SEO Guide: How to do SEO for your eCommerce brand

Introduction to SEO

"Comfortable high-heels," a user searches, and a brand shows up first. It looks great, and the user clicks on the link and visits the website: that's a customer in the bag. If you're an eCommerce brand, startup, or service business owner, you'd like your product to show up on top in search results when people look for the products you offer because someone's website always shows up first - it's either you or your competitors. Getting free customers from Google without doing anything sounds amazing - and all it takes is a marketing technique called SEO.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a marketing effort that involves optimizing a website to help Google determine how high it should rank in search results. Ranking on Google is like showing up on the front page of a magazine - the only difference is everyone has a chance to reap the benefits.

How does SEO work?

Think of it this way: Google is like the "I know a guy" person - if you need something, he knows someone who can help you. But to make sure he's referring the right person, that person needs to:

• Have domain expertise on the topic.
• Be capable of helping you.
• Be credible and well-liked by many people.

Every time you ask Google something, he'll refer you to the person who has all these qualities to ensure maximum quality.

In SEO's case, the "searcher" is your customer; the "recommendation" will be your website. To be recommended by Google every time someone searches, you'll need to do some preparation so once Google starts testing, your website will be referred.

How to do SEO?

Now that you know how SEO works, let's get into how to optimize your site for the search engine so your eCommerce site can start ranking on Google. We'll focus on on-site SEO, which is everything you improve on a site to look good to Google's crawling.

There are three steps you'll need to qualify for Google's "most reliable result" award:

• Doctor's checkup
• Research
• Content Generation

To do SEO, you'll need to use an SEO tool - we'll be using Stevie AI for our SEO tutorial, as it is one of the few beginner-friendly SEO tools out there. However, if you'd like more options, they'll be listed below this blog.

Try out Stevie AI for the simplest SEO experience

Let's get started!

First step: Doctor's Checkup

Before we even start working on creating SEO-friendly content for your website, we'll first need to run some diagnostics to ensure everything is up to standard. The most notable metrics are Site Speed, Mobile-Friendliness, HTTPS Status, etc.

To do a checkup, there are multiple SEO diagnostics features we can use:

• Site Audit
• Domain Overview

These two tasks will help us figure out everything we need to know about our site, from technical errors to traffic sources.

Site Audit

What is a Site Audit?

A Site Audit is a thorough examination of your website's health and overall performance. It assesses various aspects of your site, including page load speed, mobile-friendliness, security, and on-page SEO elements like meta tags, headings, and content quality. This audit helps identify issues that could be affecting your site's search engine rankings and user experience.

Benefits of a Site Audit

Find Technical Problems: A Site Audit helps you spot issues like broken links, duplicate content, and slow page load times. Fixing these problems can improve user experience and SEO.

Speed Up Your Site: Fast-loading pages are important for search rankings and user satisfaction. A Site Audit shows you what’s slowing down your site so you can make it faster.

Improve Mobile Experience: Many users browse on mobile devices. A Site Audit checks if your site is mobile-friendly, ensuring a smooth experience on all devices.

Enhance Security: Security issues, like not having HTTPS, can hurt your site’s credibility and rankings. A Site Audit identifies security gaps and helps make your site safer.

Optimize On-Page SEO: The audit reviews key elements like title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and content relevance. Improving these can help search engines understand and rank your content better.

Better User Experience: A well-functioning site keeps visitors happy and engaged. The audit identifies usability issues that, when fixed, improve user satisfaction and reduce bounce rates.

Monitor Site Health: Regular Site Audits help you keep track of your site’s performance. By addressing issues consistently, you maintain optimal performance and prevent problems that could affect your rankings.

What to Do with Site Audit Data

After running a Site Audit, you’ll have a lot of useful information. Here’s how to use it to boost your website’s performance and SEO:

Prioritize Issues: Start by fixing the most important problems first. Focus on critical issues like broken links, security vulnerabilities, and slow page load times that affect your site’s performance and search rankings.

Fix Technical Errors: Address technical problems such as broken links, duplicate content, and mobile-friendliness. Use tools like Stevie AI to get specific recommendations and steps to resolve these issues. ** Optimize On-Page SEO**: Use the audit data to improve your on-page SEO. Update title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and content to make them relevant and keyword-rich, helping search engines understand your content better.

