eCommerce SEO Guide
Google has made many changes to its algorithm over the years, but a few things have remained the same. Backlinks have always been an important and often overlooked part of SEO, even though it’s one of the search engine’s top ranking factors.
CURIO is a Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency focused on the strategic development and growth of eCommerce businesses.
Why do so many brands sleep on backlinks? For one thing, it’s a lot of work, often for very little payoff. But with a solid link-building strategy, you can use it to improve your SEO and grow your site authority, an upgrade that will reward you with new visitors that you can convert to customers.
While posting a link to a product on your Facebook page won’t do much to bump up your SEO, getting engagement and shares will. If you create video content, host it on YouTube and also embed it on your site, as well as sharing it to all your social channels. The more discoverable your content is, the better it will be for your authority.
No matter what your industry or niche is, you likely have some potential influencers you can work with. And you don’t have to spend a ton of money on the biggest stars. Microinfluencers (those with around 10K-50K followers) are generally more affordable, and they also tend to have more loyal and engaged communities.
What are the important blogs and websites in your niche? Offer to write a guest post on a relevant topic that ties into your brand. For example, if you have an online hardware store, offer to write some home improvement content for a DIY site. Then make sure to link to your brand from your post.
Who are the big names in your industry? Are any of them your contacts or business partners? Interview them for your blog. When the post is published, there’s a good chance they’ll share it on their social channels, and/or post a link to it on their website.
Getting interviewed by journalists is a great way to establish your brand as an authority. HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is a great way to connect with reporters and position yourself as an expert in your friend. If your brand sells men’s fashion, for example, you can connect with journalists who want to write about summer fashion trends for men.
Let your fans and followers do some of the heavy lifting of backlinking for you, but make it easy for them to do it. Make sure you have share buttons prominently displayed on your content and products, and that everything is optimized for social media, with the right-sized images and proper title lengths.
Roundup posts are a great way to build links. For example, if your company sells grills, you can do a “summer favorites” post featuring grilling recipes from food bloggers, and some of your favorite store-bought rubs and sauces. Then, when you promote it on social media, tag all of the bloggers and brands. Chances are, you’ll get some shares and retweets.
While getting backlinks can take a lot of time and resources, those links are invaluable to boosting your brand in search. And, since link building isn’t something that a ton of brands are focused on, it’s a great way to get a leg up on your competitors.
