SEO, or search engine optimisation, is one of the most crucial skills to master to run a successful eCommerce business along with conversion rate optimisation and social media. When using SEO correctly, any site can rank higher on search engines like Google and pull in more organic visitors.
We have some insightful expert tips on what e-commerce sites need to know about SEO.
Why SEO mastery is important in 2019
The importance of mastering e-commerce SEO tips has been growing over time and is especially important in 2019. Rather than winding down, it’s just getting started. SEO mastery has a direct impact on the success of any e-commerce firm. By mastering SEO, online stores can rank higher on search engines and drive more traffic their way.
More traffic means more customers, and that’s what all e-commerce sites are competing for. Competition is fierce, so stay ahead with these tips on achieving SEO mastery in 2019.
The body content isn’t the only place for SEO keywords
Keywords should be optimized at every opportunity, and that means they should be used on images and image names. Both the image names and the alt-tags should be optimized for SEO in mind and laced with keywords.
We’ve seen a lot of e-commerce sites that don’t take advantage of this, and it shows. Websites with default image names like, “b27agf38.jpg” are wasteful. There is no excuse not to be utilizing image names and alt-tags to benefit an e-commerce website. Using these naming conventions will help a site rank higher in web searches and drive more traffic to an online store.
Why it’s important to have a sitemap
One relatively easy way to use SEO tactic, that we recommend, is to ensure that an e-commerce website ranks higher in searches is to develop a sitemap. Sitemaps help search engine spiders like those used by Google to find content on any website easier. This will automatically increase traffic as having a sitemap makes it easier for search engines to find the site.
A dedicated IP address can be an SEO advantage
Dedicated IP addresses are the way to go for achieving optimal SEO performance. Some e-commerce firms opt for shared IP addresses to save money. We all love saving money of course, but this method can be damaging to SEO and search engine rankings. This damage is done when other websites that share the IP address, implement poor practices that cause search engines to penalize the entire IP address including all of the sites attached to it.
Having a dedicated IP address also helps legitimize eCommerce stores. This is part of SEO, and it should be thought of from the very beginning. It is a strategic tool and should never be carelessly thrown together. E-commerce firms who try to save money by sharing IP addresses unknowingly hurt their SEO and their sales.
Research the competition, to beat the competition
This is an important strategy that can incorporate SEO and drive more traffic to an e-commerce website. Take a detailed look at any competitor’s website and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses compared.
Next, we recommend using this information to plan the use of SEO keywords strategically, to outperform and outrank competitors. This strategy goes beyond SEO however and will also revolve around the generation of superior content.
Don’t use redundant variations of the same keywords
One of the biggest SEO mistakes an online business can make is to generate too many redundant versions of the same basic keywords. Each set of keywords should be optimized to be unique and individually effective. Marketing teams that avoid that kind of repetition in keyword derivations will enjoy more web traffic.
Take advantage of mobile platforms
It is incredibly important that e-commerce firms do not overlook the presence of mobile shoppers which is considerable. The high number of people shopping and browsing from their mobile devices has increased to the point that SEO strategies are shifting towards a focus on mobile users.
Stay consistent to stand out on Google’s search engine
Google favours brands whose content matches what online shoppers are actually looking for in their searches. This is a matter of professionalism as much as it is a good SEO practice. Customers expect to see what was advertised on the site when they click on the advertisement and search engines enforce this expectation.
Use backlinks sparingly
Search engines used to reward high quantities of backlinks, but today things are much different. Google rewards quality backlinks in favour of high quantities and has learned to differentiate and sort links by their quality.
Maintain a strict code of ethics to earn higher rankings on Google
Google and SEO isn’t the Wild West environment that it was in previous years. Because of this and sophisticated AI like RankBrain, we strongly recommend ethical implementations of SEO. Exercising good ethics in SEO in 2019 is not only the right thing to do, but it’s also a requirement. This is especially true for e-commerce businesses looking to rank well on Google searches.
Wrapping up
SEO is and has always been an important aspect of the growth of an online business. Knowing how to do it properly is vital. Try to implement the above-mentioned tips to see if they help your business.
Do you know more such tips? Share with us in the comment section below.