Better User Experience: Improve the overall user experience based on the audit findings. Make sure your site is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and offers valuable content to keep visitors engaged and reduce bounce rates.

Improve Site Speed: Take steps to make your site load faster. Compress images, use browser caching, and minimize JavaScript and CSS files. A faster site improves user satisfaction and search engine rankings.

Ensure Security: Fix any security issues identified in the audit. Implement HTTPS if it’s not already in place and address any vulnerabilities. A secure site builds trust with users and search engines.

Monitor and Maintain: Regularly check your site’s health with ongoing audits. This helps you catch and fix issues before they become major problems, ensuring your site remains high-performing and SEO-friendly.

Use Insights for Contents: Leverage the audit insights to improve your content strategy. Identify which pages perform well and why, then replicate that success across other pages.

By following these steps, you can effectively use Site Audit data to improve your website’s SEO and overall performance.

If you are using Stevie AI, you can talk to "Stevie" about your report and ask term-related questions such as "What does HTTPS status mean?" or request site improvement suggestions and strategies such as "What are some of the most urgent things I need to work on?" The best part about Stevie AI is that the chatbot "Stevie" can help guide you through your entire SEO journey based on your site data.

Domain Overview

What is Domain Overview?

A Domain Overview provides a comprehensive analysis of your website's overall performance. It offers insights into key metrics such as organic search traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles. This high-level scan helps you understand where your main traffic sources are coming from so you can strategize accordingly.

Benefits of Domain Overview

Understand Organic Traffic: The Domain Overview shows you how many visitors come to your site from search engines. This helps you assess the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.

Keyword Performance: By analyzing which keywords drive traffic to your site, you can see which ones are performing well and which need improvement. This information helps you optimize your content strategy to target high-performing keywords.

Backlink Profile: The scan provides insights into your site's backlinks, showing the number and quality of links pointing to your domain. Backlinks are crucial for SEO as they boost your site's authority and trustworthiness.

Competitor Analysis: Domain Overview lets you compare your site's performance with competitors. Understanding where your competitors excel can highlight areas for improvement on your site and help you develop strategies to outrank them.

Identify Technical Issues: The overview can reveal technical issues like broken links, slow page load times, and mobile-friendliness problems. Fixing these issues can improve user experience and search engine rankings.

Track Progress Over Time: Regular Domain Overview scans help you track your site's progress. You can measure the impact of your SEO efforts, see improvements, and adjust your strategy as needed to keep climbing the rankings.

How to Use Domain Overview Data

Once you've run a Domain Overview scan, you'll have a good sense of your website's performance metrics. Here’s how to leverage this data to improve your SEO strategy:

Assess Organic Traffic: Analyze your site's organic traffic data. Look at trends over time to understand how your traffic has changed. Identify any sudden drops or spikes and investigate the causes. This information helps you gauge the overall health of your SEO efforts.

Evaluate Keyword Performance: Examine which keywords are driving traffic to your site. Identify high-performing keywords and consider creating more content around those topics. For low-performing keywords, assess the competition and make necessary adjustments to your content strategy to improve rankings.

Analyze Backlink Profile: Review your backlink profile to see the number and quality of backlinks pointing to your site. High-quality backlinks from authoritative sites can significantly boost your SEO. Identify opportunities to acquire more high-quality backlinks and address any toxic backlinks that could harm your rankings.

Compare with Competitors: Use the data to compare your site's performance against your competitors. Look at their organic traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses can help you refine your own SEO strategy to gain a competitive edge.

Identify Content Opportunities: The Domain Overview can highlight content gaps and opportunities. Identify topics and keywords your competitors are ranking for but you are not. Create high-quality content targeting these areas to capture more organic traffic.

Optimize Technical SEO: Ensure your site is technically sound by addressing any issues found during the Domain Overview. This includes improving site speed, ensuring mobile-friendliness, and fixing any technical errors that could impact your SEO performance.

Track Progress Over Time: Regularly monitor your Domain Overview data to track the progress of your SEO efforts. Set benchmarks and measure improvements over time. This continuous monitoring helps you stay on top of changes and make informed decisions to maintain and improve your rankings.

Leverage Insights for Strategic Planning: Use the insights gained from the Domain Overview to inform your broader marketing strategy. Align your SEO efforts with your overall business goals, ensuring that your online presence supports your brand’s growth and visibility.

