One of the biggest challenges you might face while setting up an eCommerce website will be optimizing product pages for search engines. This process of optimizing individual product pages to rank higher in organic search results is called on-page SEO and is one of the most crucial components that will inevitably decide your online sales.
Even though the on-page SEO of eCommerce sites might seem like an arduous task, it is still doable.
Why is on-page SEO important?
Simply put, ranking higher in organic search results increases the chances for your website to generate traffic – which ultimately leads to higher chances for a successful sale. And with on-page SEO, you are increasing the chances of each product page to rank higher in search results.
How to implement on-page SEO for eCommerce sites?
Once you have successfully completed the keyword research for your website, you need to place these keywords throughout your website effectively – and that is achieved through on-page SEO. Let’s look at the crucial components of an eCommerce category and product pages and how to do on-page SEO, step by step.
Optimize URLs
Placing your primary keyword in the URL is the easiest and most effective way to improve your search rankings. Also, when creating URLs, make sure they are user friendly (easy to read) and don’t contain many numbers or confusing characters.
Here’s an example.
Image showing a URL containing the primary keyword of a product page.
2. Include Keywords in Title Tag
In the title tag, make sure you place the primary keyword as close to the beginning of the title as possible. Here’s an example.
Image showing the title tag of an eCommerce website’s product page.
Along with that, you need to optimize your title tag to boost Click-Through-Rate. This is because Google uses organic CTR as a crucial factor to determine search rankings. The higher the CTR, the better for your search rankings as well as your sales.
For this purpose, you can include click magnet words like the following in your eCommerce product pages:
- Lowest Price
- Sale
- Free Shipping
- Guaranteed
- X% off
3. Use Header Tags
The header tags are HTML elements, ranging from H1 to H6, used to differentiate headings and subheadings from paragraphs or other types of text on a web page.
Even though headers aren’t vital for a website’s ranking, it will improve the scannability and readability of your website for your customers – indirectly affecting your website’s ranking.
4. Optimize Meta Title and Description
The meta title and description are collectively called metadata. In the meta title, make sure you include important keywords, specifically towards the beginning of the title.
Previously, the meta description used to be a crucial part of on-page SEO, but not anymore. However, the meta description is now super important when it comes to click-through rates as it gives customers a glimpse of what you offer.
Here’s an example.
Image showing the metadata of a product page.
Also, just as in title tags, you can include click magnet words in the description tag to improve your CTR.
5. Include Keywords in Paragraph Copy
For category pages, you should include a paragraph copy as an introduction, which must consist of at least 300 words. Also, make sure you include your keywords a minimum of two to three times.
6. Write Informative Product Descriptions
In product pages, write a product description of at least 1000 words with your keywords included at least three to five times. This will not only help Google understand what your product page is about, but will also help your customers get an in-depth understanding of the product you offer. As a result, make sure you focus on writing high-quality, informative content.
If you find it almost impossible to write up to 1000 words for all your product pages, then at the very least, try to do it for important products. Also, along with the primary keywords, you must sprinkle LSI keywords in the content too. Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords are terms or phrases closely related to the primary keyword.
7. Optimize Image Alt Texts
As search engines can’t read images, you need to provide image alt-texts which tells them what an image is about. Image alt-texts have two crucial advantages:
One – It gives you another opportunity to include your product keywords.
Two – It increases your chances of showing up in Google image results, which is another excellent way to gain organic traffic.
Here’s an example of an image alt text.
An example of image-alt text in Amazon. Image Credits: moz.com
8. Optimize Image File Name
The image file name refers to the name by which you saved the image. Make sure you name each image file meaningful. For example, if it is an image of a chocolate bar, name it as chocolate.jpeg (or whichever the file format) and never name it anything generic like image1.jpeg.
However, make sure you don’t stuff keywords into file names as it can negatively impact your site’s ranking. If you are using multiple words in an image file name, make sure you separate them with dashes instead of underscores.
Read our eCommerce SEO case studies to learn how well-executed on-page optimisation helps boost a site’s growth.
Why Internal Linking is important for eCommerce SEO?
Surprisingly, internal linking is the most overlooked, yet essential component for eCommerce SEO. As the name suggests, internal linking allows you to link one web page of your website to another, using anchor texts.
As a matter of fact, internal linking is not entirely crucial for SEO alone. Instead, they help your customers access different contents on your website, thereby making it even more critical.
If a customer spends more time on your website by visiting multiple pages, then it will significantly lower your bounce rate – helping your eCommerce website rank even higher in organic search results. Also, with internal linking, you help search engines index your content and better understand the theme your site holds.
For an eCommerce website, internal linking increases its chances of making a sale.
For example, if a customer visits your website as a window shopper, there is a chance that they might mindlessly click on internal links and end up with the product they had in mind. Furthermore, internal linking will help customers easily find variations of a product or products to buy as a pack.
Wrapping It Up
As discussed, on-page SEO is a crucial step that decides an eCommerce website’s ranking in organic search results. However, it can’t be done and left unattended. With changes in your keyword research, you need to tweak your site’s on-page SEO continually.
Most importantly, make sure you fulfil search intent and satisfy your customers by giving exactly what they want. Follow these steps, and you will witness better organic traffic to your website gradually over time.
Need help to drive those valuable organic search traffic to your eCommerce website? Ask us for a free audit check your website now!
