As an eCommerce business owner, it is important to know how to improve the visibility of your eCommerce website and your brand. One way to rank higher on Google and get your website on top of search engine results is through on-page SEO.
SEO or search engine optimization is the underground work that you do to increase the visibility, ranking, and authority of your website. This process requires a lot of legwork (or should we say handwork), and on-page SEO is one of them.
These days, most customers are not willing to scroll down on Google search engines. They want to input a search term and get their results as quickly as possible from the first page.
Now, this is the reason every business and brand wants that coveted first-page position. Besides the fact that you’ll get increased traffic, if your on-page SEO game is top-notch, you’ll also see eCommerce sales conversions.
So, what is on-page SEO and how can it help your eCommerce marketing processes? Let’s find out!
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO is the optimization efforts made directly on a website’s pages to improve its search engine rankings and visibility. This could be optimizing your website’s page speed, and keyword density, and adding external backlinks, to improve your ranking and visibility in search engines.
The goal of on-page SEO is to make a webpage more attractive to search engines by optimizing various elements on the page. These optimizations aim to enhance the page’s relevance to specific keywords and provide a better user experience.
On-page SEO comes with a load of benefits, as we’ve established. Statistics show that the first five organic results on a search page get 67.60% of all clicks. The next five account for only 3.73%.
That percentage keeps dropping with subsequent pages. As you can see, if you want to get traffic, you need to be near the top. This is why you have to be on top of your on-page SEO.
If you are wondering why you haven’t been getting leads for your digital services, traffic for your blogging business, or even sales of your digital products, it may be that your on-page SEO needs help.
Let’s look at some more statistics to drive home this point.
Do you know that high-ranking sites have much better click-through rates (CTR)? The first Google mobile search result page has an average organic CTR of 26.9%.
Take into account that a significant 92.4% of internet users conducting searches on their mobile phones for local businesses end up visiting the business on the same day. This shows just how important organic SEO – on-page or off-page SEO – is to your business’s overall performance.
Let’s look at some important factors of on-page SEO.
What are the Factors of On-Page SEO?
There are three elements or factors of on-page SEO. Your on-page SEO optimizations should focus on these factors. They are:
- Content
- HTML
- Website Structure
Let’s take a closer look at them.
Content
Content is the bedrock of on-page SEO optimization. You must have heard the phrase “content is king”, in this case, it is true. For your website to rank on the Google search page, you need to have high-quality content and relevant keywords.
Here are some ways to optimize your content for on-page SEO:
E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
E-A-T is a critical aspect of content optimization for on-page SEO. With millions of websites creating content on Google, have you ever asked how Google prioritizes the ones that will appear first?
The truth is that Google looks for content that demonstrates expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. For instance, when a user searches for medical advice, Google aims to present information from sources with proven expertise and authority in the medical field.
So, how do you demonstrate your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness in your blogging niche, for instance? Good question!
Increasing your E-A-T score is not a day’s job. It requires dedication and a strategic approach.
To establish the expertise of your website, in the real estate blog niche, for instance, you need to add authors that have relevant expertise on the subject.
Now, their author bios, social media profiles, and every other place they appear on the internet should carry proof that they are experts as well.
Building expertise takes years. But, it can help if you contribute or guest post on third-party blogs within your niche, host webinars, and grow your social profile.
Increasing your website authority is a whole different ball game. One, you need to increase the number of backlinks coming to your website. The more websites and businesses refer to your content, the more Google sees your website as relevant.
Now, not all backlinks are good for your website. Some toxic backlinks can hurt your domain authority. So, make sure you do regular backlink audits and checks.
In the case of trustworthiness, make sure you have clear information about your business from the get-go. It will also help to display positive reviews from customers on your website.
In all, you need to produce high-quality shareable content that everyone in your niche is talking about. This could involve in-depth research, case studies, and authoritative references.
Keywords
Keyword research is the first step in creating relevant and meaningful content. It is the compass that guides your content creation, ensuring it resonates with the very pulse of what your audience seeks.
The keyword research process begins with selecting terms that are relevant and closely related to your niche, products, services, or industry. This ensures that your content is not only attracting traffic but also reaching individuals interested in what your business offers.
