The Complete Ecommerce SEO Blueprint
In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the essential strategies and techniques for E-commerce SEO optimization. From finding the right keywords to optimizing content for Google's EEAT and acquiring high-quality backlinks, this blueprint covers all aspects of E-commerce SEO. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced SEO professional, you'll find valuable insights and tips to elevate your E-commerce website's organic traffic and performance.
E-commerce SEO Tips: Finding the Right Keywords
So, the first e-commerce SEO tip is to find the right keywords. Keywords form the foundation of every successful e-commerce SEO campaign. Anyone can find keywords, but the real skill lies in knowing which keywords to target and prioritize. Here are some simple ways to discover keywords in your industry:
1. **Start with your website:** Open Ahrefs, enter your domain, go to organic keywords, and focus on keywords ranking from position two to 15, as they are the low-hanging fruits and best to target initially.
2. **Steal ideas from competitors:** Use Ahrefs to identify organic search competitors and sort them by competitor keywords, then use the content gap feature to find the keywords they rank for that you're not targeting.
After creating a strong keyword list, it's important to qualify these opportunities. One way is to use the keyword difficulty filter by lowest DR (Domain Rating) to identify keywords where low authority websites are ranking, starting with 50 DR or lower. This is crucial as keyword difficulty doesn't consider overall site strength. This initial filtering process will help you focus on the most feasible and impactful keywords to target.
SEO Strategy and E-commerce SEO Tip
To start your SEO strategy, it is recommended to begin with a KD of less than 30 and then set a filter to only show keywords with a search volume greater than 100. The next step is to focus on keywords with transactional intent towards the bottom of the funnel. Understanding the five main categories of search intent - informational, investigative, comparison, transactional, and navigational - is crucial for targeting keywords at each stage of the sales funnel. For an e-commerce website selling sandblasters, targeting informational keywords at the top of the funnel is important for driving traffic and building brand awareness. Moving to the next phase, target investigative intent keywords, followed by comparison intent keywords when the searcher is likely brand aware. Finally, prioritize keywords with transactional intent, such as 'Nico Sandblaster coupon code', which have a high conversion rate. It's important to conduct a technical SEO audit by using tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider to identify technical SEO opportunities and integrating Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs APIs. This helps in analyzing website performance and potential technical improvements.
SEO Optimization Strategies
API, I would also recommend doing PageSpeed Insights to connect as well, and then lastly, use Ahrefs to connect. So basically what we've done is we're gonna be able to see our current traffic from Google Analytics. In Google Search Console, we're gonna be able to see clicks and impressions, and with PageSpeed Insights, we're gonna be able to see the core web vitals for every single page, and then lastly, we're gonna be able to see the backlinks for every single page. This is critical for being able to understand the performance of every single page on your website.
Once the crawl's complete, I recommend exporting the report and adding it to a Google Sheet. Now, I could dedicate hours to this audit process, but here are three opportunities to look for.
1. Poor SEO performance.
Okay, so now you should have all of this data from using Screaming Frog, and what you want to do is you want to find pages that have zero sessions, zero clicks, hopefully zero impressions, and zero backlinks, okay? So we really want to have all of these columns with big goose eggs, big zeros, okay? Because any page that has really poor metrics like that across the board, it's really an indication that something needs to happen with that page. Either A, the page needs to be upgraded, B, the page needs to be optimized, C, maybe it needs more topic authority, maybe it needs more internal linking, or number four, maybe it just doesn't have enough links, right, and so there's a lot of cases where you just need to ultimately improve that page.
2. Determine the purpose of the page.
Whenever I see a page not performing well, there are only a few different actions for me. Number one, I'm gonna ask, does this page need to exist? If it doesn't, then I'm just gonna delete it and let it 404. Number two, if it does need to exist and is targeting a keyword, but it hasn't done well, then I'll probably rebuild that page, upgrade it, optimize it, come with a new angle, and just make it a substantially better page, and then start acquiring backlinks to that page to see if we can get it to rank. So there are really not a whole lot of options, and there's also the other option, which is to take that page and 301 redirect it to an existing page. I only typically recommend that in two scenarios: one, with keyword cannibalization, which I'm gonna be talking about in a second, and number two, if the page is really poor performing.
SEO Optimization Techniques for Improving Website Performance
When considering SEO optimization techniques to improve website performance, backlinks play a crucial role. It's important to prioritize URLs with backlinks when implementing a 301 redirect. However, it's essential to ensure that the redirect is relevant and maintains the topic consistency. For instance, a post about backlinks should ideally 301 redirect to another relevant post about backlinks. This approach ensures a clean and effective redirect strategy. Furthermore, leveraging data to identify underperforming assets is crucial. By analyzing the data, it becomes possible to initiate steps to enhance the performance of those pages.
