SEARCH OPTIMIZATION
Before thinking about optimization, it's important to ensure that your Profile is as appealing and descriptive as possible. Once a visitor reaches your Profile and Store, you want to make sure they want to stay and get to know you better.
Some high level things to think about include:
- Is it clear what type of maker you are and what makes you special?
- Do you have compelling, high-quality photos that encourage shoppers to stick around and learn more?
- Is it clear what your product is or does from your page, so that customers have all the information they need to buy?
- Is there something you can do to add a sense of urgency to buy?
Need some help making sure your Profile and Store are set up for success? Download these handy worksheets from Lana Lepper of Lana Betty to audit your OOAK Online presence and learn where you can expand or improve your digital offering.
Once you have created a compelling digital presence, then you can start to think about how to improve your chances of getting found.
OPTIMIZING YOUR PRODUCT LISTINGS
In general, shoppers can browse the site in one of two ways— through search or by category. Both of these rely on vendors to effectively tag and categorize their product listings to create relevant, easy-to-browse results.
SEARCH
OOAK Online's search works by using shoppers' search keywords as clues to help the algorithm return the most relevant listings. These "clues" include factors like Product Name, Description, Category, Product Tags and Company Profile Name. Optimizing the products in your Store is the most important step to ensuring that you improve your chances for exposure in the right search.
Here are some steps to consider:
- Categorizing your products with the proper categories and subcategories that will help your products show up under relevant searches. By contrast, applying extraneous or unsuitable categories to your products hinders customers chances of finding what they are looking for and your fellow artisans’ chances of being discovered.
- Write descriptions that include keywords that are relevant to your product. If your product is a wooden toy boat made for toddlers, ensure the terms "wooden", "toy boat" are included in your description.
- Leverage the Product Tags by identifying the keywords that shoppers are more likely to use when searching for your products. To continue the example above, add terms like "Wooden toys", "toy boat", "toys for toddlers” making sure to press Enter after every tag to ensure they are added properly.
CATEGORIES
Much like search, shopping by categories relies on vendors to properly categorize their products to ensure that they are being returned in relevant results and not displaying in others that will make it harder for customers to find what they are looking for. If you haven't had a chance yet, please make sure to review your product categories and ensure you have only applied ones that apply directly to the functionality of your products,
Learn more about how to update your product categories.
We know it can be tempting to use every opportunity to create exposure for your brand on OOAK Online. However, it is SO important that we balance individual opportunities for optimization with the collective good to ensure we are creating an easy and successful shopping experience for all!
WTF IS SEO?
Want to learn more about search engine optimization for your own website?
Last week, we hosted a webinar with digital expert Avery Swartz, founder of Camp Tech and bestselling author of See You On the Internet: Building Your Small Business with Digital Marketing. Avery shared practical tips for ensuring that your digital presence is optimized for maximum exposure beyond OOAK Online.
Didn’t get a chance to tune in live? Watch the playback below to learn more!