E-commerce SEO refers to the steps taken by website owners to make their online store more visible. It is very important for the website to appear in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Website owners put so many efforts just to attract traffic. They even pay a higher amount for advertising to attract more and more visitors. E-commerce is not at all costly for customers. This is the reason it is being used by many users. It also offers facilities regarding navigational structure. This helps in the search process.
Nature of E-commerce:
1. It is an economic activity:
Yes, e-commerce is done with the sole aim of earning huge profits. It is a sort of online business transactions. The trading takes regularly i.e. 24/7. This is what makes it an economic activity.
2. Buying and selling of goods & services:
E-commerce is a platform which uses digital media for trading. It is a business activity which takes place online. It offers a chance for buyers to order products, and also provides aid to sellers to sell their products at the same time.
3. Profit earning:
E-commerce is done with the sole aim of earning a profit. Profit refers to nothing but the reward of taking risks. Like other businesses e-commerce also aims to make huge money. Amazon is the best example of this.
The scope of E-commerce can be:
1. B2B (Business to Business):
It refers to the transactions which take place between two companies. It can be the case of a distributor buying goods online from the manufacturer. In short, the events which happen between wholesaler and retailer or distributor is a part of B2B e-commerce.
2. C2B (Consumer to Business):
It refers to the transactions which take place between consumers and business. It can be the case of a consumer ordering goods online from any business. A consumer can order or post their requirements and businesses try to fulfill it.
3. B2C(Business to Consumer):
When a business supplies goods to consumers, it becomes a B2C transaction. They get cash in return. Once a consumer posts the order, businesses have to deliver it.
4. C2C (Consumer to Consumer):
E-commerce also offers a platform for people to directly purchase from another consumer. Online businesses like OLX, Quikr, etc are the perfect example of this.
Some of the Elements of E-commerce are as follows:
1. Omni-channel services:
E-commerce offers a platform to trade smoothly and safely. It can be done by phone, laptop etc. No matter where the buyer stays, the product will be easily delivered. Now the seller need not go place to place to sell his products.
2. Consumer-centric Businesses:
This type of business is done to provide ease to consumers. Now they do not have to go out in order to purchase. They can simply order from anywhere and the product will be delivered at their doorsteps.
3. Innovation:
E-commerce does require constant innovation in order to attract the consumer. It is because consumers get a wide variety of choices on the internet.
4. Personalization:
Now the suppliers can focus more on consumer requirement. It is because it helps them to get more customers.
This is the reason, Ecommerce SEO is very important
The modern world is the world of technology. Consumers quickly perform Google searches. So it is very important for websites to have good search engine ranking. A website having good ranking succeeds in attracting qualified and interested e-commerce customers. That’s where SEO proves to be helpful. It helps websites to reach out target audience.
Experienced website owners do so without even paying for different ads. SEO helps websites to attract consumers. The importance of e-commerce can be summed up as:
- It is very convenient.
- It provides more Marketing Opportunities.
- It helps the supplier to take the risk and make consumers.
- It reaches to a number of audiences.
- It can influence the selection decision of consumers.
- One can work being on holiday as well.
- It decreases the cost of Inventory Management.
Ways to make the website more competitive:
1. Maintenance:
Maintain the website in such a way that it appears in the search results most of the times. The consumer, now, spends the majority of time on smartphones. It is a good way to attract them. The notion is that the website should be mobile friendly. It should be responsive in nature. Try to give the user a friendly experience and he will give more and more profits back.
2. Have a global reach:
This is the best feature of e-commerce. A supplier can sell products to a large number of consumers simultaneously. Make the website good enough to attract global people. Make sure to protect customers’ information. To provide them with a safe environment, ensure their privacy.
3. Universally accepted website:
Universal standards refer to the standard platforms which are inclusive of methods and systems. The website should work on a universal standard. It means that it should provide ease of service. It should be convenient for both buyers and sellers. It should be flexible in order to satisfy people of a different nature.
4. Interaction with the consumer:
This can prove to be a golden step. It is because one gets to know the feelings of the consumer. Ask the consumer to give back their feedback. Try to know what they loved about the website. One must also know what consumers disliked. It will help to take further steps.
How an E-commerce SEO Strategy can be developed.
For commoners, SEO seems to be a difficult job. But in reality, it is a very contrary thing. It requires time for proper management. Given below are a few ways which can help:
1. Set the designation of different pages:
This is done on the basis of traffic. The page which attracts more visitors should be prioritized. Make people see what you want them to see. Let people go through specific product and use them to the fullest.
