Many online shoppers use Google to search for products they are interested in buying. As a result, if your online shop is not appearing on the first or second page of the search results, you are in trouble.

It is imperative that online shop owners recognize the importance of visibility as this is a highly effective way of generating new customers and in turn boosting revenue.

Fortunately, you can increase your sales by using search engine optimization (SEO), a valuable tool that can help drive your organic traffic. You should consider optimizing your online shop in the following areas.

1.   Keywords

Customers will be able to find your online shop if you use the right keywords. If you are unsure as to which search terms they are using, you will need to conduct some research.

First, identify the keywords you are ranking for on the homepage, product pages, and even your blog posts. You can choose the words or phrases based on their:

  • Relevance
  • Search volume
  • Ranking difficulty

This task will be made much easier if you have an understanding of your customers’ personas, interests, and product queries. Niche forums are an excellent way of discovering what your potential customers are talking about in relation to your products. You can visit Reddit and Quora to search for trending topics and questions about your particular sector.

2.   On-page SEO

On-page SEO can help you attract visitors who are more likely to buy your products. Once you have found the right keywords, you need to incorporate them in various locations on your website, including:

  • Title page
  • Headers, including sub-headers
  • Product pages
  • Images – in the file names and alt tags
  • Metas – title and description
  • URLs
  • The first few paragraphs

3.   Mobile devices

If you own an online shop, it is crucial to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. Otherwise, Google may penalize your site and you will rank lower on the results pages.

As well as making sure that all your relevant information is visible on a small screen, you will also need to:

  • Improve the loading speed – 50% of visitors will leave a site that takes more than three seconds to load. You can increase the speed by optimizing the images, and reducing redirects or codes.
  • Design your mobile site so that it is SEO-friendly. You need to provide a pleasant user experience; for example, by making it easy for customers to click on the appropriate links or to fill out forms.

If you are not sure how to improve your site’s mobile responsiveness, it might be a good idea to get an SEO audit for a better picture.

 

4.   Blog content

Google prefers fresh and regularly updated content as this will indicate that your online shop is active and provides relevant information.

Interesting and attention-grabbing content will also boost your search ranking and give people more reasons to click on your site and make return visits.

When creating and publishing blog posts, remember to:

  • Optimize every article with a keyword or two
  • Provide high-quality and reader-friendly content
  • Avoid keyword stuffing – Google does not like it
  • Add social sharing buttons to encourage readers to share your content
  • Add internal links to increase your site’s ranking and make it easier for search engines to find and index it
  • Update/upgrade the content to attract more leads and customers

 

5.   Link building

Link building is a very effective SEO strategy as it informs Google that your site’s content is relevant to its intended audience. When building inbound links (external pages linking to your website page), you should:

  • Only submit content to respectable websites
  • Reach out to product reviewers and provide links to your product pages
  • Take advantage of press services, such as HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
  • Refrain from using the same anchor links or always linking to the same page

It is also a good idea to build outbound links (to other websites). Google uses these links to determine whether your pages are relevant.

Remember, you need to inform the site owners first before you link to them. Usually, they will share your content with their readers, which can in turn increase your online traffic.

Don’t forget to establish a friendly relationship with these site owners as this can provide you with even more opportunities, such as:

  • Guest posting
  • Product features
  • Other relevant content

However, don’t overdo the outbound links; if you add too many, you risk distracting your readers and they may decide to leave your site.

Other essential improvements for your online shop

Even minor enhancements can boost your online search ranking. One area you should pay attention to is page code errors, such as:

  • 404 errors
  • 500 internal service errors
  • 403 forbidden responses

You need to correct them before Google de-indexes the page.

Conclusion

Online shops that appear at the top of the search engine results pages will enjoy increased online traffic and sales. If your website is struggling for search visibility, organic SEO strategies can help. By finding and adding relevant keywords to your site’s content, you will improve your online visibility and make it easier for people to discover your products and services. You should also create and post blogs and then promote them by sharing links. It is imperative that you continually improve your site’s design and remove any errors.