Optimizing your BigCommerce store for search engines can be daunting. With the right tactics and tools, you can ensure that your online store is visible on search engine results pages (SERPs).
There are many ways to improve SEO performance on BigCommerce stores, from using keywords to optimize titles and descriptions to building custom URLs and tracking visibility with Google Search Console.
We’ll go through 15 crucial measures in this article for enhancing SEO on BigCommerce stores so you can obtain more organic traffic, rank on search engines, and boost revenue.
What is SEO for BigCommerce?
A collection of tactics and procedures called search engine optimization (SEO) are used to make your website more visible on search engine results pages.
BigCommerce retailers must optimize their webpages for users and search engines to rank higher in SERPs.
Your site’s visibility in SERPs can be increased. You can attract more organic visitors by optimizing titles, descriptions, photos, URLs, and other components of your store’s website with relevant keywords that appropriately reflect the content on each page.
How SEO Influences BigCommerce Sites
Search engine algorithms use a range of elements to rank websites, including backlinks, user experience, page loading speed, and content quality. Your BigCommerce store’s ranks in SERPs are directly correlated with the volume of organic search traffic it receives.
Increasing traffic to your website and boosting sales can both be doneby optimizing it for BigCommerce SEO. It’s crucial to bear in mind that SEO is a continuous process to stay on track with Google’s algorithm updates and maintain your site’s competitiveness in SERPs, you must continuously check its performance.
BigCommerce: Is it SEO-friendly?
BigCommerce is a platform that is easy to use for SEO and has tools built in to help you optimize your store. The BigCommerce platform supports custom URLs and meta tags, generates canonical tags automatically, optimizes website load times, and has additional SEO-friendly features.
The BigCommerce platform makes it simple to link with well-known SEO tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics so you can monitor your website’s development and find improvement areas. Using the appropriate tactics and technologies, you can ensure that your BigCommerce store is optimized for improved exposure in SERPs.
Paid and Free Themes for SEO-Friendly BigCommerce Stores
Look for a theme that is SEO-optimized when choosing one for your BigCommerce store. Premium themes are more expensive than free alternatives but frequently provide better support and functionality, such as integrated SEO optimization tools.
Free themes can also be useful, albeit they might need extra coding or plugins to make them SEO-friendly. If you don’t know much about coding, the best option is to use a premium theme.
15 Steps to Improve SEO on Your BigCommerce Store
Now that we know more about how SEO functions on BigCommerce stores, let’s look at some of the actions you can do to make your store more search engine friendly. Check out the BigCommerce SEO tips below:
1. Use Keywords in Titles and Descriptions to Optimize Your BigCommerce Store for Search Engines
Utilize relevant, appropriate, target keywords that reflect the topic of each web page as part of your BigCommerce SEO strategy. Customers will find your products more easily in SERPs as a result of this, aiding search engines in understanding the content of your store.
Finding the Right Keywords to Use
For your BigCommerce SEO, start by researching and selecting the most relevant keywords and use them as your target keywords or focus keyword.
To find out what terms and phrases people are looking for in regard to your goods or services, use keyword research tools like SEMrush.
The Importance of Keyword Research
Search engines will be able to send organic traffic to your ecommerce platform if you conduct keyword research and include relevant terms in your titles, subheadings, content, and meta tags.
Here you can generate target keywords and find an appropriate focus keyword for your Bigcommerce SEO efforts.
Using Keywords on Static Page Titles
Use relevant keywords at the beginning of the titles you create for the pages of your ecommerce site. This will aid in search engines comprehend the topic of the page and help it rank higher in SERPs.
For instance, “Men’s Leather Loafers | Stylish and Comfortable Shoes” may be a decent title for one of your product web pages if you offer shoes. This makes it easier for search engines to recognize that the website is about men’s leather loafers and will probably result in a higher ranking in SERPs.
Using Keywords on Blog Posts
Use keywords in the names and content of blog articles you write for your BigCommerce store to improve visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). This will enhance the web page’s general search engine visibility and bring in more organic traffic.
Using Keywords on Product Pages
Make sure to use keywords in your web pages’ names, descriptions, and meta tags. This will aid search engines in figuring out the subject matter of each web page and help them rank it higher in SERPs.
2. Generate an XML Sitemap to Ensure Google Indexes All Web Pages
A file called an XML sitemap lists every page of your BigCommerce store. It aids search engines in comprehending the information on your website and ensures that it gets indexed in SERPs, which makes it a critical part of BigCommerce SEO.
