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SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, that is, search engine optimization. It is a set of methods and strategies aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of visitors to a website or online store by improving its ranking in the organic (non-paid) search results of search engines such as Google, Bing, and others.
SEO depends on several factors, including:
Technical factors: related to how the website or store is created and designed, how easy it is to use, how fast it downloads, how it adapts to different devices (mobile phone, computer, tablet), security, and privacy.
Content factors: related to the quality, quantity, and originality of the content provided by the site or store, its relevance to the keywords that visitors are searching for, and the extent to which it is organized and attractively formatted.
External factors: related to the popularity and reputation of a website or online store, its link to other related websites, the quality of backlinks, the extent to which visitors interact with content through comments, likes and shares, and its presence on social media.
In this article, I will explain to you how to take advantage of these factors to improve the visibility of your store in search engines, and highlight some tools and tips that will help you implement an effective SEO strategy.
Technical factors
If your store uses an off-the-shelf online platform like Shopify, WooCommerce, or Magento, some technical issues may be set by default, such as creating sitemaps or adding SSL certificates to ensure transaction security. But this does not mean that you do not need to be sure of the rest of the technical matters that affect the speed and performance of your store.
Download speed
The loading speed of your store is an important factor that affects your user experience and your ranking in search engines. If your store loads slowly, you may lose a visitor before browsing your products or making a purchase. According to a Google study, 53% of visitors leave websites that take more than 3 seconds to load.
Therefore, you should pay attention to the loading speed of your store and work to improve it continuously. To do this, you can use some free tools that measure the speed of your site and provide you with reports and suggestions for improving it, such as:
[Google PageSpeed Insights]: A tool from Google that measures your site's speed on mobile and desktop, gives you a score from 0 to 100, and gives you tips for improving it.
[GTmetrix]: A tool that measures your site speed and gives you a grade from F to A, showing you metrics like page size, load time, and number of requests, and giving you tips for optimizing it.
[Pingdom]: A tool that measures your site speed and gives you a score from 0 to 100, showing you metrics like page size, load time, number of requests, and giving you tips for optimizing it.
In general, some tips that help improve your site's loading speed are:
Use a fast and reliable server, preferably close to your target geographic area.
Use a modern and secure content management system, and make sure it is updated periodically.
Use a light and simple theme, and stay away from ornate templates or those with many unnecessary plugins.
Use compression of the images, styles, and scripts you use on your site to reduce their size and load time.
Use caching of frequently used pages and parts of your site to speed up their rendering to a visitor.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of servers spread around the world that stores copies of the content of your site or store and serves them to the visitor from the server closest to them. This helps reduce response time and latency and improve your site's speed and performance.
Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a useful tactic to improve your SEO, especially if your store targets visitors from multiple geographic regions. Instead of the visitor requesting the content from one server far away from him, he requests it from a server close to him, which increases the download speed and increases his satisfaction.
There are many CDN companies and services that you can use for your store, such as:
[Cloudflare]: A company that provides content delivery network (CDN), internet and network security services. Offers a free plan that includes DDoS protection, image compression, patterns, software, and fonts.
[Amazon CloudFront]: A content delivery network (CDN) service from Amazon Web Services (AWS). It provides high speed, strong security, and the ability to integrate with other AWS services.
[KeyCDN]: A content delivery network (CDN) service that offers simple and effective solutions to increase the speed of your website. Offer affordable rates and plans tailored to your needs.
responsive design
Responsive design is a way to design a website or online store that adapts to the size and shape of the screen used by Visi
sizes and shapes, and show you how it looks to a visitor on each device.
[Screenfly]: It is a tool that helps you test your site on screens of different sizes and shapes, and shows you how it looks to the visitor on each device.
containing factors
If technical factors are the basis for building a fast, secure, and easy-to-use online store, then content factors are the soul that gives it vitality, attractiveness, and value. Content is responsible for delivering your message, displaying your products, and persuading your visitor to buy. Therefore, you should pay attention to the quality, quantity, and originality of the content that you provide in your store, and its suitability for the keywords that your visitors are searching for.
Keywords
Keywords are the words or phrases that visitors use in search engines to search for the topic, product or service they want. For example, if a visitor is searching for “best wireless headphones,” this is the keyword they use in Google or Bing.
Keywords are an important method for improving SEO, as they help attract visitors who are interested in what you offer on your store, and increase your chances of appearing in organic search results. Therefore, you must choose keywords that accurately and appropriately describe your store and products, and use them in the titles, description, and content of your store pages.
To do this, you can use some free tools that help you search, analyze and choose among the appropriate keywords for your store, such as:
[Google Keyword Planner]: A tool from Google that gives you stats and insights into the keywords you want to use, such as search volume, competition, and price.
[Ubersuggest]: A tool that gives you suggestions for keywords related to the word you're searching for, showing search volume, difficulty, and mentions.
