When embarking on the launch of an e-commerce site many people do not realise that the difference between a successful site and an unsuccessful one can be the e-commerce platform you use. Some e-commerce platforms do not allow for the flexibility required to completely optimise your site and get it ranking well in the search engines.
Many a time, website owners find they are getting the traffic to their site but that it is not converting to sales. What is the cause behind this and how can it be rectified?
Choosing the right e-commerce platform
These days there are too many different content management systems (CMS’s) and e-commerce platforms, one can become confused with which one to choose. A lot of people end up choosing free or open source platforms as they do not want to invest in more expensive systems. When it comes to an e-commerce site, you need to do it right the first time. This means investing time and money into getting the structure and design right. Make sure you do some user experience testing to find out how people are interacting with your site before you launch it – do they find it easy to find the products they are looking for and is making a purchase simple?
From an SEO perspective, there are certain elements that need to be in place for your e-commerce site to not only rank well but also convert well.
1. Clean URLs for product pages
Many e-commerce sites do not give you the type of control you need in order to optimise your URL structure. Ideally you want to ensure that your URL contains the name of your product. A good example of a CMS system that handles URL structure well is Joomla. Thanks to the SH404SEF module you can set your URLs to pull just the name of your product or you can manually rewrite the URL to be exactly the way you want it.
2. Ability to Add Unique Meta Data on all pages
In order for your product pages to get indexed well you need to ensure that all your products have unique titles, descriptions and keyword tags. Some custom CMS solutions make use of a universal meta tag meaning that you need to ensure your developer has built in functionality for you to customise the meta data on all pages of your e-commerce site.
3. XML and Static Sitemap
A common problem that many e-commerce site owners find is that their sites do not get indexed well. The site may contain 5000 pages but only 2000 of them are appearing in the Google index. In order to help Google index your site well you need to ensure that your site has an up to date XML and static sitemap. These days there are some great pieces of software which automate XML sitemaps. With e-commerce sites, products are being added and removed on a regular basis, hence you want to ensure that you always have an up to date sitemap. That, along with unique meta data, will really help your site get indexed better.
4. Good Search Function
You want to make it as easy as possible for people to find what they are looking for on your site. An e-commerce site with a bad search function is bound to have a lower conversion rate. Make sure you test out your search function to ensure it is giving out accurate results before you launch your website.
5. Site Speed
Some of the best e-commerce sites are successful due to the fact that it is quick and easy to make purchases. The point of online shopping was to make shopping a faster experience. Hence, if your e-commerce site is slow to load, you are not likely to get repeat customers. Make sure you test your site speed before you launch it. Externalise any JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and compress all images you have on the site. It is little things like this that can help make your site faster and more user friendly.
So there you have it, a few tips on what to look out for when building an e-commerce site. Remember that if you get the structure and design right the first time, it will save you a lot of money in the long run.
If you are thinking of starting an e-commerce site, we recommend you contact R.O.I Media for a full website design, conversion and SEO services.