A sitemap is automatically created for you by BigCommerce. But you can use programs like XML-Sitemaps.com to make a unique sitemap. Search engines will identify and index your store’s web pages more quickly and effectively as a result.
How to Add BigCommerce Sitemap Link to Google Search Console
Go to the “Sitemaps” section of Google Search Console
Click on “Add/Test Sitemap”
Enter the URL of your BigCommerce sitemap (e.g., http://yourstorename.com/sitemap_index.xml).
You can also submit individual URLs of specific pages if needed.
How to Add BigCommerce Sitemap Link to Bing Webmaster Tools
You can also add your BigCommerce sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools. To do this:
Go to the “Sitemaps” section of Bing Webmaster Tools
Click on “Add a Sitemap”
Enter the URL of your BigCommerce sitemap (e.g., http://yourstorename.com/sitemap_index.xml).
This will help search engines understand what content is available on your website and make sure all pages are indexed in SERPs.
3. Utilize Image Alt Tags to Increase Visibility on Search Engine Results Pages
Image alt tags are short descriptions that are used to give search engine crawlers more details about an image. They are also used to give users with visual impairments alternate text for images that cannot be displayed.
Your BigCommerce store’s use of informative picture alt tags will make it easier for search engines to grasp the content and ensure that it is indexed in SERPs. It may help to increase your store’s presence in picture search results, which may result in more organic visitors and a more effective BigCommerce SEO strategy.
Optimizing Image Alt Tags on Your BigCommerce Store
Make sure your BigCommerce store’s image alt tags appropriately match the page’s or product’s content while optimizing them.
Use “men’s leather loafers” instead of “shoes” as the image alt tag, for instance, if your product page features a picture of a pair of loafers.
Also, you ought to add relevant keywords that accurately describe the information on the page or item shown in the image. This will make it easier for search engines to index your images in SERPs and understand what is featured in them.
4. Add a Blog Section with Keyword-Rich Content that is Relevant to the Products You Sell
Your BigCommerce store would benefit greatly from adding a blog section to increase organic traffic and SEO effectiveness.
Make sure your blog postings are related to the things you sell and ensure your blog postings are keyword-rich. This will aid search engines in comprehending the purpose of your BigCommerce website and help them rank it higher in SERPs.
Focus on topics relating to the goods or services you provide while writing blog posts. This could be anything from industry trends to pointers and suggestions specific to your industry.
Make sure each post has a distinct title that appropriately describes its content and contains keywords related to the goods and services offered by your shop. It should also have a good meta description.
Make sure your blog posts’ associated photos have meaningful alt tags that contain relevant keywords. Search engines will be able to index the image in SERPs and better understand it as a result, bringing you more organic traffic from image queries.
To improve BigCommerce SEO performance, think about including internal links to other pages on your BigCommerce store in your blog entries. Search engines will find more information on your website as a result, and it will be ranked higher in SERPs.
How to Find the Best Blog Post Topics
When creating blog content for your BigCommerce SEO, it is important to find the best topics that are relevant to your business niche and will attract organic traffic.
Researching the search terms people use to find your goods or services is one approach to this. You may find topics that people are interested in and write blog posts about them by using keyword research tools like SEMrush. This will assist in increasing your organic search engine traffic (SERPs).
Be Mindful of Keyword Stuffing
Avoid keyword stuffing when writing blog posts for your BigCommerce SEO. This is when you stuff your article with keywords to rig search engine results.
Websites that overuse keywords are penalized by search engines like Google, which can lead to lower rankings or possibly a search engine ban.
Instead, concentrate on producing high-quality blog posts that are educational and relevant to your goods or services.
By doing this, you can improve your store’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) without worrying about getting penalized by the search engines and affect your search engine rankings.
5. Take Advantage of Meta Tags
Search engine crawlers can learn more about websites thanks to meta tags. They consist of header tags, keywords, description tags, and page titles.
By using meta tags on your BigCommerce SEO, you can ensure that each page is indexed in SERPs and that search engines can comprehend what it is about. It might increase your website’s visibility in search engine results, which will increase organic visitors and better search engine rankings.
Important Meta Tags to Know:
Title tag: Your website’s title should contain relevant keywords that effectively describe its content.
Meta Description tag: This is a concise description of the information on the page and need to contain relevant keywords.
Keyword tag: This is a list of keywords relevant to the page’s subject matter that can aid search engines in understanding the content.
Header tags: HTML tags like h1, h2, and h3 are used to organize text on webpages. They can increase visibility in SERPs and aid search engines in determining the relative importance of each component of your website.
