With 23.6% of ecommerce transactions directly associated with organic traffic and 44% of consumers initiating their online shopping journey via a search engine, it’s easy to see why technical SEO is absolutely critical for an online store.
Think about it: The top five results on search engine results pages (SERPs) attract over two-thirds of all clicks, and an astounding 75% of users don’t venture beyond the first SERP page. Therefore, leveraging technical SEO not only enhances your website’s visibility but also significantly improves the likelihood of attracting and retaining a substantial customer base.
Not sure where to start? Here are some of the best ways to use technical SEO to improve your ecommerce website’s ranking in 2023:
1. Run a technical SEO audit.
A quick audit can pinpoint and fix problematic areas. Even if you’ve done an audit before, regular re-evaluations are useful due to the evolving nature of SEO algorithms and factors.
Specialized evaluation tools like SEMrush and Screaming Frog can be useful, but if you want something more in-depth and insightful, contact SEOValley. We provide technical SEO audits for all our clients before proposing a custom digital marketing plan for them. Our extensive evaluations look at your on page SEO factors, potential redirect issues, and linking strategy, among other things.
SEOValley provides audits for websites of all sizes. We start by understanding your business, audience, and marketing goals. Our experts then thoroughly review your website, offering valuable insights and solutions for your SEO strategy. The audit report you’ll receive won’t just be a spreadsheet. It will be a comprehensive report that highlights problems and identifies opportunities for better rankings and traffic.
Every audit we conduct is done manually, offering you a dedicated consultation and help with implementing changes. Book a website audit today.
2. Fix your URLs.
URLs often get overlooked especially by huge shopping sites that host thousands of products. Most content management systems generate URLs automatically, which can end up being chaotic and look something like: http://yourstore.com/index.php?= 2565124=e13=?p=25. This URL is suboptimal because it fails to provide search engines with meaningful information for ranking this page.
A better URL would resemble this: http://www.yourwinestore.com/whitewine/sauvignon-blanc. In this case, it’s easy to see the name of your ecommerce website, the product category (white wine), and the specific product (Sauvignon Blanc).
3. Evaluate your website architecture.
A properly-organized website not only guides users effectively but also makes it simpler for search engines to crawl and index everything you want them to find. The more intuitive your site architecture, the better your ranking.
You might need to reassess your website’s navigation hierarchy to boost your technical SEO. To understand if your website’s pages have a logical flow, map them out in a hierarchical tree structure. Analyze your navigation menus, category and product pages, internal linking, and URL structures, too.
4. Optimize your images.
Google depends on alt text (image descriptions) to understand what a picture is about, so properly-optimized images can enhance your Google ranking.
Keep your image descriptions brief yet detailed. For instance, if you’re describing a bottle of white wine, specifying the style/variety (like chardonnay or Riesling) is much better than merely labeling it as “white wine”. Keep in mind the importance of keyword optimization in this scenario to fully leverage technical ecommerce SEO. Also, remember to reduce the image size to ensure quicker loading times.
Beyond technical SEO
Aside from making sure that everything technical is in order, it’s also important to prioritize high-quality content such as infographics, videos, articles, and blogs. After all, content continues to be king—and this probably won’t change.
Producing content adhering to E-A-T guidelines (expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) has emerged as a top SEO priority in 2023. Furthermore, search intent remains a vital factor in conducting keyword research and generating high-quality content that effectively guides customers through the sales funnel. In this landscape, your content must align with the evolving search behaviors and expectations of your target audiences, ensuring an engaging, informative, and user-friendly experience.
SEOValley can help you with all aspects of ecommerce SEO. Contact us to request a site audit, and we’ll go from there.
