Importance of SEO for eCommerce Website Owners

It can be a period of recession for your e-commerce website if you are not using SEO.

According to a study, the market size of E-commerce transactions in the USA was $74, 360 billion approximately in 2004. In the year 2014, this number reached to the level of $304, 913. Now this is a growth of flat 310 percent.

No other industry in this world is increasing at this rate. If you own an e-commerce website and clocking an average growth of 20 percent per annum then this is the right time for you to meet the best SEO Company, it is true that you have a presence on internet but still you are losing the advantage of “Place” in the world of “the internet real estate”

SEO Can Convert Your E-Commerce Website Into A Happening Place

The 4P’s of Marketing as defined by Marketing Guru Philip Kotler are not redundant in the era of E-commerce and E-retailing. Customers are searching for goods with the help of keywords and these keywords are creating a new “Prime Real Estate” or a “Commercial Place” on the internet.

An average dictionary of English language carries more than 86000 words; each combination of words can give rise to a keyword. Now see the expansion of real estate created by search engines, we have umpteen possibilities waiting to unleash themselves.

Search Engine optimization or SEO is a process that makes sure your presence in WWW real estate. If your web page flashes right kind of keywords and promising content, then you always have this chance to improve your rankings and attract more money on your web page.

First Three Pages Are The Prime Location

It means that if somebody searches for the product category in which you are dealing and your name is not present in the first three pages of search engine than 30 percent people will never reach to you because they will convert into business on first three pages. It is true that you are offering a better product at a competitive price; still, you will lose the battle because you were not visible. Hire Professional ecommerce SEO services from a reputed name and set a goal to increase your rating and see your business flourishing.

There Is A Game Beyond The Words As Well

We are emphasizing over professional players because when it comes to your ranking on a search engine than many other things like the type of your website, lack of “Speaking URL’s” or presence of too much duplicate content can bring you down in the race.

A sensible SEO firm can help you in all possible ways to score better. They can optimize your page and increase its usability. They can crease out many factors that can become a hindrance in the process of Ranking. So stop living in a recession and join the boom time in the world of World Wide Web.

How Else Do You Expect Someone To Find You?

This is valid for all non-friends and non-family individuals who you can’t reach via word of mouth. You’re out there; you have an e-commerce business and you want to grow. What do you do next?

Do you start going berserk and all out on paid advertising on Google and Facebook? That’s like putting a bullet through your head. Given how competitive the industry is getting on a daily basis; taking the full-on ‘paid’ plunge will do you more damage than good.

You can’t keep outbidding your competitors all the time unless you’re Bill Gates. You’re no Bill Gates, are you? Hence, opting for an organic method is a need of the hour if you’re looking to stay in the game long term.

Here enters SEO

This is where SEO enters the fray, giving you credible answers to all your questions. SEO will help you soar in the rankings and allow you to capture the market from an unparalleled angle. Given the frantic smartphone age where everything is a simple Google search away, procuring a potent ecommerce SEO strategy is a foregone conclusion.

Google accounts for over 76% of all global desktop search traffic, followed by Bing at 8%, Baidu at 7.5% and Yahoo at 7%. (Source: NetMarketShare, 2016)

Because Your Target Market’s Online

Ask any Magento Ecommerce Development Company and the first reason they’ll cite for a website refurbishment is this: Retail is almost obsolete; the entire audience set is online.

75% percent of internet use will be mobile in 2017, up slightly from 2016, as a growing number of consumers around the world access the web on smartphones and tablets, media buying agency Zenith forecasts. (Source: Reuters, 2016)

No wonder SEO and SMO have become two basic yet very necessary terms these days. You just can’t exist without them if you have an e-commerce business. Not just for personal profiles; social media is for companies and brands alike.

SEO and SMM are inevitable

Often SEO and SMM are used in tandem to generate leads, improve sales, social listening and what not. SEO not only puts you on the map, but it allows you to reach to customers who matter. This is where it’s more specific and targeted in comparison to social media optimization.

Given how flooded the online world is, SEO gives you the liberty to channelize. Work on keywords that are specific to your ecommerce brand. For eg. If a visitor comes to your website after searching for ‘top red velvet cakes’; it can’t get any specific than this, can it? You not only have a strong lead but you also know what he/she is looking for.

81% of surveyed marketers have integrated social media marketing with traditional marketing to increase discoverability of their website. (Source: Social Media Examiner, 2016)

It’s All About Numbers When it Comes to E-commerce

E-commerce is all about numbers at the end of the day. And when I say numbers I mean the total number of visitors, number of new sessions, number of subscriptions, number of returning visitors, new weekly sales, number of conversions and so much more.

This game of numbers is what every digital marketing head gets paid for. And SEO diverts the number graph on a positive spectrum. It leads to an increase in the number of visitors which ultimately leads to an increase in the total website sessions. And as you know; more the number of sessions, higher are the chances of getting sales.

SEO brings in a visitor base which is interested in what you’re selling; hence the odds of a lead getting converted into a sale work well in your favour. This is the reason why businesses are heavily investing in ecommerce seo services

SEO Vs. Paid Adv

You can indulge in paid advertising all day long, but it never guarantees results. And there’s only so much you can pay day in day out. SEO is a long term game, one which is gradual and consistent. However, once you get there, its business heaven quite literally.

