Case Study - How to Increase Online Sales in E-commerce with SEO
Running an online store is undeniably a challenge, especially in a market saturated with competition. One of the key elements that can significantly impact your online visibility and competitive edge is search engine optimization (SEO). In this article, we present how an online store with children's products succeeded on the German market thanks to an effective SEO strategy.
Planning the Strategy
A very important element when starting an SEO campaign is a thorough competitor and market analysis in order to plan the best possible strategy. Goals should be properly spread over time so that we can accurately measure results and potentially introduce adjustments and changes. The more time we spend at this stage, the more fruitful our optimization will be and fewer things will surprise us in later stages - unless positively. Now we will discuss the elements that helped us achieve success during the optimization of our client's online store.
Keyword Research
This is the most important stage of planning - we always carry it out at the beginning of our cooperation. Selecting the right keywords can bring benefits in many aspects. Keywords can both drive sales and serve an informational purpose that allows us to position ourselves as an expert and increase our brand awareness in the market. After properly selecting the keywords, we move on to content planning.
Content Planning
Every selected keyword is assigned by us to its appropriate subpage. We select them based on user intent, which is reflected in what appears in search results for a given query. Thanks to this, we know which phrase should be promoted on a category page and which should go, for example, to a blog post. We checked whether the subpages on the client's website matched the keywords we selected. If not - we planned the creation of new ones.
Internal Linking
In our case, a crucial role was played by internal linking, meaning the strategic placement of links to other pages within our website. This allowed not only for improved user experience (UX), but also for a better understanding of our site structure by Google bots, which translates into better ranking performance. We are able to plan internal linking as early as the keyword research and content planning stages - at these stages, by grouping phrases into clusters, we can link internally within related topics, which increases our authority and boosts the chances of retaining an interested user on the site.
Menu Structure
The menu structure is another important aspect of SEO optimization. In our store, we made a series of changes that improved clarity and ease of navigation for customers. We ensured that the most important product categories were easily accessible and the menu was intuitive and clear. This is a practice that simultaneously improves internal linking as well.
Well-Organized Category Structure
Our store's category structure was organized in such a way as to best meet the needs of our customers while complying with SEO principles. We strived to group products into logical categories and subcategories that were also rich in keywords.
Adding Content to Categories
Just as important as the site structure is adding content to categories. We made sure that each of our categories contained unique, valuable content that helps users understand what they can find in a given section. This content was also saturated with relevant keywords, which helped us improve our search ranking positions.
Short Content in the ATF Section
In the "above the fold" (ATF) section, we placed short yet compelling texts. We created attractive and effective messaging that encouraged users to keep browsing the site while utilizing relevant keywords.
Long Content Placed to Avoid Overshadowing Products
While content is important, it is equally crucial that it does not obscure our products. Therefore, we placed longer copy at the bottom of the page, while ensuring that it remained valuable and saturated with relevant keywords.
Solid External Linking Strategy
Besides internal linking, a key element of our SEO strategy was external linking. We built our backlink profile by placing links to our site on other relevant niche websites, which helped us strengthen our visibility in search engines.
Fixing Technical Aspects
Fixing the technical aspects of our website was an important step. We corrected redirects, fixed links leading to non-existent pages, and excluded empty categories. These changes helped us improve the overall quality of the client's site. We should make it as easy as possible for Google bots to crawl and analyze our website.
Results Achieved
Our client's website recorded remarkable growth. From an estimated traffic level of 749 users per month, it grew to around 4,880 users per month over the course of a year.
Let us take a look at how the situation appears in terms of keywords:
Changes that occurred over the course of a year:Keywords for which the client is visible in positions 1-3 - an increase from 20 to 140 keywords.Keywords for which the client is visible in positions 4-10 - an increase from 26 to 276 keywords.Keywords for which the client is visible in positions 11-20 - an increase from 92 to 433 keywords.The generated traffic naturally translated into higher online sales. Every single new user is a potential customer and an opportunity for higher sales at various stages of buyer awareness. Our remarketing opportunities also increase - which is why, combined with a sound SEO strategy, we can effectively allocate our budget across paid sales channels.
Summary
In summary, the right SEO strategy is the key to success when it comes to e-commerce store optimization. Our case study shows that by leveraging SEO effectively, you can boost online visibility, attract more customers, and increase sales. SEO is a process that takes time, but the investment definitely pays off. If you want to learn more about growth opportunities for your online business - contact us.