For instance, if you own a freelance mobile app business in the mobile app development industry, your keyword research will most likely bring up terms like ‘mobile app development jobs’, ‘mobile app business’, ‘mobile app agency’, and ‘mobile app development roadmap’.
Now, not all these keywords may be relevant to your business. The next step in the keyword research process involves filtering and refining the list to focus on terms that align most closely with your goals and target audience.
You need to also consider keyword volume and keyword difficulty when selecting keywords. Keyword volume is the amount of times a keyword is searched for. The higher the keyword volume, the more likely that your website will get that search traffic.
On the other hand, keyword difficulty shows how difficult it is to rank for a keyword. Usually, a high keyword difficulty means that a lot of high authority domains are already ranking for that keyword, and you’ll need to put in a lot of effort to rank for that keyword.
If you’re just starting your website, it is better to work with high-volume, low-difficulty keywords.
You can also consider long-tail keywords. While these terms may not boast the same search volume, they have the potential to attract a more focused audience interested in specific services.
Should your business have a local focus, the inclusion of location-specific keywords becomes paramount. Whether your services are tied to a physical location or you are targeting a specific geographic area, geo-targeting enhances your visibility to the right audience.
Another important on-page SEO keyword factor is user intent. Understanding user intent is equally critical. What are users seeking when they input these keywords?
Your content should align with their intent, whether they are looking for information, products, services, or solutions. This ensures that your digital storefront, in the form of content, resonates with the expectations of your target audience.
Now that you have your keywords, it is important to place them correctly on your website. Try to avoid keyword cannibalization – optimizing more than one page for a single keyword.
When optimizing your website for keywords, place the keywords in your header, body, URL, and ALT texts. Also, consider keyword density – the number of times a keyword appears in a piece of content.
SEO Content Writing
This factor of on-page SEO is very important. You have your keywords, it’s time to convert them to content that matters.
Following SEO best practices when creating content is a no-brainer. You cannot just string several pieces of keywords on a web page and expect it to rank just like that. There are several things to put in place when creating content.
One, your content must be readable. Users should be able to easily scan your page and find the answers they’re looking for. Most websites use a table of contents to make their content easy to scan.
Do not overuse keywords. Most website owners, in an attempt to rank for a specific keyword, tend to overuse that keyword. This is called keyword stuffing. Remember, keyword cannibalization from earlier? Google frowns on this.
Rather than overuse keywords, you can look for similar keywords or long-tail versions of your keyword. For instance, if you want to rank for the term ‘SaaS business’, you can use ‘SaaS company’, ‘SaaS corporation’, ‘SaaS technology business’, or ‘SaaS products for small businesses’.
Keep your sentences brief and your paragraphs short. Long sentences and paragraphs tend to bore readers. This can affect your bounce rate and make readers leave your website faster – sending bad signals to Google.
Distribute subheadings across your content. Subheadings have a way of attracting attention because of their size. You must place keywords in your subheadings as well.
Visuals
Visuals – images or videos – are important factors in your on-page SEO techniques. Besides the fact that visual assets make your page less boring and more attractive to your visitors, they also give your SEO a boost.
How? For one, about 36% of consumers use visual search when shopping online. This means that, if done right, optimized images can help you close a deal or make a sale.
Now, when optimizing visuals, you are not just concerned with the ALT texts. You also need to consider the image size and load speed. To prevent slow-loading images, you can convert your images to web formats.
Make sure your images are shareable. This will likely help your backlinking efforts and invariably boost your E-A-T.
HTML – HyperText Markup Language
If you don’t have tech skills, you may probably not like this part of on-page SEO. However, optimizing your HTML is equally as important if you want to rank on search engine result pages.
HTML is the code used to structure the pages on your website. They are relevant because they send signals to search engines about what your page is about and where you should be ranked.
Let’s look at some on-page SEO HTML factors:
Meta Title Tags
Meta title tags are very important when optimizing your on-page SEO. When done together with other on-page SEO elements, title tags can help you build context and show how relevant your site is.
