SEO For eCommerce: 5 Tips For More Traffic

After direct entry, traffic via organic search is the most important visitor channel for online shops. But in order to be found at Google, a multitude of measures have to be taken on and off the website.

This is where search engine optimization for online shops comes into play: The following 5 SEO tips can mean the decisive step forward.

1) Colorado Springs SEO

Keywords or search terms are the heart of search engine optimization in Colorado Springs. Anyone running an online shop or local business must therefore know the most important search terms in their own niche in order to be able to optimize the individual pages for these terms. Therefore there is no way around a keyword search. The aim of the search is to get an overview of the main search terms and to assign them to the appropriate page type.

In a nutshell: In keyword research, search terms are filtered out and categorized so that exactly the content that serves the search intention can be created for each keyword. This covers the entire spectrum of the Sales Funnel. For SEO in Colorado Springs and other local areas, you generally have keywords that contain what you’re looking for, followed by the name of the city.

2) Non-commercial contents

As is usually clear from keyword research, most search terms are not primarily about buying something. Even though sales are the main goal of every online shop, a non-commercial area should not be missing: In the blog / encyclopedia / guide all relevant keywords can be covered without buying intention.

Thus, the target group becomes aware of the shop at an early stage – and ideally returns when it comes to the purchase. In order for this to happen and for a solid basis of trust to emerge, the content must be convincing across the board and deliver real added value.

Attention: The blog should be on the same domain as the online shop. It does not make sense to set up an additional domain or subdomain.

In a nutshell: A blog with non-commercial content appeals to the target group at an early stage and is indispensable if you want to cover as broad a spectrum of keywords as possible.

3) Improvement of user experience and technical aspects

A shop can offer such good products – if the User Experience (UX) is bad, sooner or later it becomes a problem. It is therefore important to optimize the user experience, among other things by means of the following measures:

• Faster loading times – the faster the page loads, the better.
• Optimization for mobile devices – Responsive design is mandatory, but not sufficient. You should also constantly check your own shop on Mobile to detect problems at an early stage.
• A clear shop structure – It must be immediately apparent which function can be found where. The individual categories and product classifications should also be logically comprehensible. This helps users, as well as the Google algorithm.
• Smooth operation of the individual functions – A filter function and similar elements are only helpful if they are perfectly matched to the intention of the user!

In addition, a search engine optimized online shop must have the necessary technical finesse. These include, for example:

• SSL encryption ensures a secure connection – HTTPS encryption has been an official ranking factor since 2014. The SSL certificate is no longer a secret tip – but if you don’t have one yet, you should switch to HTTPS as soon as possible.
• Canonical Tags – These tags show the Google algorithm which URL is the original version. This is especially helpful with product variants and prevents problems with duplicate content.
• Referrals – When products are removed from the range, it is imperative that the relevant page is redirected to a similar product, successor model or category.
• Internal links – When cleverly chosen anchor texts are used to suggest other relevant products (or blog articles), this is a sign of relevance and clarity for Google.

At the technical level, there are a lot of other points that need to be considered in online shops.

4) Correct use of texts

Apart from the non-commercial content, by far the most important texts of an online shop are the category pages: Most people first want to browse and be able to choose from several products.

This makes it all the more important to use category texts strategically. Such a text should have the following characteristics:

• contains the main keyword as well as important secondary keywords in the right places (e.g. in the H1, the first 100 words and in at least one H2)
• Offers real added value instead of purely promotional phrases
• aims at the wishes and possible concerns of the target audience

For this purpose it is worthwhile to read product reviews in other shops. What criticisms did customers have of competing products? How can you improve your service so that similar problems do not arise in the first place? Customer focus is the key to a successful online shop.

Product pages, on the other hand, are not as important as category pages, but should not be neglected. The first rule is: never use the manufacturer’s text! This can already be found in enough other shops and can be understood by Google as duplicate content.

In a nutshell: Category pages are the best way to pick up important commercial keywords. Texts about categories and products should be a bit longer, because very short descriptions can lead to duplicate/thin content and users like to research them. Transparency is a must.

5) Optimize Google Snippet

The Google Snippet, consisting of Title Tag and Meta Description, is the flagship of a page and can significantly increase the click rate. However, this only works if it is immediately clear what the page is about and whether the searched for can be found there. These factors are important:

• Keyword in Title Tag and Meta Description
• Teaser to page content
• Talking URL that contains the keyword.

All of the above steps fall within the scope of OnPage optimization. Beyond that, however, it also plays a role what happens offside.

In addition to the SEO work on the shop itself, it is therefore important to establish links by requesting backlinks from other industry-relevant sites. These external links should preferably not have the nofollow attribute, otherwise the link will not be counted by Google. To be honest, building links requires a lot of time and the search for cooperation partners is not always easy.

SEO for online stores consists of many small cogs. If all these components mesh together, this will lead to better Google rankings in the long run and is the most important strategy in online marketing in the long run – an effort that pays off.