Reading:
SEO Checklist for eCommerce to Help You Drive Organic Traffic

SEO Checklist for eCommerce to Help You Drive Organic Traffic

April 27, 2023

Many online store owners flock to search engine optimization as a cost-effective way to bring customers to their websites. However, SEO is not as simple as creating an ad and bidding for placement. Optimizing your site for organic search engine ranking needs to happen on every line of code, from your product descriptions to your website’s security.

Let’s go through the twelve most important items that should be on your SEO checklist when optimizing your eCommerce website for boosting organic traffic and, in return, profits.

1. Register with Google Search Console

Your first step in improving your online store’s SEO is auditing where it currently stands. The best way to do this is by utilizing the Google Search Console: a free tool that shows how Google views your site. The Google Search Console, or GSC, can provide you with important information on how your site performs on their SERPs (search engine result pages), giving you insight on your SEO strategy moving forward.

The GSC can be accessed within your Google account’s Google Webmaster Tools, wherein you can add your site as a property. You’ll also want to submit your sitemap to Google, which will appear in your Sitemaps report.

Within the GSC, you can learn about and monitor:

  • Search keywords that you’re ranking for
  • Highest traffic pages
  • Average CTR (click-through rate)
  • Impressions & average position over time
  • Ranking increases and decreases
  • Highest traffic & CTR queries
  • Index and unindexed pages
  • Total backlinks on your site
  • AMP errors

2. Set Up Google Analytics

While the Google Search Console gives you insight into your site’s overall performance, Google Analytics can provide you an even more detailed view of how visitors and customers are interacting with your site. 

To access Google Analytics, set it up with your Google account and add the tracking code to your website. Most eCommerce platforms have a built-in tool that streamlines this process, making it so that you don’t have to manually add the code to every page on your site. 

With your account set up, you can start viewing data and learning about your site’s traffic. There are several different types of reports, all falling under four main categories:

  • Audience Reports: This includes demographics, interests, geography, and behavior.
  • Acquisition Reports: Analyze from all traffic, AdWords, SEO, social, and campaigns.
  • Behavior Reports: Monitor behavior on-site content, speed, search, and more.
  • Conversions: Track your goals, eCommerce, and multi-channel funnels.

3. Secure Your Site

If you haven’t already, you need to secure your site. This is done with an SSL certificate, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer. But, how does your site’s security affect its SEO? Google cares about their users’ experience browsing sites that their SERPs serves them; this includes their security. Having an SSL certificate installed on your website shows Google (and your customers) that your site is trustworthy and safe to browse and buy from.

Secure websites with SSL certificates will have “HTTPS” at the beginning of their URL. Without security, your site will begin with HTTP. This matters because Google will alert users when navigating to an unsecure site that doesn’t have HTTPS with a “Your connection is not private” notification. This can cause unsecured websites to lose traffic and ranking.

SEO Checklist Site Security

4. Conduct Keyword Research

With all of the basics in place, the next step is formulating your SEO strategy. The heart of any business’s SEO is optimizing for the right keywords. But, before you can do that, you need to find out what the right keywords are. This is where keyword research comes in.

First, you need to understand who your customers are and what they want from your business. This can help you glean what they would type into Google to find your site, what products they’re looking for, and what they already know.

With these brainstormed keywords, utilize a keyword tool like the “Search Results” feature in Google Search Console to see how they perform on SERPs. You can also determine broad matches and exact matches based on Google’s search data. From here, determine which keywords have high volume and relevance to your business.

Remember that you don’t want to target keywords with the highest volume if you’re a smaller business – you may not be able to compete with the sites that already rank for them. To rank for better keywords with high conversion value, look for “long-tail” keywords. This type of Keyword is usually a phrase, question, or several words stringed together that form a more specific query. Here’s an example:

  • Broad Keyword: “t-shirt”
  • Long-Tail Keyword: “inexpensive red cotton t-shirt”

5. Add Content to Pages

Adding optimized content is one of the most effective ways to help pages on your site rank. In the case of eCommerce, this means adding content to your product pages, category pages, and extra pages like “About Us” or a blog.

