.
More or less. The trick to building good backlinks is to build relationships first. It seems like this is going to sound quaint, but itâs true.
The days of buying your way into the top spot with spammy directory links are behind us, and thank god for that. It means you have a shot at it if you know how to reach out. Think about what media would cover your brand and start making those friends on social media, share their stuff, comment on their posts and then send them an email with a piece of information their audience would value. A backlink is only as valuable as its source, so do some research before you start reaching out.
There are plenty of tools out there that can help you figure out what links carry more weight in your industry (SEMRush, Ubersuggest etc). If you're getting started on this journey, it's worth checking what kind of links your competitors have attracted in the past and then working on getting those to link back to your site as well.
Once you get the hang of this process, keep going until you've managed around 30-50 backlinks from different sources that are relevant to your industry (fashion retailers should stick to fashion publications). It's not an easy job but it's absolutely worth it if done well - after all you're looking for quality not quantity here. Sort of.