An In-depth Guide on How to Rank for Product Names

Why Do Rankings Matter?

It’s estimated that 93% of online journeys begin with a search engine, so it’s highly likely that users will search for product names via Google, Bing, or another search engine when they’re actively planning to make a purchase.  Equally, more than 53% of all internet traffic is organic, thus making SEO vital to getting your brand out there.

By ranking highly for product names, users will see and click on links to your web pages when they are searching for related content. This gives you the opportunity to convert them into sales via engaging landing pages and high-quality content. 

Furthermore, achieving high rankings for product names allows you to outrank your competitors, which effectively takes traffic away from their website and directs it to yours. So, if you want to grow your online store and secure a bigger share of the market, SEO for your eCommerce product pages should be a top priority! 

What Is Product Page SEO?

Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to a variety of methods that can be used to increase your SERP rankings. Product page SEO is simply a more specific focus on making sure that you rank highly for particular product names. 

If you have an eCommerce website that sells sneakers, for example, you may want to rank highly generic keywords, such as:

• Nike sneakers mens
• Adidas Originals women’s sneakers
• Kids New Balance running shoes

However, it’s also important to rank for specific product names, such as:

• Nike Air Max Plus 3
• Adidas Originals Superstar
• New Balance M1906DC

So, product page SEO is simply using your inventory as target keywords, so that your web pages rank for product names that are relevant to your product range. By using SEO product names to rank for the products you sell, you can ensure that users are directed to your website when they’re searching for a particular make or model of a product. 

Getting Your Products Ranked: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now you know what product page SEO is and why it’s important, it’s time to start optimizing your web pages for high product name rankings. To do this, you’ll need to undertake a variety of tasks that encompass:

• On-page SEO
• Off-page SEO
• Technical SEO

1. Keyword Research

If you want to rank for specific product names, it makes sense to choose these product names as your target keywords. However, it’s still worth conducting keyword research before you create your SEO strategy. After all, there is little point in ranking for a product name if no one is searching for it!

By conducting keyword research, you can confirm the search volume for the product names in your inventory and decide which ones you most want to rank for. Then, you’ll have a list of high-priority keywords that form the basis of your product page SEO strategy.

2. Optimize Product Descriptions

As well as incorporating target keywords into your on-page content, ensure that each product description is unique and provides valuable information about the product. Avoid using generic descriptions provided by manufacturers. Instead, highlight the unique features, benefits, and uses of the product. Engage your audience by crafting compelling copy that showcases the value proposition and entices potential buyers.

Additionally, make sure to break down your product descriptions into easily scannable sections with clear headings (H1, H2, H3 etc.) and bullet points. This both improves readability and makes it easier for search engines to understand the structure of your content

With user-focused Google algorithm updates – such as the Helpful Content update – becoming increasingly common, unique, relevant, and well-formatted content is more important than ever.

3. Optimize URLs

The URL of each web page can impact your search engine rankings. So, it’s important to keep it concise and include your target keyword within the URL of the page you want to appear on SERPs. 

If you have a product page for ‘Nike Air Max Plus’ sneakers and you want this page to rank for the product name, for example, then you might choose a URL like this:

https://www.best-shoes.com/sneakers/nike-air-max-plus

4. Add Product Names to Meta Tags & Descriptions

Meta information helps tell search engines what a web page is all about, which is why it can impact your rankings. Moreover, a page’s meta title and meta description is visible on search engine results pages, so it can have an impact on click-through rates too. 

Be sure to include the product name you want a page to rank for in its meta title and meta description and make these meta elements as compelling and persuasive as possible so that users are encouraged to click on them.

5. Use Schema Markup for Descriptions

As every eCommerce website owner knows, displaying accurate product descriptions is essential. As well as providing customers with key product information, detailed descriptions help to tell Google and other search engines what the page is about. 

