In a world where competition is fierce and attention spans are fleeting, a strong online presence is no longer a luxury for ecommerce stores. It’s a fact: Ecommerce stores that don’t rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs) miss out on a lot of potential customers.
But what if you’ve invested in a sleek website, dazzling product photography, and targeted advertising, yet your sales remain stagnant? The culprit might be lurking beneath the surface – in your SEO strategy.
Fear not! Many common SEO mistakes can be easily identified and rectified. This blog, including some of our best recommendations as a leading digital marketing company in UK, dives deep into 7 critical SEO mistakes that could be sabotaging your ecommerce sales, along with actionable steps to fix them.
Imagine trying to sell a top-of-the-line mountain bike to someone searching for a cosy living room armchair. It’s a mismatch, right? That’s exactly what happens when your ecommerce store lacks proper keyword optimisation.
Embrace Keyword Research: Partner with an experienced SEO company in UK like us to conduct thorough keyword research. Identify relevant keywords with high search volume and low competition. Think beyond single terms and target long-tail keywords that reflect specific customer queries (e.g., “best mountain bike for beginners under £500”).
Sprinkle Keywords Wisely: Integrate target keywords naturally throughout your product descriptions, page titles, meta descriptions, and category pages. Avoid keyword stuffing, which can backfire and penalise your ranking.
Example: Let’s say you sell high-performance mountain bikes.
Wrong: “Amazing Bike! Perfect for anything with two wheels!”
Right: “The Trailblazer: A High-Performance Mountain Bike for Conquering Any Terrain” (incorporates relevant keywords like “mountain bike” and “high-performance”)
Think of your website content as the charming salesperson who greets customers and convinces them of your product’s value. Thin, generic descriptions won’t do the trick. Whether you’re working with an Ecommerce SEO company in UK or doing it yourself, creating valuable content is the key to success.
Craft Compelling Product Descriptions: Go beyond basic specs and features. Highlight the benefits that resonate with your target audience. Use vivid language, paint a picture of how the product enhances their lives, and address common pain points they might have.
Become a Content Powerhouse: Establish yourself as a thought leader in your niche. Develop a blog strategy that offers valuable and informative content related to your products. Answer frequently asked questions, provide buying guides, and showcase product applications through engaging articles and infographics.
Example: You sell mountain bikes. Don’t just list frame material and gear components. Explain how the lightweight frame translates to a smoother ride or how the hydraulic disc brakes ensure confident downhill control.
Bonus read: How to Choose the Best CMS Platform for Your Website
We live in a mobile-first world. If your ecommerce store isn’t optimised for mobile devices, you’re alienating a significant portion of your potential customer base.
The Fix:
Go Responsive: Ensure your website is responsive, meaning it seamlessly adapts for optimal viewing on desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
Prioritise User Experience (UX) for Mobile: Large buttons, easy-to-read fonts, and a streamlined checkout process are crucial for a positive mobile shopping experience.
Example: Imagine someone browsing your mountain bike selection on their phone during their lunch break. Large, easily clickable product images and a one-page checkout process are essential for a smooth purchase.
High-quality visuals are the cornerstone of any successful ecommerce store. Being an award-winning SEO company in UK, we are well aware of what visuals can do for your business website. Blurry, generic photos won’t entice customers to click “Add to Cart.” But SEO goes beyond aesthetics.
The Fix:
Invest in Professional Photography: Showcase your products in all their glory with high-resolution photos from multiple angles.
Embrace Alt Text: Don’t forget alt text – the hidden text that describes your images to search engines and visually impaired users. Optimise alt text with relevant keywords to further improve your ranking.
Example: Instead of a generic “bike.jpg”, use alt text like “Red Granite X7 Mountain Bike with Full Suspension System” for better SEO and accessibility.
A well-stocked store with a confusing layout and locked doors is what a technically flawed website can be like for search engines. Technical SEO ensures your website is easily accessible and understandable to search engine crawlers, which directly impacts your ranking.
The Fix:
Clean Up Your Code: A cluttered website with broken code can confuse search engines. Partner with a developer to ensure your website’s code is clean and efficient.
Embrace Sitemaps and Robots.txt: A sitemap acts as a blueprint for your website, guiding search engines to all your important pages. Robots.txt tells search engines which pages to crawl and index. Utilise these tools effectively.
Internal Linking Magic: Create a strong internal linking structure. Link relevant product pages, blog posts, and category pages together to help search engines understand the hierarchy and flow of your website.
Example: For your mountain bike store, ensure your website code is clean and functional. Have a clear sitemap that includes all product pages and a robots.txt file that allows search engines to crawl all relevant content. Link your mountain bike category page to relevant blog posts about mountain bike maintenance or trail recommendations.
Backlinks are essentially votes of confidence from other websites to yours. As an established digital marketing company in UK, we know that while a high number of backlinks can boost your ranking, it’s crucial to focus on quality over quantity.
The Fix:
Earn High-Quality Backlinks: Focus on acquiring backlinks from reputable websites within your niche. Collaborate with relevant bloggers and online publications for guest posts or product reviews. This not only builds backlinks but also increases brand awareness.
Beware of Backlink Schemes: Avoid shortcuts like buying backlinks or participating in link exchanges. Search engines penalise such practices, potentially damaging your ranking.
Example: Imagine you sell mountain bikes. Partner with a reputable cycling blog for a guest post showcasing the best mountain bikes for beginners. This not only provides a valuable backlink but also positions you as an authority in the cycling community.
Your website analytics are a treasure trove of valuable information about customer behavior and website performance. Ignoring this data is like driving blindfolded.
The Fix:
Embrace Analytics Tools: Utilise website analytics tools like Google Search Console to track website traffic, identify high-performing keywords, and discover broken links.
Data-Driven Optimisation: Analyse your data regularly and use it to inform your SEO strategy. Identify which keywords are driving the most traffic and conversions, and adjust your content and product descriptions accordingly.
Example: Use Google Search Console to discover which keywords are driving traffic to your mountain bike pages. Focus on optimising content for high-performing keywords and target new long-tail keywords with purchase intent.
By addressing these common SEO mistakes and implementing the suggested solutions, you can significantly improve your ecommerce store’s ranking and visibility. Stay updated on the latest trends, keep creating valuable content, and leverage data insights to refine your strategy.
Partnering with a skilled ecommerce SEO company in UK like RepIndia can provide the spark with expert guidance and resources to help your ecommerce store flourish in the competitive online marketplace. So, take charge, optimise your website, and watch your sales soar!
