As more and more companies jump in to E-Commerce and begin utilizing online selling platforms, SEO becomes increasingly important.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is what allows your content to reach users. When someone completes a search, whether on Google, Yahoo, Bing, or some other search engine, that platform scours the Internet and looks for certain content, picking out what it deems most relevant. Then, it presents that content to the user in the form of search results. To choose which content is is the most relevant, the search engine looks for a few key things. These include keywords, phrases, titles, meta descriptions, alt text, and more.

As an E-Commerce business owner, you want your products and website to be what comes up in search results. To make that happen, you need to optimize your website and content accordingly. To put it simply, the better your SEO, the more frequently you will appear in search results. Better SEO = better reach.

There are a few easy ways that you can quickly improve your SEO today, so that you can start optimizing your website and bring in more traffic.

Include relevant title, header, and body keywords

One of the most important aspects of SEO are keywords. No matter the type of website content, it is crucial to include specific keywords and phrases in your titles, headers, and body copy.

There are many ways to locate which SEO keywords you should use. There are websites and other generators that can indicate which words to use based upon your subject matter. Though some softwares require paid accounts, there are free options as well.

Surprisingly, Google itself is actually a great tool for locating keywords. Open a Google search page and begin typing the subject of your content into the search bar. When you do this, Google will begin suggesting relevant commonly searched phrases. Those phrases are perfect to use as keywords! Once you gather a good amount of relevant words and phrases, add them to your copy as seamlessly and organically as possible.

 

Write meta descriptions for all pages

A meta description includes a few short sentences that summarize the content of the page. This text shows up in search results and briefly describes what is located at that specific website. With room for up to 160 characters, meta descriptions are a great tool to use to optimize SEO and increase visibility. To optimize these descriptions, utilize the practice as described above and insert keywords and phrases accordingly.

Use title tags for the page, headers, and subheadings

When creating title tags, it is important to make them as relevant as possible. They need to be on topic, as these tags are the words that appear in a Google search result as the clickable title.

When writing your page copy, it is equally important to use relevant titles for the headings and subheadings as well. Using H1 and H2 copy, phrase titles using relevant wording. Reference content that pertains to what is included within the body paragraphs. In doing this, search engines are able to identify the type of content included, and can therefore provide your page as a source when relevant.

Upload images with related titles

When inserting images into your page, be sure that the images have relevant titles. Search engines read this content just as strongly as the page copy itself, so it is important to remember to name your visual elements accordingly. Most E-Commerce platforms have a built-in image folder where your uploaded files are stored. They typically allow you to rename files within that folder, even after uploading. Be sure to check in to this and name your files based upon their subject matter.

Utilize the alt tag field on images

While we are on the subject of images, it is important to note that using the “alt tag field” is crucial. Image alt tags describe the image itself, and there are multiple uses for this.

Website readers are systems that read webpage content out loud. These are commonly used by impaired users. When these website readers are used, they will read alt tags out loud. This allows impaired users to know what is included in an image’s content.

Some users choose to browse website content with loading images. In doing this, they can achieve faster load speeds and read a page free of clutter. Alt tags will tell them what was included in the omitted image.

In both cases, alt tags make the experience that much better for users. Not only do alt tags improve accessibility for impaired users, but they also allow you the ability to sneak in some additional keywords. The alt tags themselves will be picked up by search engines as additional content, and this will help improve your reach.

Include internal links

A great way to boost your SEO ranking is through the use of internal links. Internal links serve as additional resources and therefore make your page appear more useful and valuable. Be sure to link to pages and content that is relevant to what your are discussing. Use it as a way to share information that will be helpful to the user and increase the quality of your content.

Do, however, avoid overdoing it. Linking to too many internal sources can be seen as spam and can actually wind up reducing your rank. To avoid this, limit your internal links to about 1-2 per page.

Optimize your URLs

When creating URLs, be sure to make them relevant and keep them on topic. The part of a URL that you are able to edit is called a slug, and this is the part of the text that you have free reign with. For example, in the URL “sarahquinney.com/7-quick-and-easy-seo-tips,” “7-quick-and-easy-seo-tips” is the slug.

When writing URLs, make sure they make sense and are relevant to the content of the page. Do not use a bunch of random letters and numbers, as this does nothing for your SEO rank. By giving your URLs relevant titles, you tell search engines the overall topic of the page. Right from the start, it is clear what your page is about.

 

I hope these quick tips allow you to jumpstart your SEO practices and begin optimizing your content!

Sarah

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. When you are ready to grow your e-commerce business?  

Here are 3 options to start and scale your E-Commerce Brand with Sarah:

1.The E-Commerce Women In Business Mastermind – Your E-Commerce Membership Community with hands-on support with my dream team to start and scale your online store.

2. VIP 1:1 E-Commerce Coaching – My Blue Ribbon and Private 1:1 E-Commerce coaching for established brands looking for next level growth and support.

3. Facebook Ads for E-Commerce Stores. Learn or how to manage your own ads or employ our Facebook Ad Strategist to scale your brand.