Search engine ranking is critical for getting your e-commerce site the visibility it deserves. When a website is located at the top of the first page in a user’s organic search results, that site is far more likely to receive organic traffic which leads to more conversions and more revenue. In other words, a smart digital marketing strategy begins with addressing your site’s Google rankings and making the key adjustments necessary to ensure that your site is receiving the highest possible scores.
This is priority one of any online presence, taking the proper steps so that your website can be found online by those who are seeking the product or service you offer.
- Search Engine Results
Placement in Google search results pages can make or break your business. Period. The good news is that you can take action to help your website get the favorable placement it deserves. The goal is to have your business listing positioned at the top or very near the top of the first page in a user’s search
Without placement in that peak position, your website can get lost in the shuffle. Online users don’t have the patience to scroll through pages and pages of business listing links in order to find what they want. They will typically click on the first link they see that satisfies their search. That link is usually located at the top or near the top of the first page.
It’s possible they click on another link or two beneath that top link. But very few make it to the bottom of that first page before they have already found what they want and completed a transaction.
Think about it – if your business listing is at the bottom of the first page of a user’s search results or at the top of the second page, how many customers are you surrendering to your competitors who have optimized their sites to comply with the standards of the Google algorithm?
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you develop a carefully considered SEO strategy for your online business:
- Optimize your website
In order to get your website ranking higher in Google search results, it needs to meet the exact standards of the Google algorithm that scores each site on the search engine. If the site doesn’t fall in line with exactly what the scoring protocols are looking for in every link, then your site will not receive a favored placement. Optimize your website by doing the following:
- Page Speed Optimization
Don’t overlook loading times when you are developing a website. Page speed is among the most critical factors that affect your rank on Google. This is because online users don’t want to wait for your website to load. The faster it loads, the better as that will result in a higher ranking.
A fraction of a second may be all it takes to have your site moved from the top of the first page to a lower position underneath one or more of your competitor’s websites.
- Fresh Content
Your content is another crucial part of your business listing rank on Google. Creating unique quality content on a consistent basis will help to boost your search ranking. That means offering authoritative information that brings value to your site’s visitors, presenting solutions and answers to common problems that are exclusive to your online presence.
- User Friendly
A website that is easy to navigate will always rank higher than a site that has been poorly developed and built. Search engine users want to rest assured they are clicking a link that is taking them to a safe and secure website with an ease of use that makes the experience enjoyable. This applies to laptop and desktop computers as well as mobile devices. We all use our smartphones and tablets to access the Internet, so the mobile version of your site should be as fast and easy to use as the desktop version.
If search engines are going to continue to provide their users with a positive experience online, they want to be sure they are only driving traffic to those sites that have total mobile compatibility.
- Target Keywords
Keyword research is a critical part of increasing your rank on Google. Selecting a specific keyword to match the searches that your customers are performing on Google is going to give you a big advantage. Creating content that includes these keywords means you need to gauge the intent of your potential visitors.
But just as important as knowing which keywords you need to target are the forms of content you should generate to find your target audience. This can be blog content, product web pages, a guide or index that contains relevant links pertaining to your product or service, or a simple article that states an authoritative fact. Just remember the quality of your keywords matters as much as whether or not the content is keyword rich. So quantity has no small impact on Google rankings.