As one of the most powerful online platforms for eCommerce web development, Magento 2 comes with a strong suite of SEO options. Over the last few years, many online trends have risen and faded. One thing, however, hasn’t changed- the significance of SEO.
In the present-day uber-digital era, search engine optimization is perhaps one of the best tools in a marketer’s arsenal. Of course, it’s evolved. The ranking factors have changed, as have the rules for good SEO. But, rest assured, it’s not going anywhere.
This is also the world where Magento powers 250,000 websites(at least, definitely more.) And, merchants using Magento grow thrice on average. Even though it is the most powerful platform out there in terms of SEO, there’s a lot you can improve.
So, here are a few SEO tips to keep in mind when working with your Magento eCommerce website design. Take a look.
Killer Magento 2 SEO Tips: For Your eCommerce Website
1. No Duplicate Content
For any online eCommerce website development company in India, Magento or not, duplicate content is a devil’s pit, SEO-wise.
Here’s how it goes. A search engine locates similar content on multiple URLs of your website. It gets confused about which one to rank higher. It doesn’t know whether A or B is the right answer. It gets worse when people begin linking back to your content, except for different URLs. The muddled search engine might rank them both poorly. It might choose at will. Or, it might not rank any of them.
Any way it goes, you lose.
The solution- is a canonical tag.
Keep in mind that duplicate content can be intentional wrongdoing as much as an unintended mistake. Also, a browser or search engine perceives a URL differently than we do. For instance,
- http://www.suntecindia.com
- https://www.suntecindia.com
- http://suntecindia.com
To you, these three are the same. To a search engine, all three are different URLs.
A Canonical link is an identifier. It’s a way to point out to search engines that the associated URL is a master copy. It’s a way to clarify that if a search engine is confused about a few URLs due to similar content, they should go to the canonical link.
On Magento, you can do this by switching the “Canonical Link Meta Tags for Categories/Products” option to ‘Yes.’
2. Optimize URL
There are many things to take care of when working with a Magento eCommerce website design. However, the URL takes priority over many things, simply because of the effect it can have on your ranking.
A URL is one of the first things a search engine considers. It has to be unique and must adhere to the SEO rules. Not just because of ranking reasons, but also, because a URL must be simple to help the user navigate your eStore.
For instance,
https://www.suntecindia.com/magento2-migration-services.html
https://www.suntecindia.com/a/bss/magento2/migration_0022.html
Out of the two, one clearly presents the intention of the page. The other one leaves a user wondering about the result.
So, how can you optimize URLs for the best result?
- Keywords:- The first and foremost thing to optimize your URL is to use relevant keywords. Every website needs a target keyword to rank in SERPs so that your target audience can find you.
- Use URLs that a human can read and easily understand. Your audience should understand what the page they are going to open will be about. This is why to use crisp and precise words and avoid words like or, and, but, a, an, the, etc.
- Avoid using excessive characters:- You don’t have to stuff your URL with words. So avoid using spaces and trouble characters like <,>,%,#, brackets, etc. This way, you can keep your URL short and easy to understand. Furthermore, URLs are case-sensitive, so avoid using capital letters.
In Magento 2, you also get the option to enable search-friendly URLs. This feature eliminates index.php after the root folder’s name, making the URL more readable.
3. Rich Snippets
In Magento 2, Rich Snippets are a set of extra information. They help search engines better understand the significance of your page in the context of a search query. They also make it easier for users to locate the results they’re looking for.
Rich Snippets, just like SEO-centered URLs, enhance the value of your eStore pages. It offers valuable details to the customers, like the store’s rating, features, etc. Plus, it provides added benefits to your online visibility.
- Faster website indexing
- Higher click-through rates(CTR)
- Positive impact on search engine ranking position(SERP)
- Regulated & targeted traffic
- Decreased chances of bouncing visitors
- Better overall organic search visibility
Keep in mind that Rich Snippets have many forms as well as formats. It’s better to gain a comprehensive understanding before you set out to implement them in your Magento eCommerce website design. Businesses often hire an external Magento eCommerce development company to get the utmost advantage of such advanced features. You should also consider that option!
4. An XML Sitemap
Sitemaps help search engine crawlers make sense of your eStore. An XML sitemap is exclusively directed at the crawlers, while a visible HTML sitemap helps the users navigate your website.
However, when we talk about Magento eCommerce web development, an XML sitemap becomes very critical from an SEO point of view. It’s a perfect guide for large eStores with several pages. It also helps in better management and organization of the website structure. If your content and links are coordinated well, crawling will be smoother, and hence rankings will improve.
Not to mention, with thorough sitemaps, you can also commit regular checks to determine what’s performing and what’s failing.
When working with Magento eCommerce website designs, you can easily set up XML sitemaps in the Catalog Configuration settings. You’ll get options for categories, products, CMS pages, etc. Plus, you can-
- Specify file limits
- Integrate Robots.txt file
- Update frequency for the sitemap
- Add images
- Add alerts for any errors
- Specify maximum file size to check the effect of sitemap on eStore speed
Make Your eStore More SEO-Friendly with Magento 2
When it comes to eCommerce web development, Magento 2 is a goldmine of opportunities. If you’ve made it this far, then you know a good deal about the possibilities this platform offers. Of course, there will be bottlenecks, as there are in any technically advanced procedure, but nothing that can’t be solved.
Just remember, the ultimate goal is to increase visibility, gain higher rankings, and attract quality traffic to your website. Unless and until you focus on making your site SEO-friendly you cannot expect it to reach your target audience. So it’s better to work and focus on making your site SEO-friendly so that it is able to reach more of your customers and eventually leads to increased sales. In this article, I have covered top different SEO Tips for your Magento 2 e-commerce website to gain higher rankings
If still in doubt, you should hire help from a good Magento website development company. You should hire a team of experts working in this field for many years. At the same time, stay up to date on every new update to utilize the powers of Magento 2 to the fullest.
Get in touch with the top Magento eCommerce website development companies, and their experts will help you figure out the best way to use Magento 2 for your eStore.
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