Product pages should have valuable descriptions that are unique from the manufacturer’s product description. This piece of content doesn’t just serve the purpose of important product details; it can also be used as a form of marketing and optimized with your target keywords. Another form of content that should be available on product pages is a section for customer reviews; this can contribute to your site’s rich snippets and assist in developing social proof.

Like you performed keyword research on your online store, you should also research keywords for each page you’re optimizing.

6. Find Keywords Through Competitor Research

If your competitors rank higher than your ranking in search engines, you can use their sites to get keyword ideas. First, type your primary Keyword in Google search, choose the highest-ranked competitor, and scan their category and product pages for potential keywords. 

You should use a different keyword than your competitors because they can outrank you. It’s also critical to pay attention to breadcrumbs. It’s an advanced navigation function that helps Google to scan and index your site. After entering your site into Google, you should see yousite.com > category > subcategory if you’ve set up your breadcrumbs correctly. 

7. Optimize Your Meta Tags & Slugs

Meta tags are pieces of text found within a site’s code that describes content on the page. This includes page titles, headings, descriptions, and images.

First, let’s start with the meta title. This refers to the title of your page as shown in a SERP. Your page’s meta title should include the keyword that you’re optimizing for on that page, ideally near the beginning. It should also be easy to read, enticing, and short (Google prefers 50-60 characters.)

Next, optimize your page’s meta description. Here, you’ll want to include your primary target keyword and secondary, relevant keywords. However, avoid keyword stuffing, which is the practice of trying to add as many keywords as possible into a piece of content – this results in a hard-to-read, spammy description that Google will penalize. Keep your meta description within 160 characters, as Google will begin to truncate it past that point.

The heading tags on your site should also be optimized. The site’s H1 tag represents the page’s title, so you should only use one and include your primary keyword. Make sure that your H1 tag is unique from your page title tag. H2 tags, and so-on, are the perfect place to add supplementary keywords.

Images also require meta tags, referred to as “alt tags.” Adding image alt tags helps Google better understand what an image on your page is, but it also helps improve your site’s usability for visitors using screen readers.

Beyond meta tags, optimizing the page’s URL slug is also important. The “slug” of a URL refers to everything after your domain name. Keep your page’s URL slug short, relevant, and unique to the page, and include the target keyword.

8. Use Rich Snippets

Have you ever seen a search result with extra features, like star ratings or prices? Those are rich snippets, which is structured data that is used to add extra details about a site and page content that search engines can use to better display your page.

SEO Checklist Rich Snippets

Source

There’s a long list of rich snippets available to use, but the most important ones to optimize for in eCommerce are:

  • Pricing: This shows directly on your page’s search result the price of your product.
  • Ratings & Reviews: These appear on product page results as star ratings based on the product’s average customer reviews.
  • Availability: This displays to users whether the item is in or out of stock directly on the result.

9. Design for Mobile Friendliness

Google now ranks based on a Mobile First Index. This means that Google is now looking at your site’s performance on mobile before it even looks at its desktop version. You can use the Google Search Console to see how your website operates on mobile devices, and where it needs improvement.

We’ve already covered several things that will improve your online store’s mobile experience. When optimizing your site for mobile devices, follow these guidelines:

  • Use the same images and text on both your mobile and desktop site.
  • Enable structured data for reviews and products.
  • Have title tags, meta descriptions, etc. in place.
  • Check your page load time for mobile devices.
  • Implement AMP (accelerated mobile pages).

In addition to these guidelines, your site should be using responsive design. When a website is responsive, it dynamically changes to fit the site of the user’s device screen, presenting all necessary elements in a way that works best for that orientation.

