42% of users would leave a website solely due to poor functionality, and 83% of users appreciate it when a website is attractive and updated. It's no exaggeration to say that the optimization, aesthetics, and performance of your website are essential. However, it can be easy to make a mistake when editing your website yourself.
You may not be 100% familiar with the best practices of search engine optimization (SEO), and that's okay. You don't have to do it on your own!
Our approach to digital marketing will boost your organic traffic, elevate your online presence, and generate leads for your e-commerce company. Even the smallest changes we make to your website are precise and measured to improve overall performance and increase search engine rankings.
In the meantime, if you want to make some updates or edits to your website on your own, here are a few dos and don'ts to keep in mind to maximize your results. Keep reading!
See Related: What Is A Customer Avatar? Why Do You Need One?
As a business owner, you should strive to increase organic traffic, attract new leads, and improve the overall performance of your site. A great way to do that is by adding keywords to your website.
Keywords are the words or phrases that users enter into search engines in order to find information. These can also be referred to as "search queries."
Adding keywords to your website will give potential customers a way to discover your brand and products. They'll help you connect with your target audience and boost your position in search engine results pages (SERPs).
There are a few places where you can add keywords in order to benefit your website.
The first key place is the page URL. This is one of the main ranking factors for search engines like Google. We recommend adding one to two keywords to the page URL, which will help optimize your website.
For example, if your keyword is "CBD gummies for sleep," your page URL may be .../products/cbd-gummies-for-sleep-600mg.
Image Source: Ahrefs
Here are some other things to keep in mind when editing a page URL:
A study found that products with keywords added to the titles generate 50x more sales than products without keywords added to the titles. 72% of U.S. consumers consider the quality of product titles to be an important factor in their purchasing decisions.
When launching a new product or updating an existing page, there are a few things to keep in mind. To start with, you should optimize things like the page URL, meta title, and page headings (more on that here.) Adding a keyword or two to the product title is a great way to set yourself up for success.
It shouldn't be a surprise that a descriptive and accurate product title is essential. A product title should provide key information for the reader, boost visibility in search results, and improve the overall user experience.
We recommend adding one to two keywords to the product title while maintaining readability and functionality. We also recommend adding one to two keywords to the product page URL, product page content, and product page headings.
For example, if your keyword is "face wash for acne," the product title on the product page may be "Rice and Coconut Face Wash for Acne."
However, don't forget that the primary purpose of your product title is to describe your product.
At Up Inc., our motto is "Quality over everything" - and that means maintaining informative, accurate, and readable product titles.
It's incredibly important to add keywords to your content in a balanced and strategic manner. This improves search visibility, increases organic traffic, and boosts conversation rates.
However, you should never keyword stuff. Keyword stuffing is the practice of overloading your content with keywords in order to boost search rankings or increase online visibility. However, this is not an effective method of website optimization. Filling your content with an excessive amount of keywords usually causes more harm than good!
But why is that?
Search engines like Google penalize websites that create content stuffed with keywords, which is seen as a spam tactic. Content stuffed with keywords leads to a poor user experience, high bounce rates, and lower engagement. To penalize websites, Google will reduce search engine rankings, which can have a disastrous effect on digital marketing campaigns.
Keyword stuffing is a surefire way to destroy your traffic, clicks, and engagement. Though it may seem appealing to load your content with keywords, it can easily backfire.
There's a reason why we recommend only adding one to two keywords to the page URL or product title.
1% to 2% is an ideal keyword density - anything above this range may be considered keyword stuffing. One study showed that Google took action against 40% of websites that had some degree of keyword stuffing. Plus, keyword stuffing hurts the user experience, appears “spammy,” and decreases trust in your brand.
Image Source: Geeks for Geeks
Bonus: Why Are Blogs Important? Everything You Need To Know
The alt tag (also known as alt text or alternative text) is an HTML attribute that describes the appearance or function of an image. They usually aren't visible on the page but can be read by search engines like Google.
