How to Do Technical SEO for Ecommerce [7 Tips for Getting Started]

Integrating an engaging e-commerce website is a multifaceted endeavor, focusing not only on aesthetic appeal but also on the technical underpinnings. Achieving a technically robust site is crucial for effective search engine optimization (SEO), which is essential for e-commerce success. Ensuring a seamless backend is key to providing an exceptional user experience on the frontend. To embark on the journey of technical SEO for e-commerce, consider the following strategies:

Continue reading to delve deeper into these techniques and assess your current SEO standing with our complimentary SEO assessment tool!

Embarking on technical SEO for e-commerce begins with implementing breadcrumb navigation. This feature provides a clear path to a specific page, reflecting the website’s structure. For instance, an art store selling paintbrushes might have a breadcrumb trail like this:

Home > Art Supplies > Painting > Paint Brushes

Such a setup, akin to what you see on Michael’s website, organizes the navigation path for products, benefiting both users and search engines.

Incorporating technical SEO for e-commerce requires attention to site load time, which directly impacts user engagement and sales. A delay of over three seconds in loading can result in a 53% abandonment rate, with an annual revenue loss of $2.6 billion attributed to slow-loading websites. Enhance your site load time using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, and consider the following optimizations:

Decrease redirects

Minify HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Reduce image file sizes

Enable browser caching

Host videos on external platforms

Optimizing the backend of your site not only improves load speed but also enhances the shopping experience.

For effective technical SEO, start with a clean URL structure. This involves using URLs that are logical and devoid of random characters, providing a clear indication of the user’s location on the site. A structured URL, for example:

www.artsupplies.com/painting/canvases/burlap-canvas

is more informative than a convoluted one, aiding both users and search engines in understanding the site’s hierarchy.

Incorporating structured data into your e-commerce site is vital for enhancing product listings and improving search rankings. This data includes product names, ratings, prices, and availability, helping search engines recognize product pages and enhancing click-through rates.

Ensuring site security is paramount for e-commerce, as it builds trust with customers. Implementing a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate encrypts sensitive data, providing users with the reassurance of a secure transaction environment.

Two critical components of technical SEO for e-commerce are the XML sitemap and the robots.txt file. The XML sitemap guides search engines to crawl and index your most important pages, while the robots.txt file prevents search engine bots from overloading your site.

Canonical tags are essential for preventing duplicate content issues, directing search engines to the primary version of a page, which is particularly important for e-commerce sites with multiple listings or variations.

Mastering technical SEO for e-commerce involves a nuanced understanding of coding and backend optimization. For expert assistance, turn to the team at WebFX, with over 500 marketing experts ready to optimize your site’s technical SEO and drive the best results. Contact us online or call 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our e-commerce SEO services and enhance your site’s performance in search results!