SEO for BigCommerce web shops

BigCommerce is known as a powerful and user-friendly e-commerce platform that enables entrepreneurs and businesses to create and manage an online store. With a wide range of built-in features and customization options, BigCommerce provides a solid foundation for businesses of all sizes to grow online.

One of BigCommerce’s strengths is its focus on SEO, which allows web shops to be found better by search engines and thus generate more traffic and sales. In this article I will tell you all about SEO optimization for BigCommerce webshops .

Basic settings for SEO in BigCommerce

Optimizing your BigCommerce shop for search engines starts with setting up basic SEO and URL configurations:

  • Title and meta tags: BigCommerce makes it easy to customize title and meta-description tags for your homepage, product pages, category pages and more through the control panel. It is essential to use relevant keywords and compelling descriptions that can increase clickthrough rates in search results.
  • Customizable URL Structures: The platform allows you to use SEO-friendly URLs, which is crucial for both user experience and search engine optimization. Go to ‘Store Setup’ > ‘Store Settings’ and navigate to the ‘URL Structure’ tab to customize your URL settings.

What are good extensions for SEO in BigCommerce?

To further improve the SEO performance of your BigCommerce shop, you can use various extensions available in the BigCommerce Marketplace:

  • FavSEO: A comprehensive SEO tool that helps you optimize your product and category pages with keyword recommendations and content optimization.
  • SEO Doctor: This app automates many of the time-consuming SEO tasks, such as generating meta tags, improving page load speed, and identifying and fixing broken links.
  • Plug in SEO: Provides easy solutions to common SEO issues within your BigCommerce webshop, including control of page titles, meta-descriptions, and content structure.

These tools can contribute significantly to improving your SEO efforts on BigCommerce, making your shop more findable and generating more traffic and conversions. Using the right extensions, along with accurately configuring basic SEO settings, provides the foundation for a successful SEO strategy on BigCommerce.

Read more about SEO within the largest CMSes

I wrote an article on optimizing SEO for all the major platforms that websites are built on. Check out the full list below and read on.

Product page optimization in BigCommerce

In BigCommerce, optimizing product pages is crucial for SEO success. Here are some specific steps to achieve this:

  • Product titles: Make sure each product title is clear and descriptive, including important keywords that potential buyers might use in their searches. BigCommerce allows you to set unique titles for each product that are displayed in both the Web shop and the pages HTML title.
  • Product descriptions: Write detailed and keyword-rich product descriptions. BigCommerce provides a WYSIWYG editor for adding rich, formatted text to product descriptions, making it easy to create both readable and SEO-friendly content.
  • Images: Optimize images by using relevant file names and alt texts, both of which contain keywords. In BigCommerce, you can specify a specific alt text for each image, which helps improve the SEO of the images.

Using rich snippets and schema markup in BigCommerce

Rich snippets improve how your product pages display in search results by showing additional information such as reviews, prices and inventory status:

  • Product reviews: With schema markup, customer reviews can be displayed prominently in search results, which can increase trust in your products.
  • Prices and availability: Showing prices and availability directly in search results can help potential customers make faster decisions, which can increase the click rate to your online store.

How do you add schema markup in BigCommerce?

BigCommerce makes adding schema markup to your site relatively easy by automatically embedding certain schemas on product pages. However, for more advanced customizations or additions, you can:

  • Using Stencil CLI: For themes built with Stencil, you can use the Stencil CLI tool to modify your theme’s source files and add additional schema markup.
  • Apps and extensions: Consider using apps from the BigCommerce Marketplace that are designed to improve SEO by making it easier to add custom schema markup.

By following these SEO practices, you can significantly improve the visibility and attractiveness of your BigCommerce webshop in search engine results, leading to more traffic and ultimately more sales.

Speed and mobile optimization for BigCommerce

Load speed is crucial to the SEO and user experience of any BigCommerce webshop. Faster websites not only rank higher in search engine results, but also reduce bounce rates, as visitors are less likely to click away from a fast-loading site. Google uses page speed as a ranking factor, especially for mobile searches, which emphasizes the urgency of optimizing your BigCommerce site for speed.

