The e-commerce industry is extremely competitive. To stay at the top of search results on Google, it is essential to continually invest in SEO optimization. An effective SEO strategy allows your ecommerce site to appear at the top of the page, thus attracting more visitors and increasing conversions. The majority of Google users don't go beyond the first page, and the top of the first page attracts almost a third of the traffic. If your site is not well positioned, you lose visibility, leads and conversions.
Create a strategy for defining your keywords
One of the fundamental aspects of SEO is knowing the keywords your visitors are using to find your products. It is crucial to understand the most relevant and used keywords in your industry. Knowing why your visitors come to your site and what keywords they use is essential. Long tail keywords, typically search phrases of three or more words, generate less traffic but often have higher conversion rates. In contrast, short-tail keywords are often very competitive and expensive. Ideally, you should build your own semantic group and have one main keyword per page or product page. However, your home page can have its own semantic group, which is distributed across your more important pages. Thus, you can represent your keyword group or semantic group like a tree, with the most important keywords at the top. Nevertheless, the most important point is to keep your tree up-to-date to stay competitive in the market, against your competitors, and to follow new trends. SEO is an exigent discipline that requires continuous practice.
Know your keywords
Short-tail keyword
The first step is to discover your main keywords. To do this, log in to Google Search Console, then go to the "Performance" section. There you will find all the queries made by your visitors, the number of clicks, the number of impressions, the click-through rate (CTR) and your position in the search results. Analyze the pages that attract the most visitors and the associated queries, and compare them to understand what these pages offer more than others.
Long tail keyword
There are many tools with large keyword databases. You can enter a keyword, configure your search and obtain a list of associated terms. You can also research your competitors’ keywords with these tools. Here are some tools to try:
- Semrush
- Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
- Ahrefs Site Explorer
- Google Keyword Planner
- Google autosuggest
Don’t forget to check SEO difficulty and search volume. Difficulty indicates competition to rank at the top of search results, while volume represents the number of monthly searches. Long-tail keywords are often used by visitors who have narrowed their searches, such as "short-sleeved t-shirt" rather than "summer clothing." Although these queries generate less traffic, they have higher conversion rates, providing a better return on investment (ROI).
Use a planning tool to gain insights into monthly search counts, trends, competition, and cost-per-click estimates. Don’t hesitate to use your organic keywords to refine your strategy. Google Ads can also be a valuable resource for these searches.
Search intent
Understanding what your visitors are looking for is crucial to your . By properly analyzing their intent, you can identify opportunities and gaps, and even outperform your competitors. To do this:
- Analyze SERPs (search engine results pages). These results are a mine of information.
- Check Google Ads, including keywords and their costs.
- Analyze your analytics reports, including pages with high bounce rates.
SERP data can generate significant traffic. However, the keywords in these results are often difficult to target. The results can be presented in several forms:
- A web page or blog excerpt (position zero), which links to the response page.
- An instant response, like the weather, that doesn't require an extra click.
- The Google Local Pack, which offers location-based results, with detailed information (menus, contacts, addresses, etc.).
- The Google Knowledge Panel, a rich result appearing on the right of the page.
- Top Stories, a block including the latest news.
- People aslo ask block which appears in different forms.
- Site links, which provide access to the most important content.
Keywords not included in these features are generally easier to target and less expensive.
Title and Meta description
Your title should contain between 60 and 70 characters and include the most important keywords to attract your visitors, always mentioning the name of your product. Use headings (H1, H2, etc.) correctly. Your product description page should be semantically rich so that Google can use it to rank you in search results. Use summaries, keywords, short descriptions and images to highlight your products, as well as testimonials. The most important information should be in the first 160 to 500 characters.
Meta descriptions are crucial because they increase click-through rates. In e-commerce, including terms like “Buy Online” or “Sell Online” can improve organic CTR. Optimize your images so your site loads quickly. Use modern formats like WebP, and add captions, alt text and keywords.
Feedback plays a key role. Some studies show that 9 out of 10 visitors are influenced by the opinions of others in their online purchasing decision. Encourage your customers to leave reviews after their purchases. Your calls to action (CTAs) and links should be descriptive to improve your visibility with Google. Placed correctly, they increase your chances of conversion.
The user experience and architecture of your site
To facilitate navigation on your site, ensure a clear and intuitive structure. Use breadcrumbs to help visitors navigate back, which also improves SEO. Use clear navigation categories, without branded terms, to make searching easier. This helps both Google and your users find each other easily. Also opt for a simple URL structure for better user experience and improved SEO.
Don't forget to optimize your technical SEO: add a sitemap, obtain an SSL certificate and measure the speed of your site with tools like Page Speed Insights or GT Metrix.
By following these strategies, you can significantly improve the visibility and performance of your e-commerce site. SEO is ongoing work, but the efforts invested are worth it to attract more visitors and increase conversions.
SEO strategy in ecommerce