I have audited more websites in the last 10 years that I can count, and there are three things that always stand out, particularly for e-commerce websites, so I thought I would share what they are so you can assess whether your website needs a bit of TLC
1️⃣ A lack of words on the home page
It’s like someone walking into your physical store and shoving products in our face and saying “BUY BUY BUY!” - it’s kinda rude and off-putting. Say hello, welcome us, tell us a bit about who you are, and make us feel warm, then we might feel more inclined to buy from you if you treat us like humans and not dollars.
Not to mention the lack of words also means a lack of keywords - not only should your keywords be found in your meta tags, but they also need to be found in your content, such as the first 100 words on each page. So by neglecting to add words, you're missing out on possibly better Google rankings and Google visibility.
2️⃣ Not adding alt titles to all your product images
When you add multiple images for 1 single product, ALL of those images need alt titles. It’s important for SEO to do this; Google reads alt titles to learn what the images are, and people with impaired vision use screen readers to read the image description. It’s a perfect place to add keywords to your site which helps you get found on Google.
3️⃣ Duplicating products but not editing the product URL
www.myonlineshop.com/copy-of-other-product
This makes your SEO sad - Google reads your URL to learn what the product is and when they see this type of URL? It gives them no information - it’s what they call an “unfriendly URL” and will lead to poor SEO.
Here's some quick tips on how to optimise your product pages:
1. Optimise your title tags and meta descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are very important in product page optimization.
Make sure you include details such as:
The brand of the product
The name of the product
Other important information (e.g., dimensions).
2. Add clear and helpful FAQ's
High-quality content that meets the users’ needs is key to ranking high in SERPs (search engine results pages). If users don't find your content useful, your bounce rates will be high, and customers may decide not to buy from you.
By adding clear and helpful FAQ's on your product pages (and not just your dedicatd FAQ page) you give the user/buyer more reason to buy from you because you went to the effort of providing answers to their questions from the product page - they didn't have to click to another page then scroll around to find the question and answer, then go back to your product page and add to cart...
3. Write unique and thorough product descriptions
It's not enough to just add a photo of your product and then expect people to add to cart; you need to give them unique details and info about each and every single product that you sell.
Not only should you put specific such as measurements for example, but you should also paint the picture for your potential buyer of what it will feel like to use their product.
Here's an example of a dress sold by the brand Feather and Noise - they include very detailed information about the dress from both a technical viewpoint and an emotional viewpoint, leaving no stone unturned:
The feelings: 'elevated and elegant', and 'breathtaking', and 'light'
The details: square neckline, elasticated shoulder straps, gathered detail at bust, ruched back etc
The specifics: fabric details, size guide, product measurements
Very thorough and detailed, which is likely to reduce the need for the customer to click the Chatbot or send an email to ask a question about this product, which then is likely to increase the probability of buying the product.
All that effort? Totally worth it!
Got an e-commerce website question? Pop it in the comments or send me a message at hello@thetechnobird.com.au