December 27, 2018
3dcart SEO Best Practices: 7 Traffic Boosting Tips That Work
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3dcart is one of the best ecommerce platforms when it comes to search engine optimization.
But just because a hosting solution provides great features doesn’t guarantee you results.
Simply going through the motions won’t bring in qualified organic visitors ready to buy from your brand for years to come.
That requires some work.
Why should you use 3dcart over bigger names like Shopify? Is it a good ecommerce platform for SEOs?
In this post, we’ll answer those exact questions and show you how to implement traffic boosting tips on the platform.
Here are the best practices for SEO on 3dcart and five ways you can boost your traffic fast.
Why Should You Use 3dcart For An Online Store?
3dcart is an online store platform with a focus on connectivity to third party applications (like email software and social media), and search engine optimization.
It’s called 3dcart because of their three-pronged approach to ecommerce where they focus the platform and toolkit options on three distinct areas:
- Store owners
- Search engines
- Shoppers
Breaking down the subsets, they provide specific tools to satisfy each portion of what it takes to run a successful, profitable ecommerce store.
It’s clear from the onset of using 3dcart that you are getting an online store built by people with expertise in attracting (and pleasing) traffic.
With a four step funnel plan and tools to match each step, 3dcart does an impeccable job at guiding you through the process.
Meaning that if you have no experience in SEO or funnel stages, you don’t need to worry.
3dcart has guides for each stage from “Reach” to “Nurture” to help you succeed.
When it comes to pricing, 3dcart tends to be slightly cheaper than Shopify with a few more added features that cheaper Shopify plans don’t cover, like no transaction fees.
So, why else would you choose 3dcart over other providers?
3dcart has some of the most extensive SEO features on the market when it comes to an ecommerce platform.
Sure, other platforms are going to give you the basics to get you started.
But 3dcart is more than just meta descriptions and titles. It has powerful mobile optimization for speed and even direct Google AMP connectivity.
Let’s dive into the features that 3dcart offers for SEO.
Is 3dcart a Good Ecommerce Platform for SEO?
3dcart is a great platform for ecommerce SEO.
Beyond the basics like meta description fields and alt tags for images, 3dcart has great connections to build an SEO friendly store.
For instance, direct connectivity with Google AMP to create fast, seamless mobile pages.
On top of that, 3dcart has their own mobile pagespeed tool that helps you continually improve performance on your mobile site.
Some of the top features for SEO on 3dcart are:
- AMP
- Content Pages / Blog
- Pagespeed tool
- Mobile Optimization suite
- Custom SEO Friendly URLs
- Built in support for Schema markup (this is a big win)
3dcart is one of (if not the best) ecommerce platforms for those serious about SEO performance.
Here is how to put your SEO on overdrive with 3dcart.
5 Tips to Improve the Organic Performance
An online store thrives on organic traffic that you can convert to sales.
Unless you want to pay for ads or grind away on social media and reach 2% of your audience due to poor organic reach.
With organic search improvements, you can start to bring in more (and better) traffic that wants to buy your products.
Here is how.
1. Optimize Your Product / Category Pages and Meta Tags
Product and category pages are the meat and potatoes of ecommerce.
They explain your product offering and separate it for the right customer segments.
Being key pages on your store, they need dedication and work to optimize for organic traffic.
Key areas to optimize on these pages are:
- Prioritize your top pages first
- Include semantically related keywords
- Primary focus on the page’s target keyword
- Don’t add copy unless it enhances the description
One of the best examples of a well optimized category / product page is from Surf Station:
In their short description, they include multiple related terms to their primary keyword of “Wetsuits.”
Breaking down their offering, they touch on common pain points like shipping, a big factor in cart abandonment.
For your meta description and title tags, it’s key to optimize them with your target keyword and a succinct, relevant description of what searchers can expect when clicking on the page.
On 3dcart, the meta tag area is located on your product or blog page dashboard:
Simply locate the meta tags option and craft a compelling description and title.
Don’t forget those keywords!
2. Do Keyword Research, But Not Just For The Bottom of The Funnel
Keyword research is an essential aspect of SEO, especially for ecommerce.
Products and services can bring in traffic, but if you are in competitive markets, dozens if not hundreds of businesses are fighting for that same traffic, selling the same products.
The biggest mistake that most in ecommerce make when implementing keyword research is focusing too heavily on the bottom of the funnel and neglecting the top and middle where customer awareness is built.
For instance, most will target the high volume keywords like “buy 70 inch tv.”
These lower funnel keywords signal a readiness to purchase, but they are nearly impossible to rank for due to competition overload.
Instead, start looking for keywords higher in the funnel regarding reviews or comparisons. These can help you bring in long-tail keyword traffic and build brand awareness before moving on high volume keywords.
Speaking of which…
3. Create Content That Your Customers Are Interested In
Once you’ve done keyword research for the top and middle of the funnel, it’s time to create content.
