Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has become a critical component of any digital marketing strategy for online marketplaces. SEO for marketplaces allows you to gain increased visibility on search engines like Google, driving organic traffic and attracting potential customers.
To effectively implement marketplace SEO, it is essential to consider several key elements that contribute to a well-rounded strategy. In this article, we will explore these components in depth, providing a comprehensive guide to help marketplace founders successfully optimise their platforms for search engines.
What is SEO for marketplaces?
Before diving deeper into the various components of SEO for marketplace websites, it is essential to understand what exactly SEO for marketplaces entails. SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the process of optimising a website to increase its visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs). In the context of marketplaces, this means employing specific techniques and strategies to ensure that your platform ranks higher in search results when potential customers search for products or services related to your niche.
Marketplaces face unique challenges when it comes to SEO. These platforms often contain a vast number of individual product or service pages, making it crucial to implement a well-structured site architecture and ensure that search engines can effectively crawl and index your content. Additionally, as marketplaces typically host multiple sellers or providers, competition for search visibility can be fierce, making it even more critical to adopt a comprehensive and targeted SEO strategy.
SEO for marketplaces involves a combination of technical, on-page, off-page, and content-related optimisation techniques. These strategies aim to improve your platform’s user experience, increase your website’s authority and credibility, and ensure that your content is both relevant and engaging for your target audience. By employing a holistic approach to SEO, marketplace founders can improve their platform’s visibility in search results, drive traffic, and ultimately, increase conversions and revenue growth.
1. Technical SEO: Building a strong foundation
Technical SEO involves organising your website architecture in a way that is both intuitive and user-friendly. This means ensuring easy navigation, reducing load times, and optimising your marketplace for various devices, including mobile phones and tablets. By creating a seamless browsing experience, you improve the likelihood that users will stay on your platform and engage with your content.
2. Schema Markup: Helping search engines understand your content
Implementing schema markup or structured data is an essential aspect of SEO for marketplaces. This coding language helps search engines better comprehend your products, services, and content, which in turn improves your organic search result rankings. By applying schema markup, you provide valuable context to search engines, ensuring your marketplace is presented accurately and effectively within search results.
3. UX (User Experience): Ensuring a positive and engaging experience
A visually appealing, responsive, and user-friendly marketplace website is crucial for attracting and retaining visitors. By focusing on user experience (UX), you ensure that your platform is not only aesthetically pleasing but also easy to navigate. A positive UX encourages repeat visits and fosters a loyal customer base, which ultimately contributes to your marketplace’s success.
4. Mobile-First Indexing: Prioritising mobile optimisation
With the increasing prevalence of smartphones and tablets, Google has adopted a mobile-first indexing approach, making mobile optimisation a priority for all websites. As a result, it’s vital to ensure that your marketplace is fully optimised for mobile devices, offering seamless navigation and fast loading times. This not only enhances user experience but also improves your chances of ranking higher in search results.
5. On-Page SEO: Refining individual pages for optimal performance
On-page SEO is the process of enhancing individual pages to improve user journeys and make them SEO friendly. This involves refining elements such as titles, headings, URLs, and meta titles and descriptions based on keyword research. By optimising these components, you increase the likelihood that search engines will favour your marketplace in their rankings, driving more organic traffic to your platform.
6. Keyword Research: Targeting the right audience
Identifying and targeting the most relevant high search volume keywords for your marketplace is crucial to attracting the right audience and improving your search result rankings. Thorough keyword research allows you to understand the terms and phrases your potential customers are using, enabling you to tailor your content and SEO strategy accordingly. By focusing on the most relevant keywords, you increase your chances of ranking higher in search results and driving targeted traffic to your platform.
7. Content Creation: Crafting engaging and shareable content
Developing informative, engaging, and unique content is at the heart of any successful SEO strategy. By producing high-quality content that resonates with your target audience, you encourage users to stay on your platform, share your content with others, and ultimately convert into customers. Regularly updating your marketplace with fresh, relevant content you have also signals to search engines that your platform is active and valuable, increasing your chances of ranking higher in search results.
8. Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO): Maximising revenue generation
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is the process of continuously testing and improving your marketplace’s user experience and content to increase conversion rates and generate more revenue. By focusing on CRO, you can identify areas of your platform that may be causing friction for users and implement changes to enhance their experience.
By streamlining user journeys and refining your content, you increase the likelihood that visitors will complete desired actions, such as signing up, making a purchase, or sharing your content. As a result, your marketplace can enjoy increased revenue generation and sustained long term growth.
9. Link Building: Boosting authority and credibility
Obtaining high-quality, relevant backlinks is a crucial aspect of SEO for marketplace websites. By building a robust backlink profile, you boost your platform’s authority and credibility as an online business, which in turn positively impacts your search result rankings. Link building involves reaching out to reputable websites, blogs, and influencers within your niche, requesting them to link back to your marketplace. By obtaining links from authoritative sources, you signal to search engines that your platform is trustworthy and valuable, increasing your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Who should undertake SEO for marketplaces?
As a marketplace founder, you may be wondering who should be responsible for implementing SEO for your platform. While the answer may vary depending on the size, nature, and goals of your marketplace, it is crucial to recognise that SEO is a continuous, collaborative effort that often involves a combination of in-house teams and external expertise. Below, we explore various options for managing SEO for your marketplace.
SEO marketplace agencies
Partnering with a reputable SEO agency, like Code23, can be a wise choice for marketplaces seeking comprehensive, ongoing support for their SEO efforts. SEO agencies typically have a team of experts with diverse skill sets, which allows them to offer a holistic approach to your platform’s SEO strategy.
Additionally, agencies often have access to advanced tools and resources that may not be readily available to in-house teams or freelancers.
Learn more about our SEO services for marketplaces
In-house team
If your marketplace has an in-house marketing team, it may be advantageous to have them handle your platform’s SEO efforts. Having a dedicated team working on your marketplace’s SEO ensures that they have a deep understanding of your business, target audience, and unique challenges.
Freelance SEO specialists
Hiring freelance SEO specialists can be an option for smaller marketplaces or those with limited resources. Freelance SEO experts typically have experience working on a variety of projects, which can be beneficial in terms of bringing fresh perspectives and diverse expertise to your marketplace’s SEO strategy.
However, it’s important to carefully vet potential candidates to ensure they have a proven track record of success in SEO for marketplaces.
Conclusion
Effectively implementing SEO for your marketplace involves a multi-faceted approach that addresses various aspects of your platform. By focusing on technical SEO, schema markup, UX, mobile-first indexing, on-page SEO, keyword research, content creation, conversion rate optimisation, and link building, you can build a solid foundation for your marketplace to thrive in the digital landscape.
By staying up-to-date with best SEO marketplace practices and continually refining your strategy, you can ensure your marketplace remains competitive and continues to attract the right audience, driving organic traffic and revenue growth.