{"id":30025,"date":"2023-12-08T16:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T16:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localhost:10003\/?p=30025"},"modified":"2024-07-30T12:15:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T11:15:37","slug":"ecommerce-seo-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Level up your SEO: eCommerce SEO best practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>SEO (search engine optimisation) is a key pillar of many successful eCommerce businesses\u2019 digital marketing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By designing, structuring, and optimising your website in a way that\u2019s appealing to Google, you can make more sales via increasing website traffic and providing a great user experience for your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll outline the core principles of eCommerce SEO, and provide you with a series of useful tips that you can use on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\"><p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">In this article<\/p>\n<\/div><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#what-is-seo\" >What is SEO?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#why-is-seo-important-for-ecommerce-businesses\" >Why is SEO important for eCommerce businesses?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#our-best-practices-for-ecommerce-seo\" >Our best practices for eCommerce SEO<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#keyword-research\" >Keyword research<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#content-quality-and-optimisation\" >Content quality and optimisation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#user-experience\" >User experience<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#backlinks\" >Backlinks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#mobile-optimisation\" >Mobile optimisation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#technical-seo\" >Technical SEO<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/ecommerce-insights\/ecommerce-seo-best-practices\/#need-more-time-to-spend-on-your-digital-marketing\" >Need more time to spend on your digital marketing?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-is-seo\"><\/span>What is SEO?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>SEO stands for search engine optimization, and involves optimising your online content &#8211; usually your website &#8211; to improve its visibility on search engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While there are many search engines on the internet, the one that SEOs are primarily concerned with is Google, as it has the highest market share by far. Approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/216573\/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">86% of online searches are made through Google.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s estimated that Google\u2019s algorithm has over 200 ranking factors, which means there\u2019s a lot of work to keep SEOs busy! Don\u2019t be put off by that number though; only a small number of those ranking factors make up the bulk of the impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With that in mind, some of the key areas of website optimisation that SEOs focus on are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Keyword research &#8211;<\/strong> finding the best keywords to rank for<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Content quality &#8211;<\/strong> optimising text, titles, images, and other on-page content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>User experience &#8211;<\/strong> making the website easy to navigate and accessible to all<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Backlinks &#8211;<\/strong> securing third-party links to increase the website\u2019s authority<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mobile optimisation &#8211;<\/strong> ensuring the website works properly on mobile devices<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technical SEO &#8211;<\/strong> addressing issues with crawlability and indexing, broken links and site speed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"why-is-seo-important-for-ecommerce-businesses\"><\/span>Why is SEO important for eCommerce businesses?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>By ranking higher for a wide range of search terms, eCommerce businesses can draw in more traffic to their website. With increased traffic, businesses have more opportunities to make sales, increase brand awareness, and accumulate customer data for marketing and outreach purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But bringing in additional traffic is not the only purpose SEO serves. A side-effect of optimising your website for SEO is a natural improvement in your <a href=\"\/improve-your-ecommerce-customer-service\/\">customer experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember; Google\u2019s number one priority is to remain the number one search engine on the market. The most effective way to achieve that goal is to offer relevant, helpful, and safe content for its users, and to direct them towards that content in the most efficient way possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, Google algorithms are designed to reward websites that serve the user\u2019s needs. By designing your website in the manner Google is looking for, you should naturally see better results from your website because it\u2019s meeting the needs of your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"our-best-practices-for-ecommerce-seo\"><\/span>Our best practices for eCommerce SEO<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now we\u2019ve covered the basics, it\u2019s time to look at some best practices for eCommerce SEO. We mentioned eCommerce specifically because &#8211; unlike other forms of SEO &#8211; you\u2019re actively trying to sell products on your website, rather than generating enquiries or trying to earn ad revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, the principles of eCommerce SEO are the same as other industries and niches. It\u2019s all about getting your pages &#8211; ideally your product pages &#8211; to the top of Google. Let\u2019s take a deeper look at the key areas of eCommerce SEO you should prioritise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"keyword-research\"><\/span>Keyword research<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Keyword research is the foundation of any SEO strategy. It involves researching appropriate searches and phrases that you want your website to rank for, with the goal of bringing in more traffic to your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Crucially, good keyword research doesn\u2019t just result in more traffic; it ensures that users who come to your