It is said that nearly 70% of all online experiences start on a search engine. eCommerce SEO is an essential part of your marketing strategy. Without it, your audience won’t find your website on websites like Google.
Below, we will address how SEO strategy applies to your eCommerce business. Regardless of running an eCommerce website or selling on a third-party marketplace, this guide can help you understand how to utilize eCommerce SEO.
What Does SEO Strategy Mean?
SEO strategy refers to a plan necessary to improve your site’s organic search traffic. This increases the number of visitors reaching your website, as Google recognizes you as relevant for a target search term.
Here are several factors that likely affect your search engine rankings:
- Relevance of website.
- Number and quality of backlinks.
- Speed and security of the website.
- Domain age.
- Mobile-friendliness.
- Technical SEO (does the website work?).
Google has over 200 ranking factors, so listing them all would take the following several paragraphs. But the keys to SEO include this:
- Target the most relevant keywords.
- Focus on creating a quality website with no technical errors.
- Make sure your website is fast.
- Pay attention to algorithm updates from Google.
- Cover your target niche (topic) in-depth.
Outside of technical SEO, several tools enable you to understand better how your site operates. That understanding allows you to know where you need to grow.
SEO Tools for eCommerce Sites That we Recommend
Step one to any eCommerce SEO strategy is to prepare your list of tools. The right tools will enable you to utilize any search query to your advantage.
We will start with free SEO tools from Google and how to use them:
Free Google Tools You Should To Boost Your eCommerce SEO
1. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool that enables you to see what keywords bring traffic to your website.
It also allows you to troubleshoot site issues to ensure your website remains exposed on Google. Its vital feature is when you need to update site indexing, which enables you to control when Google sees the latest version of your site.
2. Google Analytics
Google Analytics enables you to see and monitor your website’s performance. However, the Analytics platform allows you to see how your marketing campaigns are doing as well.
The combined SEO and PPC (Pay Per Click) efforts make this dashboard a great combination. It also enables you to sort those who visit by gender, age, country, and device.
3. Google Trends
Google Trends enables users to see breakout topics in the world of organic traffic. If you want to rank for the latest issues in your niche, Trends is an excellent tool to decide on the newest content creation efforts.
In combination with other Google tools, the Trends page keeps you on the cutting edge of the latest areas of importance.
Paid SEO Tools You Can Use To Improve Your eCommerce SEO
Free SEO tools are an excellent starting point. However, the detailed information from paid tools cannot be understated.
Here is a list of different paid tools worth looking into:
1. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the most well-known SEO tools due to the vital data points it provides. Ahrefs is excellent regarding backlinking opportunities, keyword research, and complete website auditing.
If you have a brand, Ahrefs also enables you to track each time your brand is mentioned online. This information can be handy if you would like to turn that mention into a branded backlink or you just like to know about your brand’s popularity.
Ahrefs plans come in four forms:
- Lite Plan is at $99 monthly
- Standard Plan is at $179 /mo
- Advanced Plan is $399 /mo
- Agency Plan is $999 /mo
More advanced plans provide more outstanding tracking, crawling features, ranking features, and content/keyword explorer options.
2. Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is a website crawling tool that enables you to audit for common SEO issues. This tool can track numerous websites for all the problems for those struggling with technical SEO.
For resellers and those who own numerous websites, you can crawl about 500 URLs at once. You can also find broken links, page titles with issues and remove duplicate content with relative ease.
Screaming Frog is a UK business that costs £149.00 per license per year. You can also choose one of the following plans if you buy more than four licenses:
- £139 per license per year for five to nine licenses.
- £129 per license per year for 10 to 19 licenses.
- £119 per license per year for more than 20.
3. MOZ
MOZ offers a combination of free and paid SEO tools that work for any website. MOZ’s unique offering comes from local SEO management, enabling you to manage reviews and update listings as needed.
MOZ has an incredibly versatile keyword research tool that also performs site audits and rank tracking. It is a favorite of many small businesses needing to track SEO.
MOZ Pro Costs $179 per month ($143 /mo if paid yearly).
4. SpyFu
SpyFu is a tool that specializes in competitive business intelligence. It provides information on both search and paid opportunities. It’s also the most budget-friendly of the three options.
SpyFu does lack some tools of the more advanced competitors above, but it does provide some excellent ways to target search engines.
SpyFu offers three different plans in two forms:
- The Basic Plan is $33 per month if paid yearly ($39 /mo otherwise).
- The Professional Plan is $48 /mo for annual billing ($69 /mo otherwise).
- The Unlimited Plan is $68 /mo for yearly billing ($129 /mo otherwise).
SpyFu also offers custom plans for unique needs for its potential customers.
You’ll find that all of the tools above are for those who have personal websites (i.e., Shopify, Wix, WordPress, Big Commerce). However, these SEO tools are less useful for those who use third-party marketplaces.
What If You Sell On Online Marketplaces?
