A quick Google search will reveal that there are 200 (or more) ranking signals that Google itself uses when determining what organic listings to serve you on a proverbial silver platter.
With so many, is it possible or even feasible to come up with a list of the most important?
The eCommerce SEO experts at Genius eCommerce think so, and these are the ones.
1.Content
Content, which is evaluated on Google’s E-A-T as well as on several other criteria such as length, depth, structure and organization, keyword density, and more, is one of the single most important ranking signals of all for 2022.
The better content an eCommerce website delivers to its customers, and the better organic metrics it can show for it, the most effectively it will rank in 2022 (and beyond).
2.Backlinks
Backlinks are quite literally a way to generate referral traffic from third-party sources to your website, but they are also a massive flag (in a good way) that signals to Google that your website is an authority.
Not all backlinks are good, but those from high domain authority sources will help your organic rankings improve over time.
3.Responsive design
Google has been mobile-first indexing for a while now, which on its own means that an eCommerce website must have a mobile-friendly design in order to rank competitively.
However, even if that wasn’t the case, responsive design is a must. A lot of shoppers shop on tablets and mobile devices nowadays and if your website doesn’t offer a pleasant shopping experience, rest assured that one of your competitors’ does.
4.Site security
Users just don’t like it when they get a “security alert” or visit a website that doesn’t feature that reassuring little key at the left of the search bar.
Even if that wasn’t a hurdle to online sales, the fact that Google has expressly stated that security is a ranking signal is. Poor security sites without SSLs will not rank as well as others that do.
5.Site speed
Again this is double-barrelled. Google wants fast websites and so do online shoppers. Well over half of the online shoppers will leave if a web page doesn’t load in three seconds or less, and Google will allocate the rankings accordingly.
6.On-page optimization
Page and blog content are not the only prongs of keyword strategy. Target keywords can also be used to update a myriad of an online store’s on-page features that are also ranking signals (or at least have a splash effect) like H1s, meta descriptions, URL slugs, alt text, anchor text, and more.
Just be mindful of how much you use a single keyword within a given space and see if there are related keywords with similar volume and search intent that you can use instead. Google has become intolerant of keyword stuffing.
7.Site structure
Creating a site map manually (if your platform does not generate one automatically) offers search engines like Google a logical pathwork to follow when crawling and indexing web pages.
The bottom line: well-organized website structures are easier for shoppers to use and easier for search engines to crawl. Websites that are logically structured will rank better than those that don’t.
8.Domain Age
You can’t really affect this one, but we’re including it because it counts and because if you’re doing all the right things, just be patient. Google will notice in time, and in this case, time literally counts. Remember, SEO is a long-term game.
Let the eCommerce SEO Experts Take the Reins and Drive Higher Organic Traffic!
These are some of the top ranking signals for 2022, as ranked (no pun intended) by the eCommerce SEO experts over at Genius eCommerce.
For years they’ve been authoring custom marketing strategies for eCommerce businesses in a diverse range of industries, and they can do the same for you. They specialize as an eCommerce SEO agency but also offer social media, content marketing, and other digital marketing services. If you’re ready to take your eCommerce website to new heights through greater organic traffic and conversion rates, get in touch with them at GeniusEcommerce.com.
