If you’re looking to launch an online store, it’s important to consider search engine optimization (SEO). While there are many benefits to having an online store, becoming visible and engaging with potential customers on the internet can be challenging.
After all, with so much competition, it can be hard to stand out among the masses, especially since traditional advertising doesn’t always provide the best return on investment.
Thankfully, proven SEO strategies can help your business thrive in the digital age. By implementing the right SEO tactics, you can ensure that your site stands a chance of being found when customers look for relevant content like yours.
Let’s explore seven things that’ll happen if you don’t optimize for search engines.
1. Your Traffic Will Drop Off A Cliff
Despite the never-ending stream of articles and blog posts that promote the benefits of SEO for business, being found via search engines still carries a negative connotation. After all, it’s easy enough to find the basics of almost any product or service via Google search.
While there’s no denying that having an online store is convenient and can provide many benefits to a business, it can still be challenging to gain trust in an industry that large corporations mostly dominate.
Even when potential customers discover your store and find it useful, they may still have reservations about placing an order through a website they’ve never heard of before. Especially since you now have to rely on the goodwill of strangers to provide your goods or services.
With the evolution of the industry, consumer behavior is also evolving. Search engine optimization can help your store gain credibility and make customers feel comfortable purchasing.
Not to mention, the more visible your website is on the internet, the more potential customers you’ll attract.
2. Your Sales Will Struggle
Being found via a search engine isn’t the only thing that can draw customers to your site. If you’ve created an appealing product or service that customers are really wanting, you may see an increase in sales even though you didn’t intentionally seek them out.
This is why learning about what makes your product special and unique is important. In creating a compelling story, you’ll be able to draw in potential customers who may not have considered your product or service before.
This is also why creating unique content for your website is so vital. While there are many SEO benefits, having a keyword-rich article or website can still cause problems for a business if they are not utilized correctly.
Over-optimization leads to the same issues as under-optimization, except it’s even more severe because you amplify the effects. If you’re curious about how Google handles over-optimization, check out their guideline for minimal content duplication.
3. Your Products Will Continue To Rotate In The Nearest Trash Can
Even when your product is genuinely useful and will become an excellent addition to an online store, it can still suffer from poor optimization. When you use keyword-rich articles and content to draw in potential customers, you may encourage them to purchase your products via online marketplaces. This is where your products will continue to rot in the nearest trash can until someone decides to throw them out.
SEO can still be difficult to manage and keep track of even when implemented effectively. If you want to keep your products visible on the internet, you’ll need to learn more about SEO and how you can leverage the power of the internet to grow your business.
4. Your Domain Will Sink Into The Dregs Of The SERPs
If you want to launch an eCommerce store, it’s important to consider the strength of your domain. When someone searches for your product or service, they’ll be faced with various results.
For example, if you have an eCommerce store for a clothing brand called “Nike,” when someone searches for “Nike shoes’ they may see results for Nike, Inc., Nike Australia, and even a few others.
Your domain will likely appear somewhere in the middle of these results, making it difficult for customers to discover your website.
5. Your Website Won’t Get Most Of The Love From Small Businesses
If you want to launch an eCommerce store, it’s important to understand the difference between large and small businesses. Large corporations with deep pockets can usually afford the upfront costs of establishing an online store.
This means that establishing a retail store may be the way to go if you want to gain an edge in an already crowded marketplace. However, consider buying individual products and expanding your business via online marketplaces if your budget allows.
6. Your Website Will Take A Long Time To Build
If you want to gain trust and credibility as a business, you must let potential customers know that you’re committed to providing them with top-quality content.
As mentioned before, the internet is vast, and many low-quality websites and blog posts exist. Having a quality website designed by an experienced web developer can take considerable time.
Building a quality website isn’t something that can be accomplished easily by any business, regardless of size. This is why it’s important to be realistic about what you can launch within your budget and timeframe.
Don’t expect to launch a high-quality, fully-functional website in a matter of months. It’ll take at least a year to a year and a half (and often, it takes much longer than this) to create a quality site full of compelling content.
7. Your Competitors Will Be On The Rise
With poor optimization, your competitors will continue to benefit from your hard work. Whether you’re in a crowded marketplace or completely dominated by a select few, having a quality website can still work in your favor.
Once your website is live, it’ll be much easier to monitor the performance of your competitors, discover any weaknesses, and take advantage of them.
Although having a website isn’t enough to sustain a successful business in the long term, it’s a great starting point. Once you have a quality site, you must explore various monetization options (such as affiliate marketing, display ads, or product sales) to earn a living.
The Longer You Stick With SEO, The More You’ll Learn
SEO is a constantly evolving field in the same way that Google search results are set through continuous A/B testing. With each new Google algorithm update and change in SEO philosophy, your business could be at risk of falling behind.
SEO and digital marketing strategy evolve with every new generation of Google algorithm updates. The older you get, the more you learn, and the more you’ll be able to contribute to this fascinating and constantly evolving subject.
