SEO, or search engine optimization, sometimes gets a bad rap. Marketers and eCommerce merchants alike tend to treat it as some sort of elusive beast that is not only fickle but ultimately impossible to tame.
Granted, Google is constantly rolling out core updates that slightly change the game, but for the most part, the skeleton of SEO is actually the same as it was 10 years ago.
You need a secure, fast site, no broken links, good content (no keyword stuffing, dupe content, and so on and so forth), and a sensible site structure.
Maybe some small procedural aspects of SEO have changed, but the fundaments of eCommerce SEO services are and have always been the same.
Take it from us. We’ve been offering SEO services for eCommerce websites for ten years.
On that note, we’re going to divulge 5 things you can do – today! – to make your product pages rank more effectively in the organic search results.
Disclaimer: you need to do keyword research first
First, a caveat. There is one part of this that isn’t easy, and that’s keyword research. You don’t want to throw darts at the board because you are literally working with infinite keyword variations and each of them is associated with different competitive density, difficulty, volume, and search intent.
Keyword research is the sort of thing you hire an SEO agency for, to enlist them for eCommerce SEO services.
But, if you’ve already done your keyword research, and you have a target list of viable options, you can put these optimizations into place right now.
1. Rewrite the product descriptions
First and foremost, pick a product page and read the description.
Step one: if it is a duplicate description, that is, one you got from a manufacturer (or just copied and pasted from somewhere else) throw it out. It’s not doing you any favors.
This is sin number one committed by the vast majority of product pages on the web. Online merchants are busy (we get it) and adding pages is tough and time-consuming. So, they just fill in the description in their online store with whatever is preexisting on the manufacturer’s website.
It gets the job done, right?
Well, no. Google can see that it is duplicate copy and can also tell which domain had it published first; if yours is secondary, Google considers you a plagiarist and you won’t get the best rankings. You might actually get a penalty.
So, rewrite that copy. Include helpful information about the product, such as features and benefits. Also, point out anything unique you learned about the product while using it – that sort of thing, that’s what potential customers are looking for.
Make sure that you include at least one instance of the target keyword in that description, but more than one is not needed. Too many and you’ll get flagged for keyword stuffing.
Also, we know writing is not everyone’s thing, but do your best with it. Try to make it creative or attention-grabbing. Have fun with it. You want to catch the eye of visitors to your website, not just Google’s crawlers.
2. Add a header including your keywords
This is the easiest step in this whole guide. Check your product description. If it says “Description,” rewrite it.
It can be tempting just to title the product page whatever the actual name of the product is, but if you can do that and include a target keyword, your chances of ranking higher in the search engine results pages will go through the roof.
Also, here’s an insider tip. If there is no existing “Description” header, inside the body copy on the page, use <h2> and </h2> tags to create your own header.
Google will see it and your impressions for your chosen keyword should improve within a matter of days, as long as the page is indexed.
3. Take your own pictures, compress and upload them
Duplicate photos are also not doing you any favors. Not only are they cheap and hokey (two traits that are conversion-killers) but if they are duplicate files, Google will see that and flag them.
That’s right, just like copy, image files can be duplicates, and in neither case is it a good thing for eCommerce SEO.
So, instead, take your own pictures, take a few, and make sure they’re good. We know this is time-consuming but it is important. Hire a freelance photographer or farm it out to a talented employee if you must.
You need attractive, original product photography if you want your product pages to flourish.
Also, one more insider tip. Before uploading your images to your website, use a tool such as TinyPNG (either the website or the plugin) to compress your images.
In most cases, original image sizes are way too big and will severely slow down your product pages. This is a really big problem for most web pages, as a small drop in loading speed will tank your technical SEO.
So, take your own pictures, compress them, then upload them.
4. Add alt text to your images
One more simple suggestion while we’re on the topic of images. After you upload your images, open the file and inspect all the alt data. On most popular platforms like WordPress and BigCommerce, editing alt text is easy.
You can get as descriptive as you like, but all you need to do is include the target keywords for which you want the page to rank. Choose the same keyword or keywords that you included in the header tag and in the page body copy.
That will give you just a slight boost, but every little bit will help.
5. Add links to other relevant products or categories
Last but not least, we have one suggestion that will improve the internal linking structure of your website’s product pages, which in turn will help SEO – and which can even open up opportunities for conversion-rate optimization in the form of cross and upselling.
Take the product page in question – the one that you are trying to optimize – and think to yourself if there are any similar products or categories that are relevant to that product.
If so, post links in the body copy to the relevant categories or products, with a note that customers that like the product in question also often purchase or use a different one.
This will, in general, increase your sessions per visit metric, which is a good signal as far as Google is concerned and either directly affects SEO or has a splash effect that does, so either way, it’s a good thing.
That means it will help your pages rank more effectively – but even if it doesn’t, you’ll still be funneling qualified traffic towards additional products and categories in which they may be interested and convert, so there are multiple reasons to do this.
Let Our eCommerce SEO Services Do the Heavy Lifting
The hardest two suggestions here have to do with product photography and keyword research, and our eCommerce SEO services can definitely help with one of them – the latter.
If you’re not sure where to start with SEO in general, get in touch with our eCommerce SEO experts and let them know what your goals are.
We’ll help you develop an eCommerce SEO strategy plan to meet them in the long term – and by the way, our services include product page optimization – so don’t wait.