Make sure you craft unique and compelling title tags for each page. As a rule of thumb, include relevant keywords and keep them within the recommended character limit to ensure they display properly in search results.
Meta Descriptions
Some SEO experts believe that meta descriptions are irrelevant and do not help your web pages rank. There may be some truth in this, however, meta descriptions help searchers and Google have a better understanding of what your page is about.
It is important to write engaging meta descriptions that accurately summarize the content and encourage users to click through to your site. Although irrelevant to SEO, meta descriptions can increase your CTR.
Website Structure
Ensuring your website has a well-organized structure is important. For one, it facilitates more effective crawling by search engines.
Secondly, it elevates the overall user experience, creating a digital environment that engages and retains visitors.
Let’s look at key considerations when optimizing your website’s structure:
Site Speed
A sluggish, slow-loading website does more than test the patience of visitors. To be honest, it can adversely impact your search ranking.
To meet current standards, your website must align with Google’s Core Web Vitals minimum threshold. If your site falls short, implementing strategies such as enabling compression, minimizing redirects, optimizing images, and leveraging browser caches can significantly enhance site speed.
Responsive Design
Having a responsive website, for both mobile and desktop users, is important. Just so you know, Google adjusted its algorithms to prioritize sites with responsive designs in mobile search rankings.
Yes, you can rank without having a responsive design. However, the user experience for your visitors will be poor. So, you may be getting traffic, but sales conversion may become difficult.
URL Structure
Although URLs no longer hold the prominence they once did in SEO rankings, they still contribute to a site’s initial ranking and play a role in overall scoring. While not the top SEO priority, neglecting your URL structure entirely is unwise.
Understanding how URLs factor into Google rankings is essential for maintaining a well-rounded optimization strategy.
A clean URL not only helps with search engine optimization but also signals to users that they’re navigating a well-thought-out website.
Additionally, a well-organized URL structure adds a touch of orderliness, making your brand look good. Visitors, whether consciously or subconsciously, interpret a clean and concise URL as an indicator of a professionally managed website.
Now, this perception can significantly influence their trust and confidence in the information or services you provide. Remember E-A-T? Yes, this will help increase your score.
Internal Linking
When it comes to website architecture, internal linking isn’t just about making navigation smooth – it’s about creating a web of interconnected content. Strategically linking relevant pages within your site enhances the user experience.
Visitors can seamlessly explore related content, giving them a sense of coherence and completeness. Moreover, from a user’s perspective, well-placed internal links make your website look well-organized.
From the on-page SEO standpoint, smart internal linking contributes to the fair distribution of credibility across your web pages. It’s a deliberate strategy that underscores your commitment to providing each piece of content with its due share of recognition.
Sitemap
An XML sitemap is the blueprint that helps search engines understand the layout of your website. This document plays a vital role in efficiently guiding search engine crawlers through your website, ensuring that every piece of content gets the attention it deserves.
If you’re wondering why your published blog posts or web pages aren’t appearing on search results, it may be because you did not submit your sitemap. Submitting your sitemap simplifies the crawling process. This makes your site more visible in search engine results.
Beyond the technical aspects, a well-constructed XML sitemap signals your commitment to transparency and accessibility. Visitors and search engines alike appreciate the clarity provided by a sitemap.
On-Page SEO Example
Let’s look at an example of on-page SEO in action.
On-Page SEO Element | Original | Optimized |
| Title Tag | Delicious Smoothie Recipes | 10 Healthy and Delicious Smoothie Recipes for a Nutrient-Packed Day |
| Meta Description | Explore our smoothie recipes for a tasty treat. | Discover a collection of nutrient-rich and delicious smoothie recipes that will fuel your day. From refreshing green blends to protein-packed options, find the perfect healthy smoothie for you. |
| URL Structure | www.example.com/blog/post123 | www.example.com/healthy-smoothie-recipes |
| Header Tags | <h1>Smoothie Delights</h1> | <h1>10 Healthy and Delicious Smoothie Recipes</h1> <h2>1. Refreshing Summer Bliss Smoothie</h2> |
| Keyword Optimization | smoothie recipes | healthy smoothie recipes, nutrient-packed smoothies, delicious homemade smoothies |
| Image Alt Text | Image001.jpg | Nutrient-packed green smoothie with spinach, banana, and berries |
| Internal Linking | For more recipes, click here. | Explore our other nutritious smoothie recipes, such as the Protein Power Smoothie. |
| Content Quality | Brief descriptions of smoothie recipes. | Comprehensive content with detailed instructions, nutritional information, and personal anecdotes about each smoothie. The content is well-researched, engaging, and provides value to the reader. |
| Page Load Speed | Large image files causing slow loading. | Compressed images, minimized scripts, and optimized code for faster page load times, ensuring a better user experience. |
| Mobile Optimization | Unresponsive design on mobile devices. | Responsive design, ensuring the smoothie recipes are accessible and visually appealing on various devices, including smartphones and tablets. |
On-Page SEO Checklist
Here’s a sample on-page SEO checklist:
| On-Page SEO Element | To-do |
| Keyword Research | – Identify relevant keywords – Consider user intent and search volume – Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or other SEO tools |
| Title Tag | – Craft a compelling title – Include primary keyword(s) – Keep it under 60 characters |
| Meta Description | – Write a concise and engaging description – Include target keywords naturally – Limit to around 150-160 characters |
| URL Structure | – Create clean, readable URLs – Include relevant keywords – Avoid special characters and unnecessary parameters |
| Header Tags (H1, H2, etc.) | – Use a clear H1 tag for the main title – Organize content with H2, H3, etc., tags – Incorporate keywords naturally |
| Keyword Optimization | – Integrate keywords throughout the content – Use keywords in the first paragraph – Avoid keyword stuffing; maintain a natural flow |
| Image Optimization | – Use descriptive file names for images – Add alt text with relevant keywords – Compress images for faster loading |
| Internal Linking | – Link to relevant internal pages – Use descriptive anchor text – Ensure a logical and user-friendly flow |
| Content Quality | – Provide valuable, unique, and well-researched content – Address user queries comprehensively – Aim for a readable and engaging writing style |
| Page Load Speed | – Optimize images and multimedia elements – Minimize HTTP requests – Leverage browser caching – Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) |
| Mobile Optimization | – Ensure a responsive design – Test on various devices and browsers – Optimize font size and touch elements for mobile users |
| URL Canonicalization | – Choose a preferred URL version (www vs. non-www) – Set up 301 redirects for URL variations – Avoid duplicate content issues |
| Schema Markup | – Implement structured data where applicable – Use schema.org vocabulary for rich snippets – Enhance the appearance of search results |
| Robots.txt | – Set directives for search engine crawlers – Allow or disallow specific pages – Ensure it doesn’t block essential content |
| Sitemap | – Create and submit an XML sitemap – Include all relevant pages – Keep it updated with changes |
| Page Titles and Descriptions (For Each Page) | – Customize titles and meta descriptions for each page – Tailor content to the unique focus of each page |
| Content Formatting | – Use short paragraphs and bullet points – Include relevant headers and subheaders – Enhance readability with a clear structure |
| Social Media Integration | – Include social sharing buttons – Optimize Open Graph meta tags for social previews – Encourage social engagement |
| User Experience (UX) | – Ensure a clean and intuitive design – Optimize for easy navigation – Prioritize a positive user experience |
| SSL Certificate | – Secure your website with an SSL certificate – Ensure all pages are served over HTTPS |
| External Links | – Link to authoritative external sources – Use relevant anchor text – Ensure the credibility of linked sources |
Time to Work
To be honest, even after completing all of these, you still need to be patient. It takes some time to see the results you want.
No marketing strategy works in isolation. When implementing your on-page SEO strategies, make sure you also have a solid off-page SEO game plan – eCommerce email marketing, social media marketing, and even pay-per-click.
Every part of your eCommerce marketing strategy has to be on board. It is important to take advantage of eCommerce marketing tools – let’s face it, how exactly do you want to keep track of backlinks or generate sitemaps without the best SEO tools?
You can get the results you want. But make sure you know when to take a step back and audit what you’ve done.
