SEO is eCommerce's Missing Link: Why It's Important

How do you earn more traffic and grow your online brand? Well, one excellent and popular method is through the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Here’s what you need to know about eCommerce SEO and why it is such an important part of your marketing mix.

SEO is the Missing eCommerce Marketing Link

Before we can talk about what Search Engine Optimization can do for your online store, we need to clarify what it is. SEO is the practice of ensuring your website meets certain criteria for increased traffic from search engines like Google and Bing. To take that idea a step further, eCommerce SEO is the added method of optimizing your online store so that it makes it easier for your customers to find the products you’re selling.

When it comes to eCommerce, there is often a wrong assumption that to be successful in the eCommerce industry, all you have to do is start a Shopify or BigCommerce store, toss up a few products for sale, and watch the money roll in. However, when you’re using SEO as a paramount part of your omnichannel marketing mix, you’re making sure that when someone is looking for the type or style of product you sell they can find you easily and effectively.

Is SEO necessary for an eCommerce Site?

The short answer? Yes! It is absolutely necessary to use Search Engine Optimization on your eCommerce website. In fact, all websites should be concerned with SEO, regardless if you’re selling anything at all or just promoting a service. The reasoning behind this is that just about everyone uses Google to find what they’re looking for when they’re ready to make a purchase. If you don’t have a eCommerce SEO strategy for this process, you’re letting your competitors fill that gap and claim a sale that your brand could have had.

The only downside to SEO? It takes a little bit to take hold and the results aren’t always instant. That’s why eCommerce SEO is often referred to as a long-term strategy, but often yields a high return on investment (ROI). Plus, if you use paid advertising as part of your omnichannel marketing mix, this works as a great complement offering organic traffic alongside the paid traffic you’re already pushing to your website.

In addition, most of the tasks involved with optimizing a website are just good for your user experience. By providing content that makes it clear what your brand is all about and why your products matter, you can easily attract more customers.

How to Improve your eCommerce SEO

The good news here is that improving your Shopify SEO or BigCommerce SEO isn’t as difficult as you might think. A few quick tips include:

• Write custom product descriptions with appropriate keywords. Search engines don’t like duplicate content. If you’re using the same ones from the manufacturer that everyone else is using, this could be a problem.
• Appropriately tag all images. Search engines can’t see photos, but they do review the alt tags and file names of your images. Make sure these items carry the right keywords that you’re trying to rank for while appropriately describing the image.
• Fix easy issues first. You should also find any so-called low-hanging fruit on your website to start with. Often, these things only take a few minutes to fix and can make a huge difference in your search engine ranking.
• Get a professional’s guidance. Overall, it is important to have an eCommerce SEO agency look for any major issues associated with on-site, off-site, and technical optimization.
• Track your efforts. Make sure you know what you’re accomplishing by using a tracking system to see what keywords you’re ranking for and the amount of traffic associated with that content.

Finally, you want to make sure your company adopts a culture where SEO is important. Every piece of content, social media post, product listing, and other digital marketing piece should have a focus on being search engine friendly.

How to Find an eCommerce SEO Agency for your Brand

Finding an eCommerce SEO agency that understands Search Engine Optimization doesn’t have to be a difficult task. Here are a few things to look for when searching for your perfect marketing partner:

• Industry experience. Sure, anyone can do basic SEO. But you really want someone who excels at it and has a ton of industry experience.
• Proven track record of success. Don’t settle for someone who isn’t familiar with your eCommerce niche. Only work with digital marketing firms that can show you case studies and other examples of how their efforts benefitted their clients.
• Knowledgeable about algorithm updates. Google’s method for calculating search engine rankings changes all the time. You want to work with someone who has their finger on the pulse of what is going on within the industry.
• Communication for improvement. Your digital marketing team should be open to discussing areas where you need to make changes to improve your eCommerce SEO.
• Honest representation of YOUR data. All exceptional marketing agencies not only help you see what’s going on with your data, but they don’t sugarcoat the bad stuff. 

Plus, they also have to be passionate about what they do. For some digital marketing agencies, Search Engine Optimization isn’t bold or flashy enough. That’s why it is important to work with a team that values the importance of SEO and loves getting those rankings wins.

eCommerce SEO Agency That Can Scale Your eCommerce Site

At CAKE, we’re proud to say we are passionate about SEO and all things digital marketing. Our team of super sweet experts is always 100% transparent with our clients about how well campaigns are working. And we also regularly attend industry events, such as SMX and MozCon, to ensure we’re perfecting our recipe for the perfect optimization blend.

If you’re looking for an agency that can scale your eCommerce business, our dedicated and knowledgeable team here at CAKE is ready to help. Please contact us today to start the discussion about our various retail marketing services.