The Keys for Ecommerce SEO Success for 2023

#ecommerceseo at #pubcon by @aleyda from @orainti
The Keys for
Ecommerce
SEO Success
for 2023

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Organic search is one of the biggest
 
traffic drivers of online retailers
semrush

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This will also
increase w/ Google
now being a free
merchant
marketplace with a
+35B product
Shopping Graph

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Giving
products more
organic
visibility with
new types of
search features
https://blog.google/products/shopping/shopping-graph-explained/

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With a new
shopping
experience
triggered by
the “shop”
term
https://blog.google/products/shopping/search-on-2022-shopping/
Popular
Products
Shopping Knowledge
Panel

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All this, while facilitating product integration
with popular ecommerce platforms

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Which have also now introduced more
 
SEO functionalities

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As well as complementary native & third party
 
features & plugins making SEO execution easier

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Best time to do ecommerce SEO ever!
 
Can we go now?

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Not so fast. E-commerce SEO is also getting
harder, it’s more challenging to achieve goals

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There’s not only
a higher SEO
competition but
challenges to
stand-out to
grab traffic in
SERPs like this
Ads
Local Pack
Organic
Organic
PAA
Organic
Organic
 
Popular Products

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Google is now more sophisticated with
updates targeting product reviews quality

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Ecommerce sites nature make also SEO execution
harder and often most efforts go to fixing bugs
A high number
of pages due to
product volume
Complex
categorization
Dynamic
inventory
causing
constantly
changing
URLs
The same
product info as
other sites

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You always have limited resources and timelines
to execute SEO activities and achieve goals

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It’s why you can’t
just follow “SEO
checklists”, which
are great to avoid
missing things,
but not to drive
your SEO strategy
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/ecommerce?hl=en

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So yes, ecommerce SEO is full of opportunities
 
but also common challenges

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Let’s tackle these ecommerce SEO challenges
 
w/ 3 key actions to integrate in your strategy
Develop and
optimize content
that aligns with
shoppers intent
through the full
journey
Leverage Products
search features to
maximize visibility
and traffic
Establish an SEO
quality framework to
avoid issues that hold
execution back
1. 2. 3.

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Many online
stores focus on
transactional
queries but need
to establish their
authority ranking
across the full
search journey

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https://www.sistrix.com/visibility-leaders/retail-2022-overview
This has been
shown in retail
search visibility
studies, finding
retailers missing
informational
opportunities

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GUIDES
PDPS
PLPS
SERPs are more
blended than
ever!
Informational
products queries
SERPs are now
also featuring
PLPs & PDPs

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Guides are now also ranked for “buy” terms.
You can’t only focus on PLPs/PDPs for them
Buy White Jeans Buy women’s running shoes Buy women leather jacket

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Even Google now shows a “Buying guide”
search feature including informational content

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This also impacts trust & conversion! You need to
connect through the full journey to establish authority
To attract
this
You
need to
target &
establish
yourself here
…

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Eg. REI does it with
its Learn section,
establishing
authority while
attracting top-of-
the-funnel traffic for
relevant topics

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With useful complementary guides that answer
common questions while attracting backlinks

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Target relevant
product queries
across the whole
search journey
Create and
optimize different
type of content to
target intent across
the whole journey
Optimize
content to
effectively leverage
search results
features to
maximize
visibility
It’s time to look at the SERPs to reassess what you
target and how you do it to maximize your traffic
Expand Target
Create content to
satisfy each intent type
Leverage Search
Features

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Use the intent
feature across
keyword research
& rank tracking
tools, many of
them will show
the existing
intent blend
Semrush and Advanced Web Ranking

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Semrush
Double check
the intent taking
a look at the
types of top
ranked pages for
the queries

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You can now also leverage AI chatbots that
integrate with search results in real-time

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To assess the top-ranked pages types
 
of your product related queries

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Identify product
queries to target
with informational
content by
detecting those
with guides
ranking well or
outranking you
Sistrix

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Establish
further
opportunities by
assessing
products queries
that you’re not
targeting yet
that those
publications are
Semrush

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Take a look at the
top traffic pages
within the
publications’
 
“shop” sections
to assess further
queries to target
with guides too
Semrush

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Frase
Use content optimization tools with AI features to
accelerate guides writing & optimization process

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You can also leverage AI chatbots for product
research when writing, while double checking data
Bing & Chatsonic

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Or when optimizing your guide while taking into
consideration the current best ranked players

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Just remember to develop your guides following
Products reviews quality and E-EAT standards
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/
ecommerce/write-high-quality-product-reviews
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12-
F9Z4NzDADOFRQtOiN-CtjY2aaqj-R5CcrJNCuTha4/view

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The key is
being useful
while having your
own voice,
experience, and
differentiated
insights providing
unique value as a
brand

