If there’s one thing that’s constant in the world of SEO it’s that it’s never constant. User behaviors are continuously evolving and search algorithms are always following suit. 2023 was a pivotal year for Artificial Intelligence (AI). We’ve seen a glimpse of the possibilities, and there’s no doubt that it’s causing a revolution in different industries, including ecommerce SEO marketing.
However, the use of AI is only one of the ecommerce trends of 2024. There are many other techniques and practices that are gaining favor among marketers for boosting search visibility and attracting high-intent organic traffic to websites. In this blog, we’ll take a look at these emerging trends and talk about how you can implement them onto your website to secure your spot at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Table of Contents
1. Leveraging AI for Ecommerce SEO
While there’s a lot of apprehension surrounding the rapid advancements in AI, it’s undoubtedly a powerful tool that can be used to supplement your store’s SEO marketing efforts. In fact, 30% of companies that have already begun using AI for marketing have seen a 6-10% increase in their revenue. This is why it’s among the top ecommerce trends of 2024.
AI technologies such as machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) can process large amounts of data and perform complex as well as mundane tasks faster than humans. However, its main advantage lies in its ability to use predictive analytics to offer invaluable real-time insights into consumer behavior and rising trends that you can use to make faster and smarter SEO decisions.
Here are a few ways you can use this 2024 ecommerce SEO trend for your store:
- Discover keywords, trending topics, and link-building opportunities
- Exploit content gaps that haven’t been covered by anyone yet
- Optimize content for keywords, links, user intent, and voice search
- Audit website for SEO issues such as duplicate content
Market Brew, Grammarly, Hemmingway, Atomic Reach, Frase, and BrightEdge are some AI-powered SEO tools you can check out and experiment with to make your ecommerce SEO efforts more efficient.
Important consideration: If you’re ready to utilize this 2024 ecommerce trend for content creation, one thing to keep in mind is that posting AI-written content can potentially negatively impact your SEO. Policies around AI-generated content continues to rapidly evolve, though at the time of writing Google’s search algorithm can identify AI-written content somewhat accurately and the company warns against relying on these tools too heavily as it could result in your content being considered spammy.
This largely depends on the effort put into the prompts that generated the AI content, and what level of human vetting for accuracy and revisions were involved. Using generative AI tools to produce content can be an excellent starting point, but it should not be your one-and-done shortcut solution. AI should only be used as an accessory and not as a substitute for human creativity.
2. Content With Unique Expertise
Our next ecommerce SEO trend of 2024 builds upon the previous point about human creativity in content creation. Google rolled out new changes to its Helpful Content Update in 2023, emphasizing the importance of creating genuinely helpful content that displays first-hand experience and offers unique subject matter expertise. Google also announced that search results will now display content from discussion forums, social media sites, comments, and lesser-known blogs that it deems as “hidden gems.”
This isn’t simply one of the 2024 ecommerce trends that may or may not be relevant in a few years. Rather, it’s a necessary update for offering a better search experience that Google has always strived to achieve.
Google is now placing more importance than ever on original creations such as user-generated content (UGC). This means you need to focus on creating people-first content that satisfies the user’s search intent, contains original insights from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and is still optimized with SEO best practices.
3. Mobile Optimization
Taking a mobile-first approach for your website is not among the new ecommerce trends of 2024. However, it requires a mention because of Google’s announcement in October 2023 declaring that the move to mobile-first indexing is now complete. This means that Google’s algorithm will now crawl, index, and rank sites from the perspective of a mobile user.
In fact, 91% of adults online shop using their smartphones, so if your ecommerce website isn’t mobile-friendly already, you can’t afford to delay it any longer. Providing an enhanced User Experience (UX) on mobile should be among your top priorities this year.
To comply with this ecommerce SEO trend of 2024, ensure your store has the following:
- A mobile-responsive, user-friendly design
- Fast loading speed
- Easily accessible navigation options
4. Omnichannel SEO Strategies
Oftentimes, consumers interact with a brand through multiple touchpoints before making a purchase. For example, someone might come across a reel you posted on Instagram about your product and might decide to visit your profile to learn more. Once their curiosity is piqued, they might visit your website next to find out more details before ultimately placing an order.
It could also be that they come across your website first through organic search. No matter where their journey begins, following omnichannel strategies is one ecommerce trend of 2024 you should implement to ensure a consistent experience for your customer on every channel. This includes mentioning your social media accounts on your website and vice versa, working on consistent branding, and having a unified keyword strategy across platforms.
5. Optimizing for Voice Search
Among ecommerce SEO trends of 2024, optimizing for voice search is one you should hop on as soon as possible. According to a survey, 62% of American adults use voice assistants such as Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa on their smart devices. Another study by Vixen Labs revealed that 58% of smartphone users in the US use voice search to discover new information about a product or service.
For most people, voice search is a much faster and more convenient search method than taking out their phones and typing on the narrow keyboard. It’s also much easier to say “Siri, reserve a table for two at Olive Garden for 7 PM today” than calling up the restaurant for a reservation or booking it online yourself.
So the question now is, how can you optimize your store for this 2024 ecommerce trend? The answer is to think like your customers. Identify common phrases and long-tail keywords that people might use while performing a voice search, and incorporate this kind of content on your website. You can also use natural language processing (NLP) algorithms for insights into your target audience’s search intent and queries.
6. Visual Search
If you have a picture of a lovely pair of shoes that you want but you don’t know where it’s from, you can simply use Google Lens or perform an image search to find exactly what you’re looking for. Visual search is one of those SEO trends of 2024 that many major brands such as Amazon, Target, and eBay started taking advantage of years ago.
More and more ecommerce stores are now adding this option to make searching for products easier than ever for their customers. If you’re not among these, it’s high time you add this feature because it not only gives your customers an innovative way to find what they’re looking for but also sends positive signals to search algorithms due to increased engagement and time spent on the website.
7. Augmented Reality
Offering an immersive shopping experience through augmented reality is another 2024 ecommerce trend you should follow to elevate your ecommerce website’s UX. By allowing your customers to virtually try on products or see how a certain something would look in their home, you’ll not only boost your sales but also encourage higher engagement which contributes to better SERP ranking.
8. User Privacy and Security
80% of adults globally feel concerned about their privacy online, especially with how widespread data collection and its misuse are these days. Considering the growing concerns about data privacy online, having a safe and secure website is non-negotiable, both for consumers and search engines. Ensure you’re safeguarding your customers’ data by taking measures to comply with all data protection regulations and securing your website with the best security measures. This will make customers more inclined to be loyal to your brand and will have a positive impact on your search ranking.
Get Help from Coalition Technologies’ SEO Experts
At Coalition Technologies, we’ve been executing data-driven SEO techniques and helping our clients bring their ecommerce sites into the top ranking positions of the SERPs for over a decade now. So, if you need help implementing any of these ecommerce SEO trends of 2024, we’re always happy to get on a call and come up with strategies tailored to your business. Take a look at our SEO case studies and book a consultation with us now!
