Having a strong presence in search engine results pages is an essential for any business, but we’re about to focus specifically on how this can benefit furniture and homeware ecommerce retailers. From quirky decor brands, to furniture wholesalers, we’re about to lay out some of the principles that these types of businesses need to nail through their content and SEO strategies; helping them to see consistent traffic uplifts, boosted brand awareness, and increased online revenue.
Aligning navigation structure with user behaviour & intent
The structure of your website navigation is make or break for your customers. Users landing on your domain with transactional intent (i.e, they’re ready to make a purchase) need to be able to find exactly what they’re looking for within a few clicks. If they’re having to scour through endless categories or past informational content, or if your menu isn’t as responsive as it ought to be, the spark behind their purchasing intent will fade quickly – and reigniting it isn’t an easy feat.
The best homeware ecommerce websites opt for intuitive navigation and intent-based category structures, tapping into user preferences to present their products and expertise to customers. UK retailer Habitat meets users with varying intent by offering ‘shop by product’ and ‘shop by room’ categories within its main navigation – users may be drawn to the latter if they’re still scoping out their options, but they’ll likely click directly through the former if they know exactly what they’re after.
Moving down a level from the main navigation, we arrive at subcategories. They serve as signposts for users, so consider the effectiveness of how you’re presenting the content behind each subcategory in this sense. The approach that MADE has adopted makes use of different descriptors – ‘by type’, ‘by size’ and ‘by colour’ are just some of the routes that users can take, giving them easy access to find exactly what they’re looking for.
Our hot take? Think about what your users want from your navigation in relation to the intent behind their visit, and make it easy for them to action this.
Optimise your product pages
It goes without saying that product pages are pivotal places on your homeware ecommerce website, as they’re the point at which users are really weighing up on their eventual purchase decision. While conversions aren’t hinged upon the quantity of information provided on these pages, the quality of what’s included here is a definite factor. Here’s a few things to bear in mind:
- Is the content on these pages specific to the product?
- Have you included content on the page that users will find valuable in relation to the product – from assembly instructions, to reviews and links to relevant ‘inspiration’ style blog content?
- Have you accounted for accessibility by adding alt attributes to any visual aspects?
- Do you use simple, straightforward URL slugs? Ie, /tables/cream-side-table rather than /product/table/56=58f/cream-side-table
- Is there scope to add any relevant FAQs about your product?
- Have you created unique meta titles and descriptions for your product pages?
Once you’ve worked through the optimisation pointers above, you might want to consider deploying some other tactics to increase the value of your conversions. Product pages are powered by transactional intent, and this kind of search behaviour is best characterised by immediacy. Want to capture this effectively? Follow Oak Furniture Land by adding delivery time for each item in your ‘recommended products’ carousel, and give your customers an opportunity to coordinate their room refresh.
Use local SEO to your advantage
If you still have a bricks and mortar presence, then local SEO ought to be on your agenda. We’ve detailed 2 actionable strategies to help you to enhance your presence in local searches.
Create and optimise your Google Business listing
If you haven’t already, create a Google Business listing, and add up to date information – the address, