SEO
Our huge library of search engine optimization articles addresses strategies and tactics for ecommerce businesses. Our 12-part “How-to” series explains the basics. Advanced topics include faceted navigation, crawling and indexing, cross-border optimization, and much more.
Keyword Research | Link Building | On-page SEO | SEO Tools | Technical SEO-
SEO
Ukraine-based Serpstat Perseveres Amid the War
April 11, 2022 • Daria Ahieieva
The Ukraine-based SEO platform Serpstat strives to maintain a level of normalcy for employees and customers.
-
SEO
SEO Impact of Google’s ‘Deduplicate’ Algorithm
April 7, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Google's policy to not duplicate URLs on page one of search results is likely bad news for publishers. Here's our primer on "deduplication" and tactics (if any) to overcome.
-
Keyword Research
Keyword Gaps Are SEO Opportunities
March 24, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Keyword gap analysis can identify search queries to target for organic rankings. Contributor Ann Smarty explains the concept and two tools that make the analysis easy.
-
SEO Tools
How to Diagnose Organic Traffic Losses Using Search Console
March 17, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Diagnosing a loss in organic search traffic starts with identifying the affected queries and pages. Search Console can do that and more. We explain in this terrific tutorial.
-
On-page SEO
What Bounce Rates Mean for SEO
March 10, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Bounce rates only indirectly impact organic rankings. High bounces could indicate slow page loads, poor content, and other flaws — all of which do affect SEO.
-
SEO Tools
How Google Trends Improves SEO
March 3, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Google Trends and autocomplete both use data from actual searches. But unlike autocomplete, Trends is not personalized or filtered. It's a valuable source of keyword optimization opportunities.
-
Technical SEO
How Domain Names Impact SEO
February 24, 2022 • Ann Smarty
SEO myths surrounding domain names include age, registration length, embedded keywords, and more. Contributor Ann Smarty debunks those while addressing a name's importance in this helpful piece.
-
SEO Tools
SEO Tools from Google and Bing
February 17, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Many independent tools emulate the behavior of search engine crawlers. But the best tools come from the search engines themselves: Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
-
Link Building
Stop Using Domain Authority for SEO Backlinks
February 10, 2022 • Ann Smarty
SEOs have devised metrics, such as "domain authority," to assess a site for backlink solicitations. Those metrics have nothing to do with Google, however. That's the problem.
-
SEO Tools
My Favorite SEO Keyword Tools
February 3, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Keyword research is knowing what consumers are searching for and their words to describe those items. Contributor Ann Smarty lists her go-to tools, with explanations.
-
Technical SEO
How to Use Google Autocomplete for SEO
January 27, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Google autocomplete is a staple for identifying keywords to optimize organic rankings. The tool's functionality has expanded to include refinements and entities.
-
SEO Tools
SEO: 6 Critical Search Console Reports
January 20, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Google Search Console provides essential tools to improve traffic from organic search. The data comes from the source: Google itself. Here are six reports to monitor frequently.
-
Technical SEO
SEO for Google’s ‘People also ask’
January 12, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Google's "People also ask" section is a treasure trove of questions from potential customers. It's an optimization opportunity — for rankings in Google as well as conversions on an ecommerce site.
-
On-page SEO
SEO: How to Optimize Title Tags for Ecommerce
January 6, 2022 • Ann Smarty
Google once relied heavily on title tags to match search queries to web pages. That's no longer the case, as Google can discern a searcher's intent and deliver results accordingly. Nonetheless, titles remain important, as contributor Ann Smarty explains.
-
Technical SEO
How HTML Headings Help SEO
December 30, 2021 • Ann Smarty
HTML headings are phrases or short sentences introducing a new section of content. Google has confirmed that headings help communicate the content's purpose. But search engine optimizers often debate how, exactly, Google uses those headings.
-
Technical SEO
SEO: Drive Clicks with Video Rich Snippets
December 23, 2021 • Ann Smarty
Video rich snippets are enriched organic search results in Google. They're an opportunity to generate more clicks, especially on mobile. Publishers often mistake video rich snippets with video carousels.
-
Technical SEO
SEO for Brand-name Queries
December 16, 2021 • Ann Smarty
Organic search results on brand-name queries can influence the buying journey. Brand-driven search results on Google appear in multiple sections, although brands have limited control over their appearance and ranking.
