In the bustling, ever-evolving world of ecommerce, standing out from the crowd is more than just a goal—it's a necessity. But what happens when your online store is lost in the vast sea of search results? You're not alone. Many ecommerce businesses grapple with this issue, struggling to reach their target audience due to poor search rankings. In fact, research shows that a staggering 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. This means if your business isn't ranking high on search engines, you're missing out on a significant amount of potential customers.
Poor search rankings can have a devastating impact on your ecommerce business. It's like having a fantastic store filled with top-notch products hidden in a corner in a ginormous mall, and without even a small banner to attract visitors. No matter how excellent your products are, if customers can't find you, they can't buy from you. Studies show that businesses on the second page of Google receive nearly 95% less traffic than those on the first page.
This is the reason many business owners opt for Google Ads as their gateway to access the Search Engine market, but that's another topic, I want to focus on free clicks (SEO) for this article.
Ignoring SEO can lead to a downward spiral for your ecommerce business. Without proper SEO, you’re making it harder for potential customers to find you and leaving a big slice of the market on the table. This leads to fewer sales, lower revenue, and increased competition.
For instance, companies that focus solely on one channel such as Amazon but ignore SEO are only leveraging 50% of the available market. Considering Google shopping (Google Merchant Center), optimized product pages, technical enhancements, optimized landing pages, and more, the businesses that take advantage of SEO will collect free (and high intent) clicks.
The good news is, it's not too late to turn things around. By working with an SEO advisor, you can improve your search rankings and boost your ecommerce success. You obviously need to invest, but do you think you should learn it all by yourself, or acquire the knowledge? The answer is both. My advice, hire a consultant and have them walk you through an easy to understand SEO Roadmap, specifically designed for your business, this will help you get into the world of keywords and SEO KPI’s.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of improving your website so that it ranks higher in search engine results. I like to consider every search engine, not just Google, there’s a whole bunch of platforms that allow visitors to search, SEO means optimizing for search engines, ideally, all of them.
It involves crafting a content strategy as well as optimizing your website's content and design to make it more attractive to search engines. But it's not just about pleasing algorithms—it's about understanding and meeting the needs of your potential customers, humans.
Implementing effective SEO strategies involves several steps.
First, focus on keyword research to understand what your potential customers are searching for. Then, optimize your website's content, product pages, and landing pages with these keywords. Finally, build quality backlinks to increase your website's credibility. Each step is crucial and contributes to your overall SEO success.
Understanding your keywords is the key to the success of your strategy, you can utilize tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or Semrush to identify relevant keywords in your industry. My favorite tool is Ahrefs for in-depth keyword analysis, tracking competitor rankings, and discovering new opportunities.
Your SEO roadmap should include the following milestones:
On-Page SEO Implementation:
URL Structure, Keyword to URL mapping, SEO-friendly URLs that include relevant keywords and are easy to understand, site speed, mobile optimization, metadata optimization, image optimization, etc..
Technical SEO Implementation: There are two technical implementations that can assist the search engines in understanding your website:
You did technical SEO, then what? Then, you should focus on creating High-Quality Content. Develop informative, engaging, and shareable content that addresses user intent.
Content Structure is also important for easy understanding, for example, use subheadings, bullet points, and multimedia to enhance readability.
This whole SEO for ecommerce may seem daunting, and it is, of course, but with a well organized roadmap and clear objectives it is possible to claim “catch” keywords that will lead to more sales and business opportunities. The results of a perfectly executed SEO strategy are very rewarding.
Apart from the improvements made directly on your website, there's another crucial aspect called Off-page SEO, which involves actions taken outside your site. In Off-page SEO, we focus on these key areas:
Local SEO:
Optimize your online presence for local searches by:
Ensure accurate and consistent information across local business directories like Google My Business, Yelp, and others.
Incorporate location-specific keywords in your content to target local audiences effectively.
Encourage and manage customer reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and other relevant review sites to build local credibility.
By incorporating Off-page SEO and Local SEO strategies, we aim to boost your website's overall visibility, authority, and relevance on the web.
Social Media Integration:
Enhance your presence on social media platforms through these essential strategies:
Make sure your social media profiles are well-optimized. Encourage sharing on social platforms to strengthen your social signals.
Share your valuable content across various social media channels. This not only increases visibility but also directs more traffic to your site.
Secure top-notch backlinks from respected websites in your industry. We use Ahrefs to keep track of your backlinks, analyze the profile, and find new chances for linking.
Measuring the success of your SEO efforts is crucial. Use tools like Google Analytics to track metrics such as organic traffic, bounce rate, and conversion rate. This will help you understand what's working and what needs improvement. Remember, SEO is not a one-time task but an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring and adjustment.
Install and regularly review Google Analytics to track website performance and user behavior.
Use Google Search Console to identify crawl errors, index status, and search queries.
Ahrefs Keyword Tracking:
Monitor keyword rankings and performance using Ahrefs to refine your content strategy.
Conduct periodic SEO audits using tools like Screaming Frog, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify and address issues.
Stay informed about search engine algorithm updates and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Create visually appealing and interactive reports using Google Data Studio to showcase key SEO metrics.
Connect Google Data Studio with Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs for a comprehensive overview.
In conclusion, SEO is a powerful tool that can significantly improve your ecommerce business's visibility and success. By understanding and implementing proper SEO strategies, you can boost your search rankings, attract more customers, and increase sales. It's time to stop being invisible and start being irresistible to your potential customers.
Ready to boost your ecommerce success? Don't let poor search rankings hold you back. Contact us today for your SEO needs and take the first step towards a brighter ecommerce future! Let's turn your online store from invisible to invincible together.