2. Set up the work to be done:
SEO does require a lot of arrangements. It includes keyword choice, adding Meta description, inserting of images etc. All the tasks have to be done perfectly. One should hire professionals for doing specific tasks.
3. Know your competitors:
Website owners need to know about the e-commerce market. They should make their strategies accordingly. One should identify the various ways of putting SEO efforts. Steps should be taken to make the web page better and better.
Safety measures to be taken while doing online trading:
1. A person should be so selective while choosing the e-commerce platform. Many SEO experts have accepted that using an open source e-commerce platform is better as compared to others.
2. There is no need to store thousands of records of consumers. It is the responsibility of website owners to take care of the safety of consumers. Why keep unnecessary details of users then?
3. The website owners should accept strong passwords. It will be better to have an alpha-numeric password. It is because it will be difficult for hackers to hack the site.
4. There should be a set up regarding system alerts, for various activities. It will be helpful in having a constant check over misleading activities.
5. Many times cyber attackers succeed in detecting the password even though it is alpha-numeric. What people can do is to have layered security. There can be firewalls, login boxes, and the main password etc. This will protect the website from application-level attacks.
6. In order to have a look at frauds, proper track sheets should be allotted to every single order. This will help in quick detection in case of cheats.
7. Continuous monitoring of the site is very important. One should know how users are navigating? Any suspicious behavior, if found can be treated quickly. Continuous monitoring helps in getting saved from malware, viruses and other harmful software.
How Ecommerce SEO efforts will give good results
1. Usage of proper keywords:
This is the common mistake most the web owners do. They overstuff the keywords. Seriously, this is of no use. Many people don’t use the keyword at all. This is a worse situation.
Presence of keywords is a must in SEO. It will be better to use one common keyword in product headline, description, Meta description, image alternate attributes, and sub-headlines. To avoid repetition of keywords, one can use related keywords. It will help Google to understand the web page.
2. Details to be known regarding keyword selection:
This is the important element yet not paid much attention. Proper research work should be done before applying any keyword. One should know how users search for any particular keyword. It is very important for the keyword to be competitive.
All in all, it is very important to know what consumers want. Selection of keyword length should also be paid attention.
3. Search volume and CPC:
Search volume is used to know the extent of interest a keyword can create on consumers. It is a known fact that high search volume is responsible for gaining popularity.
It plays a good role in granting active search to websites. CPC refers to cost per click. The higher the CPC, the greater will be the competition. Websites should have good CPC in order to appear in search results.
4. Examination of the competitor’s market strategy:
This can be the clue to know where to start. A person can analyze the website of the competitor. It will help in knowing various effective ways to attract users. There are many sites which help beginners in this regard.
Don’t forget to go through their keyword usage. It will help to know the way a keyword should be framed. Even their top product pages should be properly analyzed. It will help to know the way a page is showcased.
5. Designing the home page:
The homepage is the page where the users get links for various other pages. It is the page where the prioritized product is inserted. So, it is mandatory to properly design the home page.
One should use the home page completely and properly. All the important details should be properly uploaded.
6. Usage of Meta Description in the homepage:
The Meta description refers to the 160-character description of the business. It can be seen in search beneath the title tag. The homepage Meta description should also be carefully created. It can make people go through the home page. It is worth remembering that it is important than keyword usage.
The usage of Meta description is limited to its length. So it becomes important to include details in 160 characters.
7. The quality of content to be displayed on the homepage:
Well, this should also be paid equal importance. It is because it tells visitors more about the business. The content should be precise and relevant. Cluttered homepages end up by confusing the visitors. It also affects the search engines adversely.
8. Don’t forget to take feedback:
It is alright to have a negative response from customers and clients. Consumer review helps in making proper improvements. This step is very helpful. But getting negative feedback constantly can be worse.
The website might lose users. On the contrary, positive response will open the door for new opportunities.
Commonly used terms in Ecommerce industry are as follows:
Affiliate Marketing:
It refers to the marketing process in which advertiser and supplier both join hands to advertise their product.
Conversion Rate:
It refers to the rate which shows the number of visitors who have become paying customers. This calculation is done by dividing the total number of visits to the page.
Cookies:
These are the sort of text files which are sent to a user’s browser. It shows the way a customer interacts with the website. It helps the website to know the reaction of the user.
Domain:
It is the main page or main URL for a website. Commonly it is known as the home page of the website.
Gateway:
It is the platform for making online payments. It allows the transfer of data from users’ bank to a particular website.
HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language):
HTML is a language which is used to create a web page. It also allows the insertion of links, images etc.
This was the basic information to be known regarding Ecommerce SEO.