In the bustling world of ecommerce where every click counts, standing out from the crowd is crucial. A great and cost-effective way to do that is to consider SEO for ecommerce that will not only propel organic traffic, but fuel high conversion rates. That being said, a pivotal game-changer in your SEO endeavors rests upon the ecommerce platform you opt for.
With a multitude of platforms vying for your attention, how do you navigate this digital maze and find the one that boosts your business to the forefront of search engine results?
Choosing the platform also depends on what you are moving from – as many ecommerce businesses may start on an easier WYSIWYG platform that has payment gateway functionality but is primarily an upgraded brochure site.
Generally, businesses under a certain turnover (£1m) choose an easier one to use, whereas for more enterprise brands these can be the expensive solutions – Umbraco, Salesforce, Magento and Headless unbundled solutions. These are far too complicated (and costly) for smaller ecommerce brands.
Moving to a new ecommerce provider (also called re-platforming) is not an easy task and requires an expert migration partner – as if this is not handled correctly it can cause the business financial hardship as most migration recovery campaigns take 6-12 months to fix (sometimes longer if a rebrand and domain change).First you need to change your mindset – think of selecting the perfect ecommerce platform for your business
like building a solid foundation for a house. It shapes the value your business derives from its hosting service. While each platform boasts distinct features, perks, and expenses, choosing one that doesn’t fit your business goals and needs can squander budgets, incur extra costs, and hinder growth prospects.
On the flip side, with a platform that fits your needs perfectly, multiple benefits await, like solid online identity, a seamless user journey, turbocharging lead generation, and a surge in ROI.
In this article, we’ll be detailing the factors you need to consider when choosing the right ecommerce platform for your business, as well as providing you with some platform examples and exactly how certain features can help you achieve ultimate SEO success.
Flexibility and Customisation
To optimise your ecommerce website for search engines, you need a platform that offers flexibility and customisation options. Look for a platform that allows you to optimise meta tags, URLs, headings, and content throughout your site, so your business is easy to find for users who are looking for exactly what you offer. The ability to customise page titles, meta descriptions, and alt tags is essential for targeting relevant keywords and improving search visibility. A lot of platforms out there now offer customisation options, but the best choice can depend on your industry.
One of the most popular ecommerce platforms known for its user-friendly and optimised interface and a wide range of SEO tools and plugins, is Shopify which offers great customisation options like meta tags, URLs, and more. It also offers customisable themes and responsive designs, contributing to that seamless user experience you should keep at the front of your mind.
NB: Shopify out of the box has concerns from an SEO best practice perspective – the way the structure is built to mitigate duplicate product listings in multiple categories can cause crawl and indexing issues. You should always have an SEO expert on hand to advise on any shopify build or migration.
If you’re in the creative industry, try considering a more visually appealing platform like Squarespace, which also includes built-in SEO features, such as customisable URLs and meta tags.
For more of a balance between customisation and user-friendliness, OpenCart also provides these features. However, if you’re a startup, PrestaShop might be a more viable option to consider.
Mobile-Friendliness
In today’s mobile-centric world, having a mobile-friendly ecommerce platform is imperative for SEO success. Mobile responsiveness is not only important for user experience but also one of the top-ranking factors for search engines. Ensure the platform you choose provides responsive design templates that adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes and load quickly on mobile devices.
A platform that offers built-in SEO features and mobile responsiveness is BigCommerce. Not only does this platform let you optimise content and URLs easily, but it also provides options for integrating with SEO tools and services.
Site Speed and Performance
Site speed is also a critical factor in both user experience and search engine rankings. A slow-loading website can frustrate users and lead to higher bounce rates, negatively impacting your SEO efforts. Choose an ecommerce platform that emphasises performance optimisation, utilises caching mechanisms, and provides content delivery networks (CDNs) to deliver your pages.
A factor that can negatively impact site speed is images and media that are too large for the page. If your website contains a lot of content and imagery, consider platforms like BigCommerce which boasts built-in features designed to enhance site speed and performance by employing content delivery networks (CDNs) and image optimisation techniques to ensure rapid page loading.
Square Online is also designed for speed and ease of use. It provides fast load times, especially for small to medium-sized ecommerce websites. Wix also offers this with automatic image optimisation and content caching, also suitable for similar-sized businesses.