If you are using Stevie AI, similar to the Site Audit, you can chat with "Stevie" about your Domain Overview data and ask questions such as "What are the primary sources of my site traffic?" or "Can you provide me with a 1-month strategy on how to get traffic from this specific source?"

Second Step: Research

Now that we have a smooth website with minimal errors, we can get started with some research that can help us with the keywords we'll be targeting for the content. Because Google will refer you if it thinks you're the right person, and to determine that, you'll need the right keywords.

For the Research step, we'll have these tasks to execute:

Competitor Analysis

What is Competitor Analysis

Competitor Analysis is a crucial part of your SEO strategy. By understanding what your competitors are doing well, you can identify opportunities and gaps in your own strategy.

What is Competitor Analysis?

Competitor analysis involves examining the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors' SEO strategies. This includes analyzing their keyword rankings, backlink profiles, content strategies, and overall site performance.

Benefits of Competitor Analysis

Identify Keyword Opportunities: Discover which keywords your competitors are ranking for that you are not. This can help you find new opportunities to target high-traffic keywords. Understand Backlink Strategies: Analyzing your competitors' backlink profiles can reveal link-building opportunities and help you understand which types of content attract backlinks in your niche. Improve Content Strategy: By studying the content that performs well for your competitors, you can gain insights into what types of content resonate with your audience and replicate their success. Benchmark Performance: Comparing your site's performance to your competitors helps you set realistic goals and benchmarks for your SEO efforts. Uncover Technical Issues: Identifying technical SEO strengths and weaknesses in your competitors' sites can provide insights into areas where you can improve your own site.

How to Use Competitor Analysis Data

Target New Keywords: Use the keyword data to expand your keyword strategy. Create content targeting keywords that your competitors rank for but you don't.

Build Quality Backlinks: Focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks similar to those of your competitors. Reach out to websites that link to your competitors and offer valuable content in exchange for backlinks.

Enhance Content Quality: Use insights from your competitors' content strategies to improve your own. Create high-quality, engaging content that addresses the needs and interests of your audience.

Improve Technical SEO: Address any technical issues identified in your competitors' sites to ensure your site performs optimally. Track Progress: Continuously monitor your competitors and track your own progress. Adjust your strategy based on new insights and changes in the competitive landscape.

###Keyword Research and Analysis

What is Keyword Analysis?

Keyword Analysis, also known as Keyword Research, is the process of evaluating and understanding the search terms that people enter into search engines. This feature provides vital data about the keywords, including search volume, keyword difficulty, cost-per-click (CPC), and competitive analysis. Understanding these metrics helps you optimize your content strategy and target the most effective keywords to improve your search engine rankings.

####Benefits of Keyword Research and Analysis Identify High-Volume Keywords: Find out which keywords have the highest search volumes. Targeting these keywords can drive more traffic to your site.

Evaluate Keyword Difficulty: Understand how competitive a keyword is to rank for. This helps you choose keywords that are achievable based on your site's authority.

Optimize Content Strategy: Use keyword data to inform your content creation. Focus on topics and keywords that are most relevant and likely to attract your target audience.

Improve PPC Campaigns: If you are running paid search campaigns, keyword analysis can help you select keywords with a good balance of search volume and CPC, maximizing your ROI.

Stay Ahead of Competitors: By analyzing the keywords your competitors are targeting, you can identify gaps and opportunities in your own strategy.

How to Use Keyword Research and Analysis Data

Content Creation: Use the insights to create content that targets high-volume, low-difficulty keywords. This improves your chances of ranking higher and attracting more traffic.

SEO Optimization: Optimize existing content by incorporating relevant keywords. Update title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and body content.

PPC Strategy: Select the best keywords for your pay-per-click campaigns to ensure you are bidding on terms that offer the best return on investment.

Competitive Analysis: Identify the keywords your competitors are successfully ranking for and find opportunities to target similar or related terms.

Monitor Trends: Regularly perform keyword analysis to stay updated on changes in search trends and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Keyword Suggestion

What is Keyword Suggestion?

Keyword Suggestion is a feature that analyzes your website's content and suggests relevant keywords that you can target to improve your search engine rankings. This feature also includes analyzing competitor sites to identify keyword gaps and opportunities, providing a comprehensive strategy for optimizing your keyword targeting.

