Ecommerce SEO

There isn’t a website in the world today that can get away with shunning SEO. To ignore the power of the major search engines is to run the risk of not being seen or found by anyone…at all. You could try a multi-billion dollar ad campaign to get your brand known and noticed, but assuming you’re something of a one-man Magento operation that’s just set up in a corner of Doncaster, this isn’t likely to prove realistic.So really SEO is your best friend, but when it comes to getting a Magento site noticed and making sure you don’t break the rules, there are some specific dos and don’ts to be aware of. These actually apply to all Ecommerce stores across the board, but as Magento is the most popular platform of its type in operation right now, we’re directing it at the Magento community specifically.      Careful Keyword UseFirst of all, if all you sell are black shoes for men…just as an example…chances are you’ll find yourself writing ‘Black Shoes for Men’ across every page of your website a million and one times. But here’s the thing, no matter what kind of business area you’re in, you still have to follow Google’s rules when it comes to keyword stuffing. This makes it a right old pain in the proverbial, but a rule you must follow nonetheless. Try not to get carried away with keyword repetition, even if this does make life rather difficult. And if possible, think longer, more descriptive and ideally local keyword phrases instead.Unique ContentThe same also applies to content, which is bad news when it comes to putting any site together. Say, you have a single product in 25 different colours and would like to give each its own page – this is a great idea and could add depth to your website. However, this will only work if you give each page its own unique content, rather than falling into the trap of duplicating the content and just changing the colour words. Do this and you’ll be in trouble with the powers that be – you’d actually be better of just having one page and listing the colour choices.Index Relevant Pages OnlyChances are you’ll have various additional pages like an About Us, a Contact Us, perhaps a Comments or Feedback page and so on and so forth. Ask yourself – do these really need to be indexed? Unless they are directly related to what you are selling and the service you’re offering then don’t bother allowing them to be indexed as they may dilute your site’s appeal in the eyes of Google and Co.Fresh Content Regularly Last but not least, Google loves content that’s updated regularly and kept fresh at all times. This can be easier said than done with a fixed range of products that changes maybe once every three or four years…or maybe never. As such, you need to come up with ways and means to add fresh and relevant content to your site on a regular basis, which could mean changing up product descriptions from time to time or simply adding a blog/comments page/message board. Really, anything that keeps new content being added will make a big difference in the long-run.