It is in humans’ innate nature to want to know more about something they desire to have before acquiring it. In today’s business world where the internet has a major influence on individuals’ buying behaviors, almost every purchase starts with a search on Google and other search engines. The ecommerce platform affects that. Check the top factors to consider when choosing the best ecommerce platform for SEO.
It goes without saying that the success of an ecommerce store depends on how good its online presence is. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most important practices a business needs to have to maintain valuable organic traffic to your ecommerce site.
The ecommerce platform you choose can be an enhancement or a hindrance to your SEO objectives.
This write-up sheds light on this issue to help you build your ecommerce business to infinite growth and profitability.
Control over page URLs on ecommerce platform
While many ecommerce platforms automatically generate URLs for your pages using your products’ and product categories’ names, it would be wise for SEO purposes to have independent control of the URLs.
Product names are often long and irrelevant to search queries by users. Leaving the platform to decide what your page URLs may hurt your search engine ranking. Therefore, choosing an ecommerce platform that allows you to create keyword-rich URLs will make your site easier to find from search results.
SEO-friendly navigation structure
Ease of navigation both for search engines and users is of paramount importance to SEO.
Just as for page URLs, some ecommerce platforms generate navigation links using names of products and product categories.
Not always will these links be as friendly as you desire for SEO. It is preferable to have control over the navigation structure of your site to ensure that search engines and visitors find it easy to move around, so the top
Not always will these links be as friendly as you desire for SEO. It is preferable to have control over the navigation structure of your site to ensure that search engines and visitors find it easy to move around, so the top
Not always will these links be as friendly as you desire for SEO. It is preferable to have control over the navigation structure of your site to ensure that search engines and visitors find it easy to move around, so the top factors to consider selecting the best eCommerce platform.
Here are some of the characteristics of an optimized site navigation structure:
- Primary navigation links should be in text format
- Just a few or no duplicate and superfluous links
- It’s possible to edit navigation menus at individual link level
- The site can be navigated without JavaScript and Flash
Ability to add rich content to category pages
A great ecommerce platform allows you to create content-rich category pages. Not all platforms allow for the addition of media elements such as images and videos. Such content is friendly to both users and search engines, and will significantly increase organic traffic to your site following the top factors to consider selecting the best eCommerce platform.
Can you set up 301 redirects? Choosing the Ecommerce platform
It’s common practice in ecommerce to delete pages after categories are changed or products are discontinued. Without a 301 direct, a user gets lost when they click on a deleted page, and most lost site visitors end up leaving the site.
Choose a platform that allows you to create 301 redirects as a way of leading users to other pages and thus retaining traffic. 301 redirects benefit SEO and also help users to get what they are looking for, which increases the chances of making sales, as a result, top factors to consider selecting the best eCommerce platform.
Does the platform support Google Analytics for ecommerce?
Basic Google Analytics is provided by most platforms but this isn’t enough for ecommerce.
When buying an ecommerce platform, ask if it supports Google Analytics ecommerce tracking. With it, you can harness data on your transactions, traffic sources, and other site aspects to enable you maximize return on investment. You definitely need Google analytics for SEO to help you make better SEO decisions.
Blogging support
Content marketing is a highly valuable tool for SEO. Blogging is especially helpful when featured products are hard, for example, forex demo accounts. So, users need to be provided with information for a better understanding of the products.
It is effective for building backlinks and increasing visibility. It’s wise to choose a platform that offers blogging support in terms of a full-featured blog with commenting, social sharing, RSS feed, and anti-spam features.
Social sharing optimization: Choosing Ecommerce Platform
Social media plays a crucial role in ecommerce, which is why your site should be up for frictionless social sharing. This includes a prominent display of social sharing buttons. So that visitors are encouraged to share products and product category pages.
For more effective social sharing, the ecommerce platform should provide support for the Open Graph Protocol. So, to enable you to specify what will be shared when the “Share” button is clicked.
Whether your ecommerce business is small or big. There is a need to have an ecommerce platform that allows for SEO to maximize the business’ profitability. Choosing the best ecommerce platform for SEO will help you in customer find. So, the long-term growth of the bottom line.
Cost of ownership: Choosing Ecommerce Platform
Pricing is one of the first factors to be considered when evaluating each eCommerce platform. Whether you’re a new business that just started or an established store that has already moved online, you must understand the total cost of each platform.
Almost all platforms will have a monthly subscription fee. Also, there are costs associated with processing that are associated with each platform.
The initial and ongoing expenses must be considered when making decisions. Don’t forsake the necessities of a lower cost. Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks in order to maximize your budget’s value.
Ultimately, consider how your customers will pay for your products in order to determine the opportunity cost. For instance, some websites don’t have the option of paying via third-party vendors (e.g., PayPal).
This can be a significant inconvenience for your customers a frustration that can lead to shopping cart abandonment.
eCommerce Platform Speed & Scalability
In today’s fast-paced age, known as “Micro Moments”, Google describes it as a “intent-rich moment” during which a person turns to a device to act on a need to know, go, do, or buy, your platform must have a lightning-fast experience.
And this must remain the same as you increase in size and expand the enterprise. Choose a platform that grows with you as your business does by one of the most effective e-commerce platforms.
While assessing the performance and scalability of a platform is not straightforward, you can examine problematic areas, such as slow load times, frozen pages, 404 errors, and other sluggish performance indicators.
The number of customers the platform can handle simultaneously during peak traffic times — how it scales horizontally and vertically is crucial to the assessment. Understanding typical site speed is also important.
Our recommendation is to seek a hosted solution that is scalable and features are already built into, these solutions are cloud-based and have a functional design that is ideal for the beginning of a business’s growth.
Features like advanced content caching and the ability to automatically delete outdated content when updating product descriptions are beneficial. Additionally, ensure effective customer/ technical assistance to your users.
