If you’re running an eCommerce website in 2023, then you know how important it is to rank above the competition on search engine results pages. E-commerce businesses have been popping up everywhere over the last decade and with more and more consumers turning towards online shopping the landscape is only getting more difficult to thrive. The first page of Google is one of the most effective channels to generate both traffic and sales for your business.
For your eCommerce business to get noticed past the competition, you will need to begin some element of search engine optimisation. What is the point of having a beautifully designed website if no one can find it? That is why you need to begin implementing SEO. SEO involves on-page and off-page tactics to improve your website’s visibility and ranking in search engine result pages (SERPs).
While the core elements of SEO remain the same, the algorithms are always changing. Search engines like Google make various changes to the algorithm every year, and what worked in 2022 might no longer work in 2023. As an e-commerce business, you must stay up-to-date and monitor all the latest SEO trends. In this article, we’ve created a list of the top five more effective SEO tips for an e-commerce website ranking in 2023.
SEO Tips for eCommerce Brands
1. Mobile Optimization Is Essential
Mobile devices seem to have become the preferred way for today’s consumers to browse the web and research purchases. As more and more consumers are making the shift to using their mobile devices, it’s becoming increasingly essential for e-commerce businesses to have a website optimised for mobile devices.
Google has even released statements confirming that they will use the mobile version of your website as a factor when determining your rankings. If your website isn’t properly optimised for mobile, you’re likely to see a drop in not only your page rank but also traffic and sales. There are several ways you can begin to optimise your website for mobile:
- Responsive Design
- Increase Page Speed
- Easy Navigation
- Larger Buttons
- Improved Scrolling
- Click-to-Call
Here are some facts:
-In 2020, over 80% of the businesses that were operating on the street had mobile websites according to The London Economic.
-According to Statista, one-third of all online shopping in the UK was made through the use of mobile devices.
-Only 18% of UK small businesses currently have a mobile-friendly website according to PayPal.
By following these mobile adjustments, your e-commerce businesses should be able to climb up the rankings a bit and begin to rank above the competition this year.
2. Be Sure To Use Rich Snippets
When it comes to SEO, it’s essential that search engines clearly understand what your website is all about. This is where rich snippets come into play. Rich snippets are a form of structured data that provides additional information to SERPs about your website. This extra information can include aspects such as:
- Product Pricing
- Images & Video
- Website’s Reviews
- Availability
- & More
Including rich snippets on your website, helps provide both search engines and potential customers with more information about your business. This helps search engines rank you higher on SERPs and provides users with more information to find you.
If you aren’t too sure where to start when it comes to adding rich snippets to your website, you can always get in touch with a skilled SEO agency like Finsbury Media to help. An SEO agency will be able to review your site and give you insights on how to improve your search ranking.
3. Work To Improve Your Site Speed
In today’s day and age if you have a slow website you are going to fall behind the competition regardless of your industry. A quick load time is expected by users today and is also a major ranking factor for search engines. Google has already admitted that its algorithm considers site speed into consideration when determining a website’s SERP rankings.
Not only will you see a significant drop in your rankings with a slow web design, but you will also see a drop in conversions. Nobody wants to spend time on a slow-loading website, consumers will just leave your site and visit a competitor. Further damaging your ranking by hurting your bounce rate. However, there are several ways to improve your site speed:
- Optimising images
- Use a content delivery network
- Install a plug-in
- Clear old data
The average loading time among sites ranking on page one of Google is 1.65 seconds according to Webfx. They also have researched and 83% of users online expect web pages they visit to load in three seconds or less. Keeping these in mind, Webfx also has discovered that 40% of users online will abandon a page that takes longer than three seconds to load.
If you want to see any change in your e-commerce web ranking, make sure you invest the time to improve your website’s page speed. You can use tools like Google Analytics and track key metrics such as page speed, bounce rate and search terms.
4. Start To Utilise Voice Search
Voice search has become increasingly popular in the search engine optimisation space and businesses need to begin adapting to the changes. With the release of digital assistants such as Google Home, Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa consumers are now using their voices to make searches. For eCommerce websites, this is the perfect opportunity to get ahead of the competition and begin making the right optimization techniques.
According to Google, owners who regularly use their smart speakers are 62% likely to make a purchase using voice technology. This data was recorded in 2017! Meaning these smart speakers have become daily tools in the homes of many and in the next few years, homeowners might keep as many smart speakers as they do TV in their homes. This makes it extremely important to begin optimising your website for voice searches before the competition.
When people use voice search, they tend to use full sentences or questions. This means that you should be ranking using longer, more “conversational” keywords over traditional text. The phrases you target should feel natural on your website’s content. Keep in mind that many people use voice search while in the car or moving so focus on keywords that are easy to understand and practical in these types of situations.
5 . Only Publish High-Quality Content
Although it feels as if SEO is constantly changing, one core element will always stay the same. By publishing high-quality content on a regular basis, you can quickly see a rise in your eCommerce site rankings. Try to go above and beyond what your competition is publishing and provide real value to readers. This can be done using:
- Articles
- Guest Posts
- Infographics
- Videos
- Podcasts
- & More
According to a Google survey, 85% of shoppers said that product information and pictures are important to them when deciding which business or brand to purchase from. Be sure to remember, your content should always be informative and relevant to your audience.
Along with being well-written, include some links that your readers might find useful. By publishing valuable content you will begin to attract new users to your website along with ranking higher on SERPs. As long as your website is probably optimised you should then also be able to convert them into customers.
Wrapping It Up
Any business that wants to achieve success online must invest in a search engine marketing campaign. Having a successful SEO strategy in place can make the difference between a leading company and one that struggles to be discovered online. As we already know, SEO can be a complex and ever-changing landscape. Making it especially difficult for those running businesses to keep up with the latest trends. By investing in SEO services, you can increase the visibility of your website and drive more traffic to your ecommerce store.
If you want your eCommerce website to rank higher in 2023, then you need to focus on optimising your entire site. This means maintaining your website updated with fresh content, growing your profile of quality backlinks and making adjustments wherever needed. What works today may not work tomorrow, so you must be following the trends and ready to make the necessary adjustments. By following the five tips above, you can ensure that your website will stay visible on SERPs, attract new customers, boost conversions and ultimately improve the overall success of your business.
