{"id":17177,"date":"2022-12-20T10:14:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-20T10:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/marketplace-seo\/474000\/"},"modified":"2022-12-20T10:14:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T10:14:59","slug":"marketplace-seo-a-guide-to-optimize-listings-via-sejournal-macuraa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/?p=17177","title":{"rendered":"Marketplace SEO: A Guide To Optimize Listings via @sejournal, @macuraa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Marketplace SEO is the same as trying to get visibility on search engines, there is no silver bullet that gets you there.<\/p>\n

Only those sites that invest in search engine optimization (SEO<\/a>) tend to reap the benefits.<\/p>\n

If you have an ecommerce site with products listed on it that are provided by third-party vendors, and your site brings the buyer and seller together (like Airbnb, Amazon, Etsy, and eBay), then we\u2019re off to a good start.<\/p>\n

You manage a marketplace website.<\/p>\n

If you want your site to rank well for free on Google, then, yes, this article is worth your while.<\/p>\n

What Is Marketplace SEO?<\/h2>\n

Marketplace SEO<\/a> involves optimizing product listings on ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Etsy to increase visibility and increase conversions.<\/p>\n

You can look at marketplace SEO as its own niched specialty, because marketplaces have challenges and opportunities, unlike traditional sites.<\/p>\n

As with \u201cnormal\u201d SEO, your marketplace SEO must have sound website architecture that falls in line with SEO best practices, as well as on and off-page SEO strategies to ensure your page or product ranks highest.<\/p>\n

Is this possible? Yes.<\/p>\n

Is this easy? Not at all.<\/p>\n

It is focused work, it is deliberate, and it is not a once-off exercise.<\/p>\n

However, it is likely your competitors are not putting in the work, so the dividends are tremendous if you do.<\/p>\n

As with all things digital marketing, your Marketplace SEO strategy should form part of a well-constructed, multi-channel, full-funnel marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

You cannot expect your SEO to pull all your growth KPIs (key performance indicators)<\/p>\n

However, it can definitely help!<\/p>\n

How Is Marketplace SEO Different From Ecommerce SEO?<\/h2>\n

There are a lot of overlaps when it comes to comparing marketplace SEO with \u201cnormal\u201d SEO.<\/p>\n

For similarities, your marketplace site ranks for \u201cfree} on Google (as opposed to your paid search campaigns or display campaigns<\/a>).<\/p>\n

For another, the goal is to rank well. This is so that you have more brand visibility at every stage of the buyer journey, and that you drive traffic to your site.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where the similarities end.<\/p>\n

Where the goal with traditional SEO is to create content that answers the search query so that the site is found on the search engine results page (SERP), with marketplace SEO, the goal is to optimize for commercial intent.<\/p>\n

In other words, to be found when someone is most likely to purchase.<\/p>\n

For example, if you search in Google \u201cthe best outfits for a year end dinner\u201d you\u2019ll get articles and blogs in the first few positions.<\/p>\n

If you search \u201clittle black dress online\u201d you\u2019ll find marketplace results, where third-party suppliers sell their wares.<\/p>\n

Clearly, these sites have put in the effort to optimize for organic search.<\/p>\n

However, when compared with ecommerce sites, marketplace SEO specialists have several challenges that their ecommerce counterparts don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

For one, the marketplace site typically has way more products than the single shop-front ecommerce store. This makes optimizing a time-consuming, ongoing project.<\/p>\n

For another, the ecommerce store has full control over stock, product listing quality, images, descriptions, etc.<\/p>\n

Often, third-party vendors mistakenly upload products multiple times, or use confusing URL structures or naming conventions.<\/p>\n

For this reason, marketplace sites need constant control, monitoring, and strict onboarding processes for vendors.<\/p>\n

Tips To Optimize Marketplace Listings<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve come to the meat and potatoes of the article.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to optimize your marketplace website to rank well on Google, Bing, and anywhere else you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

1. Like Hansel And Gretel, Use Breadcrumbs<\/h3>\n

Breadcrumbs are a vital part of clear, easy-to-use navigation on every website.<\/p>\n

Breadcrumbs not only help improve your users\u2019 experience on the site and help them find their way around through categories and subcategories, but the cohesive product path also helps bots crawl the site.<\/p>\n

More than helpful navigation and ease of category location for people and Google bots, breadcrumbs are also shown in the SERP so that users can see where the page is situated on your site.<\/p>\n

2. Schema Markup Is A Must<\/h3>\n

Schema markup is a bit of a \u2018cheat sheet\u2019 for search engines to help them identify what your web content is about.<\/p>\n

See it as a label on a box that tells the person what\u2019s in the box, in a room full of white, unlabelled boxes. It helps!<\/p>\n

Schema markup, structured data, and snippets improve site indexing<\/a>, and also gives marketplace sites the opportunity to show more information on the SERP.<\/p>\n

For example, you can show product reviews, product details, and breadcrumbs.<\/p>\n

Probably the most important schema markup to use to gain product visibility is product structured data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This allows you to list or show various aspects of the product in the SERP:<\/p>\n