SEO: How to get a Higher Ranking in Google for your Online Store

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1 SEO: How to get a Higher Ranking in Google for your Online Store

2 1. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a part of search engine marketing and refers to all activities aimed at making a website score high rankings in the search results of search engines like Google. Because Google, with its market share of 93%, by far is the most widely used search engine, this article focuses exclusively on Google. Optimal use of SEO involves a lot. This whitepaper focuses on SEO for starting online retailers and contains the key basic aspects. It therefore is not comprehensive. SEO is a widespread topic, about which there is a lot to say. It is for a good reason, that entire books are devoted to it. As stated before, this whitepaper focuses on starting online retailers. Its goal is to get you started with the first steps to good visibility in Google. 2

3 2. WHY IS SEO SO IMPORTANT TO ONLINE STORES? Each owner of an online store wants to score a high rank in the organic results of a search engine, because these results are free listings. Organic search results are free of charge, obviously leaving aside the required time one should invest to score a high ranking in Google, contrary to sponsored (AdWords) links, where you have to pay per click. In addition to that this way enables you to reach potential buyers for free, a high Google ranking offers the additional benefit of creating extra trust among your clients. Keyword Assessment Assess in advance through which keywords your online store should be found. This is one of the key steps in the SEO story. Choosing the right words immediately will surely be fruitful. So think through which general words you wish to be found and make a list of them. For example, start with a top 10 of keywords to initially focus on. These search terms could be the product type (for example belts if you sell belts, or mp3 player if you sell electronic products), but also brand names, such as Philips or Samsung. It is important to consider the product range you are offering related to the keyword in question. For example, if you are operating an online electronics store and only sell 2 electronic products, focusing on this keyword will be of little use. In addition to checking the potential of keywords, it is also recommended to check their competition. This can be done using the following Google tool: As stated before, proper keyword assessment is essential. If you have any doubts, it is wise to get help, as many of the steps that follow are based on it. 3

4 3. ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE OPTIMIZATION With search engine optimization, a distinction is made between on-site and off-site optimization. On-site optimization involves all website factors that can be optimized. Think for example, of proper texts, loading speed and your site s structure. Off-site optimization is all about optimizing external factors that affect the visibility of a site. Think for example, of acquiring as many high-quality referral links to your site as possible. In this article, we will primarily focus on a number of factors with on-site optimization. On-site optimization Product Titles Entering products starts with thinking properly. What will potential customers look for? Always try to think as a customer as much as possible when you enter products in your online store. Make sure that a product title is as clear as possible, avoid titles that solely consist of article codes. However, if the article code (e.g. a model number) is generally known, make sure to add it, it is important, for example, with electronic equipment. In that case, customers often look for a specific product, for example, Panasonic dmc-fz200 When it comes to fashion, searches tend to be less specific and therefore it is important to make the title as descriptive as possible, for example blue dress with zipper. Product Texts Product texts are important to an online store, which is why you should provide professional product texts and avoid standard manufacturer texts as much as possible, because they are already used by many other online stores. Website content should preferably be unique. Rewrite existing texts or have new ones written by a professional copywriter. Of course this is not possible for all types of products and sometimes not feasible, because there are just too many products to provide all of them with unique texts. In that case, keep in mind that it is not an absolute must to provide them all with unique texts. An alternative is to provide distinctive content using other methods, for example, through a blog. By making texts unique and rewriting them, you will have the opportunity to make them better than the ones used by those who do not, which surely offers opportunities for to improve your visibility. The same goes for a higher conversion rate, standard manufacturer texts are usually not written attractively. 4

5 3. ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE OPTIMIZATION With these texts, it is important to ensure that essential keywords (the words that potential customers likely search for) come back several times within the text. Preferably in several ways, for example, in the case of a dress, occasionally use a diminutive form, sometimes in combination with its color. Do not overdo it; it should not affect readability of the text in question. Using a couple of tricks, it is always possible to have the most important words come back several times. Make sure the product name contains the most important keywords and provide a unique description. (Meta) tags A website can be optimized using tags. Important tags (this is going to be a bit technical) are the meta title tag, meta description tag and heading tag. Tags are used to mark a piece of text, in order to make it meaningful for browsers and search engines. The meta title tag is used to describe what the page in question is about, this is an important website element. It occurs in two locations: at the left at the top of a page in most browsers and it is used as the primary title in Google s organic search results. In SEOshop, it is the title of a product or page. The meta description tag is a short description, used to inform visitors through about everything that can be found on the page in question. This description has a maximum of 160 characters and is shown in Google s search results. The meta description is shown below the meta title. Apart from that, the meta description does not affect ranking in Google, but it is nevertheless important. Because visitors can read what a page is about, they will click through faster. The more interesting things get, the greater the chance they click through and visit your website. 5