10. Include FAQ Section

Many users’ keywords searched are questions. Including a FAQ section in your eCommerce store is a good idea. You can answer common customer questions on the product page and display them in a question-and-answer format. 

If you know your customer profile well, you will probably have some idea of the type of questions they ask. If you need help, you can consult your sales team and customer success team. Plus, keyword research tools can guide you and filter the keywords posed as questions. 

11. Improve Your Page Speed

Because Google prioritizes websites and eCommerce stores that serve seamless browsing experiences, the loading speed of your website’s pages is a crucial factor in ranking. 40% of consumers will leave a website if they need to wait more than 3 seconds for it to load. 

You can easily measure your website pages’ current speed using a tool like PageSpeed Insights. Google says the ideal page loading time should be less than 3 seconds. If your page loads slower than that, you can take the following actions to improve your timing:

  • Compress extremely large photos and images.
  • Reduce the amount of redirects it takes to get to your page. 
  • Optimize your server response time (it should be below 200ms).
  • Make sure your website is running on top quality hosting.

10. Monitor Your Progress

With your SEO strategies in full effect, it’s crucial to determine what’s going right, what’s going wrong, and where to improve. SEO is not a “set it and forget it” marketing strategy; it’s constantly changing and evolving, requiring your constant attention. 

Utilize Google Analytics throughout every SEO change you make to your eCommerce website. Keep an eye on pages that seem to be performing worse than others and use that information to make informed decisions. You may even find out that certain products may need to be altered or discontinued to boost profits gained from your traffic.

Wrapping Up

With the guidelines that we’ve covered, your online store’s SEO strategy can begin. However, keep in mind that this checklist doesn’t cover every single facet of SEO; this only scratches the surface. Using these basics, continue to optimize your online store in new ways that keep Google, and your customers, satisfied.



75 Comments
  1. Ken Chan
    August 19, 2020

    Thank you for sharing this article, I`m very appreciative and thankful to read thank you. Keep sharing.

  2. Prisync Team
    August 24, 2020

    Hi Ken, thank you for the thumbs up! We're very happy to be helpful. ?

  3. Laktotech Labs Private Limited
    August 27, 2020

    Thank you for sharing this information. This information is very useful to us.

  4. Keval Padia
    September 1, 2020

    Great content. I love how your articles make it easy to understand and implement for people with little or no knowledge of SEO. Keep writing!

  5. Prisync Team
    September 4, 2020

    Hi Keval, thank you for the wonderful comment! We're so glad to hear we can be helpful, and going to keep sharing content that we think is insightful. Come back for more!

  6. Mattew Thomas
    September 9, 2020

    This is a fantastic post on behalf of the SEO Checklist for eCommerce.

  7. Prisync Team
    September 10, 2020

    Thank you Mattew!

  8. Jhon pace
    October 14, 2020

    I love this article because all content is too good. Thanks for sharing the awesome article.

  9. Prisync Team
    October 19, 2020

    Thanks a lot! Come back for more!

  10. website development auckland
    December 16, 2020

    Hi, thank you for such a brilliant post. I have been reading some blogs that gives me more knowledge about this topic seo checklist for ecommerce to help you drive organic traffic. I must say this is one of the best among them. You have done a great research for I feel, thanks for sharing.

  11. Surya Nivas
    December 22, 2020

    thanks for the quality articles you post on your blog!!

  12. AQIB KHAN
    December 23, 2020

    its a very helpful information for us. thanks for such good information.

  13. Prisync Team
    December 23, 2020

    Thanks a lot for the comment, we're glad to hear we can be helpful!

  14. Prisync Team
    December 23, 2020

    Hi Surya, we're really glad to hear you find our blog useful!

  15. Prisync Team
    December 23, 2020

    Thank you, Aqib!

  16. AQIB KHAN
    December 24, 2020

    it is useful information for us. Thanks for share such a good information. ITS my 2nd time I visit here

  17. Robert
    December 26, 2020

    Reference Keywords in URLs is also useful: Because URL is the first thing Google, and oftentimes users, notice. An easy-to-read URL helps people and search engines understand a page’s context.

