While the core notion of optimizing websites to boost visibility in organic search rankings remains constant, the strategies by which organizations go about doing so shift with the trends.
Be confident that, regardless of the adoption of new trends in 2022, SEO is here to go a long way.
SEO matters. According to Forbes, SEO matters more than any of the new strategies that many business owners have come across recently.
That being said, you should have a great SEO strategy as a person in the eCommerce industry. Because of the great number of pages containing products and services, you have to work even harder to make your optimization even better than other sites.
SEO is the foundation of any eCommerce digital marketing strategy. Of course, certain SEO strategies that were once effective have become irrelevant as search engine algorithms have developed to better match user intent and eliminate spammy, useless tactics.
Don’t worry, though. Whether you’re an SEO expert or a simple novice, we have the strategies you need for ranking an eCommerce site in 2022. We’ll help you figure out how to market your eCommerce store to rank higher on Google.
Site Structure
Before we start discussing how you should go about creating each product page, we should talk about what the structure of your site should look like.
Your site structure could make the difference between a customer buying your products and exiting your website. If you have a website structure that is difficult to follow, you could lose customers quickly.
There are a few common rules of thumb to follow when you’re creating your website. If you already have an established eCommerce website, you’ll most likely need to make some changes.
The Three-Click Rule
The number one rule to keep in mind is that none of your products should be more than three clicks away from any page on your site. The more clicks it takes to get to a product, the lower your conversion rate will be.
The easiest way to organize your content is by creating categories for each product and then subcategories under those. From that subcategory page, your customers should be able to pick products. This method is equal to three clicks from your homepage.
However, you may only have one level of categories if you don’t have many products. Either way, you should make sure that your products are organized in some way.
Having unorganized products can make finding products difficult. Your customers won’t appreciate how difficult you’ve made it to find what they want. In fact, they could leave the site altogether.
Many eCommerce site owners have trouble keeping their click-rate under control because they want their site to look clean and pretty. However, there are still plenty of ways to keep your website aesthetically pleasing while keeping search engine optimization in mind.
Simple Is Better
When you’re looking at creating your categories for your products, you have to keep it simple. When customers are looking for their preferred products, they are looking for broad terms rather than specific ones.
Your categories shouldn’t be too specific. If you want to give your customers the option of choosing colors, sizes, styles, and other more specific characteristics, you should do this through product filtering rather than categories.
For example, a clothing store may divide its products by gender and then by kind. When their customers view the list under these categories, they should filter through their preferred size and color.
Having a cleaner look for your website is better for viewers overall. They won’t be overwhelmed by too many elements and can find what they need to quickly.
Keyword Usage
If you know anything about SEO, you know that keywords make all of the difference when it comes to ranking your site higher on search engines like Google. Normally, sites will use keywords that are popularly searched by their target audience.
If you can figure out what people are searching, you can find the perfect keywords to target on each page of your site.
Using keywords for eCommerce sites is more complicated than using keywords with other sites. When you’re crafting your keywords for your eCommerce site, you need to think like a consumer. What would a consumer type into Google or another search engine to find your product(s)?
For example, your potential customer may search for “Gold Necklaces” when they’re on a search engine. If you’re selling gold necklaces, you want to optimize those pages to that search.
Finding the Right Keywords
Many website owners will conduct keyword research before they determine what the keywords for their web pages are going to be. As I explained, you want to get into the heads of your target audience and figure out how they’re going to be searching for your products.
You could use a keyword finder or conduct research yourself. Either way, you’ll find that keywords tend to be broad, especially for eCommerce products.
Keep in mind that every page on your website should have a keyword whether it’s the main page or a product page. However, you should differentiate your keywords as appropriate.
Short vs. Long Keywords
There is a such thing as a keyword that is too short. Avoiding these on your eCommerce site is going to be difficult.
If you sell coffee, you may think that your customers will type “coffee” into the Google search. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Keywords are broad, but they aren’t that broad.
Think about what you searched the last time you were shopping online. You might have typed a few adjectives in when you were searching.
Customers typically search for color, size, material, type, and other characteristics as well as the broad product name. Most eCommerce websites aim to have their keywords from three to five words so that they cover these details without becoming too specific.
Using the Right Keywords
Once you’ve determined what keywords you want to use, you should make sure that you are sprinkling them throughout the web page. However, you don’t want the keyword to eat the entire page. Just make sure that it’s noticeable but not glaring.
Your keyword should be used less than a handful of times throughout your web page. If the page is a short product description, one or two uses may be enough (in addition to the product name and/or category).