How to Add Meta Tags to Your BigCommerce Store Pages
It’s simple to add meta tags to your BigCommerce store. Insert the relevant title, description, keyword, and header tags on each page’s “Edit” screen.
To add meta tags more quickly, you can also utilize plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack. You can use these plugins to improve other parts of your website’s performance for search results.
6. Create Custom URLs for Your Pages
By adding keywords to your URLs, you may boost your BigCommerce store’s organic traffic and SERP visibility.
Make sure your BigCommerce store’s custom URLs appropriately represent the content of each page and contain relevant keywords linked to the products and services you provide.
Each product page on your BigCommerce store can look more appealing in SERPs by having a unique URL, which can increase organic traffic.
Use accurate descriptions that appropriately reflect the page’s content when generating unique URLs, and use relevant keywords if you can.
For instance, if you sell shoes, http://yourstorename.com/mens-leather-loafers would be a suitable URL for one of your product pages. This will aid in search engines comprehending the topic of the page and help it rank higher in the search results.
7. Link Internal Pages of your Store Together for Better SEO Performance
Your BigCommerce SEO performance can be significantly enhanced by linking the internal pages together.
Internal links assist search engine crawlers to find more information on your website, increasing the number of pages that are indexed in search engine results pages (SERPs) and increasing organic traffic.
Use anchor text that appropriately describes the content of the linked page when referencing internal pages. Search engines will be able to comprehend the link and index it in SERPs.
Optimizing Internal Linking for BigCommerce Stores
Link Most Important Category and Product Pages in the Sitewide Menu
Make sure to link your store’s most vital category and product pages in the sitewide menu. This will help search engine crawlers quickly discover your website’s content and ensure it gets indexed in SERPs more quickly.
Link New Pages On Relevant Pages
When creating new pages on your BigCommerce store, make sure to link them from other relevant pages. This will help search engines discover the content and make sure it is indexed in SERPs.
Implement Breadcrumbs on Category and Product Pages
Breadcrumbs are a type of navigation system that provides users with context about the page they are on. They also help search engines understand your website’s structure and ensure all pages are indexed in SERPs.
Adding breadcrumbs to your BigCommerce store’s category and product pages can help search engines understand the structure of your website.
8. Monitor Visibility with Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool, which allows you to monitor how your BigCommerce site appears in SERPs. It provides insights into how often Google indexes your website and which queries display your website in search results.
Using this tool, you can quickly identify any issues that may be affecting your BigCommerce SEO performance and take the necessary steps to improve search engine optimization tactics.
How to Use Google Search Console to Monitor Visibility
To get started with Google Search Console, you will need to add your BigCommerce site URL and verify ownership. Once this is done, you can start monitoring the visibility of your website in SERPs.
Under the “Performance” tab, you can see how often your website appears in search results for certain queries and the click-through rates for each query. This will help you identify which keywords are performing best and adjust your BigCommerce SEO strategy accordingly.
You can also use the “Coverage” tab to track any errors or warnings affecting your website’s performance on search engine result pages (SERPs). This will help you quickly identify issues and take the necessary steps to fix them for your BigCommerce SEO.
9. Monitor Backlinks
Backlinks are links from other websites that point to pages on your BigCommerce site. They can help improve BigCommerce SEO performance by increasing a website’s authority and credibility with search engines.
AHREFs is a tool that helps you monitor the number of backlinks pointing to your website and identify potential issues that may be affecting BigCommerce SEO performance.
This will allow you to quickly take action to address any problems and ensure your BigCommerce site gets maximum visibility in SERPs.
How to Use AHREFS for Backlink Monitoring
To get started with AHREFs, sign up for an account and enter the URL of your BigCommerce store. Once this is done, you can start monitoring the number of backlinks pointing to your website.
Under the “Backlinks” tab, you can view a list of all the websites that are linking to your store. You can also use this tool to identify any spammy or broken links that may be affecting SEO performance and take action to address them.
You can also use AHREFs to monitor keyword performance by viewing a list of keywords for which your website appears in SERPs and click-through rates for each query. This will help you adjust your SEO strategy accordingly and ensure maximum visibility in SERPs.
10. Utilize Social Media Platforms to Promote Content and Drive Organic Traffic
Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram can be a great way to promote content and drive organic traffic to your BigCommerce store.
Using social media platforms is one of the most effective SEO strategies you can use today that can significantly boost search rankings, and even mobile search results.
