11 Benefits of SEO for eCommerce Brands
Let's start with the obvious: The world of SEO for
eCommerce is extremely saturated and fiercely competitive.
Retailers and brands invest huge sums in SEO. This
makes it difficult to rank for any kind of product query in almost any
market. It is unlikely that any type of short-tail, high-volume product
query can be ranked for most people.
It doesn't necessarily mean that it is impossible
to achieve, nor does this negate the importance of SEO for businesses selling
online. It's all about deploying the right mix of strategic strategies
that deliver the best benefits and returns, and ideally, plenty of momentum.
Benefits of SEO for eCommerce Brands
This post goes beyond the basics and demonstrates
the many benefits that a solid SEO strategy can bring. We offer creative
and unconventional tips to help you rethink your approach to SEO for
eCommerce. First, let's talk about the benefits.
1. Begin the Conversation Organically
Let's take a look at the details. SEO is, in
general, the most powerful marketing method available. (We're not biased or
...)).
It is the ultimate marketing workhorse. It is
the most important game-changer. SEO, however, is one of the most
challenging channels for eCommerce. It requires patience.
Your products and services are sought-after by
search engine users. The best way to get in touch with these users is by
using the right message. It's an organic way to build a relationship.
It may not be an easy task ranking for
keywords short-tail products that
receive 5-figure monthly search. The dynamic of eCommerce SEO is changing.
Even small-to-medium-sized players can use creative SEO strategies to generate
traction (e.g. You can appear in Featured Snippets and answer boxes, as
well as popular products.
The growth potential for your business is endless
when you combine product page SEO, eCommerce strategy, and cross-channel
advertising efforts. Organic traffic has the highest conversion rates. Not
to mention the loyalty and repeat customers. Organic traffic is inherently
non-obtrusive, legitimate and growth-enabling.
2. Create Cross-Channel Symbiosis
Cross-channel synergy is one of the greatest (if
not most fundamental) benefits of SEO in your eCommerce marketing
mix. Simply put, what you do in one channel may also apply to other
channels.
Consider the content that is popular on social
media and click-throughs via email. It also gets traction through
SEO. It's a natural order that encourages collaboration and empowers each
channel. Rapha, a brand of bougie cycling apparel, stacks email, social
media, and SEO.
Rapha's
products benefit from a cross-channel promotional strategy
They not only push their Brevet series
"insulated gilet" (essentially an All-weather Cycling Vest) via email
and social media, but they also did the SEO due diligence for the product page.
This symbiosis can be built on tailoring
strategies, which are inspired by SEO/keyword search/search trends and
seamlessly combine efforts in content marketing as well as SEO, email
marketing, social networking, and paid media.
You can use videos, graphics or photos as well as
long-form writings. It is important to combine all relevant channels into
one campaign that supports the long-term growth of SEO.
3. Review UGC & Reviews
UGC (user-generated contents) can be a great way to increase SEO. Customers are the ones who submit photos and reviews. It can also make your website's most important pages more interesting, authentic, engaging, and fresh.
UGC can be difficult to make the most of, as with
any content. It is important to identify the objectives and desired
outcomes and to deploy the right system.
Our own Tory Gray wrote a
Twitter thread about the topic. It covers everything from
security and protecting your brand, to building SEO fields and using UGC
imagination.
4. Future-Proof Your Tech Stack
The tech stack chosen (or any combination of
platforms and programming languages, apps, frameworks, tools etc.) will determine
the success or failure of your project.
When it comes to SEO, the tech stack used to create
an eComm store and mobile app can have significant implications (and sometimes
limitations).
However, prioritizing SEO or related projects can
help you narrow down your choices and build a more sustainable and future-proof
tech stack. These are some of the key points to consider:
- How server ecosystem, databases, storage and storage contribute to
page performance and page speed.
- Programming language knowledge - such as Ruby, Java and Python,
Scala and PHP. Also, what makes sense for your site & your staff.
- Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce are all CMS platforms that
offer the best foundation for SEO and other business needs.
- Integration with third-party services, such as CRMs, email
marketing tools, payment gateways and delivery modules. Analytics tools
are also available.
Selection of the right eCommerce tech stack is a
complex process. Our eCommerce SEO can narrow down options when making major decisions,
and it should definitely be a key stakeholder.
If you are already benefiting from SEO, choosing a
platform without taking into account SEO could be a mistake. This is often
why teams with newly-platformed sites panic because they haven't considered SEO
properly and are unable to get back on track.
It's impossible to set up an eCommerce store from
scratch for most companies. The adoption of new technologies can be
complicated because they must be compatible with existing systems, have support
and resources available, and are scalable.
5. Optimized User Experience
The relationship between SEO and UX is one of the
most harmonious. The same planning and data that guides SEO can also be
used to create better user experiences.
- You can choose which pages or posts you want to create.
