Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for fashion ecommerce success. Implementing the right SEO strategies helps more potential customers find your products through Google and other search engines. This leads to increased organic traffic, reduced need for spending on ads, and ultimately more sales and revenue.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll cover key things fashion ecommerce brands need to know about SEO.
Follow these SEO best practices and you’ll see your organic traffic and conversion rates improve month after month.
Key takeaways
- Product page optimization – Descriptive titles, meta descriptions, schema markup and comprehensively detailed listings help increase click-through rates and conversions.
- Backlinks – Build quality backlinks through outreach campaigns, content distribution, influencer partnerships, contributing expert quotes to reporters, and other strategies.
- Image search – Enhance images, use vertical product shots, add alt text and share socially so items appear in image search results.
- Technical factors – Boost rankings and conversions by improving site speed, providing mobile-optimized content, optimizing site architecture and enhancing security.
- Ongoing keyword research – Find trending content and optimize for these queries by publishing new content and optimizing existing resources.
Optimize your product pages
Your product pages are likely the most important pages on your ecommerce site. This is what searchers end up on after clicking your listings on search engine results pages (SERPs). Optimize these pages to increase click-through rates and conversions.
Descriptive page titles
Include your target keyword at the beginning of the page title and ensure the title accurately describes the content. And keep titles under 60 characters so they don’t get cut off in SERPs.
Good: Blue Floral Print Wrap Midi Dress
Bad: Midi Dress
Meta descriptions
Accurately describe the product in an engaging way within 155-160 characters. Include keywords and details like material, pattern, fit, etc. Remember, the purpose of the meta description is to entice searchers to click through from the SERPs, so write something that will pique their interest but still accurately describes the page’s content. You do not want to ‘trick’ people into clicking only for them to bounce from your site and then click on a different search result. This action will indicate to search engines that your web page didn’t fit the search query well.
Image alt text
Add keywords to image alt text and be specific with your description. Google uses alt text to better understand what is in an image, so take advantage.
Good: Woman wearing a casual blue floral print button-up midi dress
Bad: Woman
Clear call-to-action
You want to keep visitors engaged with your website, so make your calls to action clear and appealing, e.g., guide searchers to add items to their cart and checkout. Make the CTA buttons visible above the fold where appropriate.
Schema markup
Include schema.org markup so that Google better understands the content of the page and also so that Google may serve rich snippets in the SERPs. Rich snippets can help increase click-through rates, so it is worth adding structured data.
Optimize content and details
Include color, material, care instructions, sizing information, and other relevant details in the product information. The more comprehensive your listings, the more keyword-rich your content will be, and the more long-tail searches you will rank for.
Internal links
Link out to related products like matching accessories or complementary wardrobe items. Internal linking will help distribute link equity throughout your site and prevent visitors from bouncing if they don’t find what they want on the initial page they land on.
Earn high-quality backlinks
Backlinks signal trust and authority. Earning backlinks from reputable websites helps pages rank higher in search results.
Implement a combination of content marketing and outreach strategies to build quality fashion links.
Create linkable assets
Publish in-depth blog content, visual guides, tools and other resources. Then, reach out to websites where it would be a good fit as a guest post or placement link.
Get visual
Submit striking product imagery or stylized brand photos to Flickr groups, photo communities, indie magazines and art & culture blogs accepting submissions. Getting images of your products hosted on these sites will increase the visibility of your products in image search results and may also earn you some links in the process.
Tap into influencers
Send complimentary products to fashion bloggers, YouTube stars, Instagram influencers and TikTok creators aligned with your brand aesthetic. Ask them to tag and link back to your site if they share it. Micro-influencers in the 1K-100K follower range often respond to this kind of promotion. Larger influencers will want a considerable fee to share your products.
Volunteer as a source
Pitch yourself as an expert source for fashion and retail journalists writing market trend articles. You should offer quotes, data, and market insights to include in the piece. Most reporters will link back as thanks for the help, or at least mention your brand in the article.
Publish roundups
Compile and analyze the latest industry research on your blog. Link out to your sources to demonstrate your brand’s authority in your niche.
Sponsor something
Offer brand support for small fashion shows or events. Stick to affordable things aligned with your audience and ensure the sponsorship perks include backlinks.
Leverage image search
Beyond standard web search, Google also provides an image search engine. Image search can be great for fashion brands as searchers will naturally navigate to image SERPs to find the content they want quicker and easier.
Optimize for image search by:
Enhancing photos
Edit product images to look clean, consistent and enticing across your website. Apply backgrounds, color correction and cropping as needed.
Choosing vertical images
Vertical-styled shots of apparel and accessories display better when viewed on mobile. Mobile has become the primary way people navigate the web so this format will work better for your audience.
Use keywords in images
Include relevant keywords in image file names and alt text when uploading photos to your site. The image search algorithm will use these keywords to better understand what is in the image.
Sharing socially
Post eye-catching images featuring your products on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Link back to your product pages or collections in the captions and profiles. The more places your images appear, the more chance they have of appearing in image SERPs.
I think that image search will continue to grow in popularity. Place emphasis on imagery best practices now to get ahead.
Make technical optimizations
Technical site health factors into SEO success including:
Page speed
Google values speed. Compress images, minimize HTTP requests, implement browser caching and defer third-party scripts. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTMetrix to catch issues.
Mobile optimization
Over 60% of searches happen on mobile devices. Enable responsive design, test on multiple devices, check crawl accessibility and track mobile conversion rates.
Site architecture
Ensuring visitors and search engines can navigate your website is vital for SEO. Categorize products intuitively with simple URLs and implement breadcrumbs navigation. Enable internal site search to aid in navigation and product discovery. Submit XML sitemaps so that search engines can more easily find all of your content.
Security
Install an SSL certificate to encrypt all data. This boosts rankings, conversion rates, and instills confidence in your customers.
Ongoing keyword research
Continuously expand your list of SEO keyword opportunities:
Leverage tools
Plug your site into SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Google Search Console for keyword research reports drawing insights from Google’s actual SERPs.
Analyze competitors
See which terms competitors rank for. Identify lower competition long-tail keywords that are easier to rank for, and often have a higher conversion rate.
Search like customers
Think of all the things you sell. Brainstorm every way people would search for those products. Identify relevant keywords and use these search terms to build new content or update existing content.
Revisit keyword research monthly to find new opportunities to pursue through content creation and link building. Prioritize product and category terms driving the most value, but don’t forget to target top-of-funnel informational terms too.
The importance of quality SEO
By implementing these SEO best practices, fashion ecommerce brands see substantial lifts in qualified organic website traffic, engagement, and, most importantly, increased online revenue.
The competition for those coveted top search result placements continues to intensify. Ranking well takes expertise, consistency and patience.
As Google’s algorithms evolve, an effective SEO strategy must also stay agile. If you aren’t getting the organic results your brand deserves, we are the fashion SEO agency ready to help. Reach out to discuss auditing your site, developing a customized approach, or even fully managing ongoing optimization so you can focus on designing stunning styles shoppers love wearing. Contact us today.
