Many e-commerce websites don’t use search engine optimisation (SEO) to its best effect, as this can be time-consuming; however, make changes to your product pages and you can make a big difference to the performance of your site.

Product pages that pack a punch

Write unique descriptions for each product instead of copying and pasting information from the manufacturer, as this would duplicate the content on their website. Use product descriptions to sell your product and consider including user-generated content, such as social media mentions or reviews.

Do your keyword research to write unique title tags and metadata.

Use keywords that show purchase intent, such as ‘buy [product name]’. When people find your pages after typing in such search terms, they are directed further down the sales funnel since they are already more likely to convert.

Tackle product variants

Core products can be available in different patterns, sizes or colours. These different options could generate a new URL for each variant, in which case you will be in trouble for duplicate content and keyword cannibalisation. Fix this by creating one page, and one URL, where users can browse the colour, size or model options.

Product schema

Adding schema markup to your product pages is essential. Google puts a lot of emphasis on product schema, especially for e-commerce sites. A London SEO agency such as https://www.elevateuk.com/seo-services/ can help you to implement product schema.

Items out of stock

Don’t miss out on search traffic by removing out of stock products from your website; instead, update the page with information on when the item is due back in stock and recommend similar alternatives that are ready to be purchased now. If you have sold out of a product and won’t be getting any new stock, remember to set up a permanent 301 redirect from the page to a newer version, to a similar product, or to the relevant category page.

Images do the talking

People are increasingly searching for what they want through images rather than typing in text. Visual discovery means you should use high-quality pictures to entice customers; however, remember that the file size should not be too large, as this could affect the page load speed. Remember to always include alternative text in images.