It's no secret that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is no longer a one-size-fits-all practice.
To ensure your ecommerce website ranks well in search engines, you have to be proactive about the steps you take.
So let's talk about how you can make sure that your website is getting found online, and what you can do to improve your rankings!
Here are 5 steps you can take to boost SEO for your online store today.
Research the right keywords
Keyword research involves understanding what people type into search bars when looking for information about products or services like yours (and then targeting those terms in content).
Use Google AdWords Keyword Planner or Google Trends to find out which phrases are most popular with users currently searching online—then write relevant copy on your product or service accordingly.
Use keywords in page titles and URLs
Not only should you be researching the right keywords, but you should be using these in your page titles and page URLs.
When someone lands on one of your pages from a search engine, they’ll automatically be able to see what the page is about based on its title tag and the URL.
This verifies to search engines that the information on the page is consistent, making them more likely to share your content.
Start a blog
If there’s one thing that we recommend to every ecommerce business that we work with that will improve their SEO, it’s starting a blog.
It doesn’t matter if you sell skincare, socks, or sea monkeys, you need a blog.
Blogs are not only helpful to promote your products and services, but they build trust with customers, and search engines LOVE them.
This is because blog articles, when published regularly to your site, show search engines that your content is relevant, and that you’re an expert in your field.
So create a blog and publish new content to it frequently.
Add alt text to images
Alt text, or the ‘alt attribute’ as it’s known, is the text that appears if a browser can't display an image on your website.
It's also used by screen readers for people with visual impairments and helps search engines index your images.
When adding alt text to images, be sure to keep them as descriptive and relevant to the image as possible. For example, if you have a screenshot of your homepage you could write, "Homepage Screenshot.”
Link to other pages
Linking to other pages on your website is a great way to help Google and other search engines understand that your website is organized. Because who doesn’t love an organized queen?
This can be done by creating a link on your page text or images and inserting a URL for another page of your website.
You can also link to external websites when necessary, but be careful where you send your visitors. Typically, you want to retain an audience and keep them on your page as long as possible. Not to mention, external links can go sideways if another site is hacked.
It sounds intimidating, but it’s worth it
Don't let the thought of setting up a blog or searching for keywords intimidate you. It's not as difficult as it may sound.
An important note about this process is that it does take time. But you don't need to overhaul all your existing content or start from scratch – just add a little extra effort into each step when editing and publishing so that it meets these criteria.
And if you need expert support, we're here to help!