Leads from search engine optimization (SEO) are eight times more likely to convert into paying customers than those from traditional ads. Whether they’re searching for makeup, a new outfit, or other products, people are looking online! In fact, 68% of all activity online begins with a search engine.

A strong e-Commerce SEO strategy can help you direct more people to your online business! Not sure how to develop an effective e-Commerce SEO plan?

Read on for the tips you need to dominate within your industry through SEO today!

Know Your Shoppers

Before you begin optimizing pages or writing blog content, it’s important to gather research. Otherwise, making assumptions about your target audience can derail the rest of your plans. In fact, Google looks for web content that aligns with the search engine user’s needs, or search intent.

Understanding who your customers are, as well as the pain points they’re experiencing, will help you personalize your e-Commerce SEO plan.

Personalization can make your digital marketing efforts more effective. You can connect with customers on an emotional level once you understand the problems they’re facing.

Learn as much as you can about the shoppers who choose your store, including their:

• Pain points
• Interests
• Hobbies
• Buying behaviors
• Online behaviors
• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Marital status
• Salary
• Education
• Language
• Career

If your shoppers fall into multiple groups, create distinct buyer personas based on your research.

When creating content for your target audience, make sure to picture who you’re writing for. Try to speak their language! Empathize with the problems they’re facing before offering your products as an easy, helpful solution.

Gather eCommerce Keyword Research

Gathering audience research will also make it easier for you to gather keyword research. Your keyword research can help inform the blog content you’ll create in the future.

You can use e-Commerce SEO resources to gather your research, including:

• Answer the Public
• Google Trends
• Google Keyword Planner
• SEMRush
• Ahrefs

As you begin building a list of target keywords, keep an eye out for longer phrases. Phrases that feature four or more words are called long-tail keywords. They’re more precise, which can make it easier for you to understand the user’s search intent.

For example, the short-tail keyword “shirt” could mean the consumer is looking for:

• Shirt print shops
• Shirt sizes
• Shirts for men
• Shirts for women
• Shirt definition and meaning

If your store sells button-up silk blouses for female business professionals, you’ll want to appear for more relevant searches. Targeting long-tail keywords can help you appear in front of consumers who actually want to purchase your offerings.

Otherwise, someone will visit your website, realize you don’t offer what they need, and leave. Your bounce rate will increase, which can hurt your rankings.

Update Your eCommerce Site

Before using the rest of these e-Commerce SEO strategies, take the time to update your website.

Google considers the user experience (UX) a website offers before determining online rankings. A strong UX indicates your website is easy to navigate, read, and use. A negative UX, on the other hand, can scare visitors away, causing a high bounce rate.

When updating your website, try to appeal to Google’s Core Web Vitals. For example, you should make sure your website is:

• Fast
• User-friendly
• Secure
• Mobile optimized

Make sure it’s easy for visitors to check out from your e-Commerce store. Any problems can cause shoppers to abandon their carts.

Mobile devices now account for 70% of all internet traffic, which has prompted Google to use mobile-first indexing. It will check the mobile version of your site first. With that in mind, run your site through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to make sure it’s optimized.

If you haven’t updated your website in a while, consider hiring a web design and development agency that understands SEO optimization. Improving your website can boost your SEO rankings and sales.

Optimize Your Pages

To optimize an online store, start reviewing the existing pages on your site. Begin by optimizing your highest value pages: product pages and product category pages.

Choose a primary target keyword for each page. Then, include that unique keyword in the:

• URL
• Page title
• Opening and closing paragraphs
• Image file name and alt text
• Body text
• An H1 header
• SEO title and meta description

Consumers will see the SEO title and description on Google search engine result pages (SERPs) when they look for your products. Make sure the title and description are engaging and relevant to the page. Your clickthrough rate will improve, which can boost your organic rankings.

Don’t forget to optimize your product images, too. Consumers can visit your website through image searches, helping you generate more traffic and sales.

Create Helpful Blog Content

Use your keyword research to begin creating unique blog posts for your e-Commerce website. Demonstrate your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EAT) within your content to boost your credibility.

Share helpful, engaging blog posts throughout the year to start ranking for a range of search terms. As more people visit your website, your rankings will improve.

Add both internal and external links to your content. Internal links can send visitors to other pages on your site (including your product pages). External links can refer to data, studies, or other blogs, boosting your credibility.

Add a strong call to action at the end of each post to generate sales through your eCommerce search engine optimization efforts, too!

Generate Backlinks

Backlinks appear on other websites before sending readers to your e-Commerce site. Generating backlinks can help Google recognize your authority faster, improving your rankings.

You can start generating backlinks by guest blogging on other websites.

If you’re unable to generate backlinks on your own, consider working with an SEO agency this year. With their help, you can generate backlinks and use the latest e-Commerce SEO strategies based on algorithm updates. They’ll ensure your rankings improve, allowing your products to appear in front of more customers than ever before.

Step Up Sales: Dominate With a Strong e-Commerce SEO Strategy

A strong e-Commerce SEO strategy can help your website rank at the top of search engine pages. Higher rankings will help you generate more traffic and sales. Dominate within your industry using these e-Commerce SEO tips today!

Remember, you don’t have to strategize alone. Working with an experienced agency could make all the difference.

Contact us today to learn more.