In general, some tips that help in choosing and using keywords are:
Using long-tail keywords, that is, consisting of three or more words, is less competitive and more accurate in targeting a specific audience. For example, instead of using the word “earphones”, the word “high quality wireless headphones” can be used.
Using seasonal keywords, that is, those that increase in popularity at certain times of the year, such as holidays, events, or seasons. For example, the word “Mother's Day gifts” can be used a month before this holiday.
Use local keywords, that is, that include the name of the city, country, or region that you are targeting in your store. For example, the word “wireless headphones in Cairo” could be used.
Using keywords in the titles, description, and content of your store pages, naturally and logically, and without excessive repetition or misuse (keyword stuffing), as this may lower your ranking in search engines.
Titles and description
Titles and description are the elements that appear in search results when a visitor searches for a specific keyword. The title is the first line that appears in blue, and the description is the following lines that appear in black. For example, if a visitor searches for “wireless headphones,” they might see a result like:
Wireless Headphones | Best offers and prices | Souq.com [https://www.souq.com/eg-ar/wireless-headphones/s/]
Buy wireless headphones from Souq.com. Choose from a wide range of wireless headphones in Egypt. Shop with the best prices, discounts and cash on delivery.
Titles and descriptions are effective methods for improving SEO, as they help attract visitor attention and entice them to visit your store, and increase your chances of appearing in search results. Therefore, you have to write attractive, concise, and appropriate titles and descriptions for your store pages.
To do this, you can follow some of the following instructions:
Write titles of no more than 60 characters, and a description of no more than 160 characters, to ensure that they appear fully in the search results.
Write unique and original titles and descriptions for each page in your store, and avoid using the same phrases or repetition.
Writing titles and descriptions that contain the keywords you target on your store pages, naturally and logically, and without abusing (keyword stuffing).
Write titles and descriptions that use capitalization and punctuation correctly, to increase readability and attractiveness.
Writing titles and descriptions that use call-to-action words, such as “buy now,” “get a discount,” or “join our list,” to urge the visitor to take a specific step.
Content
The content is the main and most important part of your online store, as it displays the products or services you offer to the visitor, and provides them with the information, details, and benefits they need to make a purchase decision. Therefore, you have to write quality, quantity, and original content for your store, and its suitability for the keywords you target.
To do this, you can follow some of the following instructions:
Writing content that contains valuable, useful, accurate and updated information about your store and products, and avoid copying, theft or misleading.
Writing content that contains the keywords you target on your store pages, naturally and logically, without abusing (keyword stuffing).
Writing content that uses formatting elements such as subheadings, lists, images, videos, and links to increase attractiveness, readability, and interaction.
Writing content that uses call to action words, such as “buy now,” “add to cart,” or “contact us,” to urge the visitor to take a specific step.
External factors
If the content is responsible for persuading the visitor to visit and buy from your store, then the external factors are responsible for increasing the popularity and reputation of your online store, and thus increasing the visitor's trust in you. External factors are those that come from outside your site
Or your store, such as linking it to other relevant and quality sites (backlinks), or visitors interacting with your content through comments, likes and shares, or its presence on social media.
External links
Backlinks are links that come from other websites to your site or store. For example, if there is a blog writing about “best wireless headphones”, and within the article you put a link to a page of your store that offers wireless headphones, this is considered an external link (backlink) to your store.
External links (Backlinks) are an important method for improving SEO, as they help increase the popularity and reputation of your online store, and thus increase the confidence of search engines in you. If there are many relevant and quality sites pointing to your store, this indicates that your store contains valuable and useful content, and deserves to appear in the search results.
Therefore, you should strive to obtain qualitative and quantitative external links (backlinks) for your store, by building good relationships with websites, blogs, and influencers in the same or related fields as you. To do this, you can follow some of the following strategies:
Create quality, original, and valuable content that deserves to be shared and commended, and publish it on social media and platforms dedicated to your industry.
Communicate with websites, blogs, and influencers in the same or related fields as you, and ask them to post a link to your store's content or mention your store's name in their articles or videos.
Participate in forums, communities, questions and answers related to your industry or products, and add a link to your store's content as a source, solution, or clarification.
Write guest posts on sites and blogs that receive this type of contribution, and add a link to your store's content as part of your signature or bio.
Social Engagement
Social Engagement is a measure of how visitors interact with your store's content through comments, likes, shares, and follows. For example, if a visitor likes a product from your store and shares it with their friends on Facebook or Twitter, this is considered a social engagement for your store.
Social Engagement is one of the useful methods for improving SEO, as it helps to increase the popularity and reputation of your online store, and thus increase the confidence of search engines in you. If there are many visitors interacting with the content of your store on social networking sites, this indicates that the content of your store is admired, spread and trusted.
I hope you have benefited from this information and tips, and applied them to your online store to increase traffic and sales. Don't forget to tell us your opinion in the comments
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