Over the past few years, e-commerce has been having a MOMENT, and there has never been a more important time to have a strong online presence for your product based business and brand. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in improving your website’s visibility, discoverability and driving organic traffic for our brand, as well as driving REVENUE. However, the thought of diving into the world of SEO can be overwhelming, especially for those who prefer minimal effort. Isn’t that all of us? 

But fear not, lazy girls! In this guide, I will provide you with simplified SEO tips that require minimal effort but yield maximum results. So grab your coffee and let’s get started!

And just a quick FYI. SEO is not as complicated as it may seem. With the right tools and strategies, you can easily optimize your website and improve its ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). This guide is designed to help you understand the basics of SEO and provide you with practical tips that you can implement right away!

Understanding SEO

But before we dive too far into the tips, let’s first understand what SEO is all about. SEO is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). When someone searches for a specific keyword or phrase, search engines like Google use algorithms to determine the most trust-worthy, relevant and authoritative search results (aka website URLs) to display. Google’s algorithm alone has over 200 different components and has evolved rapidly over the past 5 years to accommodate the ever-changing digital landscape. The introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022 changed the way we create and consume content even further.

By implementing SEO techniques, you can improve your website’s chances of appearing on the first page of search results, driving more organic traffic to your site. Now a lot of times people think of SEO as just visibility. But really, it’s also about DISCOVERABILITY. If someone types “simple gold hoop earrings” into Google, they are obviously looking for a specific type of product, but they

don’t know WHO they want to buy from yet. By optimizing your website for that specific search, those amazing gold hoop earrings that you sell have a stronger likelihood of showing up when someone searches for that exact phrase, leading them to discover your brand and ultimately buy from you .

And if you’re reading this thinking SEO is all keywords and backlinks, I am here to set the record straight. SEO for e-commerce has a lot of different components, including improving the overall user experience (UX) on your website. Things that fall under SEO and UX include: making your website easy to navigate, ensuring it loads quickly, and providing valuable content that meets the needs of your audience. By focusing on these aspects, you can improve your website’s SEO and attract more visitors.

Now that you know a little more about SEO and what it is, let’s talk about WHY SEO for e-commerce is so important for your business. 

Why SEO Is Important for Your Product Business

So many product based business owners I work with have spent months (and sometimes years) on the social media hamster wheel; trying to drive traffic to their websites to make more sales and driving themselves crazy that they aren’t making as much money as they know they should be. 

But here’s the truth about social media and e-commerce. It’s an add-on for your business, not a strategy. And while some brands do go viral on TikTok or Instagram and see success, that is not the norm. Even still, people still go to Amazon and Google by the MILLIONS to search for products that they want to buy. 

Don’t believe me? Let’s dive into a few of my favorite stats. 

• SEO drives 1,000%+ more traffic than organic social media. (BrightEdge)
• The number of keywords has risen for transactional and commercial searches but dropped for navigational and informational (Semrush, 2023)
• About 33% of overall traffic to ecommerce sites comes from organic search (Wolfgang Digital, 2020)

Now that you’re totally convinced about the amazing benefits of SEO, let’s dig into some of the most important, core components of a successful e-commerce SEO strategy.

Simplified SEO Tips for Lazy Girls

1. Keyword Research – Your Secret SEO Sauce

If there’s one thing I see time and time again, it’s business owners who don’t realize that their ENTIRE website needs to be structured around keywords. It’s a foundational piece of your marketing strategy that cannot be overlooked. Why? Because people can’t find what they’re not looking for in the first place, and relevancy and usefulness is super important to Google. And without keywords, not only can people not even find what you sell, but you’re missing out on the opportunity to provide on-page context to Google that says “hey, this is what my website or product is about.”

It will also inform almost everything you do on your website, including:

• How your website is structured
• Interlinking strategy
• What to name your category/collections URLs
• Product naming and optimization 
• And so much more…

So before you even start building your website, you need to have conducted keyword research first. This is the #1 mistakes business owners make – thinking that SEO can easily be done after the fact.

Ok great, so how do you do that? 

Keyword research involves identifying the keywords and phrases that your target audience is using to search for information related to your website. While traditional keyword research can be time-consuming, lazy girls can take advantage of various tools to simplify the process.

One such tool is Google’s Keyword Planner. It allows you to enter a keyword or phrase and provides you with a list of related keywords along with their search volume and competition level. By selecting keywords with high search volume and low competition, you can optimize your content for those keywords and increase your chances of ranking higher in search results.

In addition to Google’s Keyword Planner, there are other tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs that can help you with keyword research. These tools provide more detailed information about your keywords, including their ranking difficulty and the number of searches they receive per month. By using these tools, you can identify the most profitable keywords for your website and optimize your content accordingly.

Lazy Girl SEO Tip: Keyword intent is super important. You don’t want to optimize one of your product pages around an informational keyword because that use is looking for, you guessed it, information. Instead, look for commercial and transactional intent keywords. Those users are more likely to be ready to buy!

2. Optimize Your Meta Tags

Meta tags are snippets of code that provide information about your webpage to search engines. They include the title tag, meta description and headings. Optimizing these tags is a really important piece of your on-page SEO strategy. 

For those of you using Shopify, you will find the page title and description optimization in the section at the bottom of your Collections or product pages. 

Lazy Girl Tip: The title of your page is not the same thing as your SEO page title, though they are usually the same or similar because this is where you want to include the keyword you’re targeting for the page. For example, you have a collections page for ‘coconut wax candles.’ The title of that page is probably going to be “Coconut Wax Candles,” and the SEO page title might be ‘Shop Coconut Wax Candles | Brand.’