Alt tags are typically read aloud by screen readers and are used by individuals with visual impairments or low vision. Alt tags can also be displayed if the image fails to load (keep in mind that site speed is an important part of website optimization.)
Overall, it's a good idea not to skip over the alt text when you upload images to your website.
12 million users have a visual impairment or low vision. In 2021, there were up to 10 lawsuits per day related to accessibility issues in the United States. 97.4% of homepages have accessibility errors, and 61% of all homepage accessibility errors are due to missing alt text.
There are actually a handful of reasons why accurate and descriptive alt tags are essential.
Use your alt tags to describe the image for those who are visually impaired. Generally, you can safely add 1 to 2 keywords in the alt tags, which can assist with search optimization.
Continuing along those lines, don't use alt tags only for keyword stuffing. Though you can safely add a few keywords to alt tags, make sure any keywords are added after the descriptive text. We recommend adding one to two keywords to the alt text to boost optimization.
When it all comes down to it, remember that the primary purpose of alt text is to accurately describe the appearance or function of an image. Add one to two keywords after that.
Your website is a multifaceted machine that must work smoothly and seamlessly to maximize performance, boost sales, and improve user experience (UX).
Website optimization is a critical component of managing a brand and business, and your product pages are the meat and potatoes of the operation. It's essential to ensure that your product listings are easy for users to navigate and interact with. A poorly optimized website can seriously impact your ability to make sales and attract customers.
1 in 3 users will leave a brand they love after a single bad experience. 70% of users say that site speed impacts their purchasing decisions.
It's important to optimize your product pages to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for users. That's key to driving growth, boosting sales, and building trust.
One common mistake that business owners in the E-commerce space make is creating multiple product listings for each product variant. This is a big no-no! Multiple product listings can confuse customers, reduce visibility, and decrease conversions.
Many times, if a customer can't find it on your site, it simply doesn't exist to them. So, even if you have the exact product they're looking for, they may not find it or buy it if it's hidden somewhere within your website. They may see a variant product listing and think this is all your website has to offer before ultimately leaving for a competitor site.
Creating multiple product listings for each product variant can make it confusing, tedious, and difficult for consumers to compare products and make quick purchasing decisions. It creates unnecessary obstacles for users that will inevitably have a negative impact on organic traffic, overall growth, and product sales.
It's best to create a single product listing for multiple product variants. If you offer different colors, sizes, options, etc., of a single product, add all of these different variants to a single product listing.
Nowadays, it's hard not to see AI almost everywhere. And it can be very tempting to use AI for creating content for your website. However, we strongly recommend against using AI to write the entirety of your online content.
This is because search engines like Google penalize websites with low-quality, highly repetitive, and AI-generated content. Google can easily detect excessive use of AI and will decrease the search rankings of websites that do so.
Using AI also leads to an overall loss of quality in your website content, which visitors can easily notice. Content generated by AI typically lacks any of the originality, creativity, or intrigue that keeps people reading and engaged. Plus, AI is far from perfect, often giving out erroneous information that can be harmful to the user. Especially if you are in wellness or medical spaces, this can be especially dangerous.
Various case studies have been done on the impact of AI on organic traffic and website optimization. In 2023, Casual.app, a website with a large volume of AI-powered content, experienced a staggering 99.3% decrease in monthly traffic after a core update from Google.
Image Source: WebFX
It’s important to encourage visitors to stay on your site for as long as possible. This can be done in a few different ways:
It can be challenging and confusing to know what to do and what not to do when making changes to your website. It's important to update and maintain your website to keep it engaging, user-friendly, and informative, but there are a few mistakes that many business owners fall prey to.
If you want more guidance with your online presence, our team of experts knows how to propel your brand to new heights in the digital sphere. We've got your back!
Keep Reading: The Three Pillars of SEO When Launching a New Product
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Up Inc. eCommerce Agency is a digital marketing agency based in Los Angeles, CA. Founded in 2021, Up Inc. specializes in eCommerce, generating growth for brands by focusing on visibility, customer loyalty, and digital revenue. For more SEO tips and industry insights, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
