The SEO benefits of product pages can often be overlooked, with many just offering basic product details, photos and a brief description.
So how can you make the most of them from a search marketing perspective?
Here are some suggestions...
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Unique product descriptions
Avoid simply reproducing the manufacturer’s product description as several other sites will probably be using it already. It may be easier but will not help you move up the rankings as search engines will mark it down as duplicate content.
A unique product description should not only help your conversion rate, it should also allow you to attract more search traffic.
In addition, a slightly lengthier product page will enable you to use more of your most important keywords and phrases. This could improve your rankings for a range of terms. -
Use keywords in URLs
Many online retailers, especially those with large product ranges, use dynamic databases, which can produce some ugly, lengthy URLs which bear no relation to the product.
Adding related keywords to your product page URLs will help them rank more highly in search engines, as well as making them more understandable. -
Use customer product reviews
Customer reviews can not only help persuade shoppers to make purchases, they can also be very useful for SEO.
Adding them is a good way to ensure that your product pages are filled with unique content - just what search engines are looking for. -
Make sure product pages are just a couple of clicks away
This is good practice anyway as it will allow customers to find products more quickly, but it also makes it easier for search engine crawlers to access these pages. -
Optimise your images for SEO
With the introduction of universal search, more and more images will be popping up in the search results, so every image on your product pages should be optimised.
Optimise your product photos with descriptive, keyword-rich file names and ALT tags. Also, descriptions of your images will help the visually impaired.
Related research:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Best Practice Guide
Search Engine Marketing Buyer's Guide
Search Engine Marketing Report
E-commerce Platforms Buyer's Guide
Related links:
Video: Dr Dave Chaffey's SEO tips
Related stories:
Simplifying SEO - Five laws of effective search engine optimisation
The biggest secret about SEO
Graham Charlton is Senior Reporter at Econsultancy. Follow him on Twitter or connect via Linkedin.
Posted 18 February 2008 11:38am by Graham Charlton with 5 comments
Tags: Search, Shopping, Design
Topics: Ecommerce, Search Marketing - Organic/Natural (SEO), Search Marketing - Paid (PPC), Web Design
Sectors: Retail
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Graham Charlton
Online Advertising
Managing Director at Branded3 Search Ltd
12:01PM on 18th February 2008
Another key tip is to make sure you handle expired products in a search engine friendly manner:
http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/how-to-handle-expired-product-listings-on-your-website/
Senior Reporter at Econsultancy
12:04PM on 18th February 2008
Thanks Patrick, good tip.
Internet Marketing Manager at Optimised Media
9:29AM on 19th February 2008
Make good use of the title tag on every page.
Kaya , Optimised Media
12:40PM on 19th February 2008
excellent tips... in addition to the above tips there are few other basic factors that could make the site visible in search engine...
http://www.retail-ecommerce.com/2007/11/sure-fire-strategies-of-e-commerce-seo.html
6:50AM on 28th February 2008
The biggest thing to worry about when optimizing product pages is avoid using cookie cutter or boiler plate content ANYWHERE on the page. Never in titles, descriptions of the page content itself.