We live in the age of technological miracles. Just take a look around, there is technology everywhere. From medical devices, to gadgets that make life easier, and finally, the internet.
There is a reason why the internet is also referred to as the world wide web. Let’s face it, it is impossible to live without technology, in this day and age. Our life has been significantly simplified with the help of one efficient tool which is capable of satisfying literally every possible need. We no longer have to go to the mall in order to buy clothes, we can order our food at home, we have the possibility of meeting new people, play online role playing games, and the list can go on forever.
With everything just one click away, it is no surprise that webmasters and developers are making great efforts to optimize their “virtual” shops.
The Benefits of Electronic Commerce
Ecommerce has become the building block for future marketing strategies because it is fast, easy and lucrative. Moreover, if you were to open a small boutique in Atlanta, for example, it would be impossible to reach people from Dakota without investing in another boutique. In other words, it is with the help of eCommerce that you can extend your presence for miles without end.
The benefits of setting up a virtual shop are endless from both the client’s and the retailer’s perspective. Not only can you work from the comfort of your own home without having to deal with annoying costumers, but you can also provided 24 hour service to your clients. On the other hand, the client is aware that time is never enough, so he would rather purchase stuff without having to waste it racing between shops.
Must Read: Search Engine Optimization Tips for Images
How to Optimize your E-Commerce Website:
Before you start working on your eCommerce site you should at least have some basic knowledge of SEO. Search engine optimization is indeed complex, but it is not that hard to comprehend. Assuming that you know the fundamentals about it, I will focus on the subject at hand. First of all, SEO is constantly changing due to the algorithm updates, and new social networks being added. Secondly, although there is a misconception that eCommerce sites are difficult optimize, the „difficulty” lies in the fact that they are very different.
As a result you will require a special strategy. Let’s take a look at a few possible tactics:
1. Content is King
The biggest scare people get is the fact that eCommerce sites are usually large projects. Even if you have a large image gallery, you still have to provide content for each product. If you want your business to prosper you will probably want to add a lot of articles, and this means a lot of content.
Nevertheless, if you take things step by step, you can easily get the job down. Moreover, products with descriptions are user friendly. A potential customer will appreciate the effort you made, and search engines will also index your pages with more ease.
2. Choose Your Keywords Wisely
There are two types of traffic that your sight might get: organic and paid. Although I don’t disagree with paid traffic, if you decide to invest money in PPC you should make sure that you choose your keywords wisely. You should understand that people don’t always know what they want, so you have to predict what they might type in the search query.
On the other hand, there are also those who search for specific items. One might not type „smartphone”, but rather „Samsung Galaxy S3” in the search engine. A customer who knows what he is looking for, is more likely to make a purchase.
3. Landing Page Optimization
The first thing a visitor sees, is your landing page, and it is in these few vital seconds that he decides whether or not to continue browsing your site. If you think that optimizing your landing page once is enough, you are cruelly mistaken.
In order to be successful you have to better the page again and again, because you can be sure that your competition will do the same. When it comes to eCommerce sites I recommend a clean, simple, yet effective design. In other words, it should include a search bar, categories, price details, short descriptions and related items.
4. Social Media
Social Media is vital for an eCommerce Site, and this time I’m not only referring to adding some random widgets somewhere on the page, but truly taking advantage of what S.M. is capable of. A lot of clients take into consideration reviews posted on social networks. Moreover, if you implement a social login or post purchase share you can increase profits and user engagement.
Must Read: Understanding Search engine ranking factors
5. Go Mobile
We live in a world of hyper-mobility. Studies have shown that more and more searches are being made from mobile devices. Most of these searches are related to places, products and events. This is great for eCommerce websites, and offline businesses. Take the time to understand what Google Analytics is telling you.
How many mobile visitors does your site have? After you decide whether or not a mobile version of your site is feasible (the answer is probably yes), take steps in that direction. If you already have a lot of content on your site you can optimize it for responsive design, or you can create a dedicated mobile site.
All in all, the SEO techniques implemented on a eCommerce site are not very different from the ones of a regular one. Your main goals should be working the search engine in the right way and engaging with potential customers in order to establish your personal brand. As long as you keep these two factors in mind, you will see positive outcome.
4 Easy Ways to Start Optimizing for Local SEO
Innovative Ways of Saving on Internet Marketing
Covering It All in Internet Marketing
If You’re Not Using SEO, You Are Making a Big Mistake
10 SEO Failures We All Need to Stop Doing
Nice post by the guest blogger.
She has explained some good and true ways to optimize the eCommerce website !
I feel that the content should be carefully created with good keywords and it should be promoted through some genuine techniques to reach the targeted people.
Thanks for writing the useful stuffs!
“In order to be successful you have to better the page again and again” Actually I could not understand about Landing Page . you want to say that , we should change the all information from Landing Page ?
That is such a brilliant write-up!
Though I am no expert in this. But I have been thinking of creating an ecomm site of my own.
I hope you dont mind m reminding you something you missed out: Building an email list.
It is simply not possible to get a rocking ecomm site without having thousands of email subscribers.
Hope you agree! :)
Hello annar and great post. You have cleared certain facts that one should keep in kind is that of Content is the King foremost important and its landing page and keyword optimization is the other factor behinfd the success of the Ecommerce site.
Regards
Siddhartha Sinha
Hi Annar,
Great post !! Very nicely written on how to deal with E-Commerce website .!! Nicely written !! Good points Covered!! Thanks
Thanks Nirmala for your awesome contribution, creating a quality content involves properly researching the keyword and putting it to best use.
Surly, an email list is the best way to get to your readers and remind them of the need to return and buy from your website. Thanks for that great addition.
Thanks for your comment
Thanks for your comment, i am glad you found it interesting.
No you do not have to change all the information, but optimizing your landing page from time to time to make it better because your potential customers can only be impressed in few seconds of arriving at your site, so if your landing pages are not properly designed and optimized you may be missing your customers even without knowing.
Thanks Nimala, I’m glad you liked it :)
You are absolutely right, It must have slipped my mind.
Thank you for reminding me :)
Thank you for your kind words. I’m happy you liked my post!
I like this post very much and all points are true. From the above points, I can say that the mobile version is very necessary now a days because many people have smart phones and most times they use it. :-)
Hi Annar,
Building your website around niche specific keywords makes all the difference. Ecommerce is about attracting targeted, interested clients or customers. If you use SEO, and select the right keyword, you will attract the right customers.
I run no ecommerce sites but know that building my squeeze page on the right keywords makes all the difference with my cash gifting club.
Thanks!
I really love this post, i have an eCommerce website, this information easily helps me to get traffic. Thanks for sharing such info.
Most internet surfers today surf the web with mobile devices and the increased growth and development of mobile technology can be attributed to this new trend, so every eCommerce website (in fact every website) must have a mobile optimized version of its website so as not to lose such customers. Have you tried Netmediablog on a mobile device?
Thanks Ryan for your wonderful contribution.
Thanks Shan for your comment, do you think i missed out any other thing on this post that may be important to the success of eCommerce website?
Really nice post Anna. The world is already wrapped in a web and we can’t just ignore it. The businesses got even better way to do transactions.
I liked your tips to optimize eCommerce sites. Keywords plays really great role in this scenario and the user experience is really important factor. Glad you’ve covered these points very well here.
Thanks Suresh for your contribution.
Great Post Annar,
I agree with all your points especially the Going Mobile.
Every eCommerce site should give priority to mobile users because of the ever growing usage of mobile devices. Most people now shop d buy things on their mobile phones.
Thanks for the share.
Thanks Joseph for your comment, glad you found the article interesting.
Hey Suresh,
I’m very happy that you found my tips accurate. Thank you for the feedback!
Hey Joseph,
Mobile internet is indeed essential. I’m addicted to it, if i’m not connected from the computer, I usually check my phone. I actually buy most of my stuff with the help of my smartphone.
I’m glad you liked my contribution :)
I don’t know what to to do to optimize a blog for mobiles.
Start by creating a mobile version of your site and maybe mobile apps for Android and iOS users.
I would but not until I migrate to WordPress and have a professional blog like yours. Your blog design is fascinating. What should I do to move on to WordPress and have an interface like yours?
Simply install WordPress, upload and activate your theme and plugins, then start importing your posts or you could hire a professional to design one for you. See my Hire me page up there.
O.K. I will do that. Then we will see if we can come up with some sort of deal :)
And your commenluv plugin is not working correctly.
Yea i have noticed it will look into it….
What a great post. This might be an eye opener, it great any way.
Thanks for your comment…