Google can send free traffic to your e-commerce website and some of those visitors will then go on to buy something from you. Maximising the number of visitors that you get from Google, however, requires SEO.

That said, SEO is a big topic, particularly for e-commerce websites. So, to get you started, here are four essential basics you need to know.

Keywords

Keywords are the phrases that potential customers type into Google when looking for the products you sell. When it comes to keywords, you should have the following goals:

• Ensure your website appears on Google search results pages for all crucial keywords related to your products
• Ensure your website appears as high up on these Google search results pages as possible

You do this using several techniques:

• Researching keywords so you know which ones to optimise your website for
• Having one target keyword per page
• Optimising each page by including the keyword in the page’s URL, title, heading, and in the content of the page
• Telling people about the page to get them to link back to it

That is a very quick overview, but it is a succinct description of the importance of keywords to SEO and how to make them work for your e-commerce website.

Mobile-Friendly

Having a mobile-friendly website is essential for SEO, whatever type of website you have. For e-commerce websites, however, this can be a bit more challenging.

This is because many people consider how a website looks when they think about mobile. In other words, ensuring the website adjusts to display properly on a smaller screen.

However, having a mobile-friendly website also means ensuring all the functions and features work for people using it on a mobile device. This includes your shopping cart and checkout processes.

In fact, it should be just as quick, safe, and easy for a customer to buy something from your website using a mobile device as it is to make a purchase on a computer.

Fast-Loading Website

Your website should load quickly too. This is one area that many e-commerce websites fall down on, but it is critical. This is because Google loves fast-loading websites and it constantly advises website owners to make their websites faster.

Consumers like fast-loading websites too. So, not only will a fast loading website help with your e-commerce SEO, it will also get you more sales.

Reviews and Product Ratings

The final essential SEO basic for e-commerce websites on this list is to add star ratings to the products you sell as well as getting reviews for your business. You should use one of Google’s approved services when doing this to ensure you get the maximum benefit.

While the impact on rankings is not as great as other SEO factors, star reviews and ratings enhance the appearance of your website on search results pages. This is because Google displays star ratings on its search results pages, helping to encourage people to click.

Getting Started with E-Commerce SEO

Of course, there is much more to e-commerce SEO than the four points on this list. However, getting an understanding of these points and then taking action on them will improve your Google ranking and bring visitors to your website.