April 6, 2022

The Definitive Guide to Get the Best out of Your SEO for Your Ecommerce Site

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Michael Jenkins
Michael Jenkins

CEO - Shout Agency
[email protected]

When it comes to ROI, SEO for ecommerce websites has unmatched results. Yet, so many marketing campaigns fail due to a lack of SEO knowledge.

A lot of factors come into play here. Everything from the ecommerce site structure to navigation, category pages and even product pages need to be optimised to rank in search engines to get the best results.

Simultaneously, you need link-building practices to appear on search engine results pages, like connecting internal links and new keyword ideas to stay relevant in 2022 and boost your Google search results.

Consider this article to be your personalised guide through this arduous task.

Top 2022 SEO for E-commerce Trends to Expect

In the words of Spider Robinson, the Science Fiction writer, “The world turns upside down every ten years. But we don’t notice because we turn upside down right along with it.”

Search engines shift from “see the word” to “see the intent”. Any eCommerce SEO marketer who doesn’t adjust their thinking to optimise their search engine results will be left behind.

SEO for eCommerce sites starts with a deeper understanding of the customer, as does all good marketing.

Have a look at the following SEO for ecommerce trends to get a better grasp on things.

1.   Advanced Ecommerce Keyword Research with User-Intent

Make sure you’re talking to the right audience to grow your business.

People use different words and different phrases when searching for the same thing. The challenge is to understand what they mean when they search.

Then you have to give them the relevant answer in the easiest way you can. It is becoming more and more rewarding to understand the drivers behind each part of your sales funnel.

Matching ecommerce keyword research with phrases is a thing of the past. Your keyword research has to be result-oriented. So, find ways to answer questions, not just match phrases. This raises the importance of content.

Rather than simply putting content out there that is filled with keyword stuffing, identify users’ search intent and write content according to that intent.

Broad terms still work when attracting visitors and raising awareness – because new-to-the-industry users will think in broad terms.

As you get further into the funnel, customers want to know more and more, so you should be more specific.

2.   People are going beyond Google Search

As we stand now, Google is still the leading search engine by a long way, but…

Amazon’s search engine uses a similar algorithm to Google’s but is focused on only Amazon pages. While this could just be them practising for a more significant launch, it plays into the hands of smart eCommerce SEO marketers.

Amazon has become the buyer’s bible. In the United States, Amazon is the first port of call for over 50% of online shoppers.

What goes in the States tends to go in Australia.

Amazon is becoming a retailers’ search engine. So, you need to optimise accordingly. Using featured snippets, hosted articles, and content aggregators are beneficial.

Optimise for devices beyond the main screens – home assistants might just be starting out, but we feel they will be a significant source of information for shoppers.

3.   Mobile Is the New Black

Speaking of going beyond the main screen, mobile eCommerce SEO is rising because mobile is becoming the main screen.

Google has been migrating sites to mobile-first indexing and ranking for over a year.

The index looks at mobile and desktop and combines them into a single index, with mobile taking precedence.

The lessons for eCommerce SEO marketers are both internal and external here. If you need to drive business to your site, make your mobile site structure more search-friendly.

Find a tame mobile bot and have it crawl your site.

You’ll see how well it ranks.

Also, make sure your mobile speed is up there. Loading speeds matter for search and even more for mobile.

4.   Faster is Better for Ecommerce SEO strategy

Your site’s loading speed is one of the factors behind your ranking.

The faster you load, the higher up you go. The same is for mobile platforms. Obviously, different devices load at different speeds, and Google seems to be taking this into account.

However, they have figured out how to measure the load speed and consider the difference in devices and networks. So, mobile speed has become a more significant factor this year.

Don’t give up on optimisation yet. Optimisation still rules.

But spend time making sure your optimisation is removing any speed bumps in your site because these two factors will, we believe, be a significant force this time next year.

5.   You Need to Make Machine Learning Work For You

Many of the big players in the world’s biggest market are turning to machine learning.

While many Australian businesses lack the budget for SEO R&D, there are lessons we can learn before we all become a part of the matrix.

Google is investing big money in machine learning. With the Multitask Unified Model (MUM) update, this will be a crucial driver to reward intent and not simply keywords.

Good SEO marketers should prepare for this by developing content specifically aimed at machine learning in 2021 or 2022.

The need for analysis and reporting remains critical as machine learning content will start to feel like a state of constant beta-testing.

Also, many industry leaders are suggesting AI for solving various SEO problems.

Machine Learning

6.  Structure Is Driving Behaviour

The structure of your data is even more critical.

Structured data allows search bots to process content faster. And allows the bots to determine the relationship of separate pieces of content, which feeds, again, into search intent.

This suggests we should all pay attention to active and passive search techniques, information architecture tags, schema vocabulary on relevant pages, and metadata.

Also, a structured markup can make it easier for AI-driven bots to see the answer to the intent in our site better.

