15 Highly Actionable eCommerce SEO Tips

Here are 15 actionable tips that we’ve learned from our 10+ years of being an eCommerce SEO company.

15 Highly Actionable eCommerce SEO Tips by Prosperity Media

1. Use Schema Markup – Rating Stars & Pricing Mark up

All eCommerce websites should be using schema markup such as product, rating and pricing markup as a bare minimum to increase potential CTR from search. For additional information on schema markup visit – https://schema.org

2. Find and fix broken links and 404 pages using Screaming Frog.

Using a tool such as Screaming Frog or looking at 404 pages in Google Search Console is a crucial part of fixing technical SEO issues. Aim to fix 404 pages and broken links where possible (https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider)

3. Find your lowest performing 10% pages and fix them up with new content.

Review your website on Google Analytics page level report and select your lowest 10% performing pages. Aim to add new content to these pages or refresh them where possible.

4. Ensure your products are grouped in the correct categories.

Ensure your products are grouped by correct category structures; for example /jeans/product /shoes/product. Also ensure that you are using descriptive URL’s including your main target keywords within the url structure example – jeans/american-style-jeans.  (in bold)

5. If you stop offering a product, ensure you 301 the page to a relevant current product.

Many eCommerce websites simply remove product pages without 301ing the product page to a relevant page. Another option is by making a landing page, which mentions the product is no longer available whilst showing some relevant products for the customer to purchase.

6. Ensure your website is mobile responsive.

Over 42% of online purchases were made by mobile devices in 2016 so it is crucial that you have a mobile responsive website. Use the mobile responsiveness test from Google to look for any potential issues (https://www.google.com.au/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

7. Ensure your website loads quickly.

Speed is a crucial part of running an eCommerce website. A one second delay in page speed can cost your business conversions and revenue. So ensure that you make your site as quick as possible using a locally hosted server and using CDNs (content delivery network) for your image content. Also use the Google page speed tools for additional speed tips.

8. Ensure your website runs on HTTPS.

Running your website sitewide on HTTPS will provide customers with a trust factor knowing the site is secure. Google has also noted they will give a small ranking boost for sites which are using HTTPS (http://searchengineland.com/google-starts-giving-ranking-boost-secure-httpsssl-sites-199446)

9. Write compelling and unique titles/descriptions for key products.

Writing descriptive titles and descriptions for your eCommerce website is crucial to do well. You also need to ensure that correct keyword research and analysis is used to build out the product pages.

10. Ensure that product pages have unique content & Use Canonical Tags to prevent duplicate content issues.

Thin content on product pages can harm the potential visibility of your product. You need to ensure that you have unique content on product pages. Around 300 words is the ideal length for a product page. Canonical tags assist with preventing duplicate content issues on eCommerce product pages. https://moz.com/learn/seo/canonicalization

11. Ensure you leverage customer testimonials & trust signals.

Customers love to see testimonials and other trust signals on websites such as 1300 numbers, registered business address and recent business awards. Unique testimonials also help with generating organic visibility and 67% of buyers are more inclined to buy when they see positive reviews (https://moz.com/blog/new-data-reveals-67-of-consumers-are-influenced-by-online-reviews)

12. Ensure you research your competitors link profiles.

Be sure to use tools such as ahrefs.com and majestic.com to review competitors link profiles and investigate which links you can acquire.

13. Ensure you ask suppliers for backlinks.

Draw up a list of current product suppliers who have websites and investigate which suppliers you can ask for a link back to your product pages.

14. Ensure you are rolling out content marketing assets each month using a content calendar.

A content calendar is a crucial element to all eCommerce businesses. The marketing team need to pre plan for events such as Easter, Christmas, Sporting Finals, Olympics, New Years Eve and any other crucial events where you can develop branded content. A content calendar should be made at the start of the business year.

 15. Ensure that you link back from all key brand profiles and any offline marketing campaigns.

Ensure that you always drive customers to landing pages on your website when you are running offline activity to track these marketing exercises. Always ensure that you link back to your brand website on any key profile or brand asset, as you could potentially miss traffic and SEO benefit.

Sources 

https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/
https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/
http://searchengineland.com/google-starts-giving-ranking-boost-secure-httpsssl-sites-199446
https://moz.com/blog/new-data-reveals-67-of-consumers-are-influenced-by-online-reviews
https://www.google.com.au/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
https://www.mobilestrategies360.com/2015/12/31/mobile-purchases-reach-42-all-online-orders-2016
https://schema.org
https://moz.com/learn/seo/canonicalization