website have the intent necessary to convert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keyword research should be a continuous process, and involves several steps and tools if you wish to conduct keyword research to best practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firstly, you should have a brainstorming session &#8211; ideally with colleagues across the business &#8211; to come up with a shortlist of words and phrases that you\u2019d like to rank for. With that shortlist, you can then come up with a larger list of related keywords to go after, such as variations of specific search terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a list of keywords at the ready, you can then start using keyword research tools to confirm whether they\u2019d be worth pursuing. Most of these tools have a free version, but if you\u2019re serious about SEO, it\u2019s worth investing for the paid version for unlimited access. Popular keyword research tools include <a href=\"https:\/\/app.ahrefs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ahrefs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SEMRush<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/neilpatel.com\/ubersuggest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ubersuggest<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These tools with help you determine which keywords to go after based on the following factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Monthly Search Volume &#8211;<\/strong> How many searches does your keyword get per month?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Competitor Analysis &#8211;<\/strong> Do your competitors rank for those keywords?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Difficulty &#8211;<\/strong> How hard will your keyword be to rank for?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to carefully consider these factors before optimising your website for your chosen keywords. For example, if a keyword is considered difficult to rank for, it may not be worth pursuing if you\u2019re early on in your SEO journey because it\u2019ll be extremely hard to rank for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, higher search volume doesn\u2019t necessarily mean better, as it will likely be harder to rank for. It\u2019s often best to go for lower volume keywords that are easier to attain. You can chase more difficult keywords as your online presence grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, if your competitors are ranking for your chosen keywords &#8211; and your tool does not deem them difficult to rank for &#8211; these can be prioritised for a competitive advantage!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"content-quality-and-optimisation\"><\/span>Content quality and optimisation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most important ranking factors for SEO is the quality of your content. For most SEOs, adding, improving, and optimising content for keywords is where they\u2019ll be spending most of their time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best way to define the quality of your content is to first consider its intent. If we take a product page, for example, the intent of that page should be to provide everything a user needs to make an informed decision about whether or not they want to purchase your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From there, we can work backwards. Is your write-up thorough without being overly descriptive? Is it written well, with no spelling or grammatical errors? Are the photographs high quality, and do they accurately reflect the true nature of the product? Is essential info such as sizing guides and returns &amp; shipping policies prevalent? Are FAQs about the product answered? Is it easy for a customer to make a purchase if they wish to do so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can use a similar method to approach other types of website content, too. Your blogs, for example, should be informative, original, and broken down into digestible chunks to make it easier to read. Images should add value and be of high quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, when looking to improve the content of your website, whether that be a home page, category page, product page, blog, contact page, or something else, first consider what the intent is, and make improvements from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While you\u2019re crafting new content and improving existing content, you should also think about the keywords you want to rank for. By placing those keywords organically throughout your website, you\u2019ve a better chance of sending Google the right signals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"user-experience\"><\/span>User experience<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The user experience (UX) is another vital component of eCommerce SEO. When we talk about the user experience, we\u2019re referring to the ease of which visitors can engage with, interact with, and navigate through your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google gathers a lot of data about how users interact with your website, including how long they spend there, how often they visit, which links they click, and much more. It uses all of this information to determine &#8211; in part &#8211; where to rank your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Content quality is an important part of the user experience, as users will engage more with well produced content. But there are many elements of website design that come together to create a solid user experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Content structure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Readability<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Load times<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Interactivity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consistency<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accessibility<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Error handling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Perfecting each of the above will naturally result in users spending more time on your website, and returning to it in the future. These signals send a powerful message to Google; that your website deserves to be on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"backlinks\"><\/span>Backlinks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A backlink is an external link from another website to your website. They\u2019re seen by Google as an endorsement or recommendation, indicating that your content is valuable, relevant, and worth sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Backlinks are a crucial pillar of SEO. The more backlinks you have, the more authority Google deems you to have within your niche or industry. This