subject: BigCartel (Search Engine Optimization) SEO [print this page] BigCartel (Search Engine Optimization) SEO
As an online ecommerce site, you are likely faced with a number of potentially dangerous hurdles. Designing your website, integrating eCommerce tools and optimizing your site for maximum visibility are just a few of those hurdles. If you are an artist, selling products like clothing, jewelry or art, the challenges can be even greater. Finding tools that can help you integrate your website, your product line and your artistic vision with optimization tactics and user friendly tools makes these challenges even harder. Big Cartel has stepped up and developed a line of eCommerce tools with the artist in mind. It is where art meets functionality. At Optimum7, we have worked with several BigCartel clients and we are very familiar with how this shopping cart system functions when it comes to SEO capabilities.
Set-Up
Their product focuses most of its energy towards creating a user-friendly environment for the business owner, making setup and basic functions simple and intuitive. Because the service is hosted, there is no need to worry about complicated set-up processes or tweaking of code to make the tools work for a particular businesses need. The software allows artists to put their efforts into designing new and creative projects, not making complicated coding changes.
Customization
Even with the simplicity of the set-up, Big Cartel is still customizable. For those users with little knowledge of web design, hundreds of prebuilt themes and templates are available. Still, custom code is available to allow those that wish to further customize the experience for their users.
Reporting
Big Cartel offers some degree of reporting and analytical data for tracking purposes. It doesn't focus on in-depth reporting, but for new storefront owners or those with small product lines, the reporting functions are adequate.
SEO
One of the most important aspects of developing an online store is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The hundreds of products and the impact they can have on an online businesses success often mean turning to professionals to ensure that websites are properly developed and optimized for search engines. Big Cartel has integrated some common SEO tasks to make this easier for online business owners. Big Cartel SEO focuses primarily on Google optimization by utilizing Google's guidelines. These include:
Proper headings
Clear and simple navigation
Search engine friendly and clean URLs
Unique meta tags and page titles
Valid XHTML markup
Additionally, Big Cartel SEO includes a help sections with suggested steps for further improving rankings through optimization.
The system does have one major drawback, a pretty severe limitation on the number of products the system will support; however, for artists looking for a unique solution to their eCommerce needs, Big Cartel offers a creative solution that has standard features, customization abilities and built in SEO.
Optimum7 understands the need for executing a custom SEO Strategy for even a shopping cart that seems to be a fully optimized such as BigCartel. As a store owner, you should keep in mind that the following has to be done for any successful SEO strategy aside from the functionalities of a shopping cart solution;
Keyword Research: This is a major element of SEO. Without identifying the accurate keywords to target, it's impossible to reach profitability in terms of traffic and conversions. This step is essential and should possibly be completed by a professional internet marketing company.
On-site Optimization: While most shopping carts give you the functionality of adding custom titles and meta tags, being able to add them correctly and efficiently is a different story. Make sure that this is done correctly and that you select the right format for your URLs for the most effective SEO results.
Off-site Optimization: No shopping cart system provides this service out of the box. Building an attractive ecommerce site with a lot of functionalities and products is not sufficient. You will actually need to market it and increase the popularity of your site. This can only be done by increasing the number of relevant backlinks as well as other marketing methods. (Shopping comparison, affiliate marketing etc.)
Conversion Optimization: How profitable are you? Which marketing mediums are generating the most amount of dollars? Could you do better? How's your checkout process functioning? The answers to all these questions rely on data, research, analysis and optimization.
Whether you are a new artist, just starting out or someone looking to expand their business, Big Cartel may be the ideal solution for you. This system can be successful even for artists with no understanding of the underlying principles of design and optimization.
Contact us if you need help with your SEO strategy for BigCartel. We are a professional SEO company that understands sales, profit margins and visibility. We can help.