Lazy girls can focus on optimizing the title tag and meta description, as they have the most significant impact on click-through rates. Ensure that your title tag is concise, descriptive, and includes your target keyword. Similarly, craft a compelling meta description that entices users to click on your link. By doing so, you can increase the chances of your website being clicked on and visited by users. We now know beyond a doubt because of the Google antitrust trial that it relies heavily on user metrics like click-through-rate and dwell time when it comes to ranking content, so improving user experience should be a top priority in 2024 and beyond.

3. Create High-Quality Content

Ok, this is the one area where a lot of business owners struggle because content creation takes TIME. I won’t sugar coat it for you. BUT. Content is king when it comes to SEO, and search engines prioritize websites that provide valuable and relevant content to users. Why? Because every single person typing something into a search engine is looking for SOMETHING. And Google wants to make sure users are easily able to find the exact thing they are trying to find. Lazy girls can take advantage of this by creating high-quality content that requires minimal effort. I pinky promise.

Start by identifying topics that are relevant to your website and of interest to your target audience. This will probably be in the form of your brand content pillars. Then, use tools like BuzzSumo or Google Trends to discover popular topics in your niche. Once you have a topic in mind, create well-written and informative content that provides value to your readers. Remember to incorporate your target keywords naturally throughout the content to optimize it for search engines.

Lazy Girl Tip: Crowdsource websites like Reddit for topic ideas or answers to commonly asked questions people have about what you sell. For example, if you sell skincare products, what are people dying to know? How to assemble the best AM skincare routine? Combat dryness? You can also type topics into Google and look at the People Also Ask section for content ideas. This is also a great place to find social media post ideas!

Additionally, consider creating different types of content to engage your audience. Not only is this great for your audience, it’s necessary in the digital marketing landscape of 2024 and beyond.  This could be in the form of infographics, videos, podcasts, quizzes, guides and more! By diversifying your content, you can cater to different audience preferences and increase the chances of your content being shared, which can boost your SEO.

4. Optimize Your Images

In 2024, image optimization is going to be more important than ever as Google starts rolling out its new SGE search engine. And as an e-commerce website owner, you already know how important product images are for your brand and conversion. They can also impact your website’s loading speed if not optimized correctly, as well as create a less than optimal user experience. Lazy girls can optimize their images effortlessly by following a few simple steps.

Number one, ensure that the file size of your images is as small as possible without compromising on quality. You can use online tools like TinyPNG or JPEG Optimizer to compress your images without losing clarity. Second, give your images descriptive file names and alt tags that include your target keywords. This helps search engines understand what the image is about and improves your chances of ranking in image search results.

Lazy Girl SEO Tip: DON’T use underscores in your image file names. Google can’t crawl or understand them. Use hyphens instead! Also, be descriptive of what the image is. Worry about keywords second. Alt text is for accessibility first. 

5. Schema Markup

Ok, you might be asking yourself, what the heck is Schema markup? Well, Schema markup is an essential and strategic tool for eCommerce businesses like yours seeking to boost their online visibility. It’s a type of code, or structured data that you implement on your website, enabling search engines to understand the context of your content more effectively. For eCommerce sites, schema markup is crucial as it allows key product information like features, prices, stock levels, and customer reviews to be directly displayed in search engine results.

  Image source: Conductor

Which of these two search results stands out the most? The one with the star reviews and product information, right? All of that “extra” info is thanks to Schema markup! 

This enhanced presentation not only attracts more attention from potential customers but also provides them with critical information at a glance, potentially increasing click-through rates and improving the overall shopping experience. By leveraging schema markup, eCommerce business owners can significantly improve how their products are showcased in search results, leading to better engagement, more informed customer decisions, and ultimately, a boost in sales.ment, more informed customer decisions, and ultimately, a boost in sales.

Lazy Girl SEO Tip: If you’re on Shopify, there are plenty of apps that will implement Schema markup for you. Including my favorite, Schema Plus.

6. Optimize for Mobile

It’s no secret that everyone is using their smartphones for everything right now, including making purchases! This trend underscores the importance of having a mobile-optimized website. Search engines give preference to sites that are mobile-friendly, recognizing that they offer a better user experience. To make a website more accessible on mobile devices, a few key steps can be followed.

Start by implementing a responsive design for your website, which automatically adapts to various screen sizes, making it unnecessary to have different versions for mobile and desktop. Next, enhance your site’s loading speed by reducing the size of large files and activating browser caching. Additionally, conducting thorough tests of your website on various mobile devices is essential to ensure it is both user-friendly and displays correctly.

Beyond these technical aspects, focus on the mobile user experience. Your website should be easily navigable on smaller screens, with text that is readable without needing to zoom. Also, any interactive elements like forms or buttons should be touchscreen-friendly. By fine-tuning your website for mobile users, you not only enhance user experience but also bolster your website’s SEO performance.

Wrapping Up!

If you’re a product based business, SEO is non-negotiable, but it doesn’t have to be a daunting task, even for lazy girl business owners like you! By implementing these simplified SEO tips, you can improve your website’s visibility and drive organic traffic with minimal effort. Remember to start with keyword research – it’s the foundation or almost everything you do. Optimize your meta tags, create high-quality content, optimize your images, build quality backlinks, and optimize for mobile. So go ahead, put these tips into action, and watch your website climb the search engine rankings effortlessly.

Remember, SEO is a continuous process that requires regular monitoring, tweaking and optimization. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results. It takes time for search engines to recognize your efforts and reward you with higher rankings. Keep implementing these tips, stay updated with the latest SEO trends, and you’ll see your website’s performance improve over time. Happy optimizing, lazy girls!

If you like what you’re reading, I have more insights and tips on my podcast Elevated Visibility. Check out this episode all about product page optimization. If you want to BFF’s, come find me on Instagram or hop on my email list for more insider tips, workshops, freebies and more!