As many entrepreneurs take their businesses online, the need to stand out has become more extensive. If you are going to join in, there are some things you have to learn to catch up on.
One of these things is ecommerce SEO.
You might have heard about it already, but you do not know what it is and how it helps businesses promote themselves online. So allow this guide to walk you through.
What Is Ecommerce Marketing?
Before going straight to ecommerce SEO, it is essential to understand ecommerce marketing.
Ecommerce marketing is one of the various marketing strategies you can use to introduce and promote your brand online. It involves using different techniques such as email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and content marketing.
Do not confuse ecommerce marketing with ecommerce advertising. They are related; however, ecommerce advertising is just one aspect of ecommerce marketing that focuses on increasing your sales by promoting one of your products or services.
What Are the Different Forms of Ecommerce Marketing?
Digital Authority Partners said that utilizing several internet marketing techniques is essential when you want to start an ecommerce website. Depending on what will work with your business, you can use a single method or a combination of two or more.
1. Email Marketing
Email may seem outdated with all the advanced marketing techniques out there. But it remains one of the most effective strategies.
You cannot discard the fact that many people still use emails. A big part of the population sees it as the most reliable form of communication after phone calls.
Unlike social media and SEO, using email for promotion is less complicated. There are no strict algorithms to hold you back. You just have to follow some rules so that your emails will not end up in the spam folder.
2. SEO Marketing
SEO for ecommerce helps websites gain traffic through organic and paid search results.
To gain organic traffic, you have to conduct keyword research, use meta tags correctly, optimize header tags, and improve your website speed. On the other hand, paid traffic involves paid ads.
You can either apply one or both. After all, organic SEO takes a while to work. So paying for ads is an excellent option to get you started right away.
3. Social Media Marketing
Social media has grown from a communication tool into a platform for marketing and advertising. With many people using social media, it is a great place to make your presence known.
You can promote your brand using paid ads or organic content like with search engines. However, you will need people to follow your account and interact with your posts to have a more extensive reach.
Facebook is usually the go-to social media platform. But it is essential to research your target audience’s social media sites the most. It can be Instagram, YouTube, or Tiktok.
4. Content Marketing
Publishing content has become the most crucial part of marketing. Publishing posts about products and sales are no longer enough.
To gain loyal customers, you need to connect with your audience. Sales posts will not help you achieve that. You need engaging content that people can relate to and learn from.
Content does not necessarily mean blog posts and articles. It can also be videos, podcasts, or ebooks.
How to Start Ecommerce SEO
SEO for ecommerce aims to bring your product pages to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Everybody wants to be on the first page. If the competition is tighter than usual, being on the second page will also do. However, nobody wants to end up on the pages after that.
Only a few websites head over the second page of search engine results, and almost no website is on the third page. So how can you bring your products to the first page of search engine results using ecommerce SEO?
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
1. Study Your Competitors
The best way to start with ecommerce SEO is to look into those who have already gone ahead before you. Your competitors are one of your best resources. They can tell you how to start and the things you should do.
Take note of the keywords they have used and skim through their content and landing pages. Check their websites and how they have designed them. Lastly, get a feel of how fast their pages load.
2. Conduct Keyword Research
SEO uses keywords to optimize your website. However, you should not bombard your content with keywords. Place them strategically along with your copy—in the headline, meta descriptions, and product descriptions.
Determine which keywords your audience will most likely use. These keywords will allow people to find you on the SERPs. They will also tell you what people are looking for.
3. Organize Your Site Architecture
A complicated website structure makes it hard for visitors to navigate your pages. Ideally, it should take an average of three clicks for users to reach their desired destination.
Moreover, search engines need to crawl your website to categorize your homepage and pages properly. They should also reach all the pages in an instant.
4. Apply SEO to Your Whole Website
Businesses usually focus only on optimizing their homepages. But all your available pages should get the same attention so that they can rank on search engines.
Add relevant keywords to your title tags, content, product names, images, and videos. You can also optimize your FAQ and customer reviews. Importantly, post high-quality content to engage and provide information for your audience.
5. Improve Your Site’s Performance
As mentioned, you should also check the performance of your competitors’ websites. Search engines put a lot of emphasis on the user-friendliness of a website. This means that your pages should load fast and be easy to navigate.
Slow-loading websites are bad for SEO. Search engines rank them lower. People tend to leave websites that do not perform to their liking, causing these websites to have a high bounce rate.
6. Acquire Backlinks
Backlinks increase your search engine rankings and website authority. They make your website look reliable, trustworthy, and reputable. Just make sure that your backlinks are all of high quality.
The best way to acquire backlinks is guest-blogging. This is where you write articles and submit them to third-party websites. These articles should contain links that lead to your website.
Final Words
You may be in a hurry to join your competitors online, but you should take a pause and plan carefully. Ecommerce marketing is not something you should take lightly. Take time to understand it, and do not do anything unless you finally have a plan.
Once you set everything in place, you can be confident that you will soon achieve your digital marketing goals.
