Search engine optimization can boost your visibility, increase your views and even drive business growth but in the days of content automation and fast changing algorithms getting a decent visibility can be very difficult especially in some niches and industries.
In fact, some businesses have been frustrated to pack up after experiencing
lower visibility especially since Google's Helpful Content Update and the
subsequent updates. And even more brands might actually get under the bus as
the search engines continues to advance its algorithms to reward human
generated content over AI generated.
In view of this, having worked with ecommerce brands locally and outside
Nigeria, I'll be sharing some of the key SEO strategies for ecommerce in
Nigeria and how you can use this to drive your visibility as an ecommerce
brand.
1. Identify & Target Longtail Keywords
Choose your keywords properly. Identify and use keywords that align with your
products and audience search phrases. But above all, target long tail keywords
if you're optimizing for a new business. Doing this reduces the competition
while giving you the chance to rank on the first page for longer tail keywords.
This is a great option for new ecommerce websites.
2. Optimize Product Pages
Your product pages are very crucial. You have to optimize each and everyone of
them with the target keywords for the particular product you plan to rank for.
I have analyzed a number of ecommerce websites where the overall website was
optimized but the pages where ignored. Understand, product pages are a core
part of all ecommerce SEO campaigns. They are a core part of the building
blocks and cannot be left behind. You must pay attention to the meta tags, meta
description, product descriptions etc.
3. Fix your Technical SEO
Technical search engine optimization is a big part of ecommerce SEO that can
have a large impact on the success of other optimization initiatives you have
in place. For example, if you have all the best SEO strategies in place but
your content is not indexed, that will amount to a total waste of time. Same
thing goes if you have a very slow loading website with great content.
As part of your technical SEO for ecommerce, you have to submit and verify your
website with Google search console, Analytics and ensure that the website is
indexed, submit your robot.txt files and ensure that all pages are mapped, fix
and or redirect broken links and of course, ensure that your web pages are
delivering promptly. In fact, make your website easily accessible to human
users and search engine bots. It's that simple.
4. Engage in Strategic Content Marketing
Content is still at the heart of search engine optimization. Be it on page SEO,
off page SEO, link building etc., almost all aspects of SEO is powered by
content marketing. But in this age and time of AI automated content creation,
you want to stand out by creating meaningful content that is human generated
and aimed at adding value to users.
This is one of the core point of content
creation for ecommerce SEO. Consider the EEAT factors as part of your content
creation process. Ensure you're adding value while also demonstrating your expertise,
showcasing your experience, indicating your authoritativeness and
trustworthiness. This is very important. You can do this individually, hire ghostwriters or freelance content creators.
5. Ramp up your link building Strategy
While a lot of people are well aware of external link building, I have worked
on a lot of websites without a single internal link strategy. As much as
external link building is crucial, building internal links across your website
is also essential for indexing, usability and reduction in bounce rates.
That
said, as part of your external link building, consider getting links from
relevant websites and other websites that do not post spammy content. Getting
links from spammy websites can lead to serious consequences. Also, opt for
websites with a decent domain authority. And do not forget to have a mix of both
local and international links, depending on your SEO goals.
6. Integrate with Social Media
Integrate your ecommerce website with social media. Identify the top social
media platforms with the largest number of your target audience. Create a page
for your ecommerce website on those platforms, optimize and add your details to
that page and then create and share content with your audience on your social
media page. This allows for you to build trust, attract visitors over to your
website while also engaging with your audience. Oftentimes, these things are
credibility boosters. Especially if your social media platforms are active. You
can also share links to your products and content on your social media.
7. Diversify your Traffic
Do not depend on search engine alone, diversify your traffic. This is one of
the top ecommerce SEO tips I usually share with my clients. You need a number
of different sources of traffic to keep your business floating. You can use
different strategies to achieve this, including guest posting, posting on
social media, advertising and sponsored content on other platforms.
As much as
possible, push beyond search engines. And even with search engines, push beyond
Google. This will give you the leverage to not only boost your traffic but
build a platform that is not reliant on only a single source of traffic.
Remember, while SEO might involve similar strategies in most cases, result
driven SEO is nuanced. Using these strategies will boost your ecommere SEO inNigeria. And as you build along, you'll also evolve other strategies that will
work for your own ecommerce website.
https://www.victorwinners.com/how-to-set-up-seo-for-ecommerce/
