Product Page Optimisation in 2024, A Quick Primer
For e-commerce websites, it’s a mortal sin to be completely ignorant of the ins and outs of optimising product pages. Why? Because effective product page optimisation leads to enhanced user experience, increased organic traffic, and improved conversions.
This quick primer from SEO Premier delves into the intricacies of product page optimisation, exploring key elements and technical aspects that you can incorporate in your next project.
The Significance of Product Page Optimisation
IMPACT ON SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS
The correlation between optimised product pages and higher search engine rankings is truly undeniable. According to a study by Moz, websites with well-optimised product pages are 53% more likely to rank higher on Google's SERPs. Focusing on optimising product pages can significantly enhance the overall visibility of your e-commerce site.
USER EXPERIENCE AND CONVERSION RATES
A seamless user experience is paramount for driving conversions. Research from Kissmetrics indicates that 40% of users abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load. A well-optimised product page, with faster loading times and intuitive design, contributes to a positive user experience, which leads to higher conversion rates.
Key Aspects of Product Page Optimisation
PRODUCT PAGE URLs
Concise and descriptive URLs contribute to improved user experience and increased visibility. These URLs should provide a clear indication of the content present on a page. It doesn’t mean that you should insert keywords in the URl for the sake of it. It’s essential to remember that the main goal of a URL is to guide users effectively.
To retain seamless site’s structure, ensure that there are zero uncategorised product pages linked directly to the domain and listed alongside main product pages. Crawlers might mistake the orphan pages and mess up the intended architecture and hierarchy of information in the domain.
To know if you have such rogue pages, you can use the Screaming Frog tool to harvest a list of links, which allows you to spot irregularities in the structure of your website. Find product pages that were created but are not organised under a category.
IMAGE OPTIMISATION
High-quality, visually appealing images are a cornerstone of effective product pages. Especially if you’re running a luxury brand website that uses text content sparingly, optimising these images is extremely crucial. As a general rule, compress images to reduce page load times without compromising quality. Additionally, use descriptive alt text with relevant keywords to make images accessible to search engine crawlers.
For example, in showcasing a product, it’s recommended to add in the file name descriptions that include domain, name of product, type, colour or size, and other distinguishing features.
For image alt texts, write product description that aids visually-impaired users in knowing what the image is about. Remember that this is no occasion for stuffing keywords.
In the subject of image schema, implementing schema markup provides search engines with additional information about your products, enhancing the chances of rich snippets appearing in search results. According to a study by Searchmetrics, pages with schema markup rank, on average, four positions higher in search results.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
Apart from images, descriptions are vital to make a potential customer buy the product. There are many topics to cover about product descriptions, but here are some extremely important considerations:
Use pop-ups judiciously. There are few select reasons why a pop-up is necessary. For example, on a shoe website, you can add a pop-up offering a discount to encourage the user to buy immediately. For luxury brands showing a high-value item, one must not bombard users with too many pop-ups as it could dissuade them from further converting.
The e-commerce landscape is truly competitive, but if you create optimised product pages on the get-go, half the work is already done. By prioritising site structure, optimising product descriptions, enhancing image quality, implementing schema markup, and regularly testing and improving page elements, you can ensure that your e-commerce website remains at the forefront of online success!
