Plenty of entrepreneurs out there are optimizing their websites. They know their blog needs to be mobile-first. They know your homepage needs to load fast. But it’s amazing how little SEO comes into play for business owners when it comes to ecommerce.

Rookie Ecommerce Mistakes

Here are some of the most common rookie mistakes I’ve seen when it comes to priming ecommerce platforms for internet search engines.

Lacking Knowledge

Sure. Most people generally understand what SEO is. But many don’t know what it takes to get discovered on Google. [I know, there are other search engines out there. But which one do you think everyone uses?]

Ignoring Keywords

For ecommerce platforms, we recommend researching the long-tail keywords that your target customers use. Long-tail keywords are really phrases of 3 or more words that people use to search for content online.

So if you sell women’s shoes, “women’s shoes” would be a typical keyword, whereas “women’s shoes size 9 blue” would be a long-tail keyword. As you can imagine, the more detail you have about your product/service on your ecommerce platform, the more likely a customer is to find exactly what they’re looking for.

Neglecting Content

SEO is more than just the keywords in your product descriptions. You should have additional, valuable content throughout your site that links back to your ecommerce platform.

Got a new product line? Create a landing page that tells its story. Get some great reviews? Feature them on your homepage. Reviewing a product that’s a great complement to something you offer? Write a blog about it. The more educating and enriching your content is, the faster you’ll build your customers’ trust. And that’s good news for any brand!

Leaving Copy Unlinked

Hyperlinking your text, buttons, and other media to your ecommerce—or your ecommerce listing to a relevant blog, instructional video, etc.—is a great way to enrich your content and upgrade your User Experience/User Experience (UX/UI).

PRO Tip: Switching your web pages to HTTPS improves your Google rankings— and makes your site more secure.

Getting other reputable sites to link to yours (called backlinking) is a great next step toward boosting your credibility—and your search rankings—once you have a solid internal links structure.

Keeping URLs Unchanged

Edit your URLs to make them easy for Google Bots to read, and for your customers to remember.

You’re here– so you’re on the right track when it comes to SEO. Doing your homework to find out what the experts say about SEO is step one to making sure you get it right. [And don’t worry about every little trend if you’re totally new to the game.  Focus on mastering the basics, and you’ll position yourself well for building an ever-stronger knowledge base.]

Not sure where to start? [Here’s a great primer on Google My Business (GMB).]

Forgetting Video

Integrating video into your ecommerce strategy is a great way to bring your offerings to life. You can do this with short product demos, welcome videos, and more.

Giving Up Too Soon

Many people use online/ecommerce platforms to shop around and read reviews— but make their purchases in-store. If you have a brick-and-mortar, don’t give up on your ecommerce. There’s a good chance it’s still informing and driving a lot of your in-store sales.

[Want to Be Sure Your ECommerce is Working? Request a FREE Analysis.]