If your eCommerce store has a blog (which it should), you’ll need to be more intentional and liberal with your keyword usage.
Addressing Product Descriptions
Product descriptions are arguably the most tedious things to deal with when it comes to an eCommerce site. Every product should have a product description.
Somehow, all of them have to be accurate, informative, and at least somewhat entertaining.
Needless to say, product descriptions are difficult. Optimizing them is even harder.
However, we have a few tips that are bound to help your product descriptions draw a higher spot on search engines. The key remains the same: think like a consumer.
Deciding on the Length
The length of a product description does matter. Typically, product descriptions are too short.
Your products should have descriptions that consist of 300 to 800 words of descriptive, attention-grabbing content. For your more popular products, you should look at making the product descriptions at least 1000 words.
This may seem like too many words, but it is important for optimizing those lesser-visited pages on your site and promoting those more popular pages.
Remember Those Keywords
Keywords in product descriptions still matter. You should use your primary keyword (the one that you want to target the most) about three to five times in your product description.
You can sprinkle other keywords that you may want to include throughout the description from there. Keep in mind that you don’t want to oversaturate your description with keywords. You still need to talk about the product.
If you don’t include any keywords in your product description, your product pages aren’t likely to rank very well on search engines. While this may not seem important as compared to the ranking of your main page, it is definitely imperative for shoppers who are looking for something specific.
Use Popular Wording
When they’re searching for products, consumers typically use words like “sale” or “free shipping.” You should be using this kind of wording in your product descriptions.
If a product is on sale, it should be noted in the description. Links directly to your product will rank higher on search engines if you use these kinds of words. Plus, consumers will enjoy seeing these words if they are looking for a great price.
There are some other things you may want to take into consideration, such as quality. If you’re selling clothing, you may want to use phrases like “high quality” or “sustainably-sourced.” If you’re selling jewelry, you may want to say phrases like “hand-crafted” or “real gold.”
Your popular phrases are going to depend on what kind or kinds of products you’re selling. Some research on Google can tell you what others are searching for when they’re buying your products.
Just start typing in some of your products and see what some of the popular searches are surrounding that kind of product. Use these phrases to craft your product descriptions.
Understanding Links
Just like a blog that is following search engine optimization, your product descriptions should include links. This can be a little tricky.
When you’re describing your product, you don’t want to confuse your customers with a million links. Plus, figuring out what to link can seem impossible. However, eCommerce sites can follow a few basic rules to get their linking started.
Link categories.
When you’re describing a product, you can link the category that is under. This brings consumers to similar products so that they can choose from those if the current product isn’t to their liking.
Link other styles.
If you have product pages for similar yet different products, you could mention those other options in the product description and link to them.
Use three to five links.
When you’re linking through your product descriptions, you should only use three to five links. Three links may be better suited for shorter descriptions, while five links are better for those longer descriptions for more popular products.
Customer Reviews
If you’re looking for a boost to your search engine optimization technique that will also help with your company’s reputation, customer reviews are the way to go. Adding customer reviews to your product pages may actually help your site rank higher.
The reviews that customers leave add extra text to your site. This can help search engines gather more information about your products and what keywords they should be placing that product’s page under.
While improving your site’s ranking, it also helps build credibility with your potential customers. If a searcher can see a great review on one of your products while they’re on Google, they are more likely to click on that product’s page and purchase it.
Social Media
Promote your main pages and product pages all over your social media channels. The more that they are shared, the more that they are clicked on. The more that they are clicked on, the more popular your site will become
Search engines are built to be able to tell when a site is more popular and more engaging for visitors. This does impact your ranking on their searches.
If your product pages are going viral on Twitter, they are more likely to rank higher on search engines. The same goes for other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The best thing that you can do is share your products on your own social media platforms and encourage your followers to share them.
You may want to optimize your website so that it will rank higher and get you more views, but – ironically – you need more views to rank higher. You have to use social media to your advantage and share your pages as much as you can.
Ranking an eCommerce Site in 2022
If you’re looking at ranking an eCommerce site in 2022, you need to become a master at Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If you don’t have time for that, there’s Sarkar SEO.
With a wide range of search engine optimization services, we’re bound to have something that will help your site rank higher than it ever has. Just read our case study about the site that we took from 0 to 300,000 daily visitors in just 24 months.
To get the best SEO consultation services, just contact us. We can help you navigate the ups and downs of search engines and what they expect of your web pages.
