How can you optimise an online shop?

Are you setting up your own online shop? Don’t forget to optimise it for SEO!

There is no doubt that the internet has revolutionised the global market for services and trade. Whether we’re looking for opinions, advice or specific products, we all turn to our favourite ‘Uncle Google’. The potential of this widely used search engine shows that it’s well worth making the most of its capabilities. As the owner of an online shop, you should pay particular attention to optimising your website for SEO. In the article below, we’ll advise you on what steps to take to ensure your online shop appears at the top of search results.

What is SEO for an online shop?

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is nothing other than optimising websites for search engines. It involves improving the technical elements of the website and all the content in such a way, so that crawlers can index it higher a23> higher up in the results of the search. SEO consists of a range of activities, which enable improvements to the effectiveness of an online shop.

Remember that search engine optimisation is a complex process and often requires time and a flexible budget. However, there are a few steps that you, as the owner of an e-commerce website, can take without the help of a specialist.

SEO keyword analysis

One of the first steps you should take when optimising your online shop is to carry out a keyword analysis. These are the terms, phrases and expressions that users type into a search engine to find the content they’re looking for.

First and foremost, you need to get to know your target audience and find out what search terms they use online. To do this, use tools that will help you assess the effectiveness of individual keywords. You could, for example, use Answer The Public, Senuto, Semstorm or Google Keyword Planner.

You now have a list of the keywords that best match your shop’s product range. What next? Use them to write content for your website. Do so with care, and bear in mind that overusing certain phrases can annoy the reader. Remember to include keywords in your headings and URLs too… but more on that in a moment.

Optimisation of an e-commerce website

Internal website optimization is just as important as keywords. But what does it involve? The main aspects of website optimization include improving content, streamlining the page loading process, fixing errors, and so on.

Start by checking the multimedia content on your website. Check its resolution and file size. Images intended for the internet should not exceed 200 Kb and 72 dpi. Larger images significantly slow down the website’s loading speed, which in turn leads to a lower ranking in search results.

The time it takes to load the website is also influenced by the animations used. Remember, to ensure they aren’t too complicated and technically advanced.

Errors on a website also have a negative impact on its search engine ranking. The most common are 404 errors. This is an error we encounter when a page is configured in such a way that we, as users, cannot view it. You should quickly check whether these errors are present and where they occur, and then redirect the visitor to another page. You can use tools such as Google Search Console or Screaming Frog for this purpose.

High-quality content optimised for SEO

Every online shop owner needs to ensure they have engaging content that captures users’ interest. This will help you attract high levels of organic traffic and customers who will keep coming back to your website.

An SEO-optimised text consists of several key points. Below, we outline three of them.

Descriptions of products

Create comprehensive product descriptions that highlight the product’s key features and are tailored to your audience’s language. Make the most of keywords and incorporate them into your content. Do not copy descriptions from the manufacturer’s website. Search engine crawlers ‘favour’ distinctive pages that respond to users’ search queries.

Let’s say you run a small beauty shop and source your stock from a number of well-known cosmetics manufacturers. If you copy product descriptions from their websites, a search engine’s crawler will most likely not rank your site at the top of the results, or may not display it at all.

Blog in the online shop

Blog posts are the perfect platform for SEO specialists to showcase their skills. They provide a good opportunity to use keywords in such a way that the text as a whole offers unique value to the reader, for example by being inspirational or educational.

A blog also offers the opportunity to create a network of internal links, but more on that later.

Hierarchy of headings on the website www

Organise the content on your website. Break it down into paragraphs and separate them with headings. Depending on their importance, headings are categorised as H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6. These allow you to structure the content on your page in a way that gradually draws the user in. Furthermore, each subpage should contain one unique H1 heading, incorporating the most important keywords.

URL optimisation: the importance of a sound information architecture

A URL must be simple, clear, unique and should include the most important keywords. The entire URL structure should form an intuitive information tree (information architecture). The key to achieving this in an online shop is to organise the product range into sets and subsets.

Every tree of information starts from the home page. Next, individual entries are added to the URL, which specify subpages, sets, subsets and help find a specific product or service.

Imagine an online sports shop. On the home page, in the menu, you select products, and then balls, then go to the subpage for such basketball balls, and there select the manufacturer, which you’re interested in (Spalding, Nike, Adidas) and eventually you end up on the product page for the product you were looking for.

Optimised URLs appear at the top of the search results and direct the user straight to the place which will best suit them the most.

Internal linking on an online shop website

In the section on industry blogs, we discussed the use of internal links, which also help improve your website’s search engine ranking. With a well-structured information architecture, you can guide users between the various subpages of your website.

Links internal you can include on your website in many ways:

• links from the home page to the most interesting subpages,
• cross-selling and up-selling on product pages,
• linking content to a blog or tutorials.

Alternative Descriptions (ALT attribute)

Every image on your website should include an ‘ALT’ attribute. This ensures that your multimedia content can also appear in Google Images results, which will further boost your visibility. Don’t forget to include relevant keywords in the alternative text.

Purchasing an SSL certificate

Users value security. Without an SSL certificate, your shop is vulnerable to various types of attacks. If you do not secure your website, users will see a ‘site is not secure’ message, which will cause you to lose their trust.

Meta Tags

Meta tags include the meta title and meta description. These are short snippets of text that appear in search results. Their purpose is to encourage users to visit your website. Remember to include keywords in these tags and not to exceed the recommended character limit. For the meta title, this is around 60 characters, and for the meta description, around 120 characters.

As you can see, SEO is essential. As an online shop owner, you need to pay particular attention to it. Remember to focus on keywords, optimising your content and website materials, optimising URLs and internal linking. Do you need help from a specialist? We’d be happy to advise you on how to boost your business’s sales.