SEO Trends in 2018: What Should You Consider for Your E-Commerce Site?

SEO Trends in 2018: What Should You Consider for Your E-Commerce Site?

Staying on top of current SEO trends is imperative to the success of Ecommerce site, as it is one of the major keys in promoting a website. With new and improved search algorithms, you can’t just rely on text filled with keywords. SEO is a complicated science, especially in regard to Ecommerce development. Now, you need to adapt your SEO practices to the changing internet. Here are a few SEO trends and tips to consider for your E-Commerce site:

1. Speed is Important.

One thing that is surprisingly heavily considered by search engines is speed. Speed is both a ranking signal and a large UX factor.

How fast does your page need to load? Major search engines, such as Google, expect a website to load within three seconds. You can find out more about this by putting your website through a page speed test – if it doesn’t pass a page speed test, you can begin to tackle that issue. Professional website designers can perform the proper website maintenance needed to keep your website fast enough for good SEO as well as provide a sufficient customer experience.

2. Local SEO is Becoming More Relevant.

Search engines also consider mobile websites and how well they interact with online visitors, utilizing a “Mobile First” indexing algorithm. This means that Google is trying to match the user’s search with local listings to help pair them up with local businesses. There are a number of things you can do to improve your local listing besides duplicated doorway pages, such as reviews and backlinks. Having reviews for your business on a number of different sites helps a lot, and having other local sites with backlinks to your site is also a good practice.

3. Website Authority is Measured by Both Mentions and Backlinks.

However, in recent search algorithms, brand mentions are being considered even if they lack a physical link. Inbound links to your website, while also useful for good SEO habits, are not necessarily required; brand mentions are almost just as important as inbound links.

Professional website designers, like the team at Sandcastle Web Design & Development, excel at custom web development and are experienced in current SEO practices. Contact us today with any questions you have regarding SEO practices or web design and development!

4. The Rise of Voice Search.

Between mobile devices and the growing use of digital assistants, voice searches are being used more and more often. This means that a new 2018 SEO strategy includes more natural keywords so that it is compatible with a long-tail voice search. A good way to figure out more natural keywords is to ask yourself how exactly you would perform the voice search.

Since voice search is largely being done on cellular phones, mobile compatibility for your Ecommerce website is essential. If you want your website to be compatible with mobile apps and mobile websites, you need to ensure that it is made by experienced iOS/Android developers, such as the talented team at Sandcastle Web Design & Development.