- Use Information Architecture to organize content
- How pages are linked and how users navigate your site
- Layout and content design
- Optimizing page speed, engagement and conversion
- Write copy that inspires and grabs attention
Conversions will be higher if seamless experiences
are provided. It is not easy. There are many things you need to do to make
it happen. You can start by looking into keywords, search trends,
competitors, and other areas.
You might find product pages aren’t the most
important assets for your SEO strategy. Perhaps your competitive advantage
is great photography and in-depth reviews.
Maybe it's YouTube videos. What about all of
these? Do not think one-dimensionally. Take a closer look at all the
possibilities for creating better user experiences.
6. Lower Customer Acquisition Costs
It's easy to focus on performance metrics such as
Conversion Rate or Cost Per Acquisition. However, Customer Acquisition Cost
(CAC) is a more important financial metric.
CAC is typically calculated over a time period for
either monthly, quarterly or annual reporting. It can give different
perspectives on what's working and what's not.
Retailers face a never-ending struggle to lower
their CAC. CAC is a useful tool for eCommerce marketers to determine where
to cut costs and where to spend more money. SEO can help eComm brands
reduce CAC by driving organic traffic and sales, thereby balancing expensive
investments in social media ads or Google Ads.
Modern SEO is all about providing exceptional
content and experiences. Instead of pushing users to click, it's about
building deeper relationships with them organically.
Clear messaging, excellent content marketing and
compelling USPs can all help to reduce CAC. Investors will be thrilled to
hear that your eComm brand has attracted customers through organic SEO, and it
does so at a very affordable cost.
7. Increase Brand Awareness
Improved search visibility can lead to brand
awareness. It takes a strong brand that is memorable and stands out to
make it work.
It won't be enough to keep up with the
competition. Brands need to create content that is visually striking,
unexpected, funny, or punny. It should be so rich and shareable that it
can become viral.
Terra
Nova is the World's Lightest Tent Infographic.
SEO can help increase brand awareness. However, it
must be used in conjunction with content marketing and other
channels. This means that your best content must resonate across all
channels. It also requires you to appear as a featured search snippet or
supplementing search in creative ways.
Oh look,
Terra Nova's infographic is listed in Google's PAA section!
The first stage of a marketing funnel that leads to
sales is brand awareness and visibility. SEO is a way to make potential
customers find you rather than you pushing your brand onto their faces. A
brand's trustworthiness is enhanced by ranking organically, especially in a
competitive landscape.
8. Boost Confidence & Trust
Imagine a time you heard about a company and
decided to research them to see if they had any products or websites. You
see an organic listing for their brand name that may be them.
However, at first glance you aren't sure.
Let's take an example: You hear about an exotic
stoneware brand named XYZero. The ultimate gift for
grandma. Search this name and you find a site with a very plain
title "XYZero” and text taken from the about
page. You immediately question the legitimacy and credibility of the
company.
Yes,
XYZero really is a stoneware/homeware brand!
XYZero" and a well-crafted meta description
(retaining some of the existing artistic merit! It would have been easy to
find them in our first search. We would have more trust and confidence if
we clicked into their website.
This is only one example of how ignoring
fundamental SEO and the user experience can seriously undermine consumer
confidence when they are actively searching for a brand.
However, if you show up in organic search results
for non-branded queries with compelling listings, it can have the opposite
effect and instill trust and confidence in those searching for your product.
9. Turn Product Photos Into Rankable Assets
These assets can be used by eCommerce stores who
take pride in their photography for many purposes beyond product pages, blog
posts and social media. These photos can be found in Google Search via
Image Search, or in Google Image Search.
Great
product photography can help you stand out
Captivating images can boost content across many
channels. They can be used as rankable assets and tell stories on social
media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. It is said that a picture
is worth a thousand keywords. However, when SEO is in action, a
picture can also be worth a thousand ranking.
10. Improve PPC Efficiency
PPC advertising is a common option for eCommerce
companies that are savvy in their search marketing. There are many
benefits to investing in eCommerce SEO best practice.
This is
organic. This is not Google Shopping.
SEO is one of the best ways to bring value to your
PPC advertising account. It improves Quality Score (on PPC and SEO shared
landing pages), which gives insight into how your ad quality compares with
other advertisers who are competing for the same keywords. Higher scores
mean lower cost per click and more flexibility in your advertising budget.
Quality Score is
determined by three main factors: Ad relevance, expected CTR, landing page
experience, and CTR. The first two are essential for crafting a successful
PPC campaign.
However, the second factor can be optimized using
several SEO techniques, such as faster load speed and keyword-relevant copy.
Quality visual media, clear CTAs, and path to conversion.
Your visibility can be doubled by having a presence
in both organic and paid search. Google research shows
that sites with strong organic results will have a higher PPC ad conversion
rate on the same SERP. Although paid Search and
Organic Search might seem like two distinct departments, there are many
benefits to working together.