What extensions are possible for page speed optimization in BigCommerce?

BigCommerce offers several built-in tools and extensions to improve the speed of your shop:

  • Image Optimizer: This built-in feature in BigCommerce helps reduce the size of images without losing quality, which is crucial for faster load times.
  • Google AMP: BigCommerce supports Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for product pages, allowing mobile users to load content faster.
  • CDN Usage: BigCommerce uses a Content Delivery Network (CDN) by default, which improves load times worldwide by loading content from servers close to the user.

Tips for optimizing your BigCommerce Webshop for mobile devices

  • Responsive design: Make sure your theme is responsive. BigCommerce themes are generally optimized for mobile devices, but it is important to test this and ensure a seamless shopping experience across all devices.
  • Minimize the use of plug-ins: While plug-ins can add functionality, they can also affect speed. Use only necessary plug-ins and regularly assess whether all installed plug-ins are still needed.
  • Avoid large image files: Use optimized images to reduce load times. Tools such as Photoshop or online compression tools can help reduce file size without visible loss of quality.

How do you install Google Analytics in a BigCommerce Webshop?

Integrating Google Analytics into your BigCommerce webshop provides valuable insights into your visitors’ behavior and your site’s performance. Here’s how to set it up:

  1. Create a Google Analytics account: If you do not already have a Google Analytics account, go to the Google Analytics website and follow the steps to create a new account.
  2. Obtain your Tracking ID: After creating your account and property for your shop, Google will provide a unique tracking ID that begins with ‘UA-‘.
  3. Enter the Tracking ID in BigCommerce: Log in to your BigCommerce admin panel, go to ‘Advanced Settings’ > ‘Web Analytics’ and check the ‘Google Analytics’ box. Next, paste your tracking ID into the field that appears.
  4. Enable eCommerce tracking: For deeper insights into sales performance, return to your Google Analytics account, select ‘Admin’ and navigate to ‘E-commerce Settings’ under the appropriate property to enable eCommerce tracking.

By following these steps, you can significantly improve the SEO performance of your BigCommerce webshop by focusing on speed optimization and mobile usability, while Google Analytics provides valuable insights to further refine your SEO strategy.

How to install the Google Tag Manager in a BigCommerce webshop?

Integrating Google Tag Manager (GTM) into a BigCommerce webshop allows you to manage various tracking codes and marketing tags without having to make direct changes to the site code. Follow these steps to install GTM:

  1. Create a GTM account: Visit the Google Tag Manager website and create a new account if you don’t already have one. Follow the instructions to create a new container for your shop, and choose ‘Web’ as the platform.
  2. Get the GTM code: After creating your container, GTM will give you two snippets of code. You will need to add these codes to your BigCommerce webshop.
  3. Add the GTM code to BigCommerce: Login to your BigCommerce admin panel and navigate to ‘Storefront’ > ‘Script Manager’. Create a new script named ‘Google Tag Manager’ and add the first snippet of code in the ‘Header’ section and the second snippet in the ‘Footer’ section, as directed by GTM.
  4. Publish your changes: Be sure to publish your changes in GTM and verify that the implementation is correct by using the preview and debug mode in GTM or by using a tool such as Google Tag Assistant.

How to install the Google Search Console in a BigCommerce webshop?

Google Search Console is an essential tool to monitor and improve the presence of your BigCommerce webshop in Google search results. Follow these steps to verify your site:

  1. Add your site to Google Search Console: Go to Google Search Console and add a new property with the URL of your BigCommerce webshop.
  2. Choose a verification method: Google offers multiple methods for verification. A simple way for BigCommerce users is by using the HTML tag method.
  3. Add the verification tag to BigCommerce: Copy the HTML verification tag from Google Search Console. Then go to your BigCommerce admin panel, navigate to ‘Advanced Settings’ > ‘Web Analytics’, and select ‘Google Search Console’. Paste the verification tag here.
  4. Verify your ownership: Return to Google Search Console and click ‘Verify’ to confirm that you are the owner of the website.

