SEO Strategy for Ecommerce Websites to Boost Rankings & Online Sales

Did you know 70% of people look for new products online using Google?¹ The online market is getting more crowded. So, it’s key to use e-commerce SEO to help your site shine. By making your site friendly to search engines, you bring in more visitors. This guide will show top tips in e-commerce SEO for 2024. It aims to help your products rank higher and get seen by the right customers.

Key Takeaways

Organic traffic drives around 33% of traffic to eCommerce websites.²
Most eCommerce sites use SEO, whether done in-house or by an agency.²
Websites that focus on SEO perform better on Google.²
Using long-tail keywords leads to less competition and benefits eCommerce sites.²
Picking the right keywords by understanding search intent is very important.¹

Introduction to Ecommerce SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s a way to make your site show up better in search results³. The main aim of ecommerce seo strategies is to bring in more people and sell more online.³

Did you know, over 81% of buyers look online before they buy something? This shows how crucial it is to be seen in search results for online shops⁴. Plus, 73% of these shops put a lot of effort into seo strategies for ecommerce website to get more visitors and sales, proving SEO is key in their plans⁴.

Ecommerce SEO includes several tasks. These range from finding the right keywords to making your site structure better and creating top-notch content. It’s also about getting other websites to link to yours⁴. By doing all this, your online shop can climb higher in search results. This, in turn, brings more people who are really interested in what you offer⁴.

Ecommerce SEO Metrics	Value
Clicks to First Google Result	27.6%³
Clicks to Second Google Page	0.63%³
Organic Search Conversion Rate	14.6%⁴
Paid Search Conversion Rate	3.9%⁴

These numbers clearly show the big effect of ecommerce seo strategies on traffic and sales. Targeting search engine optimization for your online shop can really pay off. You’ll get seen by more people, draw in lots of visitors, and grow your sales³⁴.

Why Ecommerce SEO is Crucial

Impact on Organic Traffic and Sales

Not doing SEO means you might miss out on your true potential.⁵ It’s hard work to get your products on Google’s first page. Most users never look beyond the first page.⁵ With a good SEO strategy, more people will find your products. This can boost sales without needing ads. It also helps more people recognize your brand when they search for related keywords.

Competitive Advantage

In the tough ecommerce world, doing a great ecommerce seo audit boosts your chances of success.² About a third of all visits to online shops come from search engines. This shows how important SEO is for making money.² Most online shops use SEO, showing its value.²

Smart ecommerce sites take SEO seriously because it works.² It makes your site stand out more. This draws in more visitors who could become customers. SEO can really help your online shop grow.

Understanding Search Intent and Keywords

For ecommerce, knowing search intent is key for success online.⁶ It affects how well your site ranks in search results,⁶ and tailoring your content to different intents can pull in more visitors and sales.⁶

Informational Keywords

People use informational keywords to find general info, such as “how to choose the best vacuum cleaner” or “best yoga poses for beginners.”⁶ Listing out and aiming for these terms can draw in shoppers just starting their search, showing your brand as a trusted source.⁶

Commercial Keywords

Commercial keywords show a shopper is comparing products or services.⁶ These might be phrases like “best vacuum cleaner for pet hair” or “yoga mat reviews.” Making your product pages match these keywords can result in more sales.⁶

Transactional Keywords

Transactional keywords are for ready-to-buy customers, like “buy yoga mat” or “order vacuum cleaner.”⁶ Focusing on these words can help power your online sales, as these customers are most likely to buy.⁶

Navigational Keywords

Navigational keywords signal a user is hunting for a certain brand or site, such as “Dyson vacuum” or “Lululemon yoga.”⁶ Using these terms can boost your site’s visibility for customers already aware of your brand.⁶

By learning the various search intents and fitting them into your keyword strategy, your site can better serve your audience.⁷⁶ This leads to more relevant visitors and boosted sales.⁶

Keyword Research for Ecommerce Websites

Good keyword research is key for a strong ecommerce SEO plan. It’s not just about finding the right keywords. It’s a continuous job that needs you to watch and adjust over time. You have to keep up with how people search and any new trends too.⁸

Identifying Relevant Keywords

The first step is picking out the best keywords for your online shop. You need to think about who your customers are and what they’re looking for. Learn what words they put into search engines to find items or services like yours.⁹⁸

Start with making a list of basic keywords. Think about your product types, your brand, and your market. Then, use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Keyword Planner to find more keywords. Check the search numbers and see how hard it is to rank for those words.⁸

Knowing the difference between product page keywords and blog keywords is a big deal in ecommerce SEO. Product pages should use very clear and direct keywords. But, when it comes to blogs, you can get more creative with the words you choose.⁸

