SEO for e-commerce can always be daunting. There are so many confusing terms and strategies. Long-tail. Short-tail. Panda. Hummingbird.
How do you know which one is best for your company?
Oftentimes, your e-commerce platform has a lot to do with your SEO performance. Other times, your marketing strategy is the thing that makes the difference. Let's look at a couple of things to consider when looking to improve your e-commerce SEO.
Consider Your UX
Analyzing your page load time can make a difference in SERP rank. Users don't like waiting for pages to load and oftentimes will leave the site if the page is taking too long.
Around 18% of shoppers abandon the cart if the page loads too slowly (Radware). A delay of 400 ms (the blink of an eye) causes frustration (The New York Times) and a half-second delay results in 20% less traffic to the site (Google). Even if shoppers stick around, they are less engaged and satisfied by a slow site. Reducing page load time by 100 ms can increase sales by 1% (Findory). Slow pages also rank lower in searches, are less likely to get indexed by search engines, and are less likely to be recommended by word of mouth. (source)
Utilize Schema Markup
Google has released several different algorithm updates, but with Hummingbird in 2013, we saw the introduction of "semantic value." In order to allow Google to better interpret the semantic value in your content, you should consider implementing the correct schema markup on your site. With shcema markup you can correctly define items like products, offers, and reviews, allowing Google to pull them correctly for searches. Visit schema.org for more information about adding this content to your own website.
Audit & Be Patient
Consider making a content audit for your e-commerce site. The good people over at Moz have a few great resources for conducting one on your own. Visit that article here to find a Pocket Guide PDF and webinar.
It takes time for Google to re-index your site after making any significant changes to your code. You simply cannot expect results immediately. Patience is key during this time, and you should focus your efforts on sharing your audited or revamped content through your marketing channels. Pushing visitors to your new, audited content will help you start generating some data you can compare. Has your bounce rate improved? Have you risen in rankings yet?
Be patient. It takes time.
More Tips
If you're searching for tips for this year, check out this blog post for a complete guide to our Do's and Don'ts of SEO. We've covered several topics that can help guide you to making better decisions for your e-commerce, always keeping revenue in mind.
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