SEO company for BigCommerce web shops

When choosing an SEO company for your BigCommerce webshop, consider the following points:

  • Experience with BigCommerce: Choose an SEO company with proven experience working with BigCommerce platforms. Knowledge of specific BigCommerce SEO challenges and opportunities is crucial.
  • Transparency and communication: Look for a company that is transparent about their methods and offers regular updates and reports on their progress.
  • Portfolio and references: Research their portfolio and ask for references from previous clients, especially those in your industry or with similar web shops.
  • SEO strategy: Make sure their SEO strategies are up-to-date with current best practices and that they offer a tailored approach that fits your specific goals and target audience.

How does BigCommerce compare to other major CMSs

BigCommerce is known for its usability, scalability and rich set of built-in features, making it competitive with other major CMSs such as Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce. Compared to these platforms, BigCommerce offers a good balance between ease of use for beginners and advanced features for more experienced users.

Concluding BigCommerce SEO tips

  1. Enable SEO-friendly URLs in the BigCommerce settings to create clean and descriptive links.
  2. Optimize your product titles and descriptions by using keyword-rich content that is directly relevant to your BigCommerce products.
  3. Add schema markup to your product pages by using BigCommerce’s built-in features or by inserting custom scripts into the HTML.
  4. Improve your site’s loading speed by compressing images, removing unnecessary plug-ins and using BigCommerce’s CDN.
  5. Make sure your theme is mobile-friendly. Choose from BigCommerce’s range of responsive themes for an optimal mobile experience.
  6. Implement alt texts for all images to improve search engine findability and use relevant keywords.
  7. Create and maintain a blog within your BigCommerce store to share valuable content targeting your audience and related keywords.
  8. Optimize category pages with specific keywords and carefully crafted meta descriptions.
  9. Use BigCommerce’s built-in Google Search Console integration to monitor and optimize your site for search engines.
  10. Create an XML sitemap through BigCommerce and submit it to search engines to ensure efficient indexing of your pages.
  11. Manage and optimize 301 redirects directly from your BigCommerce dashboard to maintain link authority from old to new pages.
  12. Collect customer reviews and integrate them on your product pages to improve both user experience and page content.
  13. Optimize your site for voice search by including natural language and query-based keywords in your content.
  14. Integrate social media buttons and sharing options on your product pages to promote visibility and content sharing.
  15. Use Google Analytics and BigCommerce analytics tools to understand your visitors’ behavior and the performance of your SEO strategy.
  16. Provide an excellent user experience by offering clear navigation, fast load times and quality content.
  17. Switch to HTTPS to ensure the security of your BigCommerce site and build trust with your visitors.
  18. Experiment with Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for faster load times on mobile devices.
  19. Stay on top of the latest SEO trends and BigCommerce updates to adapt and improve your strategy.
  20. Tap into BigCommerce’s partner ecosystem for specialized SEO services and tools that integrate with your shop.

Summary

Optimizing SEO in a BigCommerce webshop offers essential benefits for increasing online visibility and attracting targeted traffic. By installing Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Search Console, you can gain valuable insights into user behavior and improve the performance of your webshop. When choosing an SEO company, it is important to consider experience, knowledge of BigCommerce, and proven success in similar projects. BigCommerce offers a robust platform that, with the right SEO strategies, can compete with other major e-commerce CMSs, making it an attractive option for companies looking to maximize their online presence.

Senior SEO-specialist

Ralf van Veen

Senior SEO-specialist
Five stars
My clients give me a 5.0 on Google out of 78 reviews

I have been working for 12 years as an independent SEO specialist for companies (in the Netherlands and abroad) that want to rank higher in Google in a sustainable manner. During this period I have consulted A-brands, set up large-scale international SEO campaigns and coached global development teams in the field of search engine optimization.

With this broad experience within SEO, I have developed the SEO course and helped hundreds of companies with improved findability in Google in a sustainable and transparent way. For this you can consult my portfolio, references and collaborations.

This article was originally published on 16 April 2024. The last update of this article was on 16 April 2024. The content of this page was written and approved by Ralf van Veen. Learn more about the creation of my articles in my editorial guidelines.