Ecommerce sites live and die by their ability to drive qualified traffic that converts into sales. With more than 50% of site traffic coming from organic search, having an effective SEO strategy is critical.
This article will walk through key elements to include in your ecommerce SEO plan, along with real-world examples and actionable recommendations. Follow these best practices and you'll be on your way to increased organic visibility, lower cost-per-click, and ultimately more revenue.
For example, if you sell pet supplies and notice competitor blog posts like "How Often Should I Walk My Dog?" performing well, you know informational content should be part of your keyword targeting.
For our pet supplies site, groups might include:
Always consider seasonality too. "Ugly Christmas sweaters for dogs" will peak in Nov/Dec when targeting makes sense.
For an ecommerce site, typical architecture includes:
This organization applies the same concept to your site's internal linking structure. Related content should always be just a click or two away through contextual cross-linking.
Blog Articles and Guides
These longer-form informational pieces will attract visitors ready to purchase or researching products. Include your target keywords in titles, subtitles, meta descriptions and content.
Format these articles well with digestible sections to improve readability. Add images, charts or videos to make them more engaging and interactive.
Product Pages
Ensure each product page aligns to relevant keyword targets through aspects like:
Category and Collection Pages
Like product pages, category and filtered collection pages should also directly match high-volume search queries.
For example, a "Best Dog Life Jackets" page optimized specifically around that term rather than just having those products lumped under a general category.
Link Building
Earn links from other websites through strategies like:
Social and Paid Promotion
Leverage social platforms and paid channels to amplify your content:
Rank Tracking
Use tools like Ahrefs, Moz or Serpstat to monitor keyword rankings weekly and monthly.
Review top pages ranking for your targets and compare to your performance. If there are rankings fluctuations or losses, diagnose technical issues or areas for content improvement.
Site Analytics
Within Google Analytics, connect your search console data and add goal tracking. Track key conversions like:
Iterate and Expand
Use all this data to inform your strategy moving forward. Identify new opportunities through search analytics while addressing underperforming areas:
The end reward? More low-funnel visitors ready to convert driving revenue growth through SEO.
So don't leave these free visits on the table. Audit your current efforts against this plan and address any gaps holding your ecommerce site back from its true potential.
This article will walk through key elements to include in your ecommerce SEO plan, along with real-world examples and actionable recommendations. Follow these best practices and you'll be on your way to increased organic visibility, lower cost-per-click, and ultimately more revenue.
Perform Competitive Analysis
When creating your SEO plan, start by analyzing competitors. Understand what pages rank for your target keywords so you can model successful content strategies:- What types of pages are ranking? Product, category, blog, guides etc.
- What topics perform best? Identify content gaps.
- Do they have more links/domain authority? Important for outreaching.
- What is their technical SEO health? Crawl errors, page speed, etc.
For example, if you sell pet supplies and notice competitor blog posts like "How Often Should I Walk My Dog?" performing well, you know informational content should be part of your keyword targeting.
Define Priority Keyword Targets
Next, create a list of primary and secondary keywords using Google's keyword planner and autocomplete. Group these into topics and themes.For our pet supplies site, groups might include:
- Dog training tips
- Cat toys and games
- Pet food comparisons
- Dog harness sizing guide
Always consider seasonality too. "Ugly Christmas sweaters for dogs" will peak in Nov/Dec when targeting makes sense.
Optimize Site Architecture
Once you've defined your keywords and topics, structure your website and theme taxonomy accordingly.For an ecommerce site, typical architecture includes:
- Main categories and subcategories
- Filtered product collection pages
- Individual product pages
- Informational guides and blog
This organization applies the same concept to your site's internal linking structure. Related content should always be just a click or two away through contextual cross-linking.
Create Optimized Content
With your site structure and keywords defined, now build out content optimized to rank.Blog Articles and Guides
These longer-form informational pieces will attract visitors ready to purchase or researching products. Include your target keywords in titles, subtitles, meta descriptions and content.
Format these articles well with digestible sections to improve readability. Add images, charts or videos to make them more engaging and interactive.
Product Pages
Ensure each product page aligns to relevant keyword targets through aspects like:
- Title tags
- Alt text for images
- Key product features/benefits in the description
- Related keywords in technical specifications
Category and Collection Pages
Like product pages, category and filtered collection pages should also directly match high-volume search queries.
For example, a "Best Dog Life Jackets" page optimized specifically around that term rather than just having those products lumped under a general category.
Promote Content
Creating amazing, in-depth content isn't enough. You need promotion to build credible links and expose that content to search engines.Link Building
Earn links from other websites through strategies like:
- Content partnerships - Guest post on authoritative niche sites
- Roundup placement - Reach out to have your content featured
- Link insertion requests - Direct outreach asking sites to link to your resource
Social and Paid Promotion
Leverage social platforms and paid channels to amplify your content:
- Share blog posts on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc.
- Create eye-catching visual content for Instagram
- Run paid social campaigns targeting key demographics
- Retarget high-funnel visits with paid search ads
- Send email drip campaigns to past customers
Track Rankings and Optimize
With a process for creating and promoting content, the final step is tracking performance to optimize over time.Rank Tracking
Use tools like Ahrefs, Moz or Serpstat to monitor keyword rankings weekly and monthly.
Review top pages ranking for your targets and compare to your performance. If there are rankings fluctuations or losses, diagnose technical issues or areas for content improvement.
Site Analytics
Within Google Analytics, connect your search console data and add goal tracking. Track key conversions like:
- Newsletter signups
- Ebook downloads
- Product purchases
- Contact form submissions
Iterate and Expand
Use all this data to inform your strategy moving forward. Identify new opportunities through search analytics while addressing underperforming areas:
- Address technical problems harming SEO
- Improve page speed for better rankings
- Expand into related keywords with new content
- Acquire backlinks for more authoritative power
Key Takeaways for Your Ecommerce SEO Plan
Executing an effective SEO strategy takes effort but brings tremendous upside for ecommerce businesses. To recap:- Analyze your competitors for content and technical optimization ideas
- Identify priority long-tail keywords with high buyer intent
- Structure your site architecture and taxonomy around these targets
- Produce valuable, keyword-optimized blog and product content
- Promote content through social, paid and link building
- Track rankings and analytics to optimize over time
The end reward? More low-funnel visitors ready to convert driving revenue growth through SEO.
So don't leave these free visits on the table. Audit your current efforts against this plan and address any gaps holding your ecommerce site back from its true potential.