  18. Prisync Team
    December 30, 2020

    Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge Robert, we appreciate your contribution!

  19. WonderPush
    January 6, 2021

    This is great list of resources!

  20. Brack Nelson
    January 6, 2021

    I am glad to know about Rich Snippets. I ever used to see rich snippets on e-commerce sites but didn't know the actual keyword related to whatever you explained in Rich snippets. Thanks.

  21. Prisync Team
    January 6, 2021

    Thank you, we appreciate it!

  22. Prisync Team
    January 6, 2021

    Thank you, Brack! We're glad to hear you found the blog informative!

  23. ganesh
    January 11, 2021

    Wow, I’m happy I found this article. I agree with you, put yourself in the customer’s shoes could help us to get the desired results for business i,e, searcher’s intent. I really appreciate your work. Thanks! Looking forward to the next.

  24. ganesh
    January 11, 2021

    Great information and instructions here, I love your content. it gives more knowledge about SEO. Thanks for sharing

  25. David Williamson
    January 23, 2021

    Nice! The information I got through this blog has really helped me in understanding this SEO checklist for ecommerce to help you drive organic traffic That was something, I was desperately looking for, thankfully I found this at the right time. Thanks for giving us such useful article.

  26. Priya Sharma
    January 28, 2021

    Absolutely informative article. I read your article and your article is very helpful for me thanks for sharing it with us. It certainly reminded me of so many “ToDo’s” to add to my list.

  27. binicar menorca
    January 29, 2021

    thanks

  28. Prisync Team
    January 29, 2021

    Thanks a lot, Ganesh, we're so happy to be helpful!

  29. Prisync Team
    January 29, 2021

    Thanks a lot, David! It makes us really happy to hear we could be helpful!

  30. Prisync Team
    January 29, 2021

    That's amazing, Priya! We're happy to share our knowledge!

  31. Prisync Team
    January 29, 2021

    Thank you for reading!

  32. Erin J
    February 24, 2021

    I was looking for a fresh perspective on this topic, this post was useful. You explained the concepts so well. The company I work for has been discussing ways to attract new customers. Thanks for helping me see how getting SEO right will drive more organic traffic.

  33. Emilin Shyni
    February 25, 2021

    Very Informative Article.

  34. Keerthi.P
    February 26, 2021

    Great Piece of Content for E-commerce Stores & easy to understand too.

  35. SVN Prasad
    February 28, 2021

    Very well written article about the checklist for SEO which serves a very important role in search engine optimization.
    Thanks for the article.

  36. Anil Jangid
    February 28, 2021

    Thank you so much for this Article. This the exactly what I am looking for it.

    Really helpful for people like me who just started eCommerce journey

  37. toolstotraffic
    February 28, 2021

    Very Informative Thanks for Sharing.

  38. Deepak
    March 1, 2021

    It is a great blog post, very helpful and informative tips for eCommerce business. I like it thanks for sharing this information.

  39. allshops
    March 5, 2021

    Creating a beautiful website is only the 50 percent of the job. Search Engine Optimization is the other 50 percent that leads to success. This article is very helpful for the proper implementation of SEO to our website. Thank you.

  40. Linksys Extender Setup
    March 6, 2021

    Thanks for sharing!

  41. tp link ac1750 setup
    March 8, 2021

    Thankyou so much for sharing

  42. tp link ac1750 setup
    March 8, 2021

    Nice post

  43. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you, Erin! We appreciate the comment!

  44. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you, Emily!

  45. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you, Keerthi, we appreciate it!

  46. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you! We appreciate the comment!

  47. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you, Anil!

  48. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you!

  49. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thanks a lot!

  50. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you! We're glad to hear that!

  51. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you!

  52. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you for reading!

  53. Prisync Team
    March 9, 2021

    Thank you!