7.   Search Engines Are Getting Better At Recognising Reputation

Google uses brand mentions in its search algorithm to determine a brand’s authority in an industry or a specific area.

It’s doing this through unlinked mentions, recognising how many times a brand appears in conversations around particular areas.

The lesson here, we believe, is that brand marketers have to invest in brand communications to raise organic authority, which in turn raises their relevance and ranking.

Find ways to weave your brand name into non-advertising communications, in chats, PR or forums.

However, it should be natural. Google is also looking at the context, looking at the sentiment and language used around mentions of the brand.

So, do not just bombard people with your name; you need to have relevant keywords.

This might present opportunities to engage influencers. These are people who can give you third-party mentions (in context) and provide the trust signals for the bots.

8.   Content is Driving Sales

Google is getting better and better at determining the depth and breadth of your content.

Content strategy has been with us for a while now. However, depth is starting to gain equal height in the rankings.

The deeper the information and expertise, the higher you’ll rank.

Keeping a blog post ticking over isn’t enough to reward the bots.

New content might see a blip in search results, but you need to score backlinks for better link building. Also, internal linking is crucial. So, make sure you use relevant sites link and that there are no broken links on your site.

You need to be new and relevant.

Create content that makes people want to take some action, like sharing with their friends, downloading it, or even bookmarking it.

So, to achieve this, you need to try to solve a problem to establish your brand authority.

This way, you can make sales, get leads, and even gain insight.

Remember, having content that gets people to your site is only part of the battle. So, invest in better content.

Driving Sales

9.   The Call for Voice Search Is Getting Louder

More and more searches are being done by voice.

The boom in screenless devices (Google Home, for example) is driving the force. Also, hands-free driving and ease of use are significant contributors to organic traffic.

Recent estimations suggest, this year, “Siri”, “Alexa”, and “Hey Google” are the opening words in over 50% of all searches.

To understand the challenge for SEO marketers, say, out loud, without thinking, how you might search for mattress protectors in your area. Then type in a search for mattress protectors.

Most voice searches are more conversational than simply “mattress protector Moorabbin.” It follows that SEO keyphrases will probably pay off better than keywords.

Statements work for typed searches. Conversational phrase-based search suggests buying questions will also reap the rewards.

It means giving it a little extra thought, but it’s worth it with the rising volume of voice searches.

10.   On-page optimisation is becoming critical

On-page SEO optimisation has always been an easy win for many marketers.

It can prove expertise by answering FAQs and authority while addressing customer support issues. It can also establish trust by ensuring that internal searches provide the search results users search for.

You can make forms easier and links simpler to understand.

Also, with proper optimisation, you can encourage the audience to take the following steps.

By providing options that get users to their objective faster.

11.  The Rising Tide of Visibility

Last year, we were optimising eCommerce sites. This year, canny businesses are optimising the search experience.

Almost 19% of Google search queries consist of images. Over 600 million visual searches occur on Pinterest every month.

This will catch on and present an easy win for businesses looking to gain an edge. So, try to make it as simple as possible. You can do this by showing your audience exactly what they’ve come to do.

Paint pictures with featured snippets, create answer boxes or showcase a graph. The key is to get used to providing visual content.

This will, in turn, help you prepare for the visual searches.

12. An Increasing Focus on Local Search

Local business needs local search.

According to statistics, 46% of Google searches are now local searches. People are more likely to use local services and products now.

The search intent of users changes with a change in the location. Local SEO in Melbourne and local SEO in Auckland strategies can’t be the same. Keep this thing in mind when doing local SEO for a specific region.

Therefore, factors like local search optimisation, precision targeting, and hyper-local targeting are becoming essential for small and big businesses.

“Near me” searches more than doubled between 2014 and 2015 (according to Google).

Customers expect precision when they search, and this trend will grow even more in 2022.

How to Improve SEO for Better ROI

Correct me if I am wrong here, but your company does not want a good SEO strategy because it “sounds good” and uses all the correct jargon.

No! You probably see SEO as a way to improve your company’s ROI.

Otherwise, what is the point of using search engine optimisation to increase the traffic on your site?

Keyword Research

Did you know that the average consumer processes more than 100,000 words digitally? With this much information being consumed daily, finding a way to stand out is challenging.

That is why you need keywords to reach your customers. Now there are two main types of keywords.

Long-Tail Keywords: These can be as long as 26 to 40 characters. There are more variations to these terms. Quite naturally, they attract more clicks and conversions.

Short-Tail Keywords: This includes shorter terms users use to find specific products or services on the search engines.

You need to bucket the terms based on a primary keyword to find the right keywords. Then choose product names accordingly and search on the Google search engine. You can also take the help of SEO tools, like Google keyword planner, for this.

You need to enhance the descriptions with these keywords for better SEO for your product pages. However, it is crucial to find your own keyword niche instead of trying to compete with the giants like Amazon or Walmart.

Site Architecture

Your site architecture is just as important a factor for improving SEO. Ecommerce sites must have clear navigation from product search to checkout to ensure a smooth transition.

