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Having a virtual store is the first step to getting started in the world of online sales, but did you know that it is necessary? implement SEO strategies for virtual stores in order to attract customers?
It is obvious that, if you created a virtual store, it is because your main objective is get a lot of sales and grow your business, but you can't achieve that goal if your potential customers can't find you.
Luckily, there are several digital marketing strategies, such as SEO and SEM, who want your virtual store to be much more easier to find in a search engine (like Google) and therefore, they buy from you.
This time, we want to focus on some SEO strategies for virtual stores that you can put into practice to improve the visibility of your virtual store and help you increase your sales.
Why should you implement SEO strategies for online stores?
Day after day, countless searches are made on Google, people are constantly looking for information, products and services to satisfy a specific need.
Based on this, Google organizes the different search results, giving priority to those websites and virtual stores that best respond to the user's search needs.
Websites and virtual stores that are located on the first page of results, They are the ones that get the most clicks, since 9 out of 10 people do not go beyond this page.
What's more, the first three results (not counting ads) are the ones that get the most clicks, about 53% of the total clicks from the first page of results, so it is very convenient to be in those positions
How can you get your online store to reach these top positions? This is where SEO comes into play to help you.
SEO is a digital marketing strategy that, through a series of optimizations inside and outside the virtual store, improves its authority and provides a much better response to the needs of users.
The result of this work is that Google places your virtual store in higher positions and thus you have this quality traffic that, without a doubt, will translate into more sales for your business.
SEO strategies for virtual stores that you can start applying
Now that you know the importance of SEO for your online store, we will tell you some strategies that you can apply to start positioning yourself on Google.
Conduct keyword research
Every SEO strategy must begin with keyword research, since these are the words that users use to perform searches on Google and that allow the search engine to position websites and virtual stores in search results.
Keyword research will allow us to know the level of competition, find new sales opportunities and draw up a guide for actions to be able to position your virtual store.
It may sound tempting to position yourself on very popular keywords in your sector, but this requires a lot of time and effort, the best thing is position yourself on “long tail” keywords, which are those that target more specific search intentions.
Optimize loading times
In an era of immediacy, where we want everything to be delivered to us in the shortest time possible, it is best to have your virtual store load in 3 seconds or less.
Internet users are very demanding about the loading speed of online stores: if the content takes too long to load completely, it will take less than 1 second for users to leave your store and they will never visit you again.
This, in the eyes of Google, is fatal and can severely penalize you by positioning you in the lowest places in the search results.
To optimize the loading times of your online store, you can take the following actions:
- Avoid using too many plugins and widgets in your online store, as these elements load a lot of resources. Only use those that are really necessary.
- Paradoxically, there are plugins that help you reduce loading time, such as WordPress's WP Rocket.
- JavaScript is great for customizing your online store, but don't overuse it.
- Avoid loading your online store with very heavy images. It is recommended that they weigh less than 500 KB.
- Finally, invest in a good server that can store and load your online store information efficiently.
Quality images, but lightweight
In the previous point we talked about how the images cannot be very heavy, but there are other elements that you should take care of if you want them to be Your SEO strategy for virtual stores be effective.
In addition to the weight, you must give it a correct name, avoiding the use of special characters and separating words with bullets. You must also give it an ALT attribute in which you must include your keywords.
This information is necessary for Google robots to analyze your image and index it in image search results.
At the user experience level, you should make sure that your photographs are of high quality, that they show the details of your product, and if possible, include a wide variety of photographs from different angles, in order to show the user what your product is like.
Provide all the necessary information about your products or services
As it is a virtual store, people do not have the possibility of seeing your products in person before making a purchase, therefore, and with the help of images, You must give as much information as possible detailed description of your products.
The general structure of a product sheet consists of:
- The name of the product.
- The price.
- A short description, which seeks to highlight the benefits of the product.
- Product variations, such as color (this information is optional and depends on the product).
- Finally, a long description, in which you can put all the additional information about your product.
Avoid using generic descriptions or those provided by your suppliers as much as possible, as this can cause duplicate content problems and Google will penalize your website.
The ideal is that you create unique texts that show the benefits of your products, also, include the keywords with which you want to position yourself. It is a job that requires time, but the results are worth it.
Create a blog for your online store
For Google, content is kingThe more content (and especially quality content) there is on a website or virtual store, the more relevance it will have and therefore it will be positioned higher.
To achieve this, the blog is a great tool to generate content, content that can also be used to promote your products and services in a subtle way.
In a blog you can write about whatever you want, but if you plan to have one within your SEO strategies for virtual stores, it is best to write content related to the sector in which your business operates.
As we mentioned before, you can promote your products and services within the articles you write on your blog. You can even create text links that redirect to a specific product page.
Take care of the internal linking of your online store
Internal linking of your online store is very important for Google, as it gives it signals about which pages are more important within your information architecture and thus it will prioritize them to position them in higher positions.
How can you create good internal linking within your online store?
- Organizes the structure of categories and sub-categories.
- Add a section for related products or complementary products within each product listing.
- As we mentioned earlier, create text links within your blog posts.
- You can highlight best-selling products on the homepage.
For all this internal linking work to be effective, you must ensure that no links are broken and that the redirects (301 and 302 links) are pointed correctly.
Attractive meta descriptions
The meta description is a text that Google uses to display in search results, therefore, it must be as eye-catching as possible, inviting users to click on your business and not on others.
Meta descriptions should be unique for each product (and page of the online store), and it is also advisable to use the keywords you want to rank for. Google will highlight the keyword within the meta description if it matches the query made by the user.
It has a responsive design
Responsive design is no longer a whim, it is a necessity. This is because the vast majority of Google searches (around 63%) are registered from mobile devices (cell phones and tablets).
If a user visits your online store from a mobile device, and it does not have a responsive design, they will immediately leave and never visit you again.
In the eyes of Google, you are providing a very bad experience and your online store will be penalized by not being indexed in mobile search results.
In conclusion
SEO strategies for virtual stores do not differ much from an SEO strategy; proper planning, execution and patience are required to see results.
The good thing about implementing SEO strategies is that your online store will be well positioned for a long time, making it a great long-term investment.
Are you interested in positioning your virtual store on Google?
Our SEO experts are ready to help you with this task. Let's schedule an appointment and plan your SEO strategy.
