In the cutthroat realm of ecommerce, store owners must arm themselves with robust SEO tactics to stand out. Launching your store on a top-tier platform may seem promising, but when the anticipated traffic dwindles and shopping carts stay empty, it’s natural to question the missing link in your strategy.
The reality is that success lies beyond just setting up shop; it’s about understanding the nuances of online visibility. Conducting a comprehensive ecommerce SEO audit is the key to uncovering the hidden obstacles that keep your store lurking in the shadows, paving the way for a bustling marketplace brimming with transactions.
In this blog, we will uncover what basically is an ecommerce seo audit and we will go through a follow-up ecommerce seo checklist that can help you develop a practical ecommerce seo strategy.
What is an Ecommerce SEO Audit
An ecommerce SEO audit serves as a diagnostic tool that delves into the vitality and online prominence of your store, pinpointing the hurdles that impede its performance. This meticulous examination scrutinizes your site’s current stature, including its position in search engine results pages (SERPs) and how it measures up against various ranking criteria. The outcome is a detailed report that not only reveals your site’s strengths and weaknesses but also charts a strategic course for enhancement and optimization.
Why to have an E-commerce Site Audit
an SEO audit without understanding its significance is like navigating without a compass. It’s essential to grasp the ‘why’ before diving into the ‘how’. Consider these four critical questions as the cornerstones of your ecommerce site audit rationale:
Discoverability: Is your store even on Google’s radar?
Accessibility: Once found, can Google effectively navigate through your site?
Indexability: Is your site prepared for Google to index its content?
Rankability: Does your site have the potential to climb the ranks on Google?
Addressing these queries is crucial as they collectively determine your store’s ability to attract and engage customers.
Is Your Store on Google’s Radar?
For your store to be found, you need to create a way for google to locate it. Creating an XML site map is the simplest way to do this. You need to make sure your domain is verified with Google Search Console, and within the sitemap you need to list all of the pages you’d like google to crawl and index. An error-free site map is critical for Google to find your store.
Can Google Effectively Navigate Your Site?
Think of search engine spiders as curious little critters that crawl into every nook and cranny of your website, searching for relevant content. To keep them from jumping off your site, make sure your internal links are functioning properly and that they lead to high-quality content. The smoother the navigation, the more impressed Google’s spiders will be.
Is Your Site Prepared for Indexing?
One of the biggest hurdles in ecommerce SEO is indexing product pages. These pages tend to have similar content and specifications, which can lead to duplicate content issues. To avoid this, ensure that each product page has a unique title and description, and use canonical tags to highlight the original source page.
Does Your Site Have the Potential to Climb the Ranks?
The ultimate goal of an SEO audit is to improve your store’s search engine rankings. This is achieved by optimizing on-page elements such as URLs, meta titles and descriptions, heading tags, and alt text. A thorough review of these elements will ensure that your store is primed to rank higher in search results.
Ecommerce SEO Audit Checklist
Now that we have established the importance of an ecommerce SEO audit, let’s dive into a ecommerce seo checklist that will guide you through the process.
Technical Audit
Technical audit of your sites serves as the foundation of your ecommerce SEO strategy. It ensures that your site is user-friendly, easily navigable, and optimized for search engines to crawl efficiently.
- XML Site Maps: Your sitemap defines the reference map for search engines to navigate your site. it should contain only the main canonical of URLs, don’t add any non index meta tags .
- Robots.txt: Your robots.txt file instructs search engines which pages to crawl and which to ignore. Ensure that it’s optimized to improve crawling efficiency.
- Site Speed: Website load time is a critical factor in search engine rankings. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to analyze your site’s speed and make necessary optimizations.
- Mobile Responsiveness: As the majority of online traffic now comes from mobile devices, it’s crucial to ensure that your site is mobile-friendly and responsive.
On-Page Audit
- Keywords: Identify relevant keywords for your niche and optimize on-page elements such as titles, descriptions, headings, alt tags with these keywords.
- Product Pages: Optimize each product page with unique and descriptive titles and descriptions. Use high-quality images and include relevant keywords in the product title, description, and alt tags.
- URL Structure: Ensure that your URLs are short, descriptive, and contain relevant keywords.
- Content Quality: High-quality, informative content is key to engaging customers and improving search engine rankings. Review your content for relevance, length, and readability.
Off-Page Audit
Off-page SEO is all about establishing your store’s authority and credibility through external links. Consider the following factors in your off-page audit:
- Backlinks: Analyze the quality and relevance of backlinks to your site. Disavow any spammy or irrelevant backlinks.
- Social Media Presence: Establish a strong social media presence on platforms that are relevant to your target audience.
- Online Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on review sites and respond to any negative feedback promptly.
Local SEO Audit
For brick-and-mortar stores, local SEO is essential for driving foot traffic. Consider the following factors in your local SEO audit:
- NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number): Ensure that your store’s name, address, and phone number are consistent across all online platforms.
- Google My Business: Create a Google My Business listing to increase visibility on local search results.
- Local Listings: Leverage local directories such as Yelp and YellowPages to improve local search rankings.
- rankings.
How Microgility Can Help You Improve Your Ecommerce SEO
Performing an ecommerce SEO audit can be a daunting task, but it’s essential for driving traffic and improving conversions. At Microgility, we specialize in ecommerce SEO audits and have helped numerous businesses improve their online presence. Our team of experts will conduct a comprehensive audit of your site and provide tailored recommendations to boost your search engine rankings.
We employ the latest SEO techniques and keep up with ever-changing search engine algorithms to ensure your store stays ahead of the competition.
Our result reports contains detailed insights and actionable steps that will help you achieve your SEO goals. We grade each issue with a priority level to help you prioritize your efforts and focus on the most critical tasks. To learn more about our ecommerce SEO audit services, contact us today.
