Are you looking to optimize your BigCommerce website for search engines? Look no further! In this article, we will explore the world of BigCommerce SEO and provide you with solutions to common problems. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced e-commerce business owner, this guide will help you improve your website’s visibility and drive more organic traffic. Let’s dive in!

• Learn what SEO in e-commerce is all about
• Understand the importance of BigCommerce SEO
• Discover common problems faced in BigCommerce SEO
• Find solutions for lack of SEO support, documentation, and tutorials
• Explore ways to improve blog functionality on BigCommerce
• Implement alternative methods for canonical settings
• Optimize site speed, create a dev site, and implement quality assurance testing
• Recap the importance of ongoing SEO efforts on BigCommerce

BigCommerce SEO Problems

While BigCommerce is a popular e-commerce solution, it does come with its fair share of SEO problems. In this section, we will discuss some of the common issues that BigCommerce users face and provide solutions to overcome them. Let’s dive in!

Lack of SEO Support, Documentation, and Tutorials

One of the major drawbacks of BigCommerce is the lack of comprehensive SEO support, documentation, and tutorials. As an SEO professional, it can be frustrating to navigate through the platform without proper guidance. Unlike other e-commerce platforms, BigCommerce falls short in providing useful material for website owners looking to make SEO adjustments.

Without proper support, it becomes challenging to implement even the most basic SEO techniques. This can hinder your efforts to improve your store’s visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). While there are external resources available, it would be more beneficial for BigCommerce to provide in-depth documentation and tutorials to assist website owners in their SEO journey.

Restricted Blog Functionality

Another common problem with BigCommerce is the restricted functionality of its built-in blog feature. While having a blog is essential for driving organic traffic and conversions, BigCommerce’s blog lacks some essential features that can enhance its SEO capabilities.

Firstly, BigCommerce automatically launches the blog on a subdomain, which is not ideal for SEO. Search engines treat subdomains as separate entities, which means the organic value of your blog won’t contribute to the credibility of your main domain. Ideally, the blog should be set up as a folder within your main domain to maximize its SEO potential.

Additionally, the blog functionality lacks integrated call-to-action (CTA) and conversion rate optimization (CRO) tools. These tools, such as the ability to add buttons and modules for related products, are crucial for driving organic traffic and conversions. Unfortunately, making fundamental changes to the blog format through coding can be complex and time-consuming, especially due to the limitations of BigCommerce’s themes.

Lack of Canonical Settings

Canonical URLs play a vital role in SEO by indicating the preferred version of a webpage to search engines. Many shopping cart systems, including BigCommerce’s competitors, offer the option to create canonical URLs for brands and categories. However, BigCommerce makes it challenging to implement canonical settings without directly modifying the theme files.

This lack of a simple SEO feature has been a long-standing request from BigCommerce users. While workarounds exist, they often require additional costs or technical expertise. It would greatly benefit BigCommerce to incorporate an easy-to-use canonical settings feature, allowing website owners to optimize their site structure and improve their SEO efforts.

Now that we’ve explored some of the common SEO problems with BigCommerce, let’s move on to the solutions in the next section.

Slow Site Speed

Site speed is a crucial factor in both user experience and search engine rankings. Unfortunately, BigCommerce websites tend to be slower compared to other e-commerce platforms. This can negatively impact your SEO efforts and result in a higher bounce rate.

Improving site speed on BigCommerce requires careful optimization of various elements, such as image sizes, code minification, and caching. However, due to the platform’s structure, making these improvements can be challenging and time-consuming for developers.

To address this issue, consider working with a developer who specializes in BigCommerce optimization. They can help identify and implement the necessary changes to improve your site’s speed. Additionally, regularly monitoring your website’s performance and making necessary adjustments can help ensure optimal site speed.

Lack of Dev Site and Staging Environment

A development site and staging environment are essential for testing and making changes to your BigCommerce website without affecting the live version. Unfortunately, BigCommerce does not provide a convenient way to create a dev site or staging environment.

Without a dev site or staging environment, making changes to your website becomes riskier. Any mistakes or issues can become visible to the public before they are properly tested. This can harm your SEO efforts and user experience.

One workaround is to work with a BigCommerce-partnered digital agency that can set up a staging environment for you. This allows you to test new designs, campaigns, and changes in a controlled environment before deploying them to your live site. However, this option may not be feasible for all merchants.

Alternatively, you can use a website crawler to regularly crawl your website and identify any new issues or problems. This can help you catch and fix any SEO-related issues before they impact your site’s performance.

Quality Assurance Testing

Quality assurance (QA) testing is crucial for ensuring your BigCommerce website is free from faults and defects that can negatively impact SEO. However, BigCommerce’s lack of a staging environment makes QA testing more challenging.

Without a staging environment, changes made to your website are published immediately without proper testing. This means any mistakes or issues become visible to the public, potentially harming your SEO efforts and user experience.

While there are a few workarounds available, such as using a BigCommerce-partnered digital agency or a staging app from the BigCommerce app store, these options may not be accessible to all merchants due to cost or other limitations.

To overcome this challenge, it’s important to closely monitor your website and conduct regular QA testing, even if changes are already live. This can help identify and fix any issues promptly, ensuring your website remains optimized for SEO.

In the next section, we will explore solutions to these BigCommerce SEO problems. Stay tuned!