Tools for Keyword Research

There are lots of tools to make your keyword research smoother. Here are a few of the best ones:⁸

Ahrefs: It offers detailed keyword info, checks out your competition, and highlights gaps in your content.
Semrush: This tool does deep keyword research, tracks your competition, and gives tips for making your site better.
Google Search Console: It gives a direct look at the keywords that bring people to your online store.
Google Keyword Planner: A tool that helps find new keywords and guesses at their popularity and how tough it is to rank for them.
Keywords Everywhere: Offers up-to-date keyword data and tips on similar words as you browse online.
Helium 10: For those focusing on Amazon, this tool is great for finding the best keywords and improving your product listings.

With these tools, you can figure out which keywords will help your online shop the most. Then, you can make your products and content better and get an edge over others in your market.⁹

On-Page Optimization for Ecommerce Sites

Improving your ecommerce website’s search engine rankings needs on-page optimization. By optimizing your page’s key parts, you boost your SEO. This brings more people to your online shop. Now, ready to learn the key on-page tactics for ecommerce sites?

Optimizing Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Page title tags and meta descriptions matter a lot for your online shop’s SEO. A good title tag both tells Google what your page is about and gets people to click.² Put your main keywords early in the title tag. Your meta descriptions should also be catchy, encouraging users to visit your site.¹⁰

Using Keywords in Product Descriptions

Product descriptions are key for your ecommerce site and are great for including keywords.¹⁰ Work your target keywords into the text naturally. This improves how search engines see your page. But it still makes sense to people reading it.²

Image Optimization

Images are vital for your online store’s success. Make sure they load quickly by compressing them well.¹¹ Don’t forget to add alt text and good filenames. It helps search engines know what’s in the image.¹⁰

Applying these on-page optimization tips will help your online shop show in more search results. This can mean more people visiting your site. Ultimately, it can increase your online sales. Keep in mind, ecommerce SEO work is never done. Regular checks and updates are crucial to outshine your competition.²

Category and Product Page Optimization

Improving category and product pages is key for SEO in e-commerce. Crafting these pages well boosts how easily people find them. This means more visitors and more sales. We’ll explore how to get the best from your product and category page efforts.

Optimizing URLs

A simple way to boost your e-commerce pages is by using your main keywords in the URL. This is very effective, especially in crowded markets. Your URL should target your keyword directly to lift your search rank.¹² Your page title or H1 tag must also have the keyword near the start. This tells search engines what your page is about from the get-go.

Internal Linking Structure

How you link within your site affects how well it performs in searches. Link your products and categories smartly. This spreads the ‘SEO juice’ across your website, helping search engines parse your content better.¹² It also makes your site’s navigation smoother and more logical for visitors.

Using product attributes in your links can be smart. It ties related items together, strengthening your site’s linking structure. This is good for SEO and user experience.

Make sure product and category pages are distinct in your SEO plan. Define their unique roles clearly. This avoids confusion for both search engines and users.

Success in and is about harmony. Your website needs top-notch content, technical setups, and a great experience for users. This is what hooks your audience.

Content Marketing for Ecommerce SEO

In the world of online selling, creating great content helps your site show up more in search results. This is according to recent studies. Good content makes it easier to rank for various words and get more links.¹³ Unlike simple product pages, you can touch on a wider word range with articles. This includes both common and uncommon terms for your field.

Blogging and Long-Form Content

Having an active blog on your site is a top move for better SEO. A blog lets you aim for a broad set of words and establishes you as an expert in your area. It also attracts other sites to link to yours.¹³ For instance, Beardbrand got a lot of attention with their early videos, reaching 71,000 views in eight days. By then, they had over 1 million YouTube fans, mostly from unpaid views.¹³ Bobby Hundreds’ blog was another success, pulling in 65,000 views per month and gathering 87,000 backlinks by October 2022.¹³

Leveraging User-Generated Content

Letting users create content can also give you a significant SEO edge. A brand like Mini. Katana grew big through their fans, getting over a million YouTube followers and 280,000 Instagram fans without paid ads.¹³ Sharing user reviews, social posts, and videos on your site adds an authentic, varied feel. This makes your site friendlier to search engines.

By combining a full-scale ecommerce content marketing strategy, your online store can do better in search results. Also, active ecommerce link building can really set your brand apart in the crowded online market.

Link Building for Ecommerce Websites

It’s vital to build a strong [ecommerce link building] profile for your online store’s success. Google sees links as key for ranking ecommerce sites¹⁴. Getting other sites to link to yours is a must. But it can be tough for product pages¹⁴.

