Is BigCommerce any good for SEO?
BigCommerce has a number of essential SEO features out of the box. The platform, a major ecommerce CMS provider, details its list of SEO features here. This includes the ability for your SEO and web teams to influence essential SEO elements such as on-page SEO, URL naming, redirects and schema.
This aligns well with many other modern day out of the box CMS solutions such as WordPress and Wix, as well as other CMS platforms geared towards ecommece such as Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento.
As with any out of the box solution, there will always be limitations. This is largely down to the fact that the templates you are provided within the CMS are set and hard-coded, and your team may not be able to influence every single aspect without dev support.
As demand and competition grows for ecommerce platform providers however, there is a good chance that SEO capabilities for platforms such as BigCommerce will improve.
Do I need to set up SEO for my BigCommerce store?
If your business is moving to BigCommerce, then a lot of core SEO setup elements, such as sitemap generation, are taken care of natively within the platform.
However, your team will need to make sure they make the most out of the built-in SEO features within BigCommerce during the setup phase. This will include ensuring that each page has good on-page SEO, that the site architecture of your ecommerce is optimal, and where possible, schema is deployed for enhanced search engine visibility.
Each CMS will differ in terms of the available setup features, and there are a few unique features within BigCommerce that your team will need to familiarise themselves with. If your business moves to BigCommerce from a previous CMS, take this as an opportunity to ensure all your key commercial pages are optimised as best possible within the means of BigCommerce’s SEO capabilities.
Do I need to install an app for SEO to work on BigCommerce?
Not always. If you have the appropriate SEO resources at your disposal, either in-house or from external experts, and you’ve diligently followed best SEO practices when constructing your ecommerce site on BigCommerce, then your website should naturally achieve higher search engine rankings as a direct consequence.
However, when it comes to leveraging BigCommerce’s app offerings, it’s important to exercise discretion. Excessive reliance on these apps may inadvertently have an adverse impact on your SEO efforts. Some third-party code elements can inadvertently slow down your website, ultimately hampering its conversion potential. On the flipside, there may be certain apps that you’ll need to leverage if your BigCommerce site has inherent issues that can’t be fixed natively in the platform, perhaps in relation to something like multimedia compression.
If this is the case, consider the strategic use of carefully selected BigCommerce apps. These apps can serve as valuable tools to address specific SEO limitations and enhance your overall online presence.
Do I need an agency/consultant to set up my BigCommerce SEO?
BigCommerce does recommend hiring a certified agency partner for your BigCommerce SEO efforts, and this could be a viable option if you don’t have the necessary expertise in place in-house. Ecommerce SEO is its own practice in its own right, and BigCommerce has its own set of features, nuances and challenges within the platform that may need expert consultancy.
However if you already have a trusted SEO team in place, be it in-house or via an agency, then it may be more frugal for them to upskill themselves by familiarising themselves with BigCommerce. Like many out of the box CMS solutions, BigCommerce tries to make it as easy as possible for web teams to build out product pages with little assistance.
Unless you’re really strapped for resource and time, it may be worth tasking your existing SEO resources with BigCommerce setup and optimisation moving forward.
What are the alternatives to BigCommerce for SEO?
When it comes to exploring alternatives to BigCommerce for SEO, there are a diverse landscape of ecommerce platforms to choose from. BigCommerce is indeed a prominent player, but there are several other notable options in the market.
Some of the key BigCommerce alternatives include Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Shift4Shop, OpenCart, and Pinnacle Cart, to name just a few. Moreover, broader content management system (CMS) providers like Squarespace and Wix also present compelling alternatives to BigCommerce from an ecommerce perspective.
Each of these platforms boasts its own set of strengths and weaknesses when it comes to SEO effectiveness and potential limitations. The choice hinges not only on your budget but also on aligning the platform with your specific needs.
Consider factors such as your existing level of SEO expertise within your organisation and the extent of additional support you may require when it comes to BigCommerce SEO. By weighing these factors, you can make an informed decision about which platform is the right fit for your ecommerce venture.
Who are the best SEO agencies for BigCommerce websites?
Much like Shopify and other ecommerce platform providers, BigCommerce has a recommended list of certified partner agencies on their website. Here, you can filter by region, industry type, tier level and services offered among other things.
It can be overwhelming when considering to partner with a certified BigCommerce agency from an SEO perspective. In truth, many of the certified agencies on the BigCommerce website may be more suited to generalised digital marketing rather than SEO. If you have an existing trusted SEO agency partner that is familiar with your business and ecommerce SEO best in practice in general, then it may be worth sticking with them rather than trying an unknown entity.
How does BigCommerce SEO compare to Shopify SEO?
BigCommerce, much like Shopify, provides a comprehensive set of built-in tools that cater to the needs of SEO teams looking to enhance various aspects of their commercial web pages. When comparing BigCommerce SEO to Shopify SEO, there are some key distinctions to consider.
While BigCommerce offers solid SEO capabilities, there is a general perception that Shopify holds a slight edge in the realm of apps, which can be particularly valuable if you require specialised SEO features to enhance performance that are not out of the box. These features might encompass tasks such as automatic image compression for improved site speed or greater flexibility in implementing schema markup to enhance conversion rates.
Another difference is the level of reporting tools available in various pricing plans for Shopify and BigCommerce. Shopify adheres to its pricing tier when it comes to reporting, with standard users only able to use basic reporting functionalities. This isn’t the case for BigCommerce, which offers professional reporting tools across all of its pricing tiers.
How do I improve the SEO performance of my BigCommerce website?
Much like ecommerce SEO efforts for Shopify, enhancing performance across a BigCommerce website for improved search rankings and conversions needs to adhere to general ecommerce SEO best practice.
This takes into account areas such as a logically-composed and user-friendly site structure that is easily navigable where key commercial pages are easily found by buyers. Your team will make as much use of the out of the box functionality within BigCommerce as possible so that individual commercial pages are given enhanced visibility on search engines. This includes mapping out enhancements such as structured data (with product review schema being a core component) and detailing as much details on your products in question as possible in order to encourage users to buy when they land on your site via SEO.
A continued holistic ecommerce SEO strategy that encompasses the use of ongoing detailed keyword research and competitor analysis alongside technical improvements and content marketing efforts is encouraged.
BigCommerce SEO Case Study
Small ecommerce shop selling winter clothing makes a dent in bigger competitor’s market share with smart use of BigCommerce SEO features.
Problem: A relatively new player in the field of winter clothing launched their product amid a host of larger, established players who were dominating SEO visibility across their product line.
Solution: Through the use of a well-optimised BigCommerce rollout, utilising many of the out of the box SEO features within the platform, the smaller brand was able to rank well alongside its larger competitors on some of their target search terms. This was partially down to the fact the other competing brands were operating on older, more limiting CMSs that paled in comparison to SEO-suitability and site performance among other things.