SEO for ecommerce - Google Search Console Training (from home)

Summary

In this video, Daniel Waisberg, a Google Search Advocate, shares essential SEO tips for e-commerce websites to succeed in Google Search. He emphasizes creating detailed Product Detail Pages (PDPs) with product descriptions, images, and customer reviews, while implementing structured data to improve search visibility. Waisberg also highlights the benefits of using Google Merchant Center to upload inventory and Google Analytics for tracking user behavior. The video covers using Search Console to monitor performance and address issues with structured data, helping e-commerce businesses optimize their online presence.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Ensure basic SEO is implemented on your e-commerce website so Google can properly find and display your site in search results.
• 🛍️ Publish all your products clearly, both online and in-store, to help Google index them and serve them to users searching for products.
• 📸 Create product detail pages (PDP) with high-quality images (muted or transparent backgrounds) and include multiple angles of the product.
• 📝 Provide detailed product descriptions, including features and specifications, to improve search visibility on both Google and your internal search.
• 💵 Include key purchase information, such as price, availability, shipping, and taxes, to help users make informed decisions.
• ⭐ Add customer ratings and reviews to assist users in their purchase research and improve overall product visibility.
• 🔧 Implement structured data on product pages to enable enhanced search results, such as showing price, availability, and reviews directly in Google search.
• 📈 Consider using Google Merchant Center to upload and manage product inventory, offering faster updates and better control over product data.
• 📊 Set up Google Analytics e-commerce tracking to monitor key metrics like average order value and conversion rates for better user behavior insights.
• 🔗 Use Google Search Console to monitor structured data performance, identify issues, and ensure your pages are eligible for rich search results.

Q & A

What is the first step for e-commerce websites to succeed in search?

The first step is to clearly publish all the products you sell, whether online, in-store, or both, by creating Product Detail Pages (PDPs) that explain the product to sell.

What are some tips for creating good content on Product Detail Pages (PDPs)?

Some tips include adding product features with clear images from different angles, a detailed product description, information on purchase details like price and availability, and customer ratings or reviews.

How does structured data benefit an e-commerce website?

Structured data enables Google to provide enhanced search and image results, such as showing price, availability, and review ratings directly in search results, which helps attract more users.

What is Google Merchant Center, and why is it important for e-commerce sites?

Google Merchant Center allows businesses to upload their product inventory, update prices and stock levels faster, and supply richer data, giving them more control over product information in Google searches.

How can Google Analytics e-commerce tracking help website owners?

Google Analytics e-commerce tracking helps website owners understand user behavior by providing insights into metrics like average order value, conversion rates, and time to purchase.

What does the Search Console 'Products' report show?

The 'Products' report in Search Console summarizes errors, warnings, and issues related to product structured data. It provides details about items that need fixing to ensure rich results appear properly in Google search.

What happens if product structured data contains errors?

Errors in structured data disqualify the product from being shown in rich results, although the page can still appear in search as a plain blue link. Missing fields like price, currency, or rating value trigger errors.

What are examples of warnings in structured data?

Warnings in structured data include missing details like product descriptions, review URLs, or brand information. These warnings reduce the quality of rich results but don't entirely disqualify the product from rich results.

What should be done after fixing errors in structured data?

After fixing errors, you can validate the fix using the 'Validate Fix' button in Search Console. This tells Google to recheck the structured data and update the status.

How can the 'Performance Report' in Search Console be used for e-commerce optimization?

The Performance Report shows traffic patterns, queries driving traffic, and click-through rates (CTR) for Product Detail Pages. It helps identify opportunities to improve content, structured data, and SEO performance for e-commerce sites.