means Google has the confidence to rank your website higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, it\u2019s worth noting that not all backlinks are equal. For example, a backlink from a reputable source such as a government website or respectable publication is going to be more impactful than a backlink from a newly created website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, the fact that backlinks are widely sought after means that there are some shady practices to watch out for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are thousands of websites that have been created with the sole purpose of selling backlinks, and once you start to invest in SEO, you\u2019ll quickly notice your inbox filling up with people hoping to sell you backlinks. Don\u2019t fall for this, as backlinks from these \u2018backlink farms\u2019 will do more harm than good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best way to generate genuine, good-quality backlinks is to simply create great content and share it with your audience. If people find value in your content, they\u2019ll naturally want to share it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another great way to get backlinks is to offer guest posts on reputable websites within your niche. You can offer to write them an article on the condition that you\u2019ll place a backlink within the article leading to your website. This can be time-consuming, but potentially worth it if the third-party website is authoritative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The quickest &#8211; and most expensive &#8211; way to achieve backlinks is to pay reputable websites for mentions and backlinks in their content. This might be in the form of a review, listicle, or comparison piece. You can think of this sort of backlink as a sponsorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By all means, feel free to reach out to agencies that can generate backlinks for you through proper means. Just never accept an offer that sounds too good to be true, because it probably is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"mobile-optimisation\"><\/span>Mobile optimisation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mobile optimisation refers to the process of optimising your web pages so they work well on mobile devices. With over 92% of internet users accessing the internet through mobile, it\u2019s more important than it\u2019s ever been to ensure your website works well on smaller screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unsurprisingly, Google actually uses a mobile-first approach to ranking your web pages. Previously, Google would crawl the desktop versions of your website first, followed by the mobile version. It would take both into account, but weigh the desktop higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of 2021, this weighting was reversed, with mobile versions of websites now being the main version Google considers when ranking a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thankfully, the vast majority of modern website builders and templates are responsive by default. When using these responsive templates to build your website, the front end will dynamically format to fit whichever screen it\u2019s being viewed on. While you may need to tweak some elements for mobile &#8211; such as fonts, menus, footers, and some images, a lot of the optimisation is, thankfully, covered automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"technical-seo\"><\/span>Technical SEO<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Technical SEO involves optimising the technical aspects of a website to increase visibility and performance on Google. It focuses on improving the website&#8217;s infrastructure and addressing factors that affect crawling, indexing, and overall search engine accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While technical SEO might sound frightening to somebody with no technical background, there\u2019s lots of work you can do to improve your technical performance without needing a tonne of experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples of easy technical SEO tasks include fixing broken links, improving URL structures (to make them clear and logical), creating a good-quality sitemap, and improving your internal linking structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve little technical experience and don\u2019t have the time to learn, you may need to seek help on some of the more complex technical SEO problems, such as incorporating schema markup, improving crawlability, and deploying robot meta directives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"need-more-time-to-spend-on-your-digital-marketing\"><\/span>Need more time to spend on your digital marketing?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>SEO can be hugely beneficial to eCommerce businesses. By spending time and effort on making your website the best it can be, you\u2019ll naturally send the right signals to the search engines and, in turn, be rewarded for your efforts via increased organic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is, that many eCommerce businesses simply don\u2019t have the time to think about an SEO strategy, or even digital marketing more generally. That\u2019s where we can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At <a href=\"\/\">J&amp;J<\/a>, we specialise in eCommerce fulfilment, taking care of storage, picking, packing, and shipping for all your online orders. With a <a href=\"\/fulfilment-centres\/\">network of eCommerce fulfilment centres across the world<\/a>, we\u2019re perfectly positioned to help you grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Order fulfilment takes a lot of time and energy for businesses that do everything in-house. But there\u2019s another way. <a href=\"#requestQuote\">Speak to us<\/a> about how we can put time pack in your pocket, and provide you with the tools and service you need to truly take your eCommerce business to new heights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SEO (search engine optimisation) is a key pillar of many successful eCommerce businesses\u2019 digital marketing strategy. By designing, structuring, and optimising your website in a way that\u2019s appealing to Google, you can make more sales via increasing website traffic and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":30071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ecommerce-insights"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"James Dillon","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Level-up-seo@2x.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Level-up-seo@2x.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Simon Wheeler","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/author\/simon-wheeler\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}