  54. Mywifiext
    March 9, 2021

    nice post

  55. vishal shah
    March 27, 2021

    Thank you for the comprehensive knowledge, really appreciate it.

  56. Unleashing Potential
    April 9, 2021

    The points mentioned in this post will help optimise an eCommerce website to further boost its organic traffic. Thanks for sharing such effective content!

  57. ujwal pandit
    April 12, 2021

    Great advice, a lot of people are still stuck in the 2010’s methods of SEO/Marketing. This article is definitely up to date on which methods are working best right now. Thanks for sharing this.

  58. Web design auckland
    April 14, 2021

    This concept is very good which give us information regarding the seo checklist for ecommerce to help you to drive organic traffic. It is a pleasure worth reading this article. I enjoyed reading this article and would suggest others to come in this particular blog and get all the information regarding it.

  59. zensly
    April 19, 2021

    SEO is important for every business.

    This is very great article. Thank you For sharing with us.

  60. sunand chowdary
    April 22, 2021

    Thanks for sharing such useful information as a blog.

  61. Norma D. Rivera
    May 11, 2021

    Really like these new tips, which I haven't heard of before, like the Add Content to Pages. Can’t wait to implement some of these as soon as possible.

  62. Tex Hooper
    June 22, 2021

    That makes sense that you would need to fix your title tags. I need more traffic to my website. I'll have to consider getting an SEO marketer to look at my site.

  63. Arena Animation Chowringhee
    July 12, 2021

    Internal links are the link that direct visitors from one page on your website to another page on your site.

  64. Sharique
    January 17, 2022

    great piece of content and love the fact how the content goes in depth about SEO

  65. Matilda Holloway
    March 9, 2022

    Thanks for sharing this content. It's very informative and useful.
    Looking forward for more posts like this.

  66. relentless digital
    June 13, 2022

    SEO is one of the most important parts of an effective online marketing strategy. With SEO, you can track nearly every aspect of your strategy, like increases in rankings, traffic, and conversions. You even have the ability to see demographic information and other individual engagement metrics.

  67. xtra marketing
    June 28, 2022

    I read this post your post so nice and very informative post thanks for sharing this post. Creative blog I have ever seen. good work. I appreciate that.

  68. Avril
    August 6, 2022

    Successful SEO isn't tied in with deceiving Google. It's tied in with partnering with Google to give the best-indexed lists to Google's clients.

  69. Melike Ulaman
    August 9, 2022

    Thank you!

  70. Anil Shahid
    August 18, 2022

    I like your services , your packages are really affordable . Thank you for sharing these advices, I hope it will help me

  71. Five
    September 5, 2022

    SEO in today's digital marketing is the #1 factor for the business to boom.

  72. Jennie
    October 31, 2023

    Provides valuable insights into queries that your target audience is actually searching on google.

  73. Jennie
    October 31, 2023

    very helpful content.

  74. Extratech SEO
    November 3, 2023

    Thank you for sharing. It is a very interesting and helpful checklist.

  75. Matthew
    November 27, 2023

    Keyword Optimization: Prioritize keyword research to identify relevant terms for your industry. Create high-quality content infused with these keywords to improve organic search visibility. Craft engaging, informative content that seamlessly integrates keywords without compromising readability.


Leave a Reply

Related Stories

Choosing A Push Notification Platform
June 10, 2020

8 Factors to Consider When Choosing A Push Notification Platform

Push notifications help you increase customer engagement. Check out the 8 factors to consider when choosing a push notification platform.

Store Value
December 5, 2017

Store Value: How to Increase It

Let’s take a look at some ways to help build the value of your E-Commerce store by employing the given tactics in this article.

Content Marketing 4 Critical Mistakes
May 10, 2016

Content Marketing: 4 Critical Mistakes

Content marketing mistakes harm E-Commerce businesses on both resources and reputation. Polish up your content strategy with our post.