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Need further inspiration for topics & design? See
Sistrix’s best-performing retail sites content hubs
https://www.sistrix.com/visibility-leaders/

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Let’s also improve
PLPs content! Many
only feature links to
products, without
any descriptive
text, making them
hard to rank

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Others add text
at the bottom
to improve
relevance
without hurting
conversion

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But too often this
content isn’t useful
and doesn’t connect
with user intent

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“Our algorithms sometimes get confused …
when they have a list of products on top and
essentially a giant article on the bottom”
John Mueller
https://bit.ly/3OZESqM
This can cause confusion to Google regarding
 
these pages intent and when to rank them

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Instead, show as
many products per
page as viable based
on UX, with longer
descriptions, to
feature more
relevant content
Product 1 Product 2
Product 3 Product 4
Product 5 Product 6
CATEGORY A
Pages: 1, 2, 3… 100
Product 1 Product 2
Product 3 Product 4
Product 5 Product 6
CATEGORY B
Pages: 1, 2, 3… 60
<
Product 7 Product 8
Product 9 Product 10
* Explain why you’re
in the best place to
buy these products

* Clarify common
doubts of
customers when
buying these types
of products

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Reassure users
that the products
they’re seeing are
the best for their
scenario
Mitigate any
doubts around
the use and
characteristics of
the products
Show why
they’re in the best
place to buy these
products
…
Integrate Products FAQs, Q&As, Facts in PLPs to
clarify customers doubts & support sales too

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Blend this
information with
the products listing
design to make it
visible and support
user journey and
conversions

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This content will
better connect with
commercial search
intent of the PLPs
and help them to
rank better

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Leverage content tools AI features and chatbots
 
to help writers produce this content at scale
FAQs:

• Are these boots made
from real leather?
 
• Do these boots have a
good transpiration
system?
 
• What are the best pants
to wear with knee-high
boots?
 
 
Surfer, NeuralText

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Obtain comprehensive & unique product
descriptions based on top ranked pages

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Generate the FAQs for your products with
 
their answers without mentioning brands

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There’s no excuse!
Online store
platforms are also
now integrating
AI content
development
along with
optimization
features natively

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Let’s follow
this ChatGPT
flowchart by
Aleksandr
Tiulkanov to use
generative AI
safely

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Denim
Leather
Jean
Men
Women
Jeans
Pants
Shorts
Jacket
Shirt
T-shirt
Dress
Skirt
Jumpsuit
Bootcut
Straight
Wide
Slim
Crop
Flare
Skinny
Black
Blue
White
Red
Product
Characteristics
Type
Audience
+ + +
Modifiers
+
Buy
Shop
Best
Top
Cheap
Children
It’s about maximizing your e-commerce search
visibility share through the full customer journey
Home Brand Categories Sub-categories Filters Comparison Guides Deals …

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https://bit.ly/3wKdCTe
Here’s a page & queries types reference for
ecommerce sites, to avoid missing them

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Next Step:
Optimize this
content to
maximize its
visibility & CTR via
the many shopping
SERP features

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https://www.advancedwebranking.com/features-spread/
Most of
shopping related
results are now
integrated with
reviews, products
& images search
features, and
more with videos

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LESS VISIBILITY
HIGHER VISIBILITY
You don’t want to
be ranking in the
best positions but
with less visibility
vs others with rich
results or search
features inclusion

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Use rank trackers supporting them like AWR to
assess inclusion opportunities for targeted queries
Advanced Web Ranking

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Identify organic results with reviews, image
thumbnails, product knowledge panel inclusions…

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As well as product packs, multi-image thumbnails, or
even image packs, depending on their visibility share

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Prioritize those you’re ranking well but not w/ rich
results/search features & have low click share

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Compare your search features inclusions with the
ones of your competitors to prioritize further

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Google uses a mix of product structured data,
merchant center & product info for inclusions
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/ecommerce/share-your-product-data-with-google

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Start by implementing the relevant structured data
following Google guidelines across pages types
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/product#providing-product-data-to-google-search

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Validate and monitor to identify issues and further
opportunities to improve via SEO crawlers & GSC
Sitebulb & Google Search Console

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Not all are
triggered by
structured data
though, content
format as well as
merchant feed also
influence what
Google highlights
in snippets
https://brodieclark.com/little-known-rich-results-ecommerce/

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https://brodieclark.com/google-image-thumbnails/
The same happens
with image
optimization
-rendering &
indexing, relevance,
organization- for the
image thumbnails in
listings

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For free product merchant features it’s a must to
integrate feed via the merchant center but not all do

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Most online
store platforms can
automatically
generate &
integrate your
product feed with
the merchant center
though, do it now