Next, internal linking opportunities are vital for enhancing crawling, indexing, and distributing link equity to important site pages. Utilizing the export from tools like Screaming Frog allows for the identification of internal linking opportunities. Analyzing crawl depth, which indicates the number of clicks required to reach specific pages, is essential. Ideally, every page on the site should be no more than three clicks deep within the architecture. Pages that exceed this limit should be investigated to understand why they are deep in the architecture and how they can be brought closer to the surface.
Moreover, examining unique in-links provides insights into the number of internal links directed to specific pages. Pages with little to no internal links require attention to rectify the issue. The absence of internal links could stem from neglect or indicate a lack of topic authority. Addressing this issue involves evaluating the content and strategically enhancing internal linking for these pages. These optimization techniques can significantly contribute to improving overall website performance.
SEO Best Practices for Internal Linking and Keyword Cannibalization
To improve SEO performance, it is important to create more assets to build internal links among pages. Start by identifying critical pages that lack internal links and prioritize cleaning them up. Ensure that the essential pages have a sufficient number of internal links. If there are pages without available internal links, consider creating more content.
Next, let's address keyword cannibalization. This occurs when multiple pages target the same keyword. Begin by filtering pages based on conditions, such as searching for specific keywords in the title section. For example, if we are targeting the keyword 'sandblasters,' we should assess all the pages that contain this keyword, including product pages. The goal is to have one primary keyword per page to avoid cannibalization. While evaluating product pages with similar keywords, assess their impact on the overall keyword strategy. Consolidating assets may be necessary to resolve any keyword cannibalization issues.
It is crucial to have a clear strategy for each primary keyword and optimize pages accordingly. By addressing internal linking and keyword cannibalization, we can enhance the overall SEO performance of the website.
Optimizing Existing SEO Content
SEO tip number three is to optimize existing SEO content. It's important to target low-hanging fruits first, which are keywords ranking from positions two to 15. The initial step is to examine these pages to identify opportunities for improvement. The process for optimizing existing content can be simple. Here's a basic approach: 1. Utilize a tool like Surfer and navigate to SERP Analyzer. 2. Enter the target keyword, for example, 'sandblasters,' and the target URL. 3. Click on the audit option to check if the page is well-optimized for the primary keyword. 4. Evaluate the word count to ensure it meets the competitive range, typically between 1,000 to 2,800 words. If the word count is below this range, it's essential to increase it. Once the word count is appropriate, focus on incorporating relevant keywords based on the NLP-related keywords suggested. Include these keywords in the content brief and build the content around these ideas. By doing this upfront, the need for content optimization work later can be minimized. If the word count is insufficient, consider using chatGBT to generate additional content. Provide a basic prompt, such as 'Create an e-commerce page targeting sandblasters and mention your name.' This can help in quickly improving the page with relevant content. By following these steps, existing SEO content can be effectively optimized.
AI-powered SEO Optimization and Content Creation
Mention the company, then talk about the NLP keywords and the target word count. This is, I didn't do anything more. This is all I did. I just put this in here and chat GPT within a few seconds created a very decent piece of content for us that we could easily put on this category page with some modifications and some edits. This is, think of this as just your first draft, right? You're going to, this is your first draft and you're going to go through, you're going to clean it up. You're going to make it relevant to you. You're going to personalize it. You're going to add testimonials, maybe some bottom of the funnel content, whatever it is to make it unique to the brand. But this is just the starting point. And within seconds we have a nice base to work from. So I copied this and I put it into surfers content editor and all I did here, this is without any edits, not a single edit here. Okay. But I just put some, some basic headings and already up to a 65. Okay. Already up to a 65. So what I would do from here is once again, I'd actually probably go back to chat GPT because based on the word count here, and I would try to make, increase the depth on some of these sections. Then once I've hit the proper word count, then I would run this through grammarly. And then most importantly, I would run my, my own human process in here. So I'd actually go through and try to add some personalized things in here, make it more human and ultimately add more stuff that's relevant to the brand. Okay. So yeah, there's still work that you have to do, but the hardest part is actually over, which is actually writing the content, which is the biggest, the biggest hurdle to improving these pages. So we're talking about in just in a few minutes, we could immediately make this page better. We could immediately improve performance just using AI. Okay. So I showed you how you can actually create that category page content with chat GPT and surfer. But I also wanted to give you the alternative, which is you can actually use surfer's AI to this content on really completely automatically for you. So you just give surfer AI, the keyword you want to rank for, and then it's going to naturally do all of this work for you. Instead of you having to go to chat GPT and enter the NLP keywords and analyze competitors, what this does is it actually.
