SEO is a critical part of any digital marketing plan. However, putting it to work for your brand can be easier said than done — especially when you’re focused on the more immediate aspects of running your eCommerce business.
The good news? There are some things you can do to maximize SEO potential for everything from driving traffic to your website to building brand familiarity and customer loyalty.
Reason for a roundup of three best practices to follow for SEO in 2023.
1. Stop Obsessing Over Algorithms
It’s easy to get caught up in writing for search engine algorithms. After all, those algorithms directly determine which pages are shown to internet searchers and in what order.
However, these algorithms also exist for the sole purpose of connecting searchers with the information they’re looking for. The takeaway? The algorithm WILL put your brand first—if your webpages are the best “fit” for a particular search query.
Search engines are notoriously tight-lipped about the specifics of their algorithms—and they’re always changing. Rather than shooting at the moving target of search engine algorithms, focus on what’s driving them: the user experience.
2. Start E-A-T-ing
If you keep the user experience at the forefront of your digital marketing strategies, SEO will follow naturally. Which begs the question: How do you do that, exactly?
It comes down to three words, which add up to the “E-A-T” acronym: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Google and other search engines are looking for pages, authors, and websites that fit the criteria. Again, while these aren’t direct ranking factors, they are their underlying determinants and go hand-in-hand with SEO.
Some specific ways to signal E-A-T to search engines include:
- Creating high-quality, people-first content that’s original, helpful, and written by people for people
- Being transparent about the author’s information
- Relying on credible sources
- Maintaining a positive brand reputation
- Harnessing the power of user-generated content
- Earning authoritative backlinks from trusted sites
3. Give Your Website A Refresh
Optimizing new content for the user experience is just the start. You’ve likely got an existing bank of content and an entire website that could probably be doing a lot more for you in terms of attracting and retaining traffic.
When many people hear the term “SEO” they think entirely about keywords. But keywords are just the start. Here are some things to consider when it comes to optimizing your website for the user experience.
- How long does a page take to load?
- Is it easy to navigate?
- Do you incorporate attention-grabbing CTAs?
- Are there high-quality visuals, images, and videos?
- Is there ample white space?
- Is it mobile-friendly?
- Is it secure?
Again, it all comes down to the user experience, which is based on real human behavior. The more fulfilling an experience your website delivers, the more pleasing it will be to users and search engine algorithms alike. The result? Seamless SEO that WILL yield powerful outcomes.