SEO can be hard to develop when you’ve already got your hands full running your eCommerce business.
With so much SEO information coming from different sources, it can be difficult to know what will work for your online store.
Whether you operate exclusively online or you’re developing an eCommerce website to take your brick and mortar store online, it’s essential to have a robust search engine optimization strategy to reach a wider audience – and ultimately sell more of your products or services online.
How an SEO strategy influences online shopping
A whopping 79% of consumers shop online once a month.
Online shopping offers an unparalleled level of convenience, making eCommerce an increasingly popular option for busy consumers.
One way to reach online consumers more easily is through search engine optimization.
SEO helps you rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), making it easier for people to find your website when researching your products or services online.
By investing in a robust SEO strategy, eCommerce businesses of all sizes can increase organic traffic, boost brand awareness, and drive online sales.
Essential SEO strategies for electronic commerce
As the SEO experts for online business, we’ve created a list of our top SEO strategies to help you expand your reach and increase your online retail sales in no time.
Time to dig in!
1. Embrace mobile commerce
77% of consumers use a mobile device to research products online.
If your online audience can’t easily explore or purchase your products on their phone or tablet, you’re missing out on a massive pool of potential customers.
Not only that, but Google has made it an official requirement that websites be mobile-friendly as a response to the increase in demand. If your site isn’t adaptable to all screen sizes for online purchases, it will perform significantly worse than competitors’ sites in search rankings.
If you’re looking to improve mobile commerce for your customers, consider working with a professional web developer to make sure your site functions smoothly on all platforms and devices. You can also create a mobile app for your brand that provides a seamless user experience and acts as an online storefront for your eCommerce business.
Ensure all your web pages are designed to load quickly and correctly when viewed on any device to create an enjoyable browsing experience for all visitors – however they’ve come your way.
2. Know the penalties for bad SEO practices
Bad SEO practices not only put you on the back foot by allowing your competitors to overtake you on search engine results, but search engines will also punish you for having bad SEO standards, too.
It’s a good idea to comb through your eCommerce website with a search engine optimization specialist. An SEO pro can show you where your website is letting you down, and how you can update and improve it to help you climb up the search engine ranks, get discovered online, and avoid potential penalisation for poor practices.
Here are some common SEO mistakes to avoid on your website:
- Targeting too many keywords (appears spammy)
- Neglecting local keyword research
- Not optimising your format to mobile devices
- Repeating or plagiarising content
- Focusing solely on Google
- Including too much or too little text
- Not using enough headings (H1, H2, H3)
It’s important to remember that SEO is an ongoing process. Your SEO strategy needs to be regularly analysed and updated to ensure your website can perform its best and reach the broadest possible audience.
3. Take a hands-on approach to backlink building
Backlink building has always been a staple of good SEO practice, giving you valuable exposure to industry leaders’ audiences.
Developing strong relationships with bloggers and other experts in your industry lays the foundation for strong backlink opportunities for your eCommerce website in the future. It may take time and energy, but the benefits of these long-lasting bonds are well worth the effort.
Guest posting – creating video content or blog posts to feature on third-party websites – is a great way to improve the ROI of your site. You’ll increase the chances of your business getting discovered online outside of direct search engine results.
The way you sell – whether it’s business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C) – will impact the kind of companies you reach out to. But always look for reputable hosting sites to host your content, as the quality of these backlinks will affect your website’s SEO.
Building strong relationships with other businesses doesn’t just boost your SEO with backlink opportunities. It humanises your online presence, and with the support of the businesses you partner with, you’ll ultimately strengthen your eCommercebrand.
4. Use effective content marketing to boost SEO
Technical SEO is essential to the success of your eCommerce website.
However, unless you publish new content regularly, you won’t drive enough traffic to your website, and it will start to fall down the ranks on search engine results.
While technical SEO may have been enough in the past, it’s now considered more of a base for an SEO strategy rather than directly affecting ongoing results.
Incorporating content marketing into your SEO strategy will help your website consistently perform well on search engines while ensuring you always deliver value to your target audience.
Regularly producing fresh, high-quality content in the form of a video or blog post will help search engines register your website, send it higher up the ranks, and also allow you to promote your products based on current trends.
Sharing your content on social media provides even more opportunities to reach a wider audience, as you can easily catch their eye on social media and direct them to your website.
When you focus on a quality content marketing strategy for your eCommerce business, your website’s SEO gets a regular boost, allowing it to climb the ranks on search engines and get discovered by even more people.
Expand your reach and rank higher on search engines with Ireland Website Design
Online marketplaces are highly competitive.
Invest in a professional SEO strategy to make your eCommerce company easier to discover online and open your business to another world of customers.
Ready to upgrade your website so it can start doing the heavy lifting for you?Get in touch today to discuss our SEO, digital marketing, and website development services for Irish eCommerce businesses.