Benefits of Keyword Suggestion

Tailored Keyword Recommendations: Receive keyword suggestions specifically tailored to your website’s content, ensuring relevance and high potential for ranking. Competitive Analysis: Understand the keywords your competitors are ranking for and identify gaps in your own strategy. This helps you find new opportunities to attract traffic.

Comprehensive Keyword Data: Get detailed insights on suggested keywords, including search volume, keyword difficulty, and cost-per-click (CPC).

Enhanced Content Strategy: Use the suggested keywords to guide your content creation and optimization efforts, ensuring you target the most effective terms.

How to do Keyword Research

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How to Use Keyword Suggestion Data

Integrate Keywords into Content: Incorporate the suggested keywords into your existing and new content. Ensure they are naturally integrated into title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and body text.

Update SEO Strategy: Adjust your SEO strategy based on the new keyword insights. Focus on targeting high-potential keywords that were previously overlooked.

Monitor Competitors: Regularly analyze competitors’ sites to stay updated on their keyword strategy and adapt accordingly.

Enhance PPC Campaigns: Use the keyword suggestions to refine your PPC campaigns, focusing on keywords that offer a good balance of search volume and CPC.

Great! By now, we should have all the keywords and data we need to generate content for your eCommerce site - this is where the fun begins!

Third Step: Content Generation

There are many forms of content for an eCommerce site, but for now, we'll focus on the most important ones:

• Product Page Optimization
• Blog Optimization
• Landing Page Optimization

Landing Page Optimization

What is Landing Page Optimization?

Landing Page Optimization (LPO) is the process of improving each element of your landing page to enhance user experience, increase conversions, and boost your site's search engine rankings. This involves creating relevant, high-quality content, ensuring a seamless user experience, and following best SEO practices.

####Why is Landing Page Optimization Important for SEO?

Improved Search Engine Rankings: Optimized landing pages are more likely to rank higher in search engine results. By incorporating relevant keywords, meta tags, and high-quality content, search engines can better understand the relevance and quality of your page, making it more likely to appear in top search results.

Enhanced User Experience: Search engines prioritize websites that offer a positive user experience. An optimized landing page with clear, engaging content, intuitive navigation, and fast loading times ensures visitors stay longer and engage more, which can positively impact your rankings.

Increased Conversion Rates: An effectively optimized landing page not only attracts visitors but also converts them into customers. By focusing on relevant content, strong calls-to-action, and a smooth user journey, you can increase the likelihood of visitors taking desired actions, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

Lower Bounce Rates: Bounce rate is a key factor in SEO. If visitors quickly leave your landing page, it signals to search engines that the page may not be relevant or useful. Optimized landing pages that provide valuable content and a good user experience can keep visitors engaged longer, reducing bounce rates.

Better Keyword Targeting: Landing page optimization involves strategically using keywords that your target audience is searching for. This not only helps in improving your page’s relevance but also ensures that you attract the right audience. Effective keyword targeting can lead to higher search engine rankings and increased organic traffic.

Higher Quality Score for Paid Campaigns: For those using pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, an optimized landing page can lead to a higher Quality Score. Search engines like Google Ads use Quality Score to determine the relevance and quality of your landing page and ad. A higher Quality Score can result in lower costs per click and better ad positions.

Enhanced Mobile Experience: With a significant number of users accessing websites via mobile devices, ensuring your landing page is mobile-friendly is crucial. Optimized landing pages are responsive, load quickly on mobile devices, and provide a seamless user experience, which can improve your SEO performance.

Stronger Brand Perception: A well-optimized landing page enhances your brand's credibility and professionalism. High-quality content, clear messaging, and a polished user experience can create a positive impression, encouraging visitors to trust your brand and engage further.

Product Page Optimization

What is Product Page Optimization

Product Page Optimization is the process of enhancing the content and structure of your eCommerce product pages to improve their visibility in search engine results. This involves optimizing product descriptions, images, meta tags, and other on-page elements to attract more organic traffic and convert visitors into customers.

Why is Product Page Optimization Important for SEO?

Increased Visibility in Search Results: Optimized product pages are more likely to rank higher in search engine results when users search for specific products, such as "dark boots." By using relevant keywords in your product titles, descriptions, and tags, you can improve your chances of appearing at the top of search results.

Enhanced User Experience: A well-optimized product page provides a seamless and enjoyable experience for users. High-quality images, detailed descriptions, and clear pricing information help users make informed decisions, leading to higher satisfaction and increased chances of conversion.