To build links, try broken link building on product pages, studying your competitors’ links, and reaching out with emails. You can also write posts for different sites, ask to guest blog, and get new reviews¹⁴. When emailing, find the site owner’s contact info. Services like Hunter.io can help with this¹⁴. On LinkedIn, connect with site owners¹⁴.

Great content, like blog posts, boosts your SEO and can help get more links¹⁵. Focusing your blog on certain keywords can bring powerful links¹⁵. HARO links experts and bloggers, giving chances for more backlinks¹⁵.

Getting creative with PR can quickly grow your backlinks, traffic, and sales¹⁵. Joining industry directories and creating shareable infographics also helps¹⁵. Tools like Semrush Backlink Analytics find good link chances¹⁵.

Wayfair gets tons of visits from good backlinks. A newer site, Made In Cookware, grew its visitors a lot by building links¹⁶. It now shows up in over 31,000 searches. This shows a big, diverse keyword strategy¹⁶.

Made In Cookware has a blog that draws many links and ranks well on search engines¹⁶. Its FAQ page attracts lots of backlinks. This proves FAQs are great for links¹⁶.

Made In Cookware does well with many link building methods, like useful tools and detailed guides¹⁶. Buying niche edits can also speed up link gathering¹⁶. Fun PR efforts can earn good links from top sites¹⁶.

Link building is key for ecommerce sites, aiming at good texts and links for better SEO¹⁴. Using links the right way, and tuning up your site’s technical SEO, are vital too¹⁴.

Technical SEO for Ecommerce Sites

It’s key to make your ecommerce website technically sound. This helps users have a smooth time and makes your site do better in search results.¹⁷ Focusing on technical SEO for ecommerce sites means working on site design, speeding up your pages, and ensuring they look good on mobile. This all follows what search engines like and helps your visitors enjoy their time on your site.

Site Architecture

How you build your online store’s website matters a lot for search engines.¹⁸ A clear structure, like Homepage > Categories > Sub-Categories > Products, makes it easy for people to find what they want. It also helps search engines understand and show your pages in search results.¹⁸ Your web addresses should always make sense and include where the product is. This stops search engines from thinking you’re showing the same thing over and over.

¹⁸ Don’t forget about HTML and XML sitemaps. These maps help your visitors find their way around, and they help Google learn about your website. Fixing any issues Google finds can give you a leg up in search results.

Page Speed Optimization

¹⁹ Quick websites do better in search and keep visitors happy.¹⁹ Many people won’t wait longer than a few seconds for a site to load. If your page is slow, you could miss out on a lot of money every year.¹⁷ Making your site faster makes people happier to stay and helps you show up more in search results.

¹⁷ Google pays attention to how fast your website is. It’s one of the things they look at when deciding where to put your page in search results. So, working on your website’s speed is very important for how Google sees you.

Mobile Responsiveness

¹⁷ Today, most people’s online time happens on a phone. So, your website must be easy to use on mobile.¹⁹ Making sure it’s safe to use for shopping can also help you do better in search results and sell more.

Improving your site’s technical SEO makes a big difference for ecommerce. It makes your website work better for users, so everyone wins. This can bring more people to your site naturally and boost your sales.¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹

Structured Data and Schema Markup

Structured data and schema markup boost SEO for ecommerce websites.²⁰ They use the “Product” schema most often. It gives search engines more info about products.²⁰ This means search results might include product images, prices, and if they’re in stock.²⁰ All this helps websites get more clicks and makes users more engaged, which is great for SEO.²⁰ Plus, it makes listings look better on mobile, and it helps with voice searches too.²⁰

²¹ When Google checks your website, it uses special rules to understand it better. Structured data makes Google’s job easier, improving how well it gets your website’s message. Not just for shopping sites, structured data works for many types of websites. This includes ecommerce basics, like lists of pages (BreadcrumbList), business info (LocalBusiness), and more.²¹ A special tool can help you add all this structured data. Giving Google even more details about your business can make your results stand out more in its searches.²¹ Also, if you have videos, you can make them look better in search results by marking them up correctly.²¹

²² Structured data is key for search engines to really ‘understand’ your website. Google likes data in certain formats, with JSON-LD known as the best one.²² When you use structured data right, it makes your website appear more and in better ways on search results. For online shops, this can mean your products show up bolder, attracting more people to click.²² With the right data, your search results can have extra info like product tips, making people more likely to click.²²