SEO-Friendly URL Structure
Clean and SEO-friendly URLs contribute to better search engine rankings. Look for an ecommerce platform that allows you to create descriptive URLs with relevant keywords. Avoid platforms that generate dynamically generated URLs with excessive parameters or session IDs, as they can be unfriendly to search engines.
Platforms that typically allow customisable URLs: Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce (WordPress), Magento, and PrestaShop.
Platforms that might have limitations: Wix, Square Online, and Volusion.
Rich Snippets and Structured Data
Rich snippets and structured data help search engines understand and present your website’s information more effectively. These elements can enhance your website’s appearance in search results and increase click-through rates. Consider choosing an ecommerce platform that offers easy integration of structured data markup, such as Schema.org, like Shopify, BigCommerce, WordPress and Magento; these platforms provide search engines with valuable information about your products, reviews, pricing, and more.
Content Marketing Capabilities
Content marketing is a powerful element to consider when thinking about your SEO strategy. An ecommerce platform that supports content marketing initiatives can give you an edge and help you stand out. Look for platforms that offer built-in blogging capabilities, easy content creation, and integration with social media platforms. The ability to create informative and engaging content around your products and industry can attract organic traffic and improve your SEO performance overall.
The most popular platform for content marketing capabilities is the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress. It’s user-friendly and offers extensive customisation and SEO flexibility where you can optimise content quickly and efficiently to improve search engine rankings.
SEO Tools and Integrations
If you’re serious about boosting your SEO strategies, consider an ecommerce platform that provides built-in SEO tools or integrates seamlessly with popular SEO plugins and tools (like WooCommerce which offer popular plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO pack). These tools can assist you in optimising your website, analysing keywords, monitoring rankings, and generating SEO reports. Look for features like XML sitemaps (Shopify), canonical tags, meta tag editing, and comprehensive analytics to support your SEO efforts.
BigCommerce and Magento are also good options for built-in SEO tools and supports integration with third-party SEO plugins. For smaller businesses, Wix offer an SEO Wix tool which guides you through optimising your site for search engines. Keep in mind that platforms which may be limited here include Square Online and Volusion.
Scalability and Performance Monitoring
As your ecommerce business grows, your website’s scalability and performance become critical. Ensure the platform you choose can handle high volumes of traffic and transactions without sacrificing site speed and stability. Look for platforms that offer robust performance monitoring and analytics tools to track and optimise your website’s performance continuously.
Known for its ability to handle large sites and prioritise scalability, Shopify offers a reliable infrastructure that can handle high volumes of traffic and transactions. It provides performance monitoring and analytics tools to help optimise your website’s performance as it grows. BigCommerce and Magento are also viable options as they’re also both robust platforms suitable for larger ecommerce businesses that require scalability.
Selecting the right ecommerce platform for SEO is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your online success. By considering factors like flexibility, customisation options, mobile-friendliness, site speed, SEO-friendly URLs, rich snippets, content marketing capabilities, SEO tools, and scalability, you can make an informed choice that aligns with your SEO goals. Remember, an SEO-friendly ecommerce platform is the foundation for attracting organic traffic, improving search visibility, and driving conversions.
When choosing the right ecommerce platform for SEO success, keep in mind that platform features and offers can change over time, so it’s important to check the latest documentation, features, and available apps or extensions to understand how well a platform supports rich snippets and structured data integration. When considering the above factors, consider what is the highest priority for your business needs and strategy and consider the platforms that offer those robust options for implementing those features.
If you’re still unsure which platform to go for, or you’re about to embark on a website migration project, speak to one of our SEO experts at POLARIS. We’re one of the top SEO agencies in London, and we can help you generate sales and leads for your business with our B2B tech SEO strategies that are intelligently tailored to your sector. Leveraging our proficient team of SEO managers, we propel traffic and sales through targeted ecommerce SEO initiatives for our valued clients.
If you would like to find out more about our site migration and SEO services, please get in touch to speak with one of our experts about your project today for a free account audit. Send us an email at info@polarisagency.co.uk.
https://www.polarisagency.com
SEO Marketing Consultant & Trainer in London | Amo Sokhi