A search engine-optimized e-commerce site is a successful site. The best e-commerce platform for search engine optimization, SEO, will offer you features to make the complicated SEO process simple. But, with so many e-commerce platforms to choose from, how do you know which ones are the best e-commerce platforms for SEO? In this article, you will learn some examples of the best e-commerce platforms for SEO, what to look for in an e-commerce platform, and how you can optimize your e-commerce site to rank high in Google’s search results.
Table of Contents
Best E-Commerce Platforms for SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of editing your online store platform or content in a way that makes it more searchable on search engines. You can do this by adding the right keywords in titles, meta-descriptions, as well as throughout the content. A customizable URL and product titles, external, internal, and backlinks are all vital aspects of SEO. The very layout of your website contributes to SEO. The best e-commerce platforms for SEO will help you with all of this. Below are some of the best e-commerce platforms for SEO. Remember that many of these platforms offer multiple pricing plans. As the price increases, the more SEO features you will get.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular online store platforms and for good reason too. With Shopify, you can add social sharing buttons and a blog. Shopify offers many SEO plugins to make your website as search engine optimized as possible on top of being easy to use. If you are a beginner to the e-commerce world, Shopify is a good platform to start with. Just keep in mind that you cannot change your URLs using Shopify.
Shopify pricing begins at $29/month for the basic plan, $79/month for Shopify, and $299/month for the advanced plan. Make sure to check what each plan offers and choose the one that best fits your needs and budget.
WooCommerce
Another one of the best e-commerce platforms for SEO is WooCommerce. WooCommerce is an open-source platform with an array of SEO tools. Best of all: it’s free! It is built on the platform WordPress, meaning you get all of the functionality of that popular platform in addition to WooCommerce. It has built-in blogging functionality and the design is fully customizable.
WooCommerce itself is a free, open-source platform, but there are plugins that you will need to pay for to make your website as effective as it can be.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce might just be the best overall e-commerce platform for SEO. Many of the most important things to customize like meta descriptions and titles are easily done on BigCommerce. Plus, it offers blog functionality. On top of that, it is also easy to use, making it clear why BigCommerce is one of the best e-commerce platforms for SEO.
The standard plan costs $29.95/month, the plus plan costs $79.95/month and the pro plan costs $299.95/month. They also offer an enterprise plan. You must contact sales for custom pricing if you are interested in WooCommerce’s enterprise plan.
Volusion
Volusion offers an SEO management feature to make search engine optimization easier. This platform allows you to create a custom domain and has dedicated SEO support features.
Volusion offers a 14 day free trial. Take advantage of this trial to explore all Volusion has to offer before making a commitment. After the free trial ends, a personal plan costs $29/month, a pro plan costs $79/month and a business plan costs $299/month. They also offer a prime plan. You will need to contact Volusion’s sales team to find out more about this plan.
What Goes Into E-Commerce SEO?
When deciding which e-commerce platform to use for your business, there are many features you should look for. Do your research before you invest time and money into uploading photos and writing descriptions. If you spend all this time only to find that the platform does not offer, or it’s locked behind a paywall, an important SEO feature, you are sure to be disappointed. Here are some e-commerce features you should look for when choosing what the best e-commerce platform for SEO is for you.
Customized Domain Name
This is probably the most important e-commerce SEO feature. Your domain name needs to be only your brand name. Many e-commerce platforms only offer this in the premium versions, but it is imperative that you have this option for SEO. If you take the generic subdomain that includes the platform’s brand, the platform will earn the SEO benefits from inbound links rather than you. If you decide to switch platforms, you will lose your original subdomain as it was only attached to your former platform and any link authority you garnered from it. It will also be difficult to redirect your old customers to your new site. The best e-commerce platforms for SEO definitely have this option even if it is only in the premium versions.
Customizable Navigation Links, Page Titles, and Page URLs
The navigation link for a product is located in the navigation menu on your e-commerce website. Oftentimes, an e-commerce platform will automatically use the title of the product. If the title of your product is not search engine optimized, it is likely long and clunky. There is nothing worse than a long, clunky title in the navigation menu; the navigation menu is meant for quick searching after all. The e-commerce platform you choose should allow you to edit the navigation link independently of the product titles.
A page title that includes a key search term has better SEO than one that does not. As with navigation links, some e-commerce platforms generate page titles automatically based on product names. If you can edit the page titles independently, you can better optimize your store for search engines. The URL of each page should be customized in addition to your general URL. While the e-commerce platform might automatically put the URL as the product name, it is better for SEO for the URL to contain some kind of description of the product as well.
These customization options are important because people are unlikely to search directly for your product. If they want a red tea dress, they are not going to search for your dress titled The Strawberry, they are going to search for red tea dresses. As such, you need to make sure those keywords are in your page titles and URLs.
Editable Meta Descriptions
The text under your listing in the search results is the meta description. A good meta description will give customers a good idea of what your website will offer them and entice them to click the link. It should be relevant to their search and give them enough information to know how what you offer differs from the other search results. This is an important part of e-commerce SEO. The best e-commerce platform for SEO will allow you to edit and customize your meta descriptions to entice more customers to come to your website.
Canonical URLs
To prevent duplicate issues hindering your ranking performance, you should use canonical URLs. Keyword cannibalization occurs when two separate sites or a single site ranks for the same search and ultimately hinders both’s rankings. Canonical URLs are an aspect of e-commerce SEO that can help you avoid this problem. The ability to adjust your canonical URLs is a feature the best e-commerce platforms for SEO should have.
Blogging Features
Not only does blogging help you build customer trust, but it also helps you rank higher in search results. Quality, helpful, search engine optimized blog posts will attract readers to your website who might then be interested in your products. They already trust your expertise because of your blog, so it is much easier for them to trust your products. The best e-commerce platforms for SEO will have some options for blogging. Take advantage of it and post often for best results.
Social Sharing Buttons
If your customers can easily share your site on social media, you can attract the friends, who are otherwise unaware of your products or services, of your current customers more easily. This feature is helpful for search engine optimization so the best e-commerce platforms for SEO will have some way to allow you to add social sharing buttons to your site.
Online Store Platform
Your online store platform should work for you. The best e-commerce platform for SEO will offer features to make search engine optimization simple. It should not make it more difficult. Many of the most advanced SEO tools will only be available in the paid options. Many are also available in the cheaper versions. Do your research to know how much you need to pay to get the SEO features you need for each of the online store platforms you are considering.
Even the best e-commerce platforms for SEO will not do all the work for you. Research your own keywords. Find what customers are searching for and use those words in your titles, meta descriptions, and throughout your content. Organize your site in a logical and visually appealing way. Include reputable internal and external links. If you can optimize your website, you will find that the traffic on your site increases and you will be much closer to reaching your e-commerce goals.
FAQ:
- What is search engine optimization?
- What e-commerce site is best for beginners?
- Why is SEO important?
- What features do the best e-commerce platforms for SEO have?
- What are keywords?
Contact Us Today!