²² The “Product” schema does a lot. It can show the product’s name, the price, if it’s in stock, and reviews in searches.²² If you use schemas for reviews, people might trust your shop more and click on your pages.²² There’s even a schema for offers, showing people good deals directly in search results. All these can bring the right people to your site.²² Using structured data makes your site more valuable to users and Google. This can lead to more clicks, visits, and sales on your online store.²²

Ecommerce SEO and Google Shopping

If you run an online store, making your site show up on Google Shopping is key. This boosts how often people see you and can lead to more sales.²³ Every ecommerce site wants to be easy to find. By connecting your store to Google, your products can show up where more people will see them. This helps grow your business.²³

Optimizing for Google Shopping Listings

Getting seen on Google Shopping takes work. Your site and product info need to match Google’s rules. Make sure your site’s layout and product info are correct.²³ You also need to write about your products clearly and correctly.

You want Google to love your store. This means following certain steps, like where your products show up in Google. You should also write great product descriptions and ensure your site is easy to navigate.²³Doing this stuff right helps more people find and buy what you sell.

Ecommerce SEO and Google Shopping are a dynamic duo for online stores. They can boost how visible and popular your store is. This can bring more people to your website and increase sales.³ According to Backlinko, the first result on Google gets most of the clicks. It shows why it’s crucial to be at the top.

Plus, hardly anyone checks websites on the second page of Google. This shows how vital it is to rank well to be noticed.

Tracking and Measuring Ecommerce SEO Success

Understanding how effective your SEO is in ecommerce is key. It helps you know what works and what needs improvement. This way, you can use your resources wisely. With the right tools and methods, you can improve your SEO strategy. This leads to real benefits for your online business.

Key Metrics to Monitor

For ecommerce SEO, it’s crucial to watch organic traffic, keyword rankings, conversion rates, and money made from search. By tracking these, you see how your SEO is really doing. It shows the impact on your business’s success.

Tools for Tracking SEO Performance

For checking your SEO, using the right tools is a must. Google Search Console and Google Analytics are key, along with Ahrefs or SEMrush. These help you see how your site is doing in searches and with keywords. They offer insights to guide your decisions, making your SEO approach better.

Regularly keeping an eye on your SEO stats with the right tools is essential. It shows you what’s effective and what needs work. This way, you can focus your efforts where they matter most. Taking a data-focused route means you’ll keep getting better results over time.⁵

FAQ

What percentage of people start their search for new products or goods online with a search engine like Google?

The first source shows that 70% of people start their search for new products online with Google.

What is the goal of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for ecommerce businesses?

The goal is clear: to get your ecommerce site more noticed. This means more people will find you on search engines, leading to increased sales.

How important is it for ecommerce businesses to implement an effective SEO strategy?

Without SEO, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers online. First-page rankings on Google are key because most people don’t look past it. By employing good SEO tactics, you draw more people to your site without paying for ads. You also boost awareness of your brand in search results.

What are the four types of keywords to consider for ecommerce SEO?

There are four main types of keywords for ecommerce sites: informational, commercial, transactional, and navigational. Each type serves a different search intent.

Why is keyword research an ongoing process for ecommerce SEO?

Keywords’ popularity can change quickly online. Because of this, you need to keep looking for the best terms to use. This will help your site stay ahead and attract more visitors and customers.

What is the importance of optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags for ecommerce SEO?

Optimizing these tags can greatly improve your website’s performance on search engines. This means more people are likely to click on your link when they see it, giving you an edge over competitors.

What are some best practices for optimizing category and product pages for ecommerce SEO?

Making product and category pages search-engine friendly is crucial. Simple actions, like using the main keyword in the URL, can boost your site’s visibility. It’s also helpful to place the keyword near the start of your titles and headers.

How can content marketing benefit ecommerce SEO?

Quality content is a big deal for SEO these days. It allows your site to rank for more keywords and attract more links. This way, you can reach a broader audience online.

What is the importance of link building for ecommerce SEO?

The third source sees link building as very important for SEO. It’s a key part of making your ecommerce strategy complete and competitive online.

What are the key aspects of technical SEO for ecommerce websites?

For ecommerce sites, technical SEO is all about making the site work better for users and search engines. This improves your site’s chances of being found online.

How can ecommerce websites leverage structured data and schema markup for SEO?

Unfortunately, we don’t have specific information about using structured data and schema markup for ecommerce SEO from the sources given.

What are the best practices for optimizing ecommerce websites for Google Shopping?

We’re sorry, but there aren’t specific details on making websites more Google Shopping-friendly in the sources provided.

How can ecommerce businesses track and measure the success of their SEO efforts?

The sources did not provide exact ways to track and measure SEO success for ecommerce businesses.