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Ecommerce SEO: How organic traffic can help your e-shop’s sales shoot through the roof

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last forty years, ecommerce is, simply put, the buying and selling of products and services over the internet. It includes a wide range of businesses that use the internet to sell a product or service to consumers.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), on the other hand, is the practice of improving the ranking of a website on search engines. Planning and deploying a successful SEO strategy usually leads to increasing website traffic and improving website usability.

Here we will explore the combination of the two – the attempt to use SEO in ecommerce sites and e-shops to boost their organic traffic and – as a result – their sales.

So, what is ecommerce SEO?

Combining the two terms, ecommerce SEO or SEO for ecommerce websites is a strategic process used to improve the visibility and organic search traffic of an ecommerce website. It is the practice of using SEO tools to perform a site audit, to do ecommerce keyword research, to choose the right keywords, and to optimize an ecommerce website. That way it can rank higher in Google search engine result pages, match potential customers’ search intent, and earn higher web traffic levels from unpaid, or “organic,” searches.

There are many things to consider in ecommerce SEO, but the most common and important ones are more or less the same as in SEO for other kinds of websites. These include:

1. On-page SEO

On-page SEO is the process of making sure that all the elements on the pages of ecommerce sites are fully optimized for search engines and include the primary keyword, other target keywords, and long tail keywords discovered during your keyword research. This includes everything from the page’s title, SEO title tag and meta description to its images, internal links, schema markup, and making sure there are no broken links, keyword stuffing, or duplicate content.

2. Link building and backlinking

Link building and backlinking are two of the most important methods of ecommerce SEO. Link building is the process of creating links from other websites to your own. Backlinks are simply links that point from one website to another. Creating high-quality backlinks from websites with high link authority is one of the best ways to improve your website’s search engine rankings.

3. Other Technical SEO improvements

Besides link building and backlinks, no SEO efforts are complete without some other technical SEO improvements. One example is optimizing your ecommerce site architecture in order to improve page load speed throughout your product pages. Another aspect of technical SEO for ecommerce sites is ensuring all your pages are fully crawlable and indexable by search engine bots.

4. Content marketing

Content marketing is another effective method of ecommerce SEO. Content marketing involves creating and distributing high-quality, relevant content that will help build brand awareness and improve your website’s ranking on Google searches. This includes writing relevant blog posts and articles.

5. Social media marketing

Social media marketing is another excellent way to improve your website’s ranking on search engines. Social media marketing involves using the power of social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to promote your website and its products or services.

Why is ecommerce SEO important, now more than ever?

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, ecommerce is evolving faster than ever. With brick-and-mortar stores closed, or at least operating at reduced capacity, many consumers had to turn to the internet to do their shopping. This shift has forced businesses of all types to reevaluate their ecommerce strategies.

For ecommerce businesses, this means that now, more than ever, it is important to have a strong ecommerce SEO strategy in place. With more potential customers than ever searching for products through search engines, businesses that can optimize their ecommerce sites to rank highly on search engine results pages (SERPs) will be in a prime position to succeed.

How can ecommerce SEO improve my e-shop’s sales?

There are many ways in which ecommerce SEO can improve your e-shop’s sales. One of the most important is by increasing your e-shop’s organic traffic. Organic traffic is the number of visitors who come to your e-shop from unpaid search engine queries. In other words, it is the number of people who find your e-shop through a search engine such as Google, without you having to pay for advertising.

Increasing your e-shop’s organic traffic can be a challenge, but it is well worth the effort. Not only will it improve your e-shop’s sales, but it will also help to build your e-shop’s brand and reputation.

If you’re looking for ways to do that but don’t know where to get started, don’t worry. Contact us to schedule a consultation, and we’ll help you formulate and execute an ecommerce SEO and digital marketing strategy that will jumpstart your e-shop’s growth.

That said, there’s more to an e-shop’s digital marketing strategy than SEO for ecommerce sites. One thing that comes to mind is, of course, paid ads (ex. Google Ads).

I’m already doing SEM for my e-shop, do I need to do SEO too?

In short, yes – if you want to maximize your sales, that is.

As it has often been pointed out, SEO vs SEM is one of the biggest dilemmas in the world of digital marketing. While both are important, they serve different purposes.