6 3. ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE OPTIMIZATION On a category page, it is therefore important to mention with (type of) products can be found in the page in question. On a product page, it is essential to describe the product briefly and to-the-point and to mention its unique selling points. Search terms entered in search engines that match a word in the meta description are listed in bold. If the meta description field is left blank, Google will automatically search for a piece of text on your site that contains the keywords. This way, one or more words usually are listed in bold. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to add meta descriptions, in case Google cannot find (proper) relevant text to display. In the SEOshop back office, this is entered in the Description English field. Heading tags are tags used for titles and sub-captions. The H1 tag, for example, is used to indicate the title of a page. The H1 tag should contain the most important keywords. Basically, only 1 H1 tag is allowed per page. Within SEOshop the title is automatically used as the H1 tag, therefore it should not be used in the description. The H2-tag however, may be used manually and more than once. This to add more structure to the text itself, like a paragraph or sub-paragraph. The H2 tag also needs to contain the most important keywords. Finally, the SEOshop back office allows you to assign a number of keywords to a product below the Tags caption. Think of relevant keywords per individual product, for example its brand name, but also more specific terms that apply to the product in question (with the example mentioning belts). For instance, enter a term like blue belt or men s belt or a wider notion such as belt. Providing Product tags may be assigned through the Tags tab on product pages. 6

7 3. ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE OPTIMIZATION Navigation Not only does navigation matter to the visitors of a website, but also to search engines such as Google. Proper navigation ensures that visitors quickly find what they are looking for. A clear navigation enables search engine software to determine which content matters most. A Google quote on this topic: Although Google s search results are provided on page level, Google also wants to know which role a given page in the larger whole of a website. (source: Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide). Each website always has a homepage. This is usually its most visited page and often where visitors start their search. Think of what visitors might want to look for and guide them there, without further ado. For example, this can be done by adding categories to the homepage, so visitors can immediately click through to the key sections of your online store. Adding the key categories to the homepage will automatically increase the value of these pages in Google. For example, if an online telecom store adds a link to the iphone category, this category will ultimately become easier to find in Google. Pay attention however, it is useless to place links to all categories on the homepage. By adding categories and sub-categories, online stores that sell hundreds of products become much more orderly, also to Google. 7

8 4. OFF-SITE OPTIMIZATION Link building is the most important part of off-site optimization and plays an essential role in SEO when it comes to improving visibility in Google. Link building is generating links on other websites that link to your own site. This is important to visibility in Google. The higher the number of websites that link to your own website, the higher your ranking in Google s search results. It is important to keep in mind, for example, that a referral link of a large news website will score higher than a link on a site that functions as a starting point. A link is a referral on a website that uses a text or image to refer to another website. By clicking the link, visitors will be taken from one web page to the next, enabling them to find relevant information. Without links to your own website, Google will hold your website in lower esteem. It is therefore important that other relevant websites link to your online store. 8

9 5. SUMMARY Good visibility in Google starts with proper keyword assessment, that is, words that potential customers use a lot in their searches, cover the overtones in terms of product range and, preferably, do not have a lot of competition. Researching this is of paramount importance. Subsequently, you should use these words in titles, descriptions and product an category tags. When you are done doing so, get started with link building. Working on SEO this way is great first step that will definitely bear fruit when the proper choices are made. Do you lack time or expertise to do this yourself? Get help from experts in this field. The staff of Webshophelpers will gladly assist you. 9

10 INFO OVER SEOSHOP SEOshop is one of the fastest growing e-commerce platforms in Europe, providing a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that enables entrepreneurs to start their own online store. SEOshop has over 5,500 customers in 11 European countries, including Pearl Drums, dance4life and the Van Gogh Museum. SEOshop s headquarters are located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 10

11 INFO OVER WEBSHOPHELPERS Webshophelpers is a full-service e-commerce agency. Regardless whether it concerns building an online store, conversion optimization, SEO or SEA: this is where our passion lies! With 14 e-commerce experts and over 150 satisfied customers, from small businesses to large corporations, Webshophelpers in the meantime has grown into a leading e-commerce agency in the heart of Utrecht, the Netherlands. With 14 e-commerce experts and over 150 satisfied customers, from small businesses to large corporations, Webshophelpers in the meantime has grown into a leading e-commerce agency in the hart of Utrecht, the Netherlands. At Webshophelpers, we work hard for the results of our clients, and are therefore proud to say that they have graded us with an average A-minus. It also fills us with pride to inform you that Webshophelpers is a SEOshop Gold Partner and Certified Visual Website Optimizer Partner. 11