When sharing content on social media, make sure it is relevant to the products or services you offer and includes links back to your website. This will help attract organic traffic from these platforms that can then be directed to your BigCommerce store and shown on on Google search results page.
You should also use keywords in your posts’ titles and include images optimized with descriptive alt tags. This will improve social media visibility and ensure people see your content when searching for related terms.
11. Optimize for Mobile Search
Mobile search is becoming increasingly important as more people use their smartphones and tablets to access the web and shop from an online store. Your store must be optimized for mobile devices and search so it can attract organic traffic from these devices.
You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to identify any issues with your website that may be affecting its performance on mobile devices. This will help you fix any errors quickly and ensure your online store’s content is accessible to users on all mobile devices.
To further improve mobile pages optimization, make sure your BigCommerce store pages load quickly and have a responsive mobile pages design that looks good on all screen sizes. This will ensure users have a positive experience accessing your website from their mobile devices and are more likely to return to your online store.
Accelerated Mobile Pages Amp
Accelerated mobile pages amp is a framework that helps improve page load times on mobile devices and can be used to optimize your website for search engine performance further.
12. Track Performance with Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free tool that allows you to track the performance of your BigCommerce store. It provides insights into how people use your website or online store, what pages they visit, and how long they stay on each page.
This information can help you identify areas where your website’s performance could be improved and act accordingly.
To get started with Google Analytics, sign up for an account and enter the URL of your BigCommerce store. Once this is done, you can start tracking its performance in real-time.
Using Google Analytics will help you optimize SEO strategy and ensure maximum visibility in SERPs for your online store. It will also help you identify any potential issues with your website that may be affecting SEO performance on BigCommerce stores.
13. Monitor Competitor Performance
Monitoring competitor performance is important to improving SEO performance on BigCommerce stores. Knowing what keywords they target, how often they appear in search results, and other factors can help you adjust your SEO strategy to ensure maximum visibility in SERPs.
SEMrush is a tool that helps you monitor the performance of competitors’ websites in SERPs. It provides insights into the keywords they are targeting and their rankings for each query.
This will allow you to identify areas where you can improve SEO strategy and attract more organic traffic from search engine result pages (SERPs).
To get started with SEMrush, sign up for an account and enter the URL of your competitors’ websites. Once this is done, you can start tracking their performance in SERPs.
Using SEMrush will help you stay ahead of the competition and ensure maximum visibility in SERPs for your BigCommerce store. It will also help you identify any potential issues that may be affecting SEO performance on BigCommerce stores.
14. Leverage Local SEO Techniques
Local SEO techniques are important for attracting organic traffic from specific geographic areas to your BigCommerce store.
Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to optimize your website for local searches by providing information such as business name, address, and contact details. This will help your website appear in SERPs for local queries and attract organic traffic from the specified areas.
You should also use local keywords in titles, meta descriptions, and content of pages on your BigCommerce store. This will ensure your website appears in search results when people in the area are looking for products or services related to what you offer.
Using local SEO techniques will help you get maximum visibility in SERPs and attract more organic traffic to your store. It can also improve customer experience by providing them with relevant information quickly.
15. Ensure Fast Page Loading Times
Page loading times are an important factor in SEO performance. If a page takes too long to load, people may leave the website before they have a chance to explore its content. This will result in lower rankings on search result listings and fewer organic visitors.
To ensure fast page loading times on your BigCommerce store, optimize images, use caching plugins, and minimize server requests. You should also regularly test your website with SEO tools such as GTmetrix to identify potential performance issues.
Optimizing page loading times will help you get higher rankings on SERPs and attract more organic traffic to your store. It will also improve user experience by providing visitors with relevant content quickly.
How to Check for Page or Site Speed Issues
Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool helps you identify any potential issues affecting page loading times on your store. It will provide insights into how fast the pages load and what factors are causing them to slow down.
Once you have identified any problems, you can take action to fix them and ensure your website loads quickly for all users. This will help improve SEO performance on BigCommerce stores and attract more organic traffic from Google search results.
Advanced BigCommerce SEO Tips
Use Rich Snippets
Rich snippets are pieces of code added to web pages that tell search engines what the page is about. This information then displays additional details in SERPs such as product prices, ratings, and reviews.
Adding rich snippets to your BigCommerce store’s pages can help improve SEO performance by providing users with more relevant information and increasing click-through rates for certain queries.
To get started with rich snippets, you will need to add the relevant code to each page on your store. Once this is done, you can submit the URL of the page to Google and wait for it to be indexed.
It may take a few days for rich snippets to appear in SERPs, but once they do, they should help improve SEO performance by providing users with more information about your products or services and increasing click-through rates from search engine result pages (SERPs).
Set up 301 Redirects
301 redirects are permanent redirects from one URL to another. They are used to tell search engines that a page has moved and ensure visitors can still find it by typing the old URL into their browser.
Setting up 301 redirects on your BigCommerce store is important for SEO performance, as it will help ensure visitors land on the correct BigCommerce pages when accessing your website from SERPs.
Set CDN for Static Files
Content delivery networks (CDNs) are networks of servers that store static files such as images, videos, and JavaScript. They help improve page loading times by reducing the distance between visitors and the server hosting your website.
Setting up a CDN for static files on your BigCommerce store is important for SEO performance, as it will help ensure your BigCommerce pages load quickly for all users. This will result in higher rankings on SERPs and more organic traffic to your website.
Common Issues With SEO for BigCommerce Stores
1.Poor Page Structure: Pages on BigCommerce stores should be structured in a way that is easy for search engines to crawl and index. If the structure of your website’s pages is poor, it can affect SEO performance and make it difficult for search engines to find your content.
2. Duplicate Content: It is important to ensure all content on your BigCommerce store is unique and not copied from other websites. Duplicate content can result in lower rankings on SERPs as search engines may view it as low quality or irrelevant.
3. Low Quality Content: It is essential that all content on your BigCommerce store pages is accurate and up-to-date. Poorly written or outdated content can make it difficult for search engines to understand the purpose of your website and result in lower rankings on SERPs.
4. Slow Page Loading Times: It is important to ensure all pages on your BigCommerce store load quickly for visitors, as this is one of the factors that search engines take into account when ranking websites in SERPs. Poor page loading times can affect SEO performance and make it harder for search engines to find your content.
5. Lack of Core Functionality: It is important to ensure your BigCommerce store has all the necessary core functionalities, such as a search bar, shopping cart, and payment gateway. This will make it easier for customers to navigate your website and complete purchases, which can help improve SEO performance.
Final Thoughts
Optimizing SEO for BigCommerce stores is essential to ensure maximum visibility in SERPs and attract organic traffic.
There are a number of steps you can take to improve SEO performance on your store, such as optimizing URLs, linking internal pages together, monitoring visibility with Google Search Console, leveraging social media platforms to promote content, optimizing for mobile searches, and tracking performance with Google Analytics.
You should also monitor competitor performance and ensure fast page loading times. By following these tips, you will be well on your way to improving SEO performance on your BigCommerce store and attracting more organic visitors from search engines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is BigCommerce good for SEO?
A: Yes, BigCommerce is a great platform for SEO. It offers features that help improve SEO performance on your store, such as custom URLs and optimized page titles and meta descriptions.
Q: How do I optimize my BigCommerce store for SEO?
A: To optimize your BigCommerce store for SEO, you should use keyword suggestions in the page title and meta description, link internal pages together, monitor visibility with Google Search Console, leverage social media to promote content and drive organic traffic, optimize for mobile search, track performance with Google Analytics, monitor competitor performance, and ensure fast page loading times.
Q: What SEO features does BigCommerce have?
A: BigCommerce has several SEO features that can help improve performance on your store, such as custom URLs, optimized page titles and meta descriptions, image optimization, breadcrumbs navigation, and more. These features make it easier to optimize your website for search engine result pages (SERPs).
Q: Do ecommerce sites need SEO?
A: Yes, ecommerce sites need SEO to ensure maximum visibility in SERPs and attract organic traffic. Optimizing your website for search engine result pages (SERPs) is essential if you want to attract visitors from Google and other search engines. By following best practices and leveraging features like custom URLs, optimized page titles and meta descriptions, image optimization, breadcrumbs navigation, etc., you can improve SEO performance on your store and get more organic visitors from search engine result pages (SERPs).
Q: What are the benefits of SEO?
A: The benefits of SEO include increased visibility in SERPs which can lead to higher rankings and more organic traffic. It also helps improve user experience by providing relevant content quickly, which can result in more conversions. Additionally, SEO helps build credibility and trust with customers as search engines such as Google tend to favor websites that are optimized for search engine result pages (SERPs). Overall, SEO is a great way to improve the performance of an ecommerce store.
8-figure Amazon seller and serial online entrepreneur since 2015. Research and practice various online business models, and apply his in-depth learnings to further expand and grow his businesses as well as help others to achieve greater successes. Ex-VP of a high tech VC in Vancouver and a Management Consultant with over a decade of experience in the industry. Master's Degree from HEC Paris.
