When we hear the words “Search Engine Optimization (SEO),” most minds immediately jump to concepts like keywords, content creation, and link building. While these marketing-related components are essential in boosting site visibility, there’s an unsung hero doing significant heavy lifting behind the scenes: Technical SEO.
In an environment marked by continuously evolving Google algorithms, a finely-tuned technical foundation is a game-changer for businesses striving to stand out from competitors and amplify their online sales. Let’s look at what makes Technical SEO integral to ecommerce success.
Technical vs. Marketing SEO: What’s the Difference?
Google and other search engines are in the business of providing a product (search results) to their customers (the user). Their goal is to provide the most relevant results to the user as quickly — and easily — as possible. In turn, Google rewards sites that provide quality content and a favorable user experience.
While Technical SEO and Marketing SEO both help your site rank higher in search, each has distinct roles and related activities. Below are some examples for each:
Technical SEO (IntuitSolutions Does This)
- Improving site speed
- Fixing broken URLs and redirect errors
- Resolving content loading errors
- Optimizing image files
- Creating an SEO-friendly site structure
Strategy & Marketing SEO (Marketing Agencies Do This)
- Writing blog posts and other content
- Performing keyword research
- Managing Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads
- Improving metadata
- Building internal links and backlinks
We’ve met many clients who’ve invested significant time and money in the marketing side of SEO, but are baffled why they aren’t seeing results. Once we uncover the technical areas that need improved, we start making real progress.
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The Crucial Role of Technical SEO for Ecommerce Websites
When search engines can’t access your online store, the value of the content or products you offer becomes irrelevant — because your site won’t appear in search results. This is especially true for ecommerce sites with a substantial volume of pages, including category, subcategory, and product pages.
Technical SEO is the safeguard that optimizes your site’s fundamentals for search engine access and indexing. This work also contributes to maintaining a positive user experience, preventing technical glitches that could lead to user drop-offs once they land on your site.
BigCommerce offers a comprehensive insight into several Technical SEO aspects that ecommerce sites should prioritize. Some of this work includes:
- Resolving Site Errors. Technical errors like broken links or missing pages can block search engines from fully accessing your site. Addressing these issues promptly ensures your site is well-received by search engines.
- Improving Site Speed: Technical improvements optimize performance by reducing page load times, improving server response times, and enhancing overall user experience – keeping Google happy.
- Optimizing for Mobile: As more consumers shift to a mobile-first experience, search engines expect sites to offer a seamless browsing experience across devices.
- Enhancing Site Architecture: Effective site hierarchy and navigation improve rankings by allowing search engines to understand content relevance and the relationships between pages.
- Using Structured Data (Schema Markup). Testing and improving structured page data helps search engines understand the purpose of content on your site, like prices, product descriptions, or reviews.
How IntuitSolutions Helps BigCommerce Stores Improve Technical SEO and Close More Sales
No matter what you’re selling, there is one common goal of every ecommerce store – to make more money.
Our BigCommerce Optimization and Support Services give special attention to Technical SEO elements, so your business can:
- Rank higher in organic search
- Achieve better ROI for paid ad spend
- Close more sales
- Prevent costly downtime and lost revenue
Our iterative process includes three methods of assessing and improving your site’s performance, including:
- Site Health Audits & Improvements: A benchmark site health audit identifies resolvable issues and opportunities that make a positive impact on your site’s SEO and user experience. A key component of our site health work is Google Core Web Vitals assessment, which measures several factors that influence the user experience.
- Accessibility Audit & Fixes: Web accessibility encompasses the usability/accessibility of websites, for those living with disabilities and machine reading technology. Proactive management makes your business more accessible to all, optimizes your site for search engines, and reduces your legal risk.
- UX Audit & Recommendations: We conduct user testing to simulate various user journeys, including tasks like adding items to carts or accessing accounts, ensuring usability and accessibility standards are met. We also evaluate content structure and placement of key elements like category cards to enhance efficiency and user experience.
Rank Higher with Technical SEO Enhancements for your BigCommerce Store
If you’re serious about helping your site rank higher, perform better, and improve conversions, it’s crucial to implement the right Technical SEO strategy.
We’re an Elite BigCommerce development agency with a proven track record helping hundreds of merchants across industries in all stages of growth. We’ll help you get your site performing its best and driving the results you need to succeed online.
Send us a message or call us at 866-901-4650 to discuss how we can help your business.
Get a Complimentary Site Performance Audit
Get a live consultation on the technical factors impacting your website's speed and performance.
