How To Build SEO Friendly Ecommerce Website

Intro

Ranking on the very first page of Google is every businesses’ dream especially in today’s cut-throat competitive times. Selling products to ample of customers is only possible when you have a strong online presence - basically, you need a highly-optimized eCommerce website. I am sure you must have come across tons of them vying for unnecessary attention but unfortunately, they don’t happen to last for long. Now have you ever wondered why only a few websites are loved by customers as well as Google? Simple, because they are SEO-friendly. And that’s what the entire post is all about.

An absolute Fact - Ranking on the first page of the search engine is next to impossible without SEO. In other words, ignoring SEO means you might have a lot to lose especially in 2023 and the upcoming years.

The following post focuses on how to create an SEO-friendly eCommerce website. A space where you can grab first-page customer attention.

SEO Matters: Really?

Here I would like to focus on some common yet crucial stats to take into account.

• More than 67.7% of the traffic to your website comes via organic results
• 70% of professionals have revealed that SEO strategies are way more effective than pay per click
• Each spot higher in the ranking results in increased CTR by 30.8%

SEO mainly known for Search Engine Optimization is an absolute and the most cost-effective way to reach maximum audiences in a pretty short amount of time. The need for SEO seems to be increasing slowly and steadily.

You see today from buying apparels and accessories to opting for groceries, booking movie tickets, everything is possible online and you know what the best part is, people are really enjoying the phase. As a result, more and more brick-and-mortar stores are found trending towards creating a strong online presence.

Still not convinced! Well, further I would like to mention certain reasons stating the significance of SEO in today’s most indefinite times.

#1 The Primary Source of Traffic

I am sure you must have come across several paid ads, PPC and other gimmicks where they ensure to rank your website in no time. Well, which does happen but only for a shorter period of time. Yes, you read it absolutely right! Paying to get ranked on the very first page of Google could offer short-term benefits but if you want to sustain for a longer period of time then it can be pretty much of a concern.

On the contrary, organic search is pretty much slow yet steady. Organic search enables customers themselves to engage with your business seamlessly and that too for the long run. In fact, there is no denying the fact that Google owns a large portion of the search market in comparison to Yahoo, Bing, Batch and so on. So if your ecommerce website happens to rank higher on such a known and popular search engine, nothing can stop your brand from ranking to a great extent.

#2 Trust Can Be Built

Here’s a situation, If you come across a random toothpaste ad. Will you buy the product right away? Of course, not! First you will look around for some reliable reviews and ratings. Here trust matters the most! And the ultimate objective of conducting an SEO strategy is to establish a strong foundation between brand and the end user.

Now what are the signs of a trustable or a well-authorized eCommerce store? Well, look around for natural links, see if you feel positive user behavior, are all the pages including about us, contact, blog-page highly optimized. Now it is pretty impossible to build credibility overnight. You need to be consistent with your efforts. You see trust is built over time but once it's done, there is no going back. So with SEO you must be patient enough and ensure high-end commitment.

#3 Putting Yourself in the Shoes of End-users

It has been proven time and again that SEO is the best way to understand what your customer is trying to convey. In fact, not just the customers but the overall market can be well-taken care of. Yes, here you have a plethora of tools and technologies available such as Search query data, google analytics, SERP analysis, past buying patterns, analytics data and gaining relevant insights and what not!

So by monitoring your website’s performance, you can actually understand what your end user is expecting and offer them the same.

#4 Better User-Experience

Another reason or benefit of developing an eCommerce website is that you can offer better user-experience. Yes, in fact the search engines are customized in such a way that they can differentiate between a good and an okay-kind of user experience.

So positive user experience is the key to success. Simply, try offering information or products that customers want with just a few clicks. Also, this definitely leads to an insane amount of increase in customer engagement, traffic and of course, long-lasting conversions.

For this it is advisable to hire reliable and skilled SEO professionals who have the knack of optimizing your eCommerce store to a great extent. Also, make the most of Google My Business listing and social media profiles.

#5 Cost-effective

Price does matter, after all this is not the only project that you will be taking. So you need to come up with certain cost-effective strategies and approaches. In comparison to other options, SEO is pretty cost-effective and has the potential to pay off pretty more than expected.

How to Develop an SEO-Friendly Ecommerce Website?

Ecommerce is one of the most profit-spinning industries, no two-ways about it! Now it’s time to understand how to develop an SEO-friendly eCommerce website.

#1 The Choice of the Platform

You will come across a wide range of options such as 3dCart, Squarespace, Magento, Shopify BigCommerce, WordPress, and each one of these are of a kind but still you have to make a choice or else things might not work as planned in prior. Before even you start seeking around for options just make sure whichever option you try shortlisting.

• It has to be SEO-friendly
• It must offer a plethora of aesthetically pleasing themes
• It should support multiple payment gateways
• Multiple language support must be offered
• Seamless third-party tool integration for monitoring as well as analyzing purposes
• Detailed reports
• Quick checkout process
• Multiple theme options
• Capable to manage different orders
• Inventory and product management
• Seamless payment and shipping methods

#2 High quality Backlinks

Another interesting aspect of any successful eCommerce website is that it must be able to generate high-quality backlinks. Most businesses , especially those who aren’t tech-savvy, always ignore this and end up creating backlinks that aren’t of much quality and as a result, the ranking of the site decreases.

Generating high-quality backlinks is a pretty basic yet core aspect needed in any ecommerce store development project. You see Google trusts these backlinks a lot more than you may think. Basically, you have to try hard to get loved by the ever-changing Google algorithms.

#3 On-page Optimization

The next thing to do is ensure that you conduct seamless on-page optimization. Now on-page optimization is a pretty wide topic. It includes a wide range of features and functionalities.

• Titles and description - Though these might seem small but these tags are extremely important. Irrespective of the page, it is important to provide the best possible title and description tags. For eCommerce stores, you can use "%off", "Deal", "Buy".
• Length of the content - Of course, content must be plag-free and extremely engaging. Also, try keeping the length of words at least 2000 words. It’s the best content with optimal length. You are more likely to rank higher if the keyword is used 3-5 per thousand words of the content. In case, you are unable to expand product descriptions and details - add reviews, ratings, descriptions and a lot more.
• Social Media Engagement - Another important aspect is social media engagement. Today even Google considers you valid when you have a serious social media presence. I am not saying you should keep it active, but strive hard to keep it popular and make it absolutely viral.

Conclusion

Since you are developing an eCommerce store it doesn’t mean you should be creating something where all you have to do is showcase your products and let the customer decide.

No! You can make an effort to create your website more engaging such as sharing how-to type of content, offering different coupons, discounts, new product launches, a glossary page, demos of different products and their multiple uses, webinars, testimonials, reviews and what not!

It’s all about taking a step ahead, slowly and steadily you will climb the ladder of success in no time. I hope you did find the following post worth reading. Good luck for your future ventures.