If you sell on third-party platforms like Amazon or eBay, the SEO tools mentioned may be less useful. Instead, you should focus on using platform-specific tools to improve your conversion rate.
If you have a website builder, you can choose from general SEO tools or builder-specific applications. However, for eCommerce SEO, it’s best to work with a shopify development services company or a developer who specializes in your platform for the most effective results.
With this in mind, the ultimate form of an online marketplace is Amazon. Below, we will delve into the kind of tools you need to be aware of for success on Amazon.
Different Types of eCommerce Tools on Amazon for Your SEO Strategy
Just as before, there are two major types of tools: free and paid. Bear in mind that the “free” tools require access to Seller Central. Seller Central access requires you to pay for an individual account, typically about $9.99 per month.
“Free” Tools Available on Amazon
While “free” is a bit of a stretch, all of these come with access to Amazon’s platform.
- Amazon Advertising.
- The Amazon Trend Report.
- Amazon’s Search Engine.
Utilizing all of Amazon’s available research tools is an excellent way to get started. Amazon has a wide variety of tools, but we will only focus on those critical for eCommerce SEO.
1. Amazon Advertising
Amazon has a built-in advertising tool that provides you with information on the number of searches and the bid price of a keyword. The number of searches tells you of the potential sales you can make. The bid price tells you of the competitiveness of the keyword.
Much like standard search engines, you’ll find that targeting long-tail keywords is essential. This is because those target keywords are more descriptive and less competitive.
2. The Amazon Trend Report
The Amazon Trend Report is a report of explained trends that sellers might target. The report draws conclusions based on an area of importance. If the report focus relates to your niche, you can target it.
This report is also effective for new sellers struggling to find a niche. Knowing the latest trends enables your brand to be relevant.
3. The Amazon Search Bar
The Amazon search bar has an autocomplete feature that enables you to see prospective long-tail keywords. These keywords provide different forms of commercial intent, allowing you to hit narrow targets for prospective buyers.
You’ll find that much of this information is also available on the Amazon Advertising page. However, if you want to see how Amazon’s search engine works before creating an account, the search bar is your best bet.
Examples of Paid Research Tools
Because there are many eCommerce SEO tools available, we won’t go through a complete list here. After all, you’ll be reading this piece for the remainder of your life in that case.
Instead, we will focus on a few example tools through the sections below. Paid research tools typically include the following:
- Keyword research (includes product research).
- Reverse ASIN lookup (competitive analysis).
- Search engine optimization tools for improving LQS.
1. Keyword Research Tools
Third-party keyword research tools typically come from a third-party algorithm that gauges the difficulty of rating and competitors that already rank. When finding an eCommerce keyword, the list of keywords one potentially gets is enormous.
Keyword research tools, Like the AMZScout Keyword Research Tool, should give you an idea of how current sellers are meeting buyer intent. Buyer intent, or the buyer’s desire when typing in the search bar, is essential when creating long-tail keywords.
Of course, your competition will also be thinking the same thing.
2. Tools for Spying On Your Competition for Keywords
A good keyword research tool shouldn’t also enable you to meet the buyer’s intent. It should also allow you to spy on your competitor’s product catalogs and the keyword behind them.
Online stores are consistently trying to find ways to outdo the competition. Finding your competitor’s secondary and primary keywords enables you to poach those keywords.
If you combine this with an overall better customer service strategy, you can get better SEO Rankings than your competitor. However, it may also tell you to avoid specific keywords due to keyword difficulty due to challenging a larger company.
When creating an SEO budget, knowing your potential competitors is essential. Once you have that knowledge, you can apply it to your product listing.
3. Tools To Improve Your Listing Quality Score (LQS)
A Listing Quality Score, or LQS, is an overall grade rating of your product description, images, and title. The higher quality your overall product description page is, the higher your LQS is.
The key factor is to create high-quality content and be aware of your keyword opportunities. This includes selecting a list of primary, secondary, and backend keywords. By building these keywords into your content ideas, you will have established your opportunity to overtake listings.
On your site, you would start to establish content marketing and link-building strategies. But in the case of Amazon eCommerce SEO, your strategy is to provide the best overall omnichannel customer service.
Amazon’s SEO practices are very different from website builders (like Shopify). However, the desire for organic traffic is still the same.
With creative strategies, you can take the naturally high traffic of Amazon and draw them to be loyal brand consumers. Amazon is the 11th most visited site in the world. The company also owns more than 50% of the eCommerce marketplace.
Leveraging that traffic for your business can be a significant difference-maker.
Final Thoughts
eCommerce SEO is the process of improving your search rankings on eCommerce sites. This comes in two forms: third-party marketplace SEO and eCommerce website SEO. Knowing the tools for both can be incredibly helpful in gaining a consistent audience.
Our team of specialists at uSERP understands the importance of SEO and organic traffic. Think about it, when you see someone who ranks organically versus someone who paid for the top slot, who do you trust more? To ensure you can gain that trust, contact our team today to establish your eCommerce SEO strategy.