However, you should use a recognizable format – like schema markup – when preparing your online product descriptions. This is a form of structured data that ensures product descriptions are consistent when indexed, crawled, and displayed via search engines and enables important product info to be displayed alongside results on SERPs. It typically contains information that is useful to users who are considering making a purchase, such as:

• Price
• Availability
• Images
• Description
• Review rating

While schema markup may sound complicated at first, it’s not as complex as you might think. By integrating it into your website via a snippet of HTML code, you can ensure that detailed product information is used to help boost your product name rankings and entices users to click on the link to your site when it appears on SERPs.

6. Publish Visual Content

The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than it processes text, which is one of the reasons why visual content is so important online. When you’re selling products online, it’s even more important to include high-quality visuals on your web pages so users can see exactly what they’re purchasing before they add an item to their basket. 

As part of your digital marketing strategy, be sure to publish eye-catching visual content on your product landing pages. If you’re targeting a specific keyword, such as, ‘Adidas Originals Superstar’, use it in the image name, image description, and alt text.

You should assign descriptive file names and alt tags to your images, including relevant keywords that accurately describe the image content. This helps search engines understand the context of your images and improves their discoverability in image searches.

Pro Tip: Balancing Image Quality with Website Performance

High-quality product images are the centrepiece of any product page. So, it’s extremely important to maintain high-quality images without sacrificing page speed and performance for big file sizes. Finding the right balance ensures that your website offers a great user experience (UX) while also being search engine friendly.

To strike the sweet spot between image quality and search engine ooptimization, consider the following best practices:

• Choose the right image format: Use appropriate image formats such as JPEG, PNG, or WebP based on the image content and level of detail required. JPEG is suitable for photographs, while PNG is ideal for graphics and transparent images. WebP, a newer format, offers both high-quality and smaller file sizes.
• Compress images: Utilize image compression techniques to reduce file sizes without noticeable loss in quality. There are various online tools and plugins available that can automatically compress images during upload or as a bulk process.
• Leverage lazy loading: Implement lazy loading, which loads images only when they come into view, reducing the initial page load time. This technique improves page speed while still delivering high-quality images when users scroll to the relevant sections.

7. Use Internal Links

Internal links are hyperlinks that connect one page of a website to another page within the same website. Internal links are crucial for SEO because they play a vital role in website navigation, user experience, and search engine crawling and indexing. 

By linking relevant pages within a website, internal links help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of the site, enabling them to effectively crawl and index its content. These links also provide clear pathways for users to navigate through the site, thus reducing bounce rates. 

These links will also distribute link equity and authority throughout the site, helping to establish the importance and relevance of specific pages in the eyes of search engines. It is, therefore, particularly important that you ensure you have internal links pointing towards your important product pages.

When you use your target product name as the basis for a link, for example, it can help to increase your rankings for the target keyword. If you have a product page for ‘New Balance M1906DC’ sneakers, for example, mentioning this style in a blog post and linking to the product page via the anchor text, ‘New Balance M1906DC’, will help you in your quest for high rankings.

8. Enhance Technical Performance

All types of search engine optimization rely on good technical performance to achieve high rankings. In fact, it’s so important that it’s become its own sub-genre, known as ‘technical SEO’. While this isn’t specific to SEO for product pages, it’s essential if you want to boost your online visibility.

While technical SEO encompasses a variety of factors, you can boost the technical performance of your website (and your rankings) by:

• Increasing page speeds
• Using HTTPS
• Compressing images
• Making your site indexable and crawlable
• Enhancing mobile-friendliness

9. Secure High-Quality Backlinks

Backlinks are a form of off-page SEO that can have a noticeable impact on your SERP rankings. When other reputable websites link to your web pages, it reinforces the quality of your site in the eyes of search engines. As a result, they are more likely to display your web pages in high-ranking positions when users search for relevant terms.

While a large number of backlinks is advantageous, quality really is more important than quantity. By securing guest post opportunities, optimizing your Google Business Profile, and securing external PR coverage, you can generate backlinks that drive traffic directly to your products and push these page rankings even higher.