Higher Click-Through Rates (CTR): By optimizing your product pages with compelling meta titles and descriptions, you can attract more clicks from search engine results pages (SERPs). A higher CTR indicates to search engines that your page is relevant and valuable, which can further improve your rankings.

Better Conversion Rates: Optimized product pages are designed to convert visitors into customers. Clear and persuasive product descriptions, high-quality images, and prominent calls-to-action (CTAs) can significantly boost your conversion rates, turning more visitors into buyers.

Rich Snippets and Enhanced Listings: When your product pages are properly optimized, they can qualify for rich snippets in search results. Rich snippets display additional information, such as product ratings, prices, and availability, directly in the search results, making your listing more attractive and informative to potential customers.

Improved Image Search Rankings: Optimizing product images with relevant keywords in alt tags, file names, and captions can improve their visibility in image search results. Many users search for products through image search, and having your product images rank well can drive additional traffic to your site.

Stronger Brand Trust and Credibility: A professional and well-optimized product page instills trust and credibility in your brand. Clear and accurate product information, along with positive customer reviews, can reassure potential buyers and encourage them to make a purchase.

Blog Generation

What is Blog Generation

Blog Generation for SEO is to create high-quality, relevant, and engaging blog content to drive traffic to your website, improve search engine rankings, and establish your brand as an authority in your industry. Regularly updated blog content can significantly enhance your site's SEO performance.

Why is Blog Generation Important for SEO?

Increased Organic Traffic: Regularly publishing blog posts allows you to target a wide range of keywords and topics relevant to your audience. This increases your chances of ranking for various search queries, driving more organic traffic to your site.

Improved Search Engine Rankings: Search engines favor websites that consistently produce fresh, valuable content. By generating blog posts regularly, you signal to search engines that your site is active and relevant, which can improve your rankings in search results.

Enhanced Keyword Targeting: Blogs provide an excellent opportunity to target long-tail keywords and specific search phrases that may not fit naturally into your product pages. This helps you capture traffic from niche search queries and attract more qualified visitors.

Establishing Authority and Expertise: High-quality blog content can position your brand as an authority in your industry. By providing valuable insights, tips, and information, you build trust with your audience and establish your site as a go-to resource, which can improve your site's credibility and search engine rankings.

Increased Backlink Opportunities: Well-researched and informative blog posts are more likely to be linked to by other websites. These backlinks are crucial for SEO as they signal to search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy, boosting your site's authority and ranking potential.

Improved User Engagement: Engaging blog content keeps visitors on your site longer, reducing bounce rates and increasing the chances of conversion. Interactive elements like comments, social shares, and multimedia can further enhance user engagement.

Better Internal Linking: Blog posts provide ample opportunities for internal linking. By linking to other relevant pages and blog posts on your site, you can guide visitors to additional content, distribute page authority, and improve the overall SEO of your site.

Enhanced Social Media Presence: Blog posts can be shared across social media platforms, driving traffic back to your site and increasing your online visibility. Social shares can also indirectly impact SEO by driving more visitors to your content and increasing engagement signals.

Hurray! Now we have SEO-optimized eCommerce landing pages, product pages, and blogs that are ready to bring in targeted traffic from search results. Great job! These are just the basics of how to do SEO for not only eCommerce but all sorts of websites and businesses. It's highly recommended to periodically check up on your site's performance by running through the Site Audit and Domain Overview (Step 1: Doctor's Checkup). This will help you figure out what works and improve further - because SEO is never a one-time thing nor does it have a 100% success rate, the key is to keep improving whenever you get a chance. So, using tools like Stevie AI where the entire 3 steps can be simplified, you can spend 15 minutes every week improving your SEO!

Good luck with your eCommerce journey, we'll see you on the front page of Google.

SEO tools and their specialties:

• SEMrush (Very detailed data if you're an expert, but also very expensive, great for agencies)
• Ahrefs (Mostly for individuals but also overwhelming, and expensive as well)
• SE Ranking (Relatively Simple compared to SEMrush and Ahrefs but only provides surface data).
• Stevie AI (You probably saw this coming, this is our very own SEO tool: extreamly affordable; provide detailed data in the simplest way; and will take care of the whole SEO workflow for you, for none of the tools above, or any other ones, is capable of doing)