As a retail store, you know all about creating the best possible experience for your customers in-store. But when it comes to growing your business online, there might be a few areas you could improve. Luckily, with a few simple SEO steps, you can amplify your brand, grow your customer base, and ultimately generate more revenue. 

What is SEO for retail websites?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of actioning specific elements on your retail website to improve the chances of boosting rankings on search engines like Google and Bing. SEO is an ongoing process that involves regularly updating the website, especially as Google’s algorithms change. The more products and product pages a site has, the more consistent the SEO work will be. 

Your online store likely offers hundreds of products for sale. Each product has its own dedicated page, but most customers don’t land on these individual product pages. Instead, they search for product type, color, size, price, and look for sales. That means each product page needs to be optimized for these search queries to have the best chance of appearing on the search engine results page (SERP). 

Why is SEO important for my business?

The data shows that searchers only click on links in the top 5 results, as they are viewed as the most reputable and trusted. SEO is important because it’s how you get your brand into one of those coveted ranking positions. 

SEO for your retail site also helps you reach more customers without the ad spend, build brand awareness and credibility, and gain a competitive advantage over other stores in your niche. SEO is the difference between your business scaling and stagnating. 

Getting started with SEO for retail: 5 steps

1. Understand your current position

Before you can track your SEO growth, you need to understand where you’re starting from. There are endless data points you can track in SEO, but here are 5 KPIs to keep an eye on while you’re getting started: 

• Keyword rankings: These are words or phrases that customers search for to find your products. The higher you rank for a particular keyword, the better visibility you have on the SERP.

• Organic traffic: The overall number of visitors to your website from organic search, meaning they did not search for the name of your business specifically.

• Bounce rate: The percentage of people who exit your website after visiting one page.

• Click-through rate: The number of people who have clicked on your link on the SERP.

• Conversion: The percentage of people who visit your website and convert, meaning they’ve made a purchase, subscribed to a newsletter, or completed another action. 

2. Keyword research

Every successful SEO strategy begins with keyword research. Start by thinking about what potential customers could search on Google to find your store. They’re likely not searching “food” or “kitchen appliances,” they’re usually more specific, searching instead for “croissant recipes,” and “stainless steel toasters.”

Knowing the retail keywords your customers are likely to use will help you build a strategy to apply them to your website. Use a tool like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to find keyword inspiration and create a plan to add relevant keywords to product pages, collection pages, and even your homepage.

3. Publish more pages

Speaking of pages, we’d bet your business needs more. 

Websites with more pages tend to rank higher on average than those with fewer pages. As a retail business, you have the advantage of creating a new page for each product. However, those shouldn’t be your only pages. 

Consider building a blog, a testimonials page, a company or “about” page, and even seasonal and sale pages to expand your site. Fresh information, FAQ sections, and generous product descriptions give you the chance to leverage more keywords and boost your SEO. Still, opt for quality over quantity and ensure that what you write is valuable to potential customers.

4. Optimize images and metadata 

Keywords don’t just belong as text on product pages and blogs, but they should go in your image descriptions and metadata, too. 

Include important keywords in the alt text and file names of each image on your website. This helps search engines understand what’s being depicted in each photo, which improves your rankings. 

Your page metadata, such as title tags and meta descriptions, should also include relevant keywords to enhance your rankings. The more information you can give to Google and Bing about your content, the more they will trust and recommend your site to customers.

5. Contact a professional team

The most effective way to jump-start your SEO strategy is to call the pros. SEO is complex, and aside from the starter tips we gave in this article, there are dozens of other web elements to review and optimize. 

Because SEO isn’t a one-and-done process, you’ll also want to connect with a professional team for weekly or monthly performance monitoring. Search engine algorithms change, and a strategy that works one month might be ineffective the next. 

If you want to drive organic traffic and scale your business effectively, consulting an expert team is the best way to get there. 

What to expect with results and growth

If you stick to your SEO strategy, you can expect to see a slow but steady increase in organic traffic. You’ll also see your business climbing the SERP rankings, and eventually a noticeable increase in revenue.

Don’t ignore the technical elements of SEO, also, and keep in mind that the market is competitive, so results could take between 3 and 12 months. It feels like a long process, but it’s always well worth the commitment. 

What not to look for in an SEO agency

A great SEO agency is dedicated to helping you achieve your specific business goals. There are many SEO teams that attempt to “game” the search engine system for quick wins and temporary spikes in rankings. 

The reality is that you can’t shortcut lasting SEO results. Beware of SEO agencies that: 

• Don’t prioritize learning about your business.

• Don’t conduct a comprehensive SEO audit from both the content and technical perspectives.

• Don’t give you SEO recommendations you can’t implement yourself.

• Gatekeep important strategy information.

• Aren’t flexible and collaborative around implementation.

• Don’t understand or offer content marketing services as well.

Placeholder has all of your SEO needs covered, and more

At Placeholder SEO, we understand all things content marketing, SEO, and digital marketing. We take the time to build a tailored strategy that gets results. 

Book a free strategy call today to learn how we can help scale your retail store.