Optimising Ecommerce Pages for Search Engines and Readers

Without the luxury of physical shelves and display products, your product pages will effectively make or break your e-commerce business as a whole. The trouble is, getting by these days means striking that infinitely precarious balance between appealing to the search engines to get noticed in the first place and at the same time taking the human reader-element into the equation.Is it really possible to optimise e-commerce product pages for both buyers and Google at the same time?         It is indeed – here’s an overview of a few simple tips to help:Use Better ImagesIt’s been proven beyond reasonable doubt time and time again that larger images of a higher level of quality sell more products than smaller and lower-quality alternatives. On average, an improvement to pictures can see e-commerce sales spike up to 10%, which is astonishing given the minor nature of the modification. Better use of images also applies to quantity of images, so have a think about multiple angles, perspectives and so on.Not only will this work to great effect for your buyers, it’s also right up Google’s street.Clever Use of WordsRather than relying on ream after ream of text, it’s important to get into the habit of condensing all of the most important information about the products you’re selling into bite sized nuggets and lists at the forefront of the page. Not only does this make it so much easier for your customers to see and understand what’s for sale, but when approached wisely can be used to get some strong keywords prominently listed on your pages.Real-Life ReviewsEveryone in the e-commerce business should by now know the importance of presenting feedback However, to cram all reviews and write-ups into a single feedback section on a dedicated page of the website can do the whole thing a bit of a disservice. If at all possible, it can be hugely effective to include a review snippet of just a few words from a real-life buyer next to each respective product. This makes the feedback much more specific and less generic, as to say you’re a great brand in general isn’t necessarily to recommend a specific product.Less is MoreIt can be tempting to cram something into every inch of white space across each page of your website, just to make sure you haven’t missed anything out. However, clutter won’t win you any brownie-points with the major search engines or with your readers, therefore should be avoided at all costs. So when it comes to showing related products, special offer banners and general promotional spiel, less can be more.Ease of Navigation Last but not least, consumers and search engines alike will respond in a big way to the ease or otherwise of the navigation system you use. Do you make it easy to go from any area of your site to any other with a single click? Do you allow for fast checking-out of items once they’re garnered the reader’s interest? Solid and swift navigation is pure gold for SEO and sales in general.