As an online business owner, you're not alone when it comes to getting to grips with the mythical creature also known as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). 61% of marketers said improving their SEO and getting more organic traffic is one of their top inbound marketing strategies.
Contrary to popular opinion, SEO is not some magical form of digital wizardry understood only by experts, gurus, and geniuses. In fact, thanks to lots of online resources, SEO is nothing to be afraid of. Even the most digitally challenged can master the basics of SEO in a very short amount of time.
In simple terms, SEO is designed to increase the quality and quantity of traffic coming to your online store, using organic (non-paid) methods. Truth be told, SEO is a bit of a black hole. Once you get started, you're quickly consumed by a never-ending series of optimisation tasks.
For those getting started, the fundamentals of SEO for ecommerce are; keyword research, content, website audits, fixing website issues, and optimising product pages, listings, and descriptions. First things first, before setting out on your SEO quest, you need to have a strategy.
This is the first hurdle that people often overlook, but without a strategy, all your efforts might end in vain. Make sure you take the time to outline a series of goals, objectives and definitive tactics aimed at increasing traffic to your online store. The simplest way to do this is by defining keywords relevant to your various web pages; blog posts, product pages, home page, FAQs, etc.
By following this golden rule, you'll be able to improve search engine results. The higher your website ranks on sites like Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and other popular search engines, the higher chance you have of potential customers finding your online store. By using a combination of online tools, you'll find the entire SEO process much easier to handle.
We've seen a considerable increase in online merchants asking for support with SEO, so we decided to create of list of free SEO tools. These tools can be used for a variety of tasks: measuring search volume demands for specific products, evaluating keywords, defining keywords that people are actively searching. The ultimate goal is to make your website the first search result in your particular industry.
Here's our list of SEO tools that will help kick-start your ecommerce SEO journey:
1. Attracta
Attracta is one of largest SEO companies in the digital world, with over 1700 web hosting partnerships. You can use this tool to improve your website visibility and site page ranking. Attracta updates and submits your website’s sitemap to top search engines and also builds backlinks for your website.
Featuring on-site SEO audit tools to advise you on keyword placement and gauge the quality of your content. Google currently updates more than 120 million pages every single day through Attracta's sitemap creation tool. So, if your website is new or not bringing enough traffic due to low page ranking, use Attracta to boost your SEO results.
2. Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog's SEO tool is a website crawler that instantly searches for broken 404 links and server errors that might harm your website search engine ranking. By using this tool, you'll be able to fix broken links, resolve duplicate pages and get a free audit of what needs to be optimised to improve search engine results.
An additional advantage of Screaming Frog is the integration with Google Analytics. You can easily connect your Screaming Frog account to Google Analytics' API and fetch user data up to 500 URLs for free.
3. Keywords Everywhere
Ever wonder what people search for online? Well, look no further! This simple tool is a free add-on that can be installed in your Firefox or Google Chrome browser. The Keywords Everywhere SEO tool will provide you with up to date information on search volume data for specific keywords, cost per click (CPC) and search competition. All in real-time!
It also shows you SEO valuable data behind searches on popular sites like Amazon, Google, Bing, and Youtube. Saving you a lot of time researching certain keywords across multiple platforms.
4. Google Search Console
Google is aware of the SEO problems most website owners face, which is why they introduced Google Search Console. Specially designed to help website owners track website performance, analyse user search patterns and pinpoint existing website errors.
This tool allows you to choose which pages on your website you want the Google search engine to pick up, and exclude the ones you don’t. Ultimately giving you the power to fully optimise your site for more favourable Google search engine results.
5. MozBar
MozBar is becoming increasingly popular in the digital world. With over 420,000 installs, this seemingly simple tool allows you to instantly view metrics on any web page or Search Engine Results Page (SERP). It displays HTTP status, page elements, markups, backlinks and many other website attributes.
With access to detailed SEO data, you'll be able to make more strategic decisions when optimising your website for higher search rankings. Once you register for a free Moz account, you can download this handy tool for free as a Google Chrome extension.
6. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a very useful tool when researching keywords on a particular topic. Or if you're trying to determine how many hits a keyword received at a specified period of time. For those looking to increase traffic to their online store, you should focus on writing content based on what people are actively searching for.
This will make it easier for prospective buyers to find you. You'll significantly increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results. Make your brainstorming sessions easier thanks to Ubersuggest and stay in tune with your target audience.
7. Answer the Public
Answer The Public is the perfect tool for those who prefer visual content over written content. Or for those who aren't quite sure where to start when it comes to creating new content. This data visualisation tool displays lots of long tail keywords, helping you choose a topic to create content about.
Using Google’s auto-suggestion feature, Answer The Public creates a map of the top data based on the keyword you're searching for. It also provides direction on how you might go about creating your content, content marketing, and website ranking. Making this a must-have SEO tool for all online merchants
8. Backlink Tool
It's always good to be aware of other websites that are linking back to your website. In simple terms, the higher the authority of the site linking back to yours, the better it is for your overall SEO. Let's say Shopify includes you in one of their blog posts. As Shopify rank very highly in Google, in turn, Google sees your website as being more credible. As a result, your overall website ranking improves.
When search engines crawl a website, they search for keywords and backlinks to other sites, in a bid to find relevant content relating to particular keywords. High-quality websites linked to you will help you rank higher in search engines results. Backlink Tool provides comprehensive data on your backlinks, helping improve your link building strategy.
You might be surprised to find out that some major sites are linking back to your website. We were very excited when we saw that Neil Patel referenced our curated content in a blog post. Once you know who's linking back to your site, you can reach out to them and see if there's potential for a referral partnership.
So, there you have it. SEO doesn't have to be complicated. With a combination of a few free tools, you'll be able to make a massive difference to your website's search engine results. Before you decide on a plan of action, it's always best to get to the root of the problem. Then outline a tactical strategy to overhaul your website's SEO and seal any unnecessary leaks.
While some aspects of SEO are considerably more complicated than others, don't be afraid to start small and you'll be surprised how quickly you pick things up. If you'd prefer a Shopify Plus SEO Expert to take a look, you can book a free consultation here.
