If you’re running an e-commerce website, you need to ensure that each and every page on your website fulfills SEO criteria that search engines look for and reward. The difference between an unoptimized page and an optimized one is obvious; more successfully completed transactions and more money in your pocket. An ecommerce site optimized for the search engines generates more traffic and engages visitors, increasing their chances of becoming buyers.
Implement these SEO tips on your product pages, and reap the benefits. This is a great time; the holiday season will soon be on us.
Before you get down to the interesting task of optimizing your product pages, you need to have a plan in place. This calls for some research to audit the existing status of SEO of your website. You can use free online tools or better still, commission the services of search engine optimization company. A good SEO company has the experience and offers the invaluable advantage of human insight. Common SEO errors include broken links, faulty scripts, duplication of content, absence of tags, missing images, etc.
Analyze the existing keywords and also their placement on the product page. Are they present in the page title, product heading, subheadings, and copy? How does your choice of keywords stack up against keywords targeted by competitors who are doing better than you? You will need to strike a balance between keywords’ search volume and the fight for those keywords. Choose your SEO battles carefully. In these battles, long tail keywords are your best friends. A well-thought out content strategy for promoting your product pages will boost the SEO appeal of your product pages.
Here are steps to take for basic product SEO
- Add an engaging title. Try focusing on the product name. You should include the manufacturer’s name if possible. If your product has a id number, product number or other identifying number, include it. Many people search for those identifiers.
- Add a proper description of the product. Don’t use the manufacturer’s description. If you did, you wouldn’t be the first. Or the hundredth. You want to avoid duplicate content.It is a signal to Google that the page is of low quality. Using your own unique content will give you a leg up over the other websites that lazily duplicate the manufacturer’s content.
- Add a meta description that attracts. Using a keyword rich, original meta description will help your page stand out from the competitors. Make sure to add a call to action and a couple features that distinguish either the product or your company.
- Add images with proper ALT text. Include the product name in at least the main product image. If you have other images for the product, change up the alt tag slightly.
SEO for Temporarily Unavailable Products
Do not make the mistake of deleting pages if products go out of stock. Google hates dead links, and you’ll be left with the chore of setting up the page again once the product is available. Consider adding the same product with different colors. You can direct visitors to other products in the same product category. Let users know when they can expect the product to be back. Use the opportunity to get email addresses to send the information. Build your list!
SEO for Discontinued Products
If an upgraded or an improved version replaces an existing product, then use a 301 permanent redirect to let the search engines know that you want the SEO gains of the original page to be transferred to the new page. Or you can send the visitor to the main category page for the product. If neither of these options is available, then delete the page and the URL and use a 410 status code to inform visitors that the page is gone for good.
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