Having a well-defined site architecture also helps Google to crawl your site better. Try to ensure that users can reach any page from the homepage section in less than three clicks.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO goes beyond simple site mapping or adding meta tags. Gradually the distinction between on-page SEO and technical SEO is becoming a blur.

Here is how you can implement technical SEO into your eCommerce websites.

  • Product Schema Markup

Implementing schema markup and rich snippets lets Google solve the problem of your site not appearing on search results. This lets you add cool images, URLs, and brand names to the pages.

  • URL Cleanup

Next, you need to clean up the URLs. The simplest way to do this is to customise the structure of the URL with a dynamic one.

  • No Broken Links (404 Pages)

Your ecommerce store should never have a broken link. Even if you do not regularly check on Google Search Console for 404 errors, try to ensure some regular cleaning and removal of dead pages.

  • Pagination and Infinite Scrolling

Ecommerce websites with pagination and infinite scrolling experience do better than the others. It is also beneficial for mobile viewing and ranks well with Google.

  • Cross-Linking Pages

You need to cross-link your category pages and product pages to boost the SEO for ecommerce sites.

Improve Your On-Page SEO

Seaspray Pools is an award-winning premium pool construction company we work for in Melbourne.

They started working with Shout because, like many small businesses, their traffic from places like the yellow pages and newspaper ads have dried up.

Seaspray saw the value in using Shout to replace these dying lead sources.

After providing a free eCommerce website review, we helped them recode their site to make it more Google-friendly.

Their previous eCommerce website was built in Flash, a programming language not readable by Google.

With our help, Seaspray had a new website with the proper coding that Google likes. Also, we set up their site framework to improve their conversions on their website landing pages.

You, too, can improve your on-page SEO with a few steps.

URL: Use a keyword-enriched URL that is clean, short, and unique.

Meta Title: Use meta tags and meta titles for better CTR (click-through-rate).

Meta Description: This is another aspect that will ensure better traffic to your ecommerce store.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing: Do not go for keyword stuffing, though, as it will do more harm than good.

Find the Right Audience

One of the most important parts of optimising your SEO ROI efforts is to ensure your search engine strategy connects with your target audience.

This is done through keyword research to know what resonates better with your prospective clients.

However, you also need to identify the buyer’s research cycle. For example, 61% of consumers have more confidence in companies that provide content for their ecommerce sites.

While they are researching your products and services, they can learn more about your business.

By knowing what keywords and information to create for different stages of the buying decision, you can ensure better traffic.

Your ecommerce site will be searched and found more often by prospective clients interested in learning more about your services.

Set up Your SEO Budget

Have a budget to know how much to spend on content creation, ads, and other search engine expenses.

Next, make sure you know the value of your customers. As we discussed in How SEO Helps Your Business, it is vital to determine the lifetime value of your clients.

This can help ensure your budget is realistic. There is no point in investing a significant amount in paid ads unless you know that some customers will be retained.

When you add up the number of recurring buyers purchasing similar items every time, the return on your monthly investment doubles. Who would not want to double their money?

Do Not Get Caught in Strategy Mode

Do not get so caught up in creating the perfect plan for search engine traffic that you do not pull the trigger.

While planning is a vital component of any eCommerce SEO campaign, at some point, you need to start acting on your plan.

The best way to ensure effective SEO for ROI is to have the right team of content creators, developers, and search engine professionals.

SEO is not a one-shot deal. Therefore, the team you hire must be qualified to help you implement this plan and advise you of changes in search engine marketing.

Measure your results

Nothing works the first time perfectly. If you want to improve on your results, measure everything.

Every step of the process needs to be examined to determine the clogs in the system and what areas you can improve upon to get even more results.

Conclusion

There are many tips and tricks to boost your SEO efforts, from on-page SEO for e-commerce to linking and optimising your category pages and product pages.

You also need assistance with sound copywriting for product descriptions. Once you identify your target audience, you can boost the page SEO for e-commerce and bring in more traffic.

The trends keep updating, and the marketers need to stay updated. Also, you should not ignore off-page SEO for ecommerce like backlinks.

Boost SEO efforts

Following the tips mentioned above will help you transform your eCommerce site architecture and improve results on search rankings.

If you need a free website review to learn more about how we can help your eCommerce site, Contact us for more information.

If you have any questions about SEO for eCommerce sites, contact our SEO agency in Brisbane.

 

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        Shout logo in grey

        As Founder and Director of Shout Web Strategy, Michael Jenkins is at the forefront of digital marketing. Since it’s inception in 2009, Shout has built a strong reputation as one of Australia’s leading strategic SEO agencies, assisting online businesses to formulate, implement and track successful marketing strategies. Michael is a respected thought leader and digital strategist, specialising in online strategy, corporate SEO, Google retargeting, email and conversion rate optimisation, and online reputation management. Follow Michael on Google+, connect with him through LinkedIn or visit the Shout Web Strategy website.

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