SEO Content Creation and Optimization
It goes and analyzes the top five competitors that are ranking on the first page and picks the ones that have the highest Surfer score and the highest content score as its seeds for creating content. With just about 28 bucks, you can get a completely fully done article, headings and everything, already optimized as well. It can achieve a score of up to 95 out of the gate, without any edits or adding unique content. However, it's important to remember that tools like Surfer AI should be used to streamline the content creation process, but not as a replacement for an editorial process. The content generated should still go through an editorial process to ensure uniqueness, human touch, and avoid being cookie-cutter. It's essential to treat the content created with such tools as a first draft and then go through a second and possibly a third draft to make it unique and high-quality. When updating existing pages, it's crucial to upgrade and optimize them one at a time and update the post date each time substantial changes are made. Moreover, if the website is currently ranking for any keywords, it's recommended to splinter the content and take advantage of SEO opportunities for keywords that may not rank number one in Google due to the number of keywords. To do this, Ahrefs can be used to identify keywords clustering opportunities and then create separate content for them.
Optimizing Content for Google's EEAT
When it comes to optimizing content for Google's EEAT (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness), it's essential to focus on providing valuable and relevant information. This is particularly crucial for sites in industries like health or finance. One key aspect of optimizing for experience is to incorporate firsthand experience into the content. Whether it's product reviews or informational articles, sharing real-life experiences adds depth and authenticity. For example, a website selling sandblasters should include firsthand experiences related to sandblasting in their content. This not only demonstrates expertise but also helps in building trust with the audience. Additionally, it's important to avoid generic content and instead, express genuine opinions to enrich the material. By doing so, the content becomes more engaging and informative, showing Google that it goes beyond surface-level information. Overall, optimizing for Google's EEAT involves focusing on providing valuable, firsthand insights, and expertise, making the content more authoritative and trustworthy.
SEO and Expertise Optimization
When it comes to optimizing for expertise, modeling WebMD is a great approach. Emulate their strategy by ensuring that your content is written by a subject matter expert and placed prominently. This lends credibility to your website and demonstrates the high quality of your content. Additionally, include lots of links to related topics within your content, and provide citations at the bottom to show the sources of your information. This not only adds value to your content but also builds trust with your audience. The goal of creating content on your website should always be to provide high-quality and trusted information. Another valuable e-commerce SEO tip is to use the reverse silo technique. This involves directing most of your backlinks to linkable assets and then distributing the link equity to other important pages through internal linking. By doing this, you can improve the overall site authority, which in turn boosts the performance of other pages. For instance, attracting backlinks to a specific page can have a positive impact on the overall site's performance. An excellent example of this is Candy Funhouse's creation of a unique 'Chief Candy Officer' position to taste candy. Despite not aiming for high traffic, the page attracted numerous backlinks, which ultimately benefited the entire site. Remember, a rising tide lifts all ships.
E-commerce SEO Tips for Acquiring High-Quality Backlinks
To effectively boost organic traffic and overall site authority, it's crucial to focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks. By driving links to specific pages, you can elevate the entire website. This approach eliminates the need to build overall site authority from scratch, allowing you to concentrate on enhancing authority one page at a time. I've successfully implemented this strategy on numerous websites, where directing high-quality links to deserving pages resulted in a substantial increase in organic traffic across the entire site. Therefore, it's essential not to underestimate the impact of this tactic. When pursuing backlinks, it's important to create linkable assets, such as ultimate guides, data-driven content, and free tools and software. Ultimate guides and unique data-driven content have the potential to attract valuable backlinks from authoritative websites, while free tools and software can serve as effective link bait. By focusing on creating content that others would want to link to, you can maximize the impact of your link acquisition efforts.
Building Sandblaster Tools for Website Optimization
I wanted something more specific for a company that sells sandblasters, so I brainstormed some free tools to create. It led to unique ideas, and eventually, I settled on the sandblasting time estimator. Next, I instructed the AI to generate HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for it. The code isn't flawless, though. You'll need to test it on your website and troubleshoot any errors. ChatGPT comes in handy for fixing these issues. It's like having a developer on your team. After perfecting the code, you can integrate it into WordPress using the WP Coder plugin. Simply insert the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, then add the shortcode to the relevant page. Voila! You've created a fully functional tool for link building. This kind of valuable asset paves the way for effective link building without needing coding skills. I possess some coding knowledge, which helped, but ChatGPT guided me through the process and even answered questions I couldn't tackle. ChatGPT is an invaluable resource for creating free linkable assets quickly. With this, you've produced a compelling piece of content that attracts backlinks, a crucial part of eCommerce SEO. Visit gotchseo.com to apply for our eCommerce SEO certification program and access exclusive templates and systems. Thank you for watching!
Conclusion:
E-commerce SEO is a dynamic and ever-evolving field, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for success. By implementing the strategies outlined in this blueprint and staying updated with the latest SEO trends, you can position your E-commerce website for sustainable organic growth and visibility in the competitive online market.