Search engine optimisation (SEO) can be a daunting task, especially for eCommerce websites with thousands of pages. With so much content to manage and optimise, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to prioritise your efforts.
However, with the right approach, you can effectively handle SEO for your large website and drive significant traffic to your pages. In this article, we'll discuss some of the strategies and best practices that we use here at Smarter Media for optimising a website with thousands of pages for search engines.
eCommerce SEO is the process of optimising an online store’s website and products to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). The goal is to improve visibility and drive traffic to your eCommerce site through organic search. eCommerce SEO is an essential component of a comprehensive eCommerce digital marketing strategy offered by any reputable eCommerce digital marketing agency.
Conducting insightful competitor research is a crucial step in any SEO strategy, whether you’re working with an in-house team or outsourcing to an SEO marketing agency. It helps you identify your competitors' strengths and weaknesses, enabling you to develop a strategy that sets your website apart from the rest. To begin with, start by identifying your top competitors in the industry. Analyse their websites and note down key features such as their page layout, content structure, visual design elements and user experience. You can use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to get an overview of their website traffic and backlink profile.
Next, analyse the keywords they rank for and compare them with yours to identify gaps in your keyword strategy. Also, look at their content strategy; what type of content do they publish? Do they have multimedia elements on their pages? Ensure that you take note of all these details, as this information will help you develop a comprehensive plan for optimising your own site.
One of the most important things you can do to optimise a website with thousands of pages is to make it easy to browse. This means organising your content in a clear and logical manner so that visitors can quickly find what they're looking for. Here are some ways to do this:
One method is creating categories and subcategories that reflect the structure of your site. For example, if you're running an eCommerce site, you might have main categories such as "Apparel," "Accessories," and "Home Goods," with subcategories like "Shoes," "Jewellery" and "Bedding" under each one.
Another key factor in making your site easy to browse is ensuring that it loads quickly on all devices. This means optimising images and other media files so that they don't slow down page load times, as well as using caching techniques to reduce server requests. Additionally, consider implementing lazy loading, which only loads images when they come into view on the screen.
Be sure to include clear navigation menus throughout your site, with links to important pages prominently displayed at the top or bottom of each page. Use descriptive labels for each link so that visitors know exactly where they'll be taken when they click on them.
Adding a search bar to your website helps users quickly find the information they are looking for without having to manually navigate through various pages. By providing a search bar on your site, you also save visitors time and effort, making their overall browsing experience more enjoyable. Not only does this improve user satisfaction, but it can also increase your website's retention rates.
Two of the most popular options for displaying content are infinite scroll and pagination. Infinite scroll allows users to continuously scroll down a page without having to click on any buttons or links to view more content. Pagination, on the other hand, divides content into separate pages that can be accessed by clicking on numbered links.
The title and description of your website pages are critical elements that affect the browsing experience. When you create unique titles for each page, you give visitors an idea of what they can expect on that particular page. This makes it easier for them to navigate your site and find what they are looking for without much effort. Furthermore, a well-optimised title tag can help improve search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
Descriptions, on the other hand, provide a brief summary of the content on a specific page. These descriptions must be concise, relevant and informative to entice users to click through from search results pages or social media platforms. By crafting unique descriptions for all pages on your site, you are making it easier for search engines to understand what each page is about and rank them accordingly.
Internal linking is a powerful tool that can boost the SEO of your website. However, many site owners often overlook this aspect, missing out on its potential benefits. One way to discover hidden opportunities for internal linking is by conducting a content audit to identify any gaps or areas where additional links could be added. This will help you create a more organised and user-friendly site structure, making it easier for visitors to navigate through your pages.
Another way to uncover internal linking opportunities is by leveraging related articles or blog posts on your site. By adding links from one article to another that shares similar keywords or topics, you can help guide readers towards other relevant content they may be interested in exploring. Moreover, such links can enhance the authority of both pages while potentially reducing bounce rates on low-traffic pages.
A final tip for finding hidden opportunities for internal linking involves auditing external sources that link back to your website. By analysing these inbound links and identifying which pieces of content are frequently linked-to but lack any internal links themselves, you'll be able to pinpoint areas where there's room for additional connections between related articles/pages on your site—thus improving overall user experience and SEO performance!
Keeping your site operational means users should be able to easily navigate through your site and find what they're looking for without any hassle. Here’s how you can achieve this:
In today's world, where most people access the internet through their mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly website is no longer an option but a necessity. A website that is not optimised for mobile devices will be hard to navigate and may result in visitors leaving your site. That’s why it's essential to ensure your site is functional on all types of devices.
To make your site mobile-friendly, you need to optimise images and videos for smaller screens, as they can slow down page load times if they're too big. Additionally, use responsive design techniques that allow your site to adjust its layout automatically depending on the screen size of the device being used. And ensure that all buttons and links are easy to click on using fingers or thumbs.
The functionality of your website is paramount to the success of your online business. Technical errors can prevent users from accessing your website or hinder their ability to navigate it, leading to a loss in potential customers and revenue. Therefore, fixing technical errors should be at the top of your priority list.
One common technical error is broken links, which can occur when pages on your site are deleted or moved without proper redirection. Another issue is slow loading times, which can be caused by large image sizes or too many plugins installed on your site. These problems can easily be fixed by removing unnecessary plugins and compressing images.
To ensure that technical errors do not affect the functionality of your website, it's important to regularly monitor and test its performance. This includes checking for broken links, optimising images and videos for faster loading times and conducting regular security checks to eliminate vulnerabilities that could compromise user data or harm the reputation of your business. By taking these steps, you'll maintain a functional website that provides an optimal user experience for visitors while maximising profits for yourself.
A clean URL structure helps search engines understand the content and hierarchy of your site. URLs should be concise, descriptive and easy to read, making it easier for visitors to remember and share them.
One of the biggest challenges that website owners face is managing duplicate content. Duplicate content refers to blocks of text, images or videos that appear more than once on a website. It can harm your SEO efforts by confusing search engines and diluting your ranking power. That’s why it's important to identify and eliminate duplicate content on your site.
Looking for a digital SEO agency? At Smarter Media, we offer comprehensive SEO services that are tailored to the specific needs of our clients. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your eCommerce SEO performance and grow your online business.
