So you launched your eCommerce website, let’s say, a year ago, and traffic just isn’t what you expected. Or, maybe you’ve been running your site for years, and traffic is stagnating.
In both cases, you’ve probably tried to make a number of changes to your website yourself, but time and lack of know-how in eCommerce SEO is getting in your way.
At this point, it’s time to rely on professionals and hire an eCommerce SEO agency. Why? Hiring an agency that can effectively develop strategies with a unique understanding of eCommerce websites and how they work can significantly increase your organic traffic and conversion rates.
CTA: Integricare saw an 800% organic traffic increase from 2020-2021 through Sōvyn’s Hypercontent SEO strategy, resulting in a 78% increase in conversions attributed to organic traffic. Learn more.
With more people shopping online than ever before and more brick-and-mortar retailers shifting their business to eCommerce, competition is becoming more fierce.
If you run an eCommerce business and haven’t taken advantage of what an eCommerce SEO agency can offer you, now is the time.
There are multiple benefits that you can gain for your online business by working with an eCommerce SEO agency:
An eCommerce SEO agency can bring the experience and expertise you need to fill in the gaps in your marketing team—whether it’s executing work that your team doesn’t have the time or resources to perform or looking at your marketing strategies with fresh eyes.
Hiring an eCommerce SEO agency is more cost-effective than employing a full in-house team if you don't already have an in-house marketing team. Instead of worrying about an annual salary, vacation, training, and benefits for multiple staff members, which can quickly add up to several hundred thousand dollars, you can instead put that money towards hiring an agency that already has the experts ready to work.
Because eCommerce SEO agencies are often experienced with working with different types of businesses in multiple industries, they can quickly understand your needs and build strategies to fulfill them. The more clients they’ve worked with, the better their internal processes will be—meaning they can produce high-quality work on time and on-budget.
The world of digital marketing moves fast. Keeping up with the latest Google algorithm changes that could affect your website traffic or understanding the shifts in SEO best practices can be a full-time job in and of itself. Because it’s in the best interest of an eCommerce SEO agency to be as up-to-date as possible with the latest marketing trends, they’ll always have the latest tools and strategies ready for action.
A good agency knows the value of a long-term client relationship. Helping you achieve the results you’re expecting reflects well on the agency in addition to helping you. By maintaining a good working relationship with each other, you and the agency end up in a win-win situation.
There are a wide variety of eCommerce SEO services that agencies can offer to help you realize your SEO goals. Here are the main ones outlined in the table below:
|
eCommerce SEO Service |
What it is/How it Helps |
|
Content audit |
|
|
Website audit |
|
|
Keyword research |
|
|
Customer research and persona development |
|
|
Vetting different SEO marketing agencies to determine which is the best one to go with can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to start. While there are a lot of excellent agencies out there, separating them from the con artists (so you don’t waste your time) can be tough.
Thankfully, you can take several preliminary steps to vet an SEO agency for eCommerce before you contact them, and then if they seem to fit the bill, we’ve also provided some questions you can ask them in a discovery call.
Read reviews on websites like Upcity, Yelp, Google, Facebook, and Clutch.io to get a baseline for the agency’s online reputation. Be sure to read reviews that span the full range of ratings to gain insight into what past clients are saying and better gauge what working with the agency would be like.
Any agency that’s helped a client meet their goals will want to showcase that story on their website or social media channels. Look for case studies or examples of their past work to understand the types of clients that approached them, what problems those clients needed solving, and how the agency approached solving those problems.
Different agencies may have different approaches to executing eCommerce SEO strategy, but their team should be able to speak confidently about their processes and tools. They should also have an easy-to-understand process regarding what SEO techniques they use, responsibilities for deliverables, and general timelines for each process stage.
You may want to ask the SEO agency for eCommerce to break down the steps they take for different SEO services, such as:
If an eCommerce SEO agency (or any marketing agency) says that they’ll get your website to the “top of Google search results” in a short period of time—let’s say a week—or otherwise guarantee high rankings, that’s big red flag.
