More and more people are making purchases online, as evidenced by the staggering retail eCommerce sales of more than 6.3 trillion USD worldwide in 2024. The meteoric rise of eCommerce platforms and the frictionless design of these platforms have contributed much to this massive number. Thus, if you wish to break into new market segments and become the next hit in your niche, eCommerce is the way to move forward.
That said, as business owners, you might get overwhelmed by the sheer number of eCommerce platforms available on the market. To make the most out of your eCommerce platform, you should always choose the platform that offers the best support for your SEO strategies. Which ecommerce platform is best for SEO? This article will help you make the best decision.
Factors Affecting SEO in Ecommerce Platforms
You will struggle with getting online visibility and brand recognition if you lack a solid SEO strategy. This is why SEO is important for eCommerce. To find the eCommerce platform that best supports SEO, consider these factors first.
Site Structure and URL Format
Search engines favor websites that feature a robust structure with clear and easy-to-follow sections. A solid eCommerce platform should enable you to create a well-structured website that clearly defines different sections. For example, the blog section should be distinct from the product page, and vice versa. Having distinct sections will also make it easier for crawler bots to crawl your website, thus improving your indexing time.
You should also pay attention to the URL format of your website. Good URL formats are concise and easy to parse, with clearly defined sections as well as subsections. These URLs will help you earn a positive impression from the search engine as well as from users.
Page Loading Speed and Performance
Nobody likes waiting forever for a web page to load! Slow loading speed and page performance will not only irritate your visitors but also hurt your SEO score pretty badly. When answering the question which ecommerce platform is best for SEO, pick the one that offers solid website performance for future benefits.
Mobile-Friendliness and Responsiveness
Most of us conduct our daily activities through our mobile devices, whether they are checking our emails or making purchases. For this reason, it is equally important to take into account the mobile-friendliness and responsiveness of your prospective eCommerce platform. You certainly would not like a website that has small texts and unresponsive scrolling animations!
Customization Options, Built-in Tools
Having numerous customization options enables your brand to stand out and attract prospective buyers. Customization options such as themes, fonts, animations, and other visual elements will also vastly improve your user experience and help them navigate through your website more easily.
Built-in tools such as SEO plugins enable you to monitor important visitor metrics, providing invaluable insights that keep you ahead of your competitors. These plugins can also help you assess how optimized your on-page content is and suggest changes.
SSL Certificate and Secure Checkout Process
Website security is a major issue in eCommerce, as frauds are increasing in the field. The global ecommerce losses due to frauds reached a staggering $41 million in 2022, highlighting a huge gap in security. Savant customers will avoid making purchases on your platform if it is flagged as not trustworthy by their browser or if it lacks the necessary security measures.
SSL certificates are the first thing to take into account. These are certificates that enable your website to use HTTPS protocol, a more advanced and secure version of HTTP. Websites with HTTPS are considered safe and secure by major browsers, and thus will not be flagged, gaining your customers’ trust. Many popular eCommerce platforms offer free SSL certificates for verified users, so they should be at the top of your list.
Another point of concern is the checkout process, which can become a vulnerability that bad actors exploit to gain access to your customer’s information. To create a secure checkout process, start with SSL Encryption or the equivalent, which will encrypt any information entered by your customers. You could also consider streamlining the checkout process to just one page to reduce the risks of data loss.
Comparison of Popular Ecommerce Platforms
With all the most important factors taken into account, the three prime candidates for your top eCommerce platforms are Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce.
| Features | Shopify | Magento | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | Easy to use with a drag-and-drop editor | Somewhat difficult to use. Requires some website development knowledge | Easily integrated into any existing WordPress website. Needs some adjustments, however |
| SEO Support | Comprehensive SEO support. Shopify SEO covers granular changes for better results. | Magento SEO provides scalable SEO solutions for multiple pages | WooCommerce SEO relies on add-ons and integrated plugins. |
| Scalability | Yes, but you will need the Plus plan for scalability | Yes, available from the start | Yes, but not very easily. Requires advanced coding knowledge |
| Customization Options | Numerous free customization options and themes. | The most extensive library of themes and customization options for different niches | Relies on WordPress themes |
| Security | Free SSL certificates | Advanced security measures with regular updates | Standard WordPress security procedures. Needs extra work to be secure |
| Community Resources | Large and helpful community | Large and active community | Large and active community |
| Integration with Third-Party Tools and Plugins | Seamless integration with multiple add-ons at the same time | Offers a vast marketplace with 8,000+ free and paid add-ons | The most comprehensive choice with over 56,000+ WP plugins. |
| Cost-Effectiveness | Flexible and beginner-friendly pricing | Expensive but comprehensive | Free but you have to pay for the hosting fees |
| Customer Service | Yes, through support forms | Available 24/7 | Only with the Enterprise Edition |
Conclusion
All of these platforms come with their pros and cons, but if you have to pick which e-commerce platform is best for SEO, Shopify offers the most benefits to small and medium businesses. It offers easy-to-use and secure tools you need to get started. If you are still unsure how to set up SEO for Shopify, Tech One is here to help. With years of experience in helping businesses grow, we are the SEO team you can trust! Contact us now for more information.
Read more: https://tech-one.io/learn/add-ecommerce-to-existing-website/