Solutions for BigCommerce SEO Problems

Workarounds for Lack of SEO Support

While BigCommerce may lack comprehensive SEO support, there are workarounds that can help you overcome this challenge. Firstly, consider joining online forums and communities where BigCommerce users share their experiences and solutions. These platforms can provide valuable insights and guidance on optimizing your BigCommerce website for SEO.

Additionally, explore external resources such as SEO blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels that specialize in e-commerce SEO. These sources often provide step-by-step tutorials and best practices that you can apply to your BigCommerce website.

Lastly, consider hiring an SEO consultant or agency with experience in BigCommerce. They can provide personalized guidance and support tailored to your specific SEO needs. While this may involve additional costs, the expertise and knowledge they bring can greatly benefit your website’s SEO performance.

Improving Blog Functionality

To enhance the SEO capabilities of your BigCommerce blog, there are several steps you can take. Firstly, consider setting up your blog as a folder within your main domain, rather than a subdomain. This allows the organic value of your blog to contribute to the credibility of your main domain, improving your overall SEO performance.

Next, explore third-party apps and plugins that offer additional CTA and CRO tools for your blog. These tools can help drive organic traffic and conversions by adding buttons, related product modules, and other interactive elements to your blog posts.

If you have coding knowledge or access to a developer, consider making custom changes to your blog’s format. This can involve modifying the theme files to better align with your SEO goals. However, keep in mind that these changes may require more time and resources compared to using built-in features.

Alternative Methods for Canonical Settings

While BigCommerce may not offer a simple way to implement canonical settings, there are alternative methods you can explore. One option is to directly modify the theme files to include canonical tags for brands and categories. This requires technical expertise or assistance from a developer.

Another workaround is to use third-party apps or plugins that offer canonical URL functionality. These tools can simplify the process of creating and managing canonical URLs on your BigCommerce website.

Lastly, consider regularly monitoring your website’s URL structure and implementing manual redirects when necessary. This can help ensure that search engines understand the preferred version of your webpages, improving your SEO performance.

In the next section, we will continue exploring solutions to more BigCommerce SEO problems. Stay tuned!

Solutions for More BigCommerce SEO Problems

Optimizing Site Speed on BigCommerce

Site speed is a crucial factor in both user experience and search engine rankings. To optimize site speed on BigCommerce, there are several steps you can take. Firstly, optimize your images by compressing them without compromising quality. Large image files can significantly slow down your website’s loading time. Additionally, enable caching on your website to store static files and reduce the need for repeated requests to the server.

Another way to improve site speed is by minifying your website’s code. This involves removing unnecessary characters, spaces, and line breaks from your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. Minifying your code reduces file sizes and improves loading times. Consider using a minification tool or plugin to automate this process.

Lastly, consider using a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute your website’s content across multiple servers worldwide. CDNs store cached versions of your website’s files in various locations, allowing users to access them from the server closest to their geographic location. This reduces latency and improves site speed for users across the globe.

Creating a Dev Site and Staging Environment

A development site and staging environment are essential for testing and making changes to your BigCommerce website without affecting the live version. While BigCommerce does not provide a built-in solution for creating a dev site or staging environment, there are alternative methods you can explore.

One option is to create a subdomain or subdirectory on your hosting server and replicate your live website onto it. This allows you to make changes and test new features without impacting your live site. However, keep in mind that this method requires technical expertise and careful configuration to ensure proper synchronization between the dev site and live site.

Another option is to use third-party tools or platforms that offer dev site and staging environment functionalities specifically for BigCommerce. These tools provide a user-friendly interface for creating and managing dev sites, allowing you to test changes and updates before deploying them to your live site.

Implementing Quality Assurance Testing

Quality assurance (QA) testing is crucial for ensuring your BigCommerce website is free from faults and defects that can negatively impact SEO. While BigCommerce’s lack of a staging environment makes QA testing more challenging, there are still steps you can take to implement effective QA processes.

Firstly, conduct thorough manual testing of your website’s functionality, including links, forms, and interactive elements. Test your website on different devices and browsers to ensure compatibility and responsiveness. Document any issues or bugs you encounter and work with your development team to address them promptly.

Additionally, consider using automated testing tools to streamline the QA process. These tools can help identify potential issues, such as broken links or missing meta tags, and provide detailed reports for easy troubleshooting. Regularly schedule automated tests to ensure ongoing quality assurance.

Importance of Ongoing SEO Efforts on BigCommerce

It’s important to remember that SEO is an ongoing process, and your efforts should not stop after implementing solutions to the identified problems. Continuously optimizing your BigCommerce website for search engines will help improve its visibility, drive organic traffic, and ultimately increase conversions and sales.

Stay up to date with the latest SEO trends and algorithm changes, regularly monitor your website’s performance, and adapt your strategies accordingly. Keep creating high-quality, relevant content, optimize your product descriptions and metadata, and build a strong internal link structure.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, BigCommerce SEO presents several challenges, including lack of support, restricted blog functionality, and missing canonical settings. However, with the right solutions, such as leveraging third-party tools, integrating dedicated blogging platforms, and implementing manual optimizations, you can overcome these problems and improve your website’s SEO performance.

Remember, ongoing SEO efforts are crucial for the success of your BigCommerce store. Continuously monitor and optimize your website, stay updated with the latest SEO trends, and focus on providing valuable content to attract and engage your target audience. By prioritizing SEO, you can drive organic traffic, increase conversions, and achieve long-term success in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

Discover our database of knowledge, check out our latest article: Staying Updated with BigCommerce SEO: Changes, Trends, and Future Predictions