First of all, organic SEO is a long-term strategy. A website can take three months to a year to see results from an organic content strategy. Secondly, an agency has no control over what the Google algorithm, or any other search engine’s algorithm, decides to display as the top result for a keyword. These results can also change daily. While it’s technically possible to see short-term gains with SEO, it’s not usual, so be aware when too-good-to-be-true promises are made.
Another consideration before hiring an eCommerce SEO agency is their communication methods and transparency about their progress. Sōvyn, for example, primarily uses Slack to communicate with clients (but we can also use email), and we provide regular updates about the progress of the projects we’re executing for you. Each client also gets a dedicated project manager who provides full timelines of when deliverables are expected and acts as a central point of contact for any questions or concerns.
Reputable eCommerce SEO agencies will provide regular reports that they send out to clients to showcase the progress of an SEO strategy. These reports could be created using tools like Google Analytics or other SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs. You should ask about the metrics the eCommerce SEO agency uses in their reports and what those metrics mean if they aren’t clear.
Typical SEO report metrics include:
At this point, you’re probably asking yourself the big question: “How much will eCommerce SEO services cost me?” And while every agency will offer a different rate, we can give you some insight into what you can expect.
The table below outlines some of the factors that can affect the cost of the eCommerce SEO services you may need:
|
Factors Affecting the Cost of SEO |
Reasoning |
|
The current state of your website’s technical foundation and speed |
|
|
Existing visibility on organic search |
|
|
Existing brand awareness and exposure |
|
|
Business goals and objectives |
|
|
Level of expertise in your industry or niche |
|
There are a variety of pricing models that eCommerce SEO agencies will offer, depending on the work you need. Here is a breakdown of the most common ones:
Finding the best eCommerce SEO agency for your business does require some research and probably a few discovery calls, but we’ve compiled a list of recommendations to help you narrow down your search:
Sōvyn is a team of marketing experts, website development professionals, and project managers that are focused on your business’s SEO success. We’re about more than just finding the right keywords (though we do that, too), we’re about connecting with and building relationships with our clients to help them grow and reach their goals.
We understand that each of our eCommerce clients is unique, so we take the time to learn about their business, create strategies that address their needs, and help them meet their goals.
One of our long-time eCommerce clients, Integricare, originally approached us because although they are a thriving business with over 20 years of selling pet and equine joint supplements, they needed a new approach to attract new customers.
After only a year of working with us, we were able to help Integricare:
Read the entire Integricare case study.
Based out of sunny Los Angeles, California, Coalition is a well-known digital marketing and SEO firm in the United States specializing in eCommerce. They have over a decade of experience in helping eCommerce businesses generate qualified leads and increase organic traffic and revenue.
With over 700 case studies across the fashion, food and beverage, legal, and industrial industries, and many positive reviews, Coalition is worth the time and effort to check out, even if it’s just to take advantage of their free proposal offer.
Based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba (home of majestic polar bears and GIANT mosquitos), Andrich Media may be a smaller agency—but that just means closer working relationships and better communication. The agency mainly focuses on web design, SEO, and web hosting. Their goal is to develop engaging websites, then drive traffic to them so those businesses can enjoy increased revenue. Simple, but effective!
Oh, and they’ve even done work for the legendary Canadian children’s show personality Fred Penner—so much fun!
Based out of Toronto, Ontario, Kinex Media has ample experience with eCommerce website development, SEO, advertising, and more. The agency’s main focus is eCommerce, and their specialty is providing “customized solutions that deliver results” for their clients.
With big clients like Staples, Catelli, Caterpillar, and more, it’s clear that Kinex Media can handle big eCommerce websites that offer a variety of products and services.
Growing and developing your eCommerce website effectively means that sometimes you need to reach out for help. As an expert eCommerce SEO agency consisting of talented professionals, Sōvyn can help you get your eCommerce website to where it needs to be. Reach out to us today to book a discovery call.