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If your platform
doesn’t generate a
product feed, take
a look at WordLift
Product
Knowledge Graph
Builder, that
allows to integrate
with the Merchant
Center
https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/en-en/marketplace/apps/wordlift1610701057853.seo-merchant-feed

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You can then validate the inclusions via the
platforms/Merchant Center dashboards & GSC
Platform Google Merchant Center Dashboard & GSC

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Monitor the impact in visibility & CTR via your rank
tracker and Search Console to optimize further

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The Pyramid of SEO Success
Finally, to execute this successfully you should
avoid SEO issues/bugs that hold you back
FIXING
IMPROVING
BUILDING
Creating content to target new
relevant queries through user
search journey
Optimizing existing content for
already targeted relevant
queries
Minimizing tech debt to avoid
crawlability, indexability and
page experience issues

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There are too common SEO horror stories in
 
ecommerce that are completely preventable
Internal search
results cannibalizing
categories
Noindexing
categories pages
with search
potential
Lack of unique
commercial content
in categories
Product pages
with poor
 
unique descriptive
content
Product pages
with traffic
 
but inconsistent
status
Seasonal pages
with traffic
 
but inconsistent
status
Overlooking
informational
content and
resources

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Like noindexing or canonicalizing facets with
product inventory and search traffic potential

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Or temporarily
unavailable
products pages
triggering errors,
being noindexed
or erroneously
redirected

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I’ve presented
about it, so you
can take a look at
the different
solutions
alternatives here
https://www.slideshare.net/aleydasolis/ecommerce-seo-horror-stories-how-to-tackle-the-most-common-issues-at-scale-and-avoid-an-seo-nightmare-mozcon

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SEO RECOS ONGOING SEO IMPLEMENTATION
SEO QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK
That’s why SEO reco’s should set continuous
 
SEO quality assurance measures for the process

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SEO RECOS ONGOING SEO IMPLEMENTATION
EDUCATION
 
To prevent SEO
mistakes
VALIDATION
 
To avoid launching
 
SEO Errors
MONITORING
 
To catch SEO incidents
fast
With ongoing SEO education, validation and
monitoring measures for an optimal execution

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WEB PLATFORM CONFIGURATION/SETTINGS CHANGES INTEGRATED VALIDATION
ORGANIC SEARCH TRAFFIC & CONVERSIONS DECREASE/INCREASE ALERTS
WEB RANKINGS DECREASE/INCREASE ALERTS
QUERIES SEARCH POPULARITY DECREASE/INCREASE ALERTS
WEB CONTENT & TECHNICAL CONFIGURATION CHANGES ALERTS
CONTENT OPTIMIZATION & TECH SEO CONFIGURATION CHECKLIST FOR COMMON WORKFLOWS
COMPANY CONTENT OPTIMIZATION & TECH SEO GUIDELINES/WIKI
ONLINE SEO TRAINING AND Q&AS FOR TECH/CONTENT/[STAKEHOLDERS] TEAMS
RECURRING / ONGOING SEO TECH/CONTENT VALIDATION PRE & POST WEB RELEASES
EDUCATION
VALIDATION
MONITORING
MENTIONS & BACKLINKS ALERTS
WEBSITE SEARCH CRAWLING ISSUES ALERTS
SPAM OR MANUAL ACTIONS ALERTS
RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS FEATURING SEO CONCEPTS & IMPORTANCE TOWARDS GOALS
This is how you
say goodbye to
continuous
SEO errors that
hold your
execution back

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Learn more about
setting a Quality
Assurance
Framework in this
presentation
https://www.slideshare.net/aleydasolis/goodbye-seo-fck-ups-learn-to-set-an-seo-quality-assurance-frameworkpdf

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Too much work?
 

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POPULAR &
 
AUTHORITATIVE
RELEVANT &
 
TRUSTWORTHY
CRAWLABLE &
 
INDEXABLE
GREAT USER
 
EXPERIENCE
RANKABLE
 
FOR RELEVANT
 
QUERIES
>
YOUR PAGE
YOUR COMPETITORS PAGES
These will help
to stay ahead of
competitors,
identifying
opportunities
and executing
what obtains
goals faster
SEARCH BEHAVIOR SEARCH RESULTS

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The results make it worth it

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It’s all about e-commerce organic search growth,
revenue, and ultimately, SEO ROI

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I’m Aleyda Solis

* SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti

* SEO Speaker at +100 Events in +20 countries

* Author “SEO. Las Claves Esenciales.”

* Crawling Mondays Video & Podcast Series Host

* #SEOFOMO #MarketingFOMO Newsletters Wrangler

* Maker LearningSEO.io

* European Search Personality of the Year in 2018

* remoters.net Co-Founder
Thanks! Questions?
 
orainti.com

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The Keys for Ecommerce SEO Success for 2023

The Keys for Ecommerce SEO Success for 2023

Aleyda Solis

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