Content is the lifeblood of organic traffic.
People don’t purchase on their first search anymore. With review sites, YouTube videos, and comparisons, shopping is a complex process that takes multiple touches.
Meaning you need content at each stage to connect with potential shoppers.
And according to HubSpot, blogging more in B2C (ecommerce) results in more sales and more traffic than companies that don’t blog.
For instance, Fitbit, a sports tracking wearable company, blogs on topics in their active / healthy lifestyle niche to drive traffic to their site.
Instead of only targeting keywords like “buy a smartwatch” or “fitness trackers,” they focus on building brand awareness as a leader in the activewear space.
Focus your blogging efforts on becoming the Fitbit of your own niche to bring in big traffic.
4. Optimize For Mobile Shoppers
Mobile is trending. It’s hot. And for good reason:
Mobile traffic is more common than desktop traffic now and your store has to adapt. You can’t ignore or avoid mobile optimization anymore.
Not unless you want your SEO results and organic traffic to run for the hills.
Recent data shows that mobile shopping is on the rise, especially around holiday seasons:
“Smartphones were one of the biggest drivers of growth on Cyber Monday, responsible for 44.6% of site visits and nearly 30% of revenue.”
Now is the time to optimize for the mobile user.
Where do you begin? With pagespeed.
According to Google, the average mobile website for any and every industry is far too slow:
And slow websites are a recipe for high bounce rates and skyrocketing cart abandonment.
To increase your page speed load times and keep traffic around, use Google’s Test My Site to uncover what potential factors are impacting your speed and direct steps on how to fix each of them.
5. Secure Your Website With HTTPS
HTTPS, otherwise known as a security measure for websites using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), is a critical ranking factor in 2018 and beyond.
Way back in 2014, Google first announced that HTTPS was a ranking signal.
Since then, data sets are showing the same results:
First page ranked content is dominated by HTTPS secured websites.
Thankfully, adding an SSL certificate to secure your website with 3dcart is incredibly easy.
They have an entire dedicated page of SSL deals on their website that instantly integrate on your site.
3 Apps Make Your Online Store More SEO Friendly
1. Google AMP
While not a direct app on the app store, 3dcart makes it easy for their ecommerce stores to implement Google AMP.
And they’ve proven that it works.
According to 3dcart, AMP can increase conversion rates by 105%, decrease bounces by 31%, and increase CTR from search by 29%.
Mobile speed is arguably more important than ever. Even a few seconds can increase bounce rates and ensure that traffic doesn’t result in sales.
Meanwhile, AMP provides a significant boost in speed and usability on small mobile devices, ensuring a better user experience and a better chance at closing sales.
To get AMP installed on your 3dcart store, follow their guide here.
2. AppNotch: Reach a Bigger Mobile Market
Mobile sites are great at selling for ecommerce.
But there is one glaring problem:
The majority of time on mobile is within applications, not browsers:
To be specific, 92% of time on mobile devices is consumed via apps, not browsers like Chrome or Safari.
To combat this, you need a mobile app version of your store.
One of the easiest ways to do so is via AppNotch, an app on 3dcart’s app store.
AppNotch converts your ecommerce store into a fully functioning, responsive mobile app to help you sell easier than ever before.
With key push notifications you can reach all of your customers with free messaging rather than spending marketing dollars to get them back to your mobile site.
AppNotch can help you expand your traffic potential and reach customers without spending money on marketing or fighting for inbox space.
3. Quick Cart: Prevent Cart Abandonment
Building an organic traffic following isn’t easy, as you surely know.
And nothing is worse than bringing in tons of organic traffic for them to leave without buying a single product.
Or worse: leaving it abandoned in their cart.
Cart abandonment can be devastating to an ecommerce business. Cart abandonment rates on average hover around 75%.
Fighting it is your best chance at converting more organic traffic that you worked so hard to get.
With Quick Cart, a free included app with 3dcart, you can circumvent cart abandonment by providing quick cart snapshots, preventing users from being taken away from their shopping experience by clicking on their cart:
Don’t let cart abandonment destroy your selling potential. Implement Quick Cart and deliver a better user experience.
Conclusion
3dcart is a lesser used platform than the likes of Shopify or BigCommerce, but it packs an SEO punch.
With diverse tool sets like AMP and Schema Markup built into the foundation, getting your site ranking high is easy compared to competitors.
Using the 3dcart tool set, optimize your products pages and category pages for shoppers. Create content that your customers want and align it with funnel stage keywords.
Optimize for mobile shoppers using the 3dcart page speed tool and consider securing your site with HTTPs for strong trust signals with Google.
If you feel like using apps, connect AMP, Analytics and AppNotch for a powerhouse of SEO data and optimization.
Put these to use and you’ll be driving more organic traffic than ever before.
Although its a hosted solution not sure it is considered a hosting platform, more like an ecommerce platform