11. Get in on the Holiday Trends
We get it. Black Friday/CyberMonday sales are
often overhyped. A discount may not be enough to attract buyers to your
website. It is impossible to deny the rapid rise in sales and search
interest in the eCommerce industry.
Kindle
shopping (and search) trends.
For example, take the Kindle. In the past five
years, the search volume has risen steadily during holidays (almost twice as
much in December).
These trends are most helpful for scheduling paid
media and increasing ad spend. However, they can also help you to get ahead
with SEO. You might want to:
- Upload product feeds for Google Shopping's organic listings
- Before creating new pages, refresh the content .
- Use structured data to inform and indicate relevance to search
engines.
- Create a plan for handling out of stock
products without losing customers or reducing your SEO.
- You can index any holiday-specific product, category or landing
page early. Or, even better, arrange them
to work for you year-over_.
- Use SEO landing pages for email and social media.
- Use holiday-specific queries to help guide eCommerce content
strategies.
- You can check for errors or other disruptive mishaps and update the 404
page.
Can you
tell I'm into running and biking yet?
We've already discussed the many benefits of an
eCommerce SEO strategy (including some insights and tips), but let's now look
at other tactics that can be used to refine your approach, prioritize your
investments and improve your overall approach.
How to Improve Your eCommerce
SEO Strategy
Let's say you know page titles and meta
descriptions. You have all the basics of SEO covered. This is more
information to help you improve your SEO strategy.
- IA is the best way to teach UX and SEO. Keyword
research is essential to help guide your SEO strategy. Information architecture focuses more on users' psychology
and behaviors and how to organize the content accordingly.
- Use internal linking to leverage domain authority. You
might consider investing more in internal
linking for search engine optimization and less time
building borderline-sketch links.
- Maximize tech SEO expertise. Poorly performing
websites can cause you to lose traffic. Prioritize SEO for Core Web
Vitals/site loading speed, JavaScript
Search Engine, responsiveness and canonicalization.
- Embrace structured data. You have complete
control over implementing the correct Schema markup sets to communicate
your site's content better to search engines, activate rich-snippets and
improve visibility. Structured data can improve search engines'
understanding of your site and your products. It also powers rich SERP
features, allowing your brand to take up more SERP real property.
- Invest more in long tails. It might seem
obvious, but ranking for long tails with low hanging keywords is 100x
easier than for those with high-competitive long tails. Take a look
at all the competitors that rank on page one for keywords. Also, take a
look at what it will take to get there.
- Personalization is a must if you want to expand your eCommerce
reach internationally. Take advantage
of personalization that uses click history, previous searches, language and
location information.
- Audit for duplicate content or cannibalization. eCommerce
websites can contain a lot of pages, and often have hundreds of
thousands. Even for small online shops, it is smart to check for URLs
that contain duplicate content and address (e.g. To avoid
cannibalization issues, redirect them or deindex.
- Create a UGC plan. This area can be a
significant asset to your product pages.
- Fix broken links. This can be a
common SEO problem in a large number of eCommerce websites. Schedule
site crawls on a regular basis to identify broken links and fix them.
- Integrate SEO into your social media strategy. Use
social media to increase organic SEO content. Although it is not
directly related to ranking, engagement can indicate trust in search
engines. This is a great way for you to increase visibility and
generate repeat, direct traffic. It can also help improve your chances of
earning links, which can be a ranking signal.
- Think about your content strategy. Google
favors in-depth, informative content over product pages. Keep
creating amazing and inspiring content like
blog posts, product reviews videos, and cute graphics. Although this
content may not immediately increase sales, it will help you win at eComm
SEO.
- Use SEO-friendly URLs to
build for the long-term. If you are creating a gift guide, don't
include the year in your URL. This will allow you to update the same
page every year and increase your authority.
- Make sure your eComm website is accessible. If
you sell to U.S. customers, Is your website ADA compliant ? You need to
ensure that your website provides easy access for people with
disabilities.
This includes
keyboard-only accessibility, image ALT texts, closed captioning, and video
transcripts.
- You can measure eComm's SEO performance. eComm stores need
custom analytics dashboards that facilitate the process of determining
KPIs and conversion goals.
There are limited ways to drive qualified traffic
into an eCommerce store other than traditional retail marketing channels. These
include paid ads, social media and email. Although SEO investment may not
bring immediate results, it can lead to long-term, sustainable growth.
You have control over the things you can do
(e.g. Keyword selection, content creation and tech SEO are all things you
can control. Invest in opportunities you believe are possible with your
current resources.
Be realistic if you have just launched an eCommerce
website. It is not likely that your SEO strategy will be a success overnight. Keep
moving forward and you might see great results in the future if you take small
steps now.
Contact us if you
need additional guidance in optimizing your eCommerce SEO strategy.
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