SEM (search engine marketing) is the process of paying for advertising on search engines in order to improve your e-shop’s visibility and ranking. On the other hand, SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your e-shop to earn higher search engine results page (SERP) rankings organically, without having to pay for advertising.

While both SEO and SEM are important, they should be viewed as complementary rather than competing strategies. The best way to maximize your e-shop’s sales is to use both SEO and SEM to drive traffic to your e-shop.

Can ecommerce SEO be used for all kinds of e-shops?

Most e-shops utilize some kind of framework or ecommerce platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce. If you have an e-shop, chances are you’re using one of those, too.

Ecommerce SEO is much easier on platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce than it is on custom-built ecommerce sites. This is because these platforms come with built-in SEO features that make it easy to optimize your ecommerce store for search engines.

For example, both Shopify and WooCommerce allow you to control your ecommerce store’s title tags and meta descriptions, which are two of the most important on-page SEO factors. They also allow you to create ecommerce category pages that are optimized for search engines.

If you’re using a custom-built ecommerce platform, you’ll need to hire a developer to help you with ecommerce SEO. However, if you’re using a popular ecommerce platform like Shopify or WooCommerce, ecommerce SEO is something that can easily be done even without extensive technical knowledge.

Can I still use ecommerce SEO if I am an Amazon or eBay seller?

Yes, ecommerce SEO can still be used if you sell your products on Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Etsy, or another similar online marketplace. In fact, ecommerce SEO is even more important for businesses like yours, as you are selling your products and services on a platform that is highly competitive.

The good news is that there are many SEO tools and resources available specifically for Amazon, eBay, and other marketplace sellers. These tools and resources can help you to optimize your ecommerce website for search engines so that you can get more organic traffic and improve your sales.

Many Amazon or eBay product listing pages rank high in Google’s SERPs, so ecommerce SEO is possible and can be very effective.

Can I use ecommerce SEO for both B2B and B2C ecommerce sites?

Business-to-business, or B2B marketing, is a subset of business marketing that focuses on generating leads for other businesses and organizations. It’s often seen as a way to make sales deals with another company in order to get their products or services. This type of marketing is also used by companies who want to sell their products or services to other businesses.

Business-to-consumer, or B2C marketing, on the other hand, is the most common type of marketing. It focuses on generating leads and sales from individual consumers and retail customers. This type of marketing is used by companies who want to sell their products or services to the general public.

In short, yes, ecommerce SEO can be used for both B2B and B2C ecommerce websites. In fact, the same principles of SEO apply to both types of websites. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when optimizing an ecommerce website for search results.

First, remember that B2B ecommerce websites are typically more complex than B2C ecommerce websites. This means that you’ll need to pay more attention to the on-page SEO factors like title tags, meta descriptions, and H1 headers. You’ll also need to make sure that your website’s architecture is optimal for search engine crawlers.

Second, remember that B2C ecommerce websites are typically more reliant on traffic from search engines than B2B ecommerce websites. This means that you’ll need to focus more on off-page SEO factors like link building and social media. You’ll also need to make sure that your website’s content is of the highest quality and that it is updated regularly.

How long does ecommerce SEO take to see results?

The answer to this question depends on several factors, including the competitiveness of your ecommerce niche and SEO strategies you’re using.

Generally speaking, ecommerce SEO can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more to start seeing results. However, if you’re using ecommerce SEO to drive traffic to a new ecommerce site, you may start seeing results in as little as a few weeks.

Let us point out, however, that when it comes to new ecommerce sites, it may be a good idea to use an alternative digital marketing practice that drives conversions faster, such as paid ads.

Are there any SEO tools I should be using on my ecommerce site?

There are a number of ecommerce SEO tools you can use to help you optimize your ecommerce site for search engines. Some of the most popular tools include:

Google Search Console:

Google Search Console allows you to see how your ecommerce store is performing in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Google Analytics:

This free tool from Google allows you to track your ecommerce store’s traffic and conversions.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider:

This paid tool allows you to crawl your ecommerce store to find SEO issues that need to be fixed.

Moz Pro:

This paid tool includes a number of SEO features useful for ecommerce sites, including keyword research and link building.

SEMrush:

This paid tool includes a number of ecommerce SEO features, including competitor analysis and keyword research.

No matter what SEO tools you use, the most important thing is to track your ecommerce store’s progress over time. This will help you see what’s working and what’s not, and it will allow you to make the necessary changes to improve your ecommerce SEO results.

