At Megvi Digital, we’ve developed a proven 11-Step Ecommerce SEO Framework designed to help brands increase traffic and boost sales, especially as we head into Q4. As experts in SEO, we know that driving organic traffic is crucial for long-term success, particularly in the competitive world of ecommerce.

Why SEO Matters More Than Ever in Ecommerce

Search engine optimization (SEO) is constantly evolving, and ecommerce websites need to stay ahead of the curve. In Q4, with the holiday shopping season, maximizing your organic visibility can be the key to beating competitors and driving more traffic to your online store.

By following our 11-step SEO framework, you’ll be setting your brand up for success by increasing traffic, improving your product rankings, and ultimately boosting your conversions.

Let’s dive into the specifics:

• Understand the Intent Behind Your Query: The first and most important step is to understand the search intent behind each keyword or query. Are people searching for information, or are they ready to make a purchase? This understanding allows us to tailor your content and product pages to meet customer expectations, aligning your site with the user’s needs. When you focus on search intent, you also improve your click-through rate (CTR) by creating content that resonates with the user, increasing your chances of higher rankings.
• Audit Google Properties: We audit how your brand appears across Google’s platforms, including Google Search, Google Shopping, and Google My Business. This step ensures your brand is consistent, and you’re maximizing every opportunity for organic exposure. We also look at how your competitors are performing on these platforms, giving us an edge in crafting a tailored strategy.
• Audit Competitor Templates & Attributes: Next, we audit competitor product detail pages (PDPs) and product attributes. This helps us understand what’s working for them and what isn’t. Are they including certain keywords that rank well? How are their pages structured? We use this information to improve your own pages, filling in the gaps where they’re lacking.
• Identify Holes in Your PDPs: We go beyond just optimizing your product pages for search. We look for missing information that can affect your conversions, such as incomplete product descriptions, lack of customer reviews, or poor-quality images. These small details can make or break a sale, so we ensure your PDPs are fully optimized for both search engines and users.
• Update Your PDPs for Search: Search engine algorithms are constantly changing, and your product detail pages (PDPs) need to evolve with them. We focus on updating your product pages with relevant keywords, structured data, schema markup, and optimized metadata. These updates help search engines understand your content better, improving your rankings in search results.
• Feed Merchant Center Your Product Data: Google’s Merchant Center is an essential tool for ecommerce businesses. We ensure that your product data, such as descriptions, pricing, and availability, is up to date in the Merchant Center. This allows your products to be featured in Google Shopping, which can drive additional traffic to your site.
• Let Google Systems Update: Once we’ve made updates, we allow Google to crawl and index your website. This process can take time, so it’s important to monitor performance regularly. We track your site’s rankings, traffic, and visibility to ensure the changes have a positive impact.
• Create Annotations: Using Google Analytics, we create annotations to mark important changes or updates. This allows us to track the results of our efforts over time, ensuring that every action we take is having the desired effect. By monitoring your analytics, we can fine-tune your SEO strategy for even better results.
• Revisit Your Queries: SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. We consistently revisit the search queries driving traffic to your website. This helps us stay ahead of changes in search intent and user behavior, allowing us to adjust your content strategy and keep your site relevant in a constantly evolving marketplace.
• Revisit Merchant Center Data: We regularly review the product data submitted to Google Merchant Center. This ensures that your products are listed accurately and are eligible for both paid and free Google Shopping listings. Keeping your data up to date helps improve your visibility on Google Shopping and drive more clicks to your store.
• Look for Free Listings Click Increase: One of the easiest ways to drive additional traffic to your ecommerce store is through free product listings on Google Shopping. We monitor these listings and look for opportunities to increase your clicks without spending more on advertising. By optimizing your free listings, we help drive valuable traffic at no extra cost.

Creating a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

For our clients, we create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) based on this 11-step framework.

Here’s how we do it:

• Map out each of the 11 steps as actionable items.
• Assign specific team members to tasks like auditing, updating data, and tracking performance.
• Create timelines for each action to ensure that everything is done promptly, especially during crucial sales periods like Q4.
• Track key performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of each step and make necessary adjustments.

Leveraging All SEO Channels for Increased Clicks

SEO isn’t just about ranking in organic search results anymore. You also need to focus on other channels that can drive traffic to your ecommerce store.

Ask your SEO team to explore additional opportunities for clicks through:

• Organic listings
• YouTube video SEO
• Google Shopping
• Google Discover
• Google Images

By optimizing for these channels, we at Megvi help you expand your reach and capture more of the market share.

Search Has Evolved: Are You Prepared?

Search has changed significantly over the years. It’s no longer just about the 10 blue links on Google’s first page. Your ecommerce business needs a more comprehensive approach to SEO if you want to stay competitive.

For example, we helped one of our clients, a DTC brand, achieve:

→ “218.72K clicks on Google leading to their website.”

We achieved this result by following our custom SOP for product search, focusing on ranking products for visibility and clicks.

Final Thoughts

At Megvi Digital, we’ve seen firsthand how effective ecommerce SEO can transform a business. By following our 11-step SEO framework, you can increase your traffic, improve your product rankings, and ultimately drive more conversions.

If you’re not already ranking your products for clicks, now’s the time to start. SEO isn’t just about visibility—it’s about driving results.