Running an eCommerce company can be difficult, especially when there are often many companies competing with you. Your competition might even offer the same products or ones that solve the same problem. In this case, differentiating yourself via marketing is critical.
One way in which you can do this is by ranking higher in Google so that people come to your website instead of the competitions. This article looks at 10 such tips that will improve your SEO and allow you to rank higher in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
Increase Your Page Speed
Studies have shown that page speed is incredibly well correlated to rankings and this makes sense once you put yourself in the shoes of your users. People don’t want to go to slow loading pages, especially as more users than ever are on mobile phones where the connections are far slower.
To increase your page speed, you will need to increase the speed at which you can send data to your visitors and decrease the total page size. We can do this by changing your hosting, optimizing your images and decreasing the number of requests that each page makes to your server.
Change from HTTP to HTTPS
HTTP is the standard connection that is used by HTTPS is a much more secure method that is now becoming far more common. For websites like yours that request and store sensitive information like credit card details it’s vital that you change to HTTPS as soon as possible.
As well as the obvious security benefit, Google now uses HTTPS as a ranking signal, choosing to rank the most secure websites higher than those that are unsecured.
Build Backlinks Directly to Product Pages
Product pages often rank for keywords that are extremely uncompetitive because most get very few links and have only a little content on them. However, these keywords can get plenty of search volume, especially if you’re selling branded products from large companies in your industry.
Building links directly to these product pages is a quick way to rank higher for valuable keywords and to bring in more traffic.
Use Compelling Meta Descriptions and Titles
While ranking high is obviously important, it’s possible to get more traffic from your existing rankings. Not everybody clicks on the first link in the results pages and occasionally the second and third links get most of the traffic.
In most cases, this is because the title and meta descriptions of those pages are more compelling and encourage people to click them. One way in which you can do this is to use titles and descriptions that entice people to click using clickbait and cliffhangers.
Not only does this bring in more traffic from your existing rankings but with an increase in your CTR, you might also see your rankings improve too.
Include Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are a navigational tactic that is often used by the largest websites in the world, allowing users to get to pages in the same categories more easily. This is especially important for eCommerce stores where users are likely to want to compare products to other offers in the same category.
But just as importantly, these category pages often rank for valuable keywords and increasing your rankings can have a tremendous impact on your revenue. Getting links to those pages is difficult, and that’s why these internal links from breadcrumbs are recommended.
Link Internally from Blog Posts
Similarly, blog posts often get more links than any other pages on your site, and because of that, it’s important that you include internal links in them. These links should be to the pages that you want to rank the most but that are also directly relevant to the content of the blog post.
Don’t Have Thin Pages
Having thinner pages is common in eCommerce because most products are similar and websites often use manufacturer descriptions. However, adding in more content helps the user to make a more informed decision, and it also can help you to rank higher in Google and also for more keywords.
If you don’t do this and you only include information from your suppliers you are likely to induce a duplicate content penalty. Instead, it’s best if you add a unique spin on the product, giving your customers the most information possible and encouraging them to purchase from you.
In reality, this might include a short buyer’s guide or even a hands-on review from you about the product. This separates you from the competition but also should help you to rank for more keywords and generate more traffic.
Choose Beautiful URL Structures
When you are choosing your URL structure, you should keep in mind that you want it to be as beautiful as possible. This means that it shouldn’t have random strings of numbers and letters, it should be as short as possible and it should make logical sense.
Avoid Duplicate Filtered Pages
On large eCommerce websites, one of the most common Google penalties is for duplicate content and thin pages. This can happen when you allow users to filter products in your category pages and you give them a different URL for each filter change.
This can lead to hundreds or thousands of different URL’s, all with the same content on them. It’s possible that this can trigger a Google penalty which would reduce your rankings and impact your traffic significantly.
Optimize for Mobile Users
The latest research suggests that over half of all Google searches are done by people using mobile devices like phones and tablets. This number is likely to grow, and that means that optimizing for mobile is vital.
Interestingly, Google has announced that it will be swapping its primary index to a mobile-first index, meaning that they will prioritize mobile customers. For sites that are not mobile optimized this is likely to mean a drop in rankings and a loss of traffic.
The only solution to this problem is to create a completely responsive website that gives a great experience to both desktop and mobile users. Not only with this prevent any penalties, but it also gives users a better experience, making it more likely they will purchase from your website.