{"id":143612,"date":"2021-11-18T07:35:45","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T07:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=143612"},"modified":"2021-11-18T07:37:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T07:37:13","slug":"four-google-serp-features-for-ecommerce-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2021\/11\/18\/four-google-serp-features-for-ecommerce-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Google SERP features for ecommerce SEO"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"well\">\n<h3>30-second summary:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Holiday season shopping is on and your ecommerce store <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whether a local shop or an international ecommerce brand <\/span>needs visibility for sales<\/li>\n<li>How do you jump right in front of your potential customers and drive sales in a highly competitive space?<\/li>\n<li>SEO pioneer, former Pepperjam founder, and serial entrepreneur, Kris Jones shares a practical ecommerce SEO guide<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is perhaps no type of business that is more primed for SEO than ecommerce companies. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think about it: where a local law firm can put up a billboard or buy ad space in a regional newspaper in addition to doing SEO, ecommerce businesses essentially have one resource available to them, the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s where they do 100 percent of their business, and it\u2019s where they\u2019re going to reach the customers they want. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, ecommerce companies should spend a lot of time getting their SEO just right. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One crucial way of doing that is to optimize your site to appear in Google\u2019s various SERP features.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are so many ways you can tell users about your business just from the SERP even before they get onto your website. And the information you present could mean all the difference between capturing your ideal traffic and losing it to competition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, to market yourself in the best light to all potential customers searching for your products, you have to optimize your website specifically for the SERP features that drive conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you do it? Here are four of the most vital Google SERP features for which you should be optimizing your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2021\/02\/15\/the-relation-between-ecommerce-seo-and-sem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ecommerce business\u2019 SEO<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>1. Rich cards<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back in 2016, Google introduced a new mobile SERP feature called rich cards. By using structured data, SEOs could make a business\u2019s results \u201cricher,\u201d that is, more visually appealing, clickable, and therefore more likely to generate an organic click.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you search for a certain type of product, results marked up with the proper language tell Google to show the product along with an image that can help users know if they want to explore more. Users simply swipe to see more items.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, why am I recommending a SERP feature from 2016?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s because in the first quarter of 2021, mobile traffic accounted for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/277125\/share-of-website-traffic-coming-from-mobile-devices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">almost 55 percent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of online traffic worldwide, and that number is only going to increase.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Basically, mobile search results are even more relevant today than they were in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With that in mind, how can you optimize your ecommerce products for rich cards?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You need to use the JSON-LD method of marking up your products. You can then test your work with the various free <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/advanced\/structured-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rich results tools<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on offer from Google.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>2. Google Images results<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Somewhat related to rich cards is the need for ecommerce businesses to optimize their content for Google Images results. Relevant images will appear at the top of a SERP, before any organic results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good product description does indeed go a long way, but don\u2019t forget to think simply, as well: if customers can see clear, high-quality images of your products, that will help your credibility along, and hence drive conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do optimize for Google Images results? <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, Google doesn\u2019t read images like it reads text, so it\u2019s all going to come down to how you prepare your images on the back end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First of all, ensure your images are originally yours. You don\u2019t stand much of a chance trying to rank for stock photos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next, give your photos descriptive file names that tie into the pages where they will be placed. In the case of ecommerce, since you\u2019ll probably have a series of photos for each product, give the image files titles that reflect the product, with words separated by hyphens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example: unisex-sneakers-blue-brandname-yoursitename<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And don\u2019t forget to provide descriptive alt text to each image in case it can\u2019t load and be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, be sure you\u2019re not uploading huge image files that will weigh down a website. Compress them down as small as you can to give your site enough breathing room while still ensuring the images show what you need them to show. Check out this <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/31\/image-optimization-for-seo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comprehensive guide on image optimization<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>3. Rich snippets<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wait a minute, you might say, why are you talking about both rich cards and rich snippets? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With ecommerce products, rich cards will stop you at the images. You can choose to go a step further for appropriate products by optimizing for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/tag\/rich-snippets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rich snippets<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rich snippets add in extra details about your products. These get placed inside your search results, under the meta title, and above the meta description.