Last Updated on September 1, 2023 by David
Guest Post by Michael Deane
We live in a digital age, and the majority of people these days search online for what they need to buy. In that respect, setting up an online store for your e-commerce business is crucial if you’re aiming for success. However, just selling your products/services online is not enough.
In order to rise up and stand out from the crowds of e-commerce businesses, you shouldn’t lose focus when it comes to proper website optimization. That said, keep in mind the following tips and practices that can transform your website and set your business up for success.
Make Sure Your High-Impact Pages Are Optimized
High-impact pages on your e-commerce website will probably include your home page and product pages, together with category pages and maybe even your blogs. Make the most out of available analytics tools so that you can learn what your website’s high-impact pages are in order to optimize them further.
The optimization of high-impact pages involves several different practices. For starters, you have to make sure that these pages feature your target keyword(s). Every page should have its own and unique metadata, and every single image you use should have its alt tags and descriptions.
Your product pages should all feature unique and informative product descriptions, together with images and customer reviews. Don’t forget to add related products and set up rich snippets.
Strategic Internal Linking Is Your Best Friend
Once they land on your e-commerce website, you want to keep the visitors there for longer. In that respect, your goal should be to make it rather easy and intuitive for them to move from one page to another. This is where internal linking can help you.
For starters, it’s crucial that the visitors can easily find your main product categories. Aside from these links, it can make a big difference for your future success if you also add links to your top-popular products and maybe even blog posts.
At the top of your website, users should find the trail of breadcrumbs with ease. This will let them move from one page to another and explore different product categories you offer. For instance, if a user lands on a product page that features a fitness ball, they should also find a trail linking to fitness tools, fitness, sports and recreation, all the way back to your home page.
As mentioned, every product page will benefit a lot from the links to related products or products that other customers already bought together with the one being viewed at that moment.
Your Website Has to Be User-Friendly
With so many different design and customization options available, it’s easy to forget that no matter how amazing your e-commerce website may look, the bottom line is how intuitive and user-friendly it is. After all, the sophisticated and unique looks won’t help the users explore and enjoy your website to the fullest.
That said, your website structure has to be organized properly. This includes a clear and simple menu bar with no more than 7 categories. You can use drop-down menus for added links. The search bar has to be visible together with your contact info. Also, don’t hesitate to add a live chat widget to improve customer support. Most importantly, the checkout process has to be simple, quick, and intuitive.
Let’s not forget about the speed of your website. These days, people don’t want to wait in order to view a product page or make a purchase online. Therefore, you want to boost the loading speed of your e-commerce site. You can do this by compressing your file sizes, especially when product images are concerned.
Remember that most people nowadays use their smartphones and tablets to access the Web. In that respect, mobile optimization is an absolute must if you want to take your e-commerce business to success.
Make the Most Out of Blogging
Just because you’re an e-commerce business doesn’t mean you don’t have to utilize blogging. Actually, this is one of the most important optimization points for your e-commerce website if you want to rank higher in the searches, beat your competition, and present yourself as an authority in the industry.
Make sure that you post informative, engaging, top-quality content on a regular basis. You should do this at least twice a week, if not more often. No plagiarizing though! Otherwise, you’ll get a penalty and risk wasting your previous efforts.
Leave your comment section open so that you can directly interact with your readers and potential customers. It’s also essential to have sharing buttons available. This will make sharing a lot easier. Speaking of sharing, having your own blog content will help you engage your audience on social media, too.
In order to keep pushing and making your way to the top, make sure to perform regular SEO audits. This practice will keep you in the loop when it comes to the best possible functionality of your e-commerce website and new algorithm changes that may have taken place.
About Re:amaze
Re:amaze is a modern helpdesk and customer messaging platform designed to help eCommerce businesses boost customer happiness and revenue. Re:amaze allows all customer-oriented teams to work together in a shared inbox through email, social, SMS, voice, and live chat. Re:amaze also comes packaged with automated messaging and chatbots so eCommerce brands can succeed at the front lines of conversational commerce.
About Michael
Michael has been working in marketing for almost a decade and has worked with a huge range of clients, which has made him knowledgeable on many different subjects. He has recently rediscovered a passion for writing and hopes to make it a daily habit. You can read more of Michael’s work at Qeedle.