7 Tips for eCommerce SEO

Whether you are a novice Internet retailer or simply trying to help your e-commerce website rank better in the search engines, here are seven tips for e-commerce website search engine optimization:

1. Write Unique Content – Forgo the stale manufacturer descriptions for your products in favor of detailed, unique content. Not only is unique content viewed favorably by the major search engines, you won’t be competing against the multiple other online retailers with the very same descriptions.

2. Allow Product Reviews – It’s a great way to garner more unique content and drive traffic to your site. Give customers the chance to rate and review products they have purchased and comment on other reviews.

3. Utilize Social Networking Sites – From Facebook to Twitter, social networking sites have given small business owners new platforms to promote their products and interact with prospective customers.

4. Don’t Keyword Stuff – Stuffing your website with keywords you want to rank on is useless and shoddy and believe it or not, the search engines are smart enough to pick up on when you’re doing it. Refer to tip number one and instead write unique, keyword rich content.

5. Minimize the Amount of Flash on Your Site – While flash allows you to add visually compelling animation and images to your website, search engines have trouble recognizing and categorizing any content that is flash.

6. Name Each Page – Use relevant titles on each page of your website, not just your main ones. Search engine results list page titles so it’s imperative you give page unique and relevant page title.

7. Use eCommerce SEO Software – Most eCommerce SEO software programs are designed for small to mid-sized businesses with no SEO knowledge or experience and no budget to outsource their internet marketing. They can show you step-by-step how to complete SEO for your website that increases your rankings in the search engines. Look for a program that is web-based and charges a nominal monthly fee.