There is no better source of targeted organic traffic in the world. Might not seem like it, but SEO is perhaps the most important facet in the e-commerce wheel.

Ever heard of local SEO? Yea, this is an important one too. Google’s constant optimization regime has brought forth local SEO wherein it showcases relevant local businesses to individuals in accordance with their real time location. Sounds like a win-win situation, isn’t it?

72% of consumers who did a localsearch visited a store within five miles. (Source: WordStream, 2016)

Because Staying in Google’s Good Books is Mighty Important

Google accounts for over 94% of all mobile/tablets searchtraffic globally, followed by Yahoo at 3% and Bing at 1%. (Source: NetMarketShare, 2016)

I guess that stat is enough in itself to convince you. Google’s the daddy of the online world without one shadow of a doubt. How is this relevant you ask? It’s because Google wants websites, especially e-commerce websites to adopt robust SEO regimes, both on page and off page.

Not in the interest of businesses; but so that customers across the world i.e. the general folk get the most fruitful results from their search strings. Google strives for Excellency to a cellular level, which is why it wants to showcase the best brands, the best products and the best experience.

Separate yourself from an average

Given the heat there is on online businesses because of rising competition, there has to be a benchmark; a barometer which separates you from every other average Joe out there. This is what SEO is all about!

It not only puts you higher up in the ranking for everyone to see; but puts you well and truly in the good books of Google, which is where you want to be. Google uses a variety of parameters to rank your website on the lines of SEO; all of which are important in one way or the other.

According to AndreyLipattsev, Search Quality Senior Strategist at Google, high quality content and link building are the two most important signals used by Google to rank your website for search. (Source: Search Engine Watch, 2016)

Spreading the Word Both Literally and Metaphorically

If you own an e-commerce website, you’ll probably have a blog as well, right? If no, then call your woocommerce experts right away to set up a blog on your ecommerce website as it is a big SEO and engagement pillar.

Good SEO helps you to spread your brand everywhere. Not even social media has such a big reach. If you’re impressed by the number of visitors Facebook gets on a daily basis; imagine the numbers Google generates. Hope this brings enough clarity.

A Backlinko report revealed that longer content tends to rank higher. The averagefirstpageresult on Google contains 1,890 words. (Source: Backlinko, 2016)

This is why original and unique content is the key to an effective SEO strategy; one which needs to be implemented right from the off. It will help your audience to stay connected with what your brand has to offer, driving invaluable engagement your way. This is one of the biggest metrics taken into an account by Google.

62% of B2B marketers and 51% of B2Cmarketers have optimized their blogs for mobile in order to improve SEO. (Source: Social Media Examiner, 2016)

Hence, SEO helps you to showcase your range and what you’re good at. Its not as if just the home page is being spread through the search engine results. Your website contains multiple URLs and every single one of them is an option that can and will be listed. This way the targeted customer can directly visit your category or product page or can even land at your blog wherein he/she will find all the necessary information.

Having trouble what to analyze before finalizing with a best SEO agency or freelancer? Here’s the key you can follow to make sure you partner up for good:

What To Consider While Hiring e-Commerce SEO Services

• First things first, consider the audience that you’re targeting.
• Take into consider the average age, demographics, behaviour and every other parameter relevant to your target market.
• It goes without saying that you need to comply with your budget.
• Consider the monthly sales you’re after and project numbers accordingly. There’s no point spending big if your expected sales aren’t enough, is it?
• Before you take the plunge, know that SEO is not a quickfire method to get you up there on the top; it is a slow and gradual process.
• Take into account the customer feedback that you’ve been getting; the things that are working for you and the things that aren’t going that well. As this will help improve on your landing page, which is what turns leads into customers. SEO is not a direct giver of sales; it puts you in a position wherein it brings individuals to your website and allows your services/products and deals offered to take over from there.

Here are some tips for you to keep your website SEO in check.

e-Commerce SEO Checklist

• Maintain a blog which you update regularly at least once a week. Make sure you use content that is relevant and unique along with images preferably.
• Execute internal linking in a seamless manner such that no web page is left unlisted and customers can have a smooth experience throughout the intricacies of your website.
• Make sure your website is optimized on the lines of speed and user experience.
• Indulge in URL and image optimization i.e. your URLs should be simple, precise and should contain keywords. And your images should be ideally sized without compromising the quality and accompanied with ALT text
• All your web pages should include meta text, meta description, keywords, etc.
• Introduce as many content based sections on your website as you can i.e. category blurbs, product descriptions, content in the footer.
• Use SMO to enhance conversations about your brand, traction and overall engagement.
• Use off page SEO techniques in tandem with on page measures.
• Indulge in off page activities like article posting, image posting, directory submission, image submissions, PDF submissions, PPT submissions, local listing, social bookmarking, forum posting, blog commenting and other effective techniques.

Conclusion:

In today’s competitive market, with the help of Magento eCommerce development company, having a feature rich ecommerce website with attractive design is not enough, SEO has the right potential to boost sales and revenue of your ecommerce website in long run. If done properly, SEO will put your ecommerce brand on top of the search results which in fact will put you on top of your competition

What other aspects of seo and digital marketing are important for any ecommerce business? Share your thoughts in the comment box below