-
Technical SEO
SEO: Updating Content for Higher Click-throughs
December 8, 2021 • Ann Smarty
Google claims that it shows dates in organic search snippets when its algorithm determines they would be relevant and helpful. In reality, dates are extremely common and have a big impact on click-throughs. Google offers clear guidelines as to how to communicate dates to its algorithm.
-
Technical SEO
How to Generate Traffic from Google Discover
December 2, 2021 • Ann Smarty
Google is not just a search engine. It's also a discovery engine. The difference is huge. Searchers have an idea of what they are looking for. They know what they need. But the discovery engine attempts to discern the interests of searchers regardless of their queries. In a sense, Google Discover informs searchers of what they need before they realize it.
-
SEO Tools
3 Ways Google’s Search Console Improves Organic Clicks
November 25, 2021 • Ann Smarty
Google's Search Console is one of the most helpful search-engine-optimization tools. Moreover, Search Console provides data straight from the source: Google. It is also free. Here are three ways to use Search Console to generate more clicks from your organic listings.
-
Technical SEO
SEO: Google’s Video Carousels Are a Big Opportunity
November 18, 2021 • Ann Smarty
Google's search result pages have greatly changed over the past decade. In addition to clickable listings, we now see highly visible, often interactive results in diverse formats. One of the newer sections is video carousels.
-
Technical SEO
Structured Snippets: The Low-hanging Fruit of SEO
November 11, 2021 • Ann Smarty
I addressed rich snippets last week, explaining how they can enhance organic search listings for ecommerce product pages. Structured snippets are similar in concept, but they don't receive as much attention in the context of organic search. I'll address structured snippets in this post.
-
Technical SEO
Using Rich Snippets for Ecommerce Product Pages
November 4, 2021 • Ann Smarty
Rich snippets are additional details in organic listings that stand out in search results. Ratings, prices, FAQs, videos — all are examples of rich snippets. "Structured markup" is programming code that creates rich snippets. Any website can contain structured markup — Schema.org is the most popular type.
-
Link Building
Ask an Expert: Is Disavowing Spammy Backlinks Still Necessary for SEO?
August 25, 2021 • PEC Staff
“Ask an Expert” is an occasional feature where we pose questions to ecommerce practitioners. For this installment, we’ve turned to Bill Sebald, a longtime search engine optimizer, who addresses the effect of low-grade or spammy inbound links on organic search rankings.
-
SEO
23 Search Engine Alternatives to Google
August 23, 2021 • Sig Ueland
Google Search dominates global search with a market share of approximately 90%. However, alternative search engines offer many benefits, such as enhanced privacy, niche content and users, and new growth areas. Here is a list of alternative search engines.
-
SEO Tools
16 Tools to Manage Your Reputation
July 20, 2021 • Sig Ueland
Reputation management is essential for any brand. Your company's future may depend on what’s been said about it in posts, comments, reviews, and rankings. Fortunately, there are affordable tools to help. Here is a list of tools to manage your brand’s reputation.
-
Link Building
CommerceCo Recap: A Process for SEO Link-building
July 8, 2021 • Armando Roggio
Link building could be the most daunting search engine optimization task. It requires near equal portions of research, creativity, and outreach resembling cold calls. It's also critical for prominent organic search rankings.
-
Link Building
CommerceCo Recap: SEO Link-building Is Hard
June 10, 2021 • Armando Roggio
Link building is among the most important search engine optimization techniques. It is foundational and essential. Just about every successful commerce business wants or needs to build links, but it is hard to do well. Moreover, there is no easy way to "hack" link building.
-
SEO Tools
12 Tools for YouTube Search Optimization
April 12, 2021 • Sig Ueland
YouTube is the second most visited website, after Google. Success on YouTube requires compelling videos, but it’s equally important to optimize them. Fortunately, there are tools to help. Here is a list of tools to optimize your video content on YouTube.
-
SEO Tools
The SEO Benefits of Web Scraping
April 6, 2021 • Bill Sebald
In "SEO for Google Shopping," I addressed the need to optimize product feeds. I stated that including keyword product descriptions and titles in the feeds was scalable with "scraping." But I didn't describe it further. In this post, I’ll explain scraping.