SEO Rules You Can Skip for Ecommerce Sites

When it comes to maximizing website traffic with a search engine optimization agency, there are a lot of established rules in place. However, for eCommerce sites that sell direct to consumers, you can focus less on these rules and more on selling.

URL Structure

A website that has a URL containing /goods.htm as opposed to /goodsandservicesforsaleinaparticularlocation.htm will be a lot clearer to a visitor, but the bottom line is that it doesn’t actually impact the site’s ranking. While a homepage usually has a shorter URL, it doesn’t mean other pages with a longer location will be ignored.

Title Tag Length

Don’t worry if your page title tags are longer than 60 words, which is commonly believed to be the “limit” for Google. These HTML tags can be as long as you want (within reason) but the thing to keep in mind is to put your keywords into the first 60 words for them to rank.

The same rules apply to meta descriptions – it’s more about using the right keywords and a call to action than worrying about length, which guidelines say is around 158 characters or less.

Amount of Page Copy

Historically, web pages with more content tended to be favoured for SEO purposes. However, it’s not that simple – it comes down to what the site is being used for. In the case of an ecommerce site, the focus is often more on product details than brand stories. A site that has too much copy can also be an issue, so this is an aspect that you shouldn’t worry too much about – let an ecommerce SEO agency do the worrying.

Regarding page copy, you might have also been told to avoid using more than one HTML H1 heading in the copy. But that’s simply not true – you can use as many as you want, and Google has said so. Besides, H1 tags are bold and a good way to grab attention.

Multiple Internal Links

You’ve probably heard that putting more than 100 internal links on one page can hurt your rankings. However, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to avoid that with an ecommerce site that’s linking to multiple product pages. Instead of worrying about how many links there are, worry more about your page content and whether it’s optimized for selling.

Use a Search Engine Optimization Company

Instead of guessing what aspects of SEO to worry about when running an ecommerce site, you can put it in the hands of a dedicated ecommerce SEO agency to focus on the most important details.

Learn more about optimizing websites from MacRAE’S