Driving organic traffic to your online store from search engines is invaluable for boosting conversions and sales. But with over 1 billion shopping searches per day on Google, the competition is fierce.
You need an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy tailored specifically for ecommerce if you want to rank highly and get found.
Follow these best practices to improve your ecommerce SEO:
Conduct Keyword Research
Start by identifying the main search terms and product keywords your potential customers use during their research process.
Leverage keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush and Soovle to find:
- High traffic product keywords like “led tv” or “cappuccino maker”.
- Longer, more specific buying keywords like “best portable hammock under $100” or “most comfortable office chair for long hours”.
- Broad category terms like “outdoor gear” or “electronics”.
- Local keywords like “hardware store San Francisco” if you have a local inventory.
Look for keywords with high search volume but low competition on the first page. Niche long tail keywords are often easier to rank for than short broad terms.
Optimize Product Titles With Keywords
Use your most important product keywords directly in the page title for each product.
Good titles quickly tell the searcher what the page is about while using their own search query terms.
For example:
RaoFu UltraBright 6000 Lumen CREE LED Flashlight (for "ultra bright flashlight")But don’t just stuff keywords into a convoluted title. Keep titles short, natural and appealing to actual shoppers.
Include Keywords Throughout Product Description Copy
Your product description copy presents a prime opportunity to include keywords and phrases organically.
Aim for a keyword density between 1-3% for primary keywords, meaning 1-3% of words in the description match keywords. Use related long tail variations too.
Craft the descriptions to appeal to searchers as well as shoppers. Include enough keywords for SEO, but focus mainly on compelling benefits, useful features, and specifics that convince shoppers to buy.
Optimize Image File Names
Give product images natural file names using target keywords, like “black-leather-jacket.jpg” or “trek-fuel-bike.jpg”.
Avoid generic names like “img-45423.jpg” or random strings of characters. Descriptive names help search engines understand the image content.
Write Useful Alt Text for Product Images
The alt attribute text that displays when an image fails to load provides another opportunity to include relevant keywords.
<img src="black-leather-jacket.jpg" alt="Black leather motorcycle jacket"> Aim for descriptive but natural language, just like you would use to describe the image to a friend.
Structure Data for Rich Results
Implement JSON-LD structured data for your products to generate rich results in SERPs.
This includes product name, description, brand, sku, rating, price, images and more. Valid structured data improves click through rates.
For example:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Product",
"name": "Executive Anvil",
"image": [
"https://example.com/photos/1x1/anvil.jpg",
"https://example.com/photos/4x3/anvil.jpg",
"https://example.com/photos/16x9/anvil.jpg"
],
"description": "Sleeker than ACME's Classic Anvil",
"sku": "0446310786",
"mpn": "925872",
"brand": {
"@type": "Brand",
"name": "ACME"
},
"review": {
"@type": "Review",
"reviewRating": {
"@type": "Rating",
"ratingValue": "4",
"bestRating": "5"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Fred Benson"
}
},
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "4.4",
"reviewCount": "89"
},
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"priceCurrency": "USD",
"price": "119.99",
"priceValidUntil": "2020-11-05",
"itemCondition": "https://schema.org/UsedCondition",
"availability": "https://schema.org/InStock"
}
}
</script>There are many other types of structured data like breadcrumbs, FAQs, site navigation, etc. Implement what’s useful for searchers.
Optimize Category and Filter Pages
Don’t just optimize individual product pages. Make sure category, filter, and other browse pages target informative keywords around price, features, brands, use cases, etc.
For example, category pages could target:
- “mountain bikes under $500”
- “most fuel efficient SUVs”
- “Seiko men’s watches”
These keywords help searchers drill down and explore products efficiently.
Blog About Your Industry and Products
Building an educational blog that targets industry keywords provides multiple SEO wins:
- Attracts organic search traffic directly to your content and site.
- Links internally to related products, naturally promoting them.
- Establishes your brand as an authority site in your niche.
- Generates links when other sites reference your quality content.
Share unique insights, how-tos, interviews with creators, trends and news. Aim for long-form content over 2,000 words when possible.
Promote Your Brand and Products on Social Media
Engaging social content provides search engines with weak-but-helpful signals about your brand’s authority and content quality.
Share new products, curated industry stories, polls, FAQs, etc. Think beyond the hard sell – provide entertainment and value. Use relevant hashtags.
This expands reach and gets more brand mentions, links, and social engagement. All of these reflect positively for SEO.
Encourage Customer Reviews
Customer ratings, reviews and photos reinforce your products’ quality and legitimacy. Make leaving reviews as frictionless as possible.
Display snippets of positive reviews throughout the site – on category pages, product descriptions, order confirmation pages, etc. Just don’t overdo it.
User-generated content is seen as an honest signal of interest.
Monitor and Improve Results Over Time
Don’t “set and forget” your SEO. Consistency and iteration are key.
Regularly check your site’s position on core keywords. See which competitors rank higher and analyze why – do they have more reviews, unique products, content?
Keep excelling at the fundamentals of high-quality content, social engagement, and trust signals.
Slowly build more product pages and in-depth content around new keywords. SEO gets results when done right over the long-haul.
Those are my top tips for ecommerce SEO success! Let me know if you have any other strategies that have worked well for your online store.