Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for ecommerce businesses looking to drive growth through increased organic traffic, leads, and sales. With more commerce moving online, implementing an effective ecommerce SEO strategy gives stores a huge competitive advantage. In this article, we will cover the top 9 benefits of ecommerce SEO.
Key takeaways
- Increased organic traffic and higher converting visitors are the main benefits of ecommerce SEO.
- Lower customer acquisition costs through essentially free traffic provide exponential ROI.
- Ranking for commercial keywords builds brand visibility and authority.
- Competitive intelligence from SEO informs better optimization strategies.
- SEO levels the playing field so smaller sites can outrank larger competitors.
- Long-term, sustainable growth is achieved through ongoing optimization efforts.
- Integrating SEO with other marketing channels produces greater results overall.
- The many benefits make investing in ecommerce SEO imperative for online retail success.
1. Increased organic traffic
The number one goal of SEO is to increase targeted organic traffic to your online store by improving rankings in search engines like Google. An effective SEO strategy will help position your ecommerce site on the first page of search results for your most important keywords, ensuring you’re getting in front of motivated buyers searching for your products and services.
More organic traffic means more potential customers visiting your site. According to Backlinko, the top 3 rankings on Google drive an average of 54.4% of the clicks for that query. Being in the top 3 SERP positions for high-volume commercial keywords can send thousands of qualified visitors to your online store each month.
2. Higher conversion rates
SEO not only drives more traffic but also higher quality traffic primed for conversion. Searchers coming from organic results have demonstrated intent – whether they are looking for a specific product or doing general research on what to buy.
Pages and products ranking well in organic search tend to convert better because they provide the exact information searchers are looking for. More organic conversions mean more customers and revenue for your ecommerce business.
3. Lower cost per acquisition
Acquiring customers via SEO costs far less than other paid channels like PPC, social media ads, or display advertising. While SEO does require an investment of time and resources, it brings essentially free targeted traffic from search engines once rankings are achieved.
The only costs involved are the labor costs for doing SEO and any tools/software used. This means customer acquisitions via organic search can have a much lower cost than other methods of generating leads and sales. Lower cost per acquisition results in higher ROI and profit margins.
4. Increased brand awareness & authority
Ranking well for commercial and informational keywords related to your ecommerce business also helps build brand awareness and establish authority. Being visible in the top organic results shows searchers your brand is reputable and a leader in your industry.
Appearing multiple times across important keywords and related searches also creates repetition that cements your brand in consumers’ minds. This makes it more likely they will choose you over lesser-known competitors.
5. Long term results
Unlike paid search ads which disappear as soon as campaigns end, SEO brings in free and targeted traffic month after month. By investing in ongoing optimization and content creation, results from SEO efforts compound over time.
It’s not uncommon for ecommerce sites focusing on SEO to double or even triple organic traffic and revenue within a year. These long-term results are sustainable as long as you maintain your SEO efforts.
6. Levels the playing field
SEO helps level the playing field so smaller ecommerce stores can compete with larger, more resourceful companies. Rankings are primarily determined by on-page optimization and authority built up over time.
An effective SEO strategy allows newer and smaller sites to rank above older, bigger brands investing less in organic search. The time and effort dedicated to technical SEO and content creation is often more important than how large or established a business is.
7. Provides competitive intelligence
Analyzing what keywords your competitors rank for, along with their page optimization and link building strategies, provides helpful competitive intelligence you can leverage for your own SEO.
Seeing what works well for leading sites in your space gives you proven formulas to model. You can adopt competitor best practices while also differentiating to find new SEO opportunities others may be missing.
8. Informs site content and UX decisions
Monitoring organic traffic and rankings provides insight into visitor search behavior and interests. You can analyze which content resonates best with searchers and identify keyword gaps to target.
This informs decisions about content creation and UX optimization. It enables optimizing pages for conversions by better matching site content to searcher intent. Intent-based content tailored for search provides a superior user experience.
9. Supports and augments other marketing channels
While SEO as a channel has its own advantages, it also bolsters the effects of other inbound marketing efforts. There is an overlap between SEO and content marketing, email marketing, social media, and PPC in amplifying reach and conversions.
Ranking organic content supports greater visibility and opens new audiences from other efforts too. Integrating SEO with paid search, social, email, and content makes each of these channels more effective in bringing traffic and customers.
The importance of ongoing optimization
While achieving top rankings has major benefits, SEO is an ongoing process requiring continual optimization:
- Monitor search algorithm updates that may impact rankings, and refine optimization strategies accordingly.
- Continue enriching content by adding new pages, guides, blogs, videos, etc.
- Pursue new keyword opportunities and expand reach into related topics.
- Link build through content creation, outreach, and guest posting.
- Keep page loading speeds fast and site architecture user-friendly.
- Leverage search analytics and user behavior data to optimize pages.
- Stay on top of new SEO techniques and best practices.
Conclusion
There you have it. We have covered the top benefits of ecommerce SEO.
Investing in a comprehensive ecommerce SEO strategy delivers exponential returns through increased organic traffic, conversions, and sustainable long-term growth. It levels the playing field so any store can compete and win market share.
Prioritizing SEO provides one of the best bang-for-your-buck marketing tactics to build brand awareness and sales. The multitude of benefits highlighted above demonstrate why ecommerce SEO is now a requirement for online retail success.
Does your ecommerce business need an SEO boost? Contact me for help improving your organic search visibility and traffic or to learn more about our services.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ecommerce SEO?
Ecommerce SEO refers to optimizing an online retail store for organic search results in search engines like Google. The goal is to improve keyword rankings to drive more traffic and conversions from search.
What types of keywords should I target?
Focus on high-volume commercial keywords related to your products, brand terms, product descriptors, and industry terms. Also, target long-tail keyword variations.
How can I learn what keywords my competitors rank for?
Use keyword research tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner to discover what keywords competitors rank for. This provides SEO intelligence.
How long does it take to see results from SEO?
It takes 2-4 months to begin seeing initial results. Maximize rankings in 6-12 months through ongoing optimization. SEO results compound over time.
Do I need technical development help for ecommerce SEO?
Basic on-page SEO can be done without, but advanced technical SEO requires web development help. Most agencies include technical SEO services.
What SEO metrics should I track?
Monitor rankings, organic traffic, clicks/sessions from search engines, goal completions, conversion rate, and cost per acquisition from SEO.
How often should I publish fresh content?
Ideally, 1-2X per week. Create content around keywords you want to rank for. Regular new content shows search engines your site is authoritative and active.
