There’s a lot of – ahem, misinformation – out there when it comes to eCommerce SEO, and SEO in general.
So we took it upon ourselves to go straight to the source and ask an eCommerce SEO expert – one of the writers for Genius eCommerce who has been in the industry for over three years.
Here are some of the most common questions out there, and what a real-life eCommerce SEO expert has to offer in return.
Question: Is SEO ever “done”?
Answer: Absolutely not. Google is constantly changing, and even if that wasn’t the case, the market is. Your competitors today may not be your competitors tomorrow. Besides, search trends change with the introduction of new products, and with new trends. Organic marketing is a strategy that is never done or “over.”
Question: Is content really important?
Answer: Content is now probably the single most important thing in SEO. As SEO evolves and Google gets better, the old ways of ranking by stuffing keywords in titles and alt text will apply increasingly less. The only way to effectively differentiate is by reaching and speaking to your customers – with content, be it written, audio, video, or some sort of combination.
Question: How can I be sure what is and is not a ranking signal?
Answer: Well, you can’t. Google plays things too close to the vest. The best thing you can do is reach out to a Google rep and ask directly for a list of ranking signals, but even when Google says something is a ranking signal, sometimes the effects of SEO efforts seem to counter produce that judgment. It’s better just to follow accepted best practices and be aware of changes as they occur.
Question: What does it mean to interpret content “in situ” or “in context”?
Answer: As Google’s AI improves, it will no longer need (necessarily) to see a keyword-stuffed in any old place to assign rankings. This may be why you sometimes see posts and pages ranking for search terms and queries they don’t even contain. Google is getting better at “reading” what content is “about” rather than just skimming for keyword matches.
Question: Is there such a thing as a bad backlink? I thought all backlinks were good!
Answer: There is 100% such a thing as a bad backlink. If you’ve been told “all links are good” you’ve been lied to. Spammy links from low DA sources can give you a penalty. Look up “bot attack.”
Question: Does keyword research really matter? Can’t I just throw darts at the board?
Answer: Keyword research matters primarily because people search for different keywords for different reasons, even if the keywords look or sound nearly identical. You need to analyze competitive density, volume, and difficulty if you really want to bring in the right customers.
Question: Why shouldn’t I just pay for PPC? You can’t track SEO results, can you?
Answer: You should pay for PPC, but that’s not all you should do. You can target different members of your audience in different ways. Besides, the more you rely on organic strategies, the less you’ll need to pay for PPC. They work together to serve the same ends, just in different ways.
Still Have Questions? Go to the Source Yourself – the eCommerce SEO Experts at Genius eCommerce
If you still have questions about how SEO works, you might as well go straight to the source yourself – that’s where we got all these nuggets of wisdom.
Get in touch with the eCommerce SEO experts over at Genius eCommerce (GeniusEcommerce) today and get straight to the bottom of whatever’s been puzzling you about your digital marketing strategies.