What are some common SEO mistakes among ecommerce sites?

There are several common ecommerce SEO mistakes that can hurt your ecommerce store’s search engine ranking. Some of the most common mistakes include:

Not optimizing ecommerce product pages:

One of the most important ecommerce SEO tasks is optimizing your ecommerce product pages for search engines. This includes adding keyword-rich titles and descriptions, as well as avoiding common mistakes like keyword stuffing, optimizing images and other on-page SEO elements on your ecommerce site.

Not building ecommerce backlinks:

For your ecommerce site to rank well in the search engines, you need to build high-quality backlinks from other websites. This can be done by guest blogging on other relevant ecommerce sites, participating in forums and discussion boards, and more.

Not tracking ecommerce SEO progress:

As with any SEO campaign, it’s important to track your ecommerce SEO progress over time. This will help you see what’s working and what’s not, and it will allow you to make the necessary changes to turn your efforts into a successful ecommerce SEO campaign.

If you’re making any of these ecommerce SEO mistakes, it’s important to fix them as soon as possible. Otherwise, you could be missing out on a lot of potential ecommerce traffic and sales.

By far the most common – and important! – SEO ecommerce mistake, however, is not paying enough attention to your keyword research.

How can I perform keyword research the right way for e-commerce SEO?

There are a number of different methods you can use to perform keyword research for an ecommerce site. Some of the methods trusted by our SEO Agency are:

Google Keyword Planner:

Google Keyword Planner is a free tool included in the company’s Ads platform that allows you to research keywords for your ecommerce site. Simply enter a seed keyword, and the Google Keyword Planner will return a list of keyword ideas, as well as data on each keyword’s search volume.

Google Trends:

This free tool from Google allows you to see how prevelant in Google searches a particular keyword is over time. This can be helpful in determining whether or not a particular keyword is worth targeting for your ecommerce store.

Moz Keyword Explorer:

This paid tool from Moz allows you to find relevant keywords for your ecommerce site. Simply enter a seed keyword, and the Keyword Explorer will return a list of keyword ideas, as well as data on each keyword’s search volume.

SEMrush Keyword Tools:

The paid SEMrush suite includes many tools for finding relevant keywords to include in your product pages. Unlike Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush tools like “Keyword Overview” include search intent so you can avoid overly focusing on informational keywords or ones with keyword difficulty scores that are too high.

Keyword research is an important part of any successful SEO campaign. By performing ecommerce keyword research, you can sift through keyword ideas and target keywords that are most likely to bring traffic and sales to your ecommerce store.

What are some other ecommerce SEO tips?

In addition to keyword research, there are several other ecommerce SEO tips you can use to improve your ecommerce store’s ranking in the search engines. Some of the most important ecommerce SEO tips include:

Optimizing product pages for search engines:

As we mentioned above, one of the most important SEO tasks for ecommerce sites is optimizing product pages for search engines. This includes adding keyword-rich titles and descriptions, as well as optimizing your ecommerce store’s images and other on-page elements.

Building ecommerce backlinks:

For your ecommerce site to rank well in the search engines, you need to build high-quality backlinks from other websites. This can be done by guest blogging on other ecommerce-related websites, participating in forums and discussion boards, and more.

Using ecommerce tracking and analytics:

By following these ecommerce SEO tips, you can improve your ecommerce store’s ranking in the search engines and drive more traffic – and sales – to your ecommerce site.

Conclusion

If you want to drive more traffic and sales to your ecommerce store, ecommerce SEO is a must. By optimizing your ecommerce store for the search engines, you can dramatically improve your ecommerce store’s visibility and ranking in the SERPs, which can lead to more traffic and sales. While ecommerce SEO can take some time to see results, it’s well worth the effort, and the results can be long-lasting.

If you’re not already doing ecommerce SEO, now is the time to start. By optimizing your e-shop for organic search, you can increase your e-shop’s visibility, traffic, and sales. And in today’s ecommerce landscape, that is more important than ever.

To learn more about ecommerce SEO or SEO in general, be sure to check out our SEO services section. And if you’re looking for a digital marketing agency that will help your business grow and thrive, you can always schedule a consultation with us and see what our growth-centric digital marketing strategy mindset can do for you.