eCommerce SEO Tips
eCommerce is a great way to connect with customers internationally. You only need to look at the book market and its drastic swing from domestic bookstores to international online retail sites like Amazon to see the way people’s purchase habits are changing around the world.
In order to successfully attract international customers to your site you will definitely need to make it Search Engine Optimization (SEO) friendly. This is the process of trying to get your website listed high up on a search engine results page, which means that when a potential customer types in a keyword or phrase they will be directed towards your site rather than to a competitor’s. Below are some eCommerce SEO tips that can make your website search friendly.
1. Translate your website
Although the English language is widely spoken and read around the world, communicating with an international audience in English will not be as successful as doing so in their own language. People simply put more trust in their native language and are more confident in buying than using a foreign language. Translation is therefore very important.
You can use a free translation tool such as Google Translate, TransPerfect or even an iPhone app such as LINE Translate, which is very popular in Japan for translating English into Japanese and vice-versa, to translate your ecommerce site’s content. These tools are good for giving a gist of what the content is about. However, translation tools are still far from perfect - they have no awareness of context and inverting a sentence’s meaning is a common problem. New translators, such as the Word Lens app, are also useful, but they translate word for word rather than in sentences. You would be taking a very big risk relying on any free translation tool to translate your website.
If possible use a professional translator, who is a native speaker and lives in the country of the language you are translating into. The cost will be higher, but this is the only way you can ensure that you are using the correct dialect of the country and that you minimise any translation errors.
2. Put the right keywords in the right places
It’s important to have catchy headings to draw people into reading your content, but it’s just as important to make them SEO friendly. Make sure you put your keywords in your headings - that way search algorithms will give them more weight. On your homepage, and all your other pages, insert them into the first paragraph, as search engines like Google can be more receptive to the opening text.
Putting these keywords in the right places, including URLs, is only half the battle. Make sure you research them properly and have relevant keywords. You can use Google’s Keyword Planner, which recently replaced its Keyword Tool, or other tools such as Bing’s Keyword Tool to research them.
Keywords from your home eCommerce site might not translate directly into a foreign language, so this will also have to be researched to ensure that your keywords mean the same thing after they are translated and that they are suitable for the foreign market you want to attract. For example, if you are an international food distributor, specifically selling different types of hotdogs, you could choose the word ‘hotdog’ as a keyword. If you decide to have a site for Finland and choose to translate your keyword into Finnish, the direct translation turns out to be ‘kuuma koira’, which means a dog that is overheating.
3. Embrace Social Media
Social media is a key element in online business. Facebook now has over one billion users around the world. So create a page and interact with actual and potential customers. You should also use social media links on your website, so anyone can share your content and link your page with ease on social media sites such as Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
It’s also worth using local competitors as in many countries Facebook is not their main social media network. The digital agency WeAreSocial reported last year’s social media numbers and revealed that in China, where Facebook is officially banned, QZone has 552 million users. The agency also reported that Cyworld was still the biggest social media site in South Korea, with 26 million, and Zing was still growing in Vietnam, increasing from 6.8 million users in 2011 to 8.2 million users in 2012.
4. Use ready-made platforms
Finally, there are many international retail platforms that you can use if you don’t have a website or simply want to explore all options. You can sell around the world on sites such as Amazon or eBay. You will have to pay to use these platforms but they are very useful for putting your product or service into a foreign market before you commit to an eCommerce site and make it SEO friendly, both domestically and internationally.
ABOUT CHRISTIAN ARNO
Christian Arno is the Managing Director of Lingo24, Inc. Visit Christian's website at www.lingo24us.com.
