SEO (search engine optimization) is an important factor in the success of an ecommerce business. Regardless of the excellence of your products or services you’ll need them to be found by search engines. Optimizing a site for SEO isn’t the hardest thing in the world, but it can seem scary to some. Here are some common SEO challenges ecommerce stores may face and how to overcome them.
Be descriptive
Start by checking your product descriptions. These drive some ecommerce business owners crazy because they consider writing them tedious. Some feel the best solution for this is using the product descriptions provided by manufacturers. While it may be easier, it’s also a bad idea. Unique product descriptions help your e-store perform rank more highly in searches because duplicate content is frowned upon. Forthet, unique content gives you the opportunity to incorporate more keywords, which will broaden the scope of people finding them. This can be super helpful to newer businesses relying upon search engine traffic
Keep customer reviews
Social proof, in the form of customer reviews or other user-generated content will boost sales. Ecommerce sites with lots of organic content show up in searches more, and high-quality content keeps people coming back. Providing a space for customers to voice their opinions makes new customers feel better about buying from you. Seeing demonstrable trust previous customers have afforded you can do wonders for sales. If you’re looking for a quick enterprise ecommerce solution that can be easily added to your site, look no further. Running positive customer reviews and featuring helpful user-generated content can help boost your image with minimal effort on your part.
Keen on keywords
Knowing what words to use on your site can be a bit more challenging. Some sites have lists and lists of SEO keywords tagged and highlighted all over. The trick with keywords is really the adage of quantity over quality. Having a million keywords doesn’t do anything if those aren’t the words customers are using to search.
Plus, many search engines will demote your site for this practice—which is referred to as “keyword stuffing”. Yes, it may take some time and research to conduct some research to really nail down the best keywords for your situation. And, in the process, you may be surprised to discover words you previously thought were golden aren’t doing much for you at all. Fine-tuning your keyword strategy is always in your best interest. In fact, it’s essential if you want your business to succeed.
Mind your U’s, R’s and L’s
Another way people come across products on the internet is through sites not connected to the one that’s selling. Links get picked up and reposted by other sites all the time. This is the beauty of what’s known as a “speaking URL”. This is a web address that clearly states what your business is—or does. A URL that has a lot of numbers and random letters doesn’t tell the user where it’s going. Meanwhile, employing a URL that lets the buyer know what’s going to be on the other end is reassuring and more likely to be clicked on when it’s seen in listings or on another site.
Overcoming the SEO challenges ecommerce stores may face is simply a matter of implementing an effective game plan. Yes, it requires more than a few moving parts, but it doesn’t have to be a full-time job. Once you’ve used these tips to establish a solid foundation, a little effort here and there will keep your site ranking well.