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To get rich snippets on your product results, you\u2019ll use structured data just like you did for rich cards. You can choose which information to enter based on what specifically can grab your potential customer&#8217;s attention and satisfy their search query.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For ecommerce companies, it makes the most sense to optimize your rich-snippet products for prices, in-stock status, sales, different brands, customer reviews, and star ratings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think about each of these features. Doesn\u2019t it make sense that a customer searching for this type of product would want to see this information from your online store?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rich snippets are one great way of reaching users with extra information without the need for the users actually to click on your result. You\u2019re taking the most concentrated bits of data about your product offerings and jumping right out onto the SERPs at the user.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure, you can choose not to do this for your products. But if your competitors are, who do you think stands the better chance of getting a click and making a sale?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rich snippets are just good ecommerce SEO, plain and simple.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>4. Sitelinks<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, you should attempt to optimize your site for SERP sitelinks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I say \u201cattempt\u201d to optimize because this isn\u2019t a SERP feature you can just click on and off, like alt text or structured data.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So we\u2019re all on the same page here, sitelinks are the clickable buttons below your result\u2019s metadata on a SERP. They typically offer opportunities for users to navigate directly to sections of your website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the case of ecommerce, the most logical sitelinks you would want to get listed in your result would be for your most popular product categories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But again, I\u2019m saying \u201cwould want\u201d because sitelinks are chosen by Google\u2019s algorithm. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t influence which sitelinks Google places there. Which pages Google links in your results is based primarily on your site\u2019s navigation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As SEOs, we always recommend having a direct and easy-to-navigate website structure. It helps the user experience, supports navigation, and prompts Google to crawl your pages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other things that help Google crawl your site include <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/10\/21\/accessibility-seo-optimize-for-both\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">keyword-optimized content<\/a>, smart internal linking, and simple, intuitive menus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is through these elements that you stand your best chance of defining what your SERP sitelinks will be. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you tell Google which pages are most important to you and your customers, the search engine will respond in kind by generating helpful sitelinks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is yet another example of having your SEO jump right to the SERP at users without them having to do anything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And when you\u2019re in the competitive ecommerce space, that really matters.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Go forth and optimize<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Businesses always have it tough when going up against the competition. Whether you\u2019re a local shop or an international ecommerce brand, there\u2019s always someone else trying to beat you at your own game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While SEO can never make anyone do anything, we put ourselves on the best possible footing when we take the above steps to optimize our websites for the SERP features.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re not doing these things already, you\u2019ll want to get started as soon as you can! And then sit back and watch what happens.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Kris Jones is the founder and former CEO of digital marketing and affiliate network Pepperjam, which he sold to eBay Enterprises in 2009. Most recently Kris founded SEO services and software company\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lseo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"0\">LSEO.com<\/a>\u00a0and has previously invested in numerous successful technology companies. Kris is an experienced public speaker and is the author of one of the best-selling SEO books of all time called, \u2018Search-Engine Optimization \u2013 Your Visual Blueprint to Effective Internet Marketing\u2019, which has sold nearly 100,000 copies.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/#newsletter-modal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Watch newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for insights on SEO, the search landscape, search marketing, digital marketing, leadership, podcasts, and more.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Join the conversation with us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/61126\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sewatch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A guide that can make your holiday season strategy a conversion magnet <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1092,"featured_media":143614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,5],"tags":[14890,245,37,3273,27428,595,756,28065,357,986,781,1411,22,28064,27949,596,277],"content_type":[],"class_list":["post-143612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobile","category-seo","tag-business-strategy","tag-ecommerce-seo","tag-google","tag-google-images","tag-google-serp","tag-google-sitelinks","tag-image-optimization","tag-influencer-commentary","tag-json-ld","tag-keyword-optimization","tag-rich-cards","tag-rich-snippets","tag-seo","tag-seo-content-tips","tag-seo-guide","tag-sitelinks","tag-structured-data"],"acf":{"tad_independentcommercial":false,"tad_content_format":false},"post_info":{"name":"idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com","title":"","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Four-Google-SERP-features-for-ecommerce-SEO.png","category":"Mobile","timeago":"4y"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143612"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=143612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}