SEO Strategies For Online Marketplaces: Optimization Guide [Amazon, eBay, Etsy]

Online marketplaces are digital platforms that connect multiple sellers and buyers in a centralized digital space so that they can conduct transactions. Like normal SEO strategies utilized for traditional websites, SEO for marketplaces is also important. This involves optimizing product listings on e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Etsy to increase visibility and increase conversions. In this blog, we explain the importance of SEO strategies for online marketplaces along with an effective marketplace SEO guide to kickstart your full-funnel marketing strategy.

Marketplace SEO Vs E-commerce SEO Vs Traditional SEO

As you dive in and learn more, some of you might confuse marketplace SEO with e-commerce SEO and traditional SEO. As both terms sound similar, considering that they offer the buying and selling of products online, there are differences.

SEO for marketplaces is all about optimizing an online digital platform where multiple vendors sell their products to customers. They include more products, which makes optimizing a time-consuming process. In contrast, e-commerce SEO focuses on optimizing a single online store and its product pages to rank higher in search engines. 

This includes incorporating detailed product descriptions, images, and building domain authority, etc. Also, e-commerce stores have full control over stock, product listing quality, images, descriptions, etc. So, how does marketplace SEO fare with traditional SEO? The purpose of traditional SEO is to create and optimize content that matches the intent of the user search query, whereas SEO for marketplaces is about content optimization for commercial intent.

Marketplace SEO guide for online businesses

When it comes to the most popular online marketplaces, Etsy, Amazon, and eBay are some of them. As they all have their dedicated search engines to deliver accurate results to customers, let’s learn how they work and offer the best shopping experience.

Etsy SEO

Whenever users search for a product on Etsy, its search algorithm tries to understand how relevant the particular product is for the searched term. By focusing on these key areas explained in this etsy seo guide, you can make your products as relevant as possible and achieve higher rankings.

• Product Listing Title – Whatever products you list online, make sure to include the main keyword as the first term. You should also think from the buyer’s perspective, like what terms they would use to search and prepare content based on that. Also, when including similar products, list them as variations.

• Store Description – Etsy SEO usually prefers to have online web stores having an authentic story to share. Therefore, creating a well-crafted description about the store helps convert users who are looking to purchase products. Make sure to avoid keyword stuffing as it won’t help.

• Keywords & Tags – Another key area to focus on in the Etsy marketplace SEO guide is the keywords & tags, which Etsy sellers can utilize to describe their product further so that the marketplace platform gets a clear picture of the product. Searching on Etsy helps see what keywords and tags others use to describe products similar to yours.

• Images – Incorporate high-quality product images to draw in customers and build trust. If there are multiple slots for images on your site, utilize them all as users want to see as much of a product as possible. Along with the visual assets, make sure to add alt-text for each of them so that search engines can describe what it is if the images don’t load.

Even though SEO is essential for you, you’ll need more than that to achieve long-term success. This includes a good set of products and positive reviews. Despite that, incorporating an etsy seo guide helps get your products displayed to your customers first.

eBay SEO

eBay has its dedicated search engine called Cassini, which, upon searching, lists multiple results of the same product offered by different sellers. This shows that there is a lot of competition happening on the platform, and getting your product ranked the highest in the search results increases the chances of generating more clicks.

When displaying your product listing, eBay’s search engine considers various factors rather than just keywords. This includes price, delivery time, response speed to inquiries, bidding prices, etc. Despite that, using relevant keywords with buyer intent is still important.

• Product Descriptions – With eBay SEO, product seller get major control over their product description and can create a product description in almost any way as required. It is also recommended to use your most relevant keywords as early as possible in your eBay product description. When writing the descriptions, keep it simple and less confusing to the search engines.

Amazon SEO

Just like eBay, the world’s most popular e-commerce platform, Amazon’s dedicated search engine,  A9, has various unique features. Compared with Google, which offers solutions or answers to user questions, the Amazon marketplace SEO guide offers exactly what users want to purchase. The platform’s price tracking tools allow users to get the best deal on products. Also, Amazon doesn’t have duplicate listings, therefore, multiple vendors trying to sell the same product have to compete to get a top spot.

As shown in the image above, getting your product into the buy box depends on various factors such as the product title, ISBN/EAN numbers, high-quality product photos, etc. Amazon prefers vendors who prefer to sell products through Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA). This means that you, as a vendor, are using Amazon’s fulfillment network to store, pack, and ship your products, and also handle customer service and returns.

Marketplace SEO tips to optimize online listings

If you have an online marketplace, implementing product page seo best practices will significantly boost your visibility to potential customers. However, before you do that, here are some effective marketplace seo tips which you can use to optimize your product listings, get higher rankings on search engines, and attract more customers to purchase them.

Invest in quality content

Content still rules the online market, making it one of the most important marketplace seo tips to implement. Creating good quality content and optimizing it for SEO increases your site’s ranking and online visibility. When it comes to product content, it can include descriptions, articles, blogs, and how-to guides, anything that addresses your customers’ pain points.

Don’t Ignore Schema Markup

Creating content is essential to SEO for marketplaces. However, search engines must identify and understand what they are to better rank them. This is where schema markup helps. Also known as structured data, adding this code to your product HTML pages allows marketplace sites to show more information on the SERP.

Optimize For Mobile-friendly use

This is pretty obvious considering the majority of your target audiences use smartphones to browse websites, buy and sell products, etc. No matter how good your marketplace site looks and how fast it loads on desktop, it has to achieve the same for mobile viewing.

No compromise on security

Trust us, no customer will ever visit or even make a purchase from an insecure website. This is why you have to secure your site with the SSL protocol. This certification not only tells users that the site is secure, but it also creates an encrypted link between the web browser and the site’s server.

Boost Engagement With Trusted Reviews

When users purchase a product from your site, it is always recommended to ask for their reviews. This is because customers first check the product reviews before making a decision. It offers trust and helps overcome the uncertainties of the products/services.

Winding Up

SEO is not only for traditional or e-commerce websites; marketplace sites also need it to achieve long-term success. Despite having its challenges, implementing SEO will help rank your products for user-specific keywords, increase organic traffic, and sales. The marketplace seo tips explained above, if followed correctly, should allow you to create the best e-commerce platform for seo. Or you can choose the scenic route, which is getting in touch with GTECH Information Technology, known for their renowned e-commerce seo services in Dubai. The choice is yours.