{"id":913,"date":"2016-11-21T14:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T12:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketingpro.net\/?p=913"},"modified":"2022-01-26T15:46:06","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T13:46:06","slug":"how-to-run-an-online-store-that-puts-seo-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reliablesoft.net\/how-to-run-an-online-store-that-puts-seo-first\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Run an Online Store that Puts SEO First"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s never been a better time in history to put together an online store<\/strong><\/a>. With a growing audience of eager online shoppers and a variety of useful tools at your fingertips, it\u2019s increasingly easy, affordable, and effective, if you go about it in the right way.<\/p>\n

The online marketplace is already saturated with eCommerce entrepreneurs selling their various wares. The ones who do well are those who are savvy enough to do their research and use the power of search<\/a> to their advantage.<\/p>\n

If you know what your potential customers are searching for online, you can take steps to increase their chances of finding you \u2013 and that will make a world of difference to your success.<\/p>\n

Take these crucial SEO factors<\/a> into consideration when creating and running an online store.<\/p>\n

Get crafty with keywords<\/h2>\n

What are the primary keywords you should be focusing on with your website? Using an online keyword tool such as \u00dcbersuggest<\/a> or Buzzsumo<\/a> is a good way to discover what your potential customers are typing into search engines, so you can amend your content to better match those demands.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to do keyword research effectively and increase your traffic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Online searches are often more specific than you might think, especially when customers have already narrowed down the brand or product model they\u2019re after. For this reason, including specifics such as brand names and product sizes in titles and main headings can help.<\/p>\n

Certain keywords will be very popular, especially if the product is currently trending online. Aiming for just these keywords can mean that you get lost in a sea of other merchants. Try to find ways of differentiating yourself using long-tail variations of the keyword<\/a> that refer to your specific niche.<\/p>\n

Understand user experience<\/h2>\n

An important factor that will affect both your site ranking and popularity with customers is user experience. Google is very adept at recognising what user behaviour says about a website.<\/p>\n

Its aim is always to provide the best options from the web when someone performs a search, and if users don\u2019t seem to like hanging around on your website, then Google will penalize it<\/a> accordingly.<\/p>\n

To perform well in the UX stakes, your website needs to be clear, fast, well-laid out and easy to use. Everything should be geared towards making the journey as seamless as possible for the user, from navigation to the checkout process.<\/p>\n

Make sure that you provide answers to any possible questions they may have, and aim to make the overall experience as transparent as possible. This is how you build trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Write dazzling product descriptions<\/h2>\n

Without a product description<\/a> for each of your products, you can kiss goodbye to your chances of ranking in search engine results. It\u2019s important to remember that the more fresh content<\/a> you write, the better your SEO score will be.<\/p>\n

I say fresh because the content must be unique \u2013 not copied from other sites or taken directly from the manufacturer\u2019s description. Both of these options are big no-nos.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of website owners will go ahead and use the manufacturer\u2019s product description, rather than spending time creating one of their own. But this is a surefire way to end up with the same content as everyone else \u2013 remember you are probably not the only one that this manufacturer distributes to.<\/p>\n

Search engines will spot a duplicate copy and will penalize your site accordingly. Plus, these descriptions are often not particularly persuasive or well written in the first place.<\/p>\n

So unique, descriptive product descriptions that highlight your product benefits are key. Remember to include your keywords, especially in the title and headings, to make sure that you\u2019re optimizing for terms that your customers are searching for.<\/p>\n

Choose the right CMS<\/h2>\n

A lot of faff and bother can be saved in SEO by starting out with a strong SEO-friendly CMS<\/a> in the first place \u2013 one that will guide you along and offer suggestions for improvement that you may not have thought of otherwise.<\/p>\n

A lot of hosted eCommerce platforms that enable you to build an online store have integrated analytics and SEO capabilities that make the whole process a lot more streamlined and get you into good habits early on \u2013 so you don\u2019t have to come back and make endless changes later.<\/p>\n

You can also use eCommerce plugins on an existing CMS or go for a completely custom eCommerce CMS.<\/p>\n

Just make sure you choose an option that works for you and won\u2019t cripple you with expensive startup costs and a CMS that needs constant developer intervention.<\/p>\n

Optimize on-site elements<\/h2>\n

There are lots of other small odds and ends on your site that have the ability to boost your SEO ranking<\/a>. They might not seem like much, but it\u2019s important to get them right for the best chances of ranking well.<\/p>\n