Digital Opinion South Africa

Make the most of 2017 with impactful SEO

E-commerce is the place to be! Today, the world has become a smaller place and everyone is connected online. The internet has become a booming and highly profitable platform for every big and small business.

It connects businesses with target audience and customers and vice versa. Geographical distances have been minimised and businesses can now reach out to a large and wide audience at a click away! If you own a business, you probably already understand the need to be online and provide an e-commerce platform for your customers. SEO, search engine optimisation, has become a necessity rather than a choice. Having a good e-commerce platform is not enough in itself and one needs to optimise it to be on top and be above the competition.

Make the most of 2017 with impactful SEO
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SEO strategies help an e-commerce platform optimise their services and platform in such a way that it attracts maximum footfall and climbs up the competition ladder. It has become a dynamic field that introduces new and better ways and tools every year to enhance its outcome. With the New Year awaiting us just round the corner, it’s time to gear up and plan to bring in the SEO strategies to give a new lease of success to your e-commerce platform.

10 trends that mark the future of SEO for e-commerce sites in 2017:

1. Using Schema

A schema markup makes it easier for a search engine to understand your website in a better way. With the change in Google and user trends it is becoming increasingly important to use a schema markup.

2. Breaking down marketing

It is becoming increasingly important to break down and separate the digital marketing departments. Every user accesses different platforms and it is important to enrich the experience of each of these marketing platforms.

3. SERPs

The number of characters allowed in the Meta description and titles has been increasing in the past year. This year it is recommended to use the main keyword at the beginning of the title and Meta description.

4. SEM alignment

It is important to know which terms have an organic search results above the fold. Use organic and paid search results together to maximize the ROI. Identify content needs and develop a high performing experience online for the customers.

5. Mobile speed

It is now increasingly important and essential to better and enhance the speed on mobile devices. A slow speed will directly affect the user experience and also the number of users. Using AMP is thus an essential as they help increase the speeds by 15 to 85%.

6. Guest posts

While it’s important to offer high quality content to users, it is equally important to invite and promote guest posts submissions and audience centric articles. Having an industry specific writer will help achieve better content results and will also help increase the interest and contributions by guests and customers.

7. Blogging

Blogging is, was and still continues to be an absolute SEO must this 2017! Good quality blogs that weave a story and present the brand in such a manner that it generates curiosity and interest of the readers. Whether you have an existing blog or creating a new one, make sure you have a blog and also ensure you are consistent with it! An inactive blog makes the reader lose interest and does not generate the profits to its potential.

8. Updated!

You have got to be updated and be in sync with the latest trends. Be it your blogs, products, services or content, everything needs to be updated. To be in the competition and be an industry leader one needs to keep updated with the latest tools and newer technologies.

9. m-Commerce

While e-commerce has been raging and trending for years now, it’s now the time for m-commerce. Mobile devices have replaced laptops and desktops and today most people are dependent on their personal mobile phones. A mobile has become a tool that people are most dependent on and thus mobile commerce has become a definite must.

10. Social media presence

Social media platforms have a high reach and extensive potential to maximise the visibility and profitability of the business. It is essential to use the potential of different platforms to enhance the business and its myriad possibilities and services.

The main focus of SEO is to maximize the user experience and enhance the website. Internet and e-commerce is highly competitive and the main thing is to keep up with all the norms. E-commerce does not allow one to lag even a step back! It is definitely not easy, but a must! Even though SEO may seem as an ‘extra’ but looking at the present day scenarios it is more of an essential.

SEO involves a number of professionals and experts who need to come together and work as a team to deliver the best results. It’s an intensive task that requires constant attention and work to keep up! This coming year, make the most of your SEO and let 2017 bring in tonnes of success for your e-commerce platform.

About John Dion

John Dion is one a professional writer and speaker on various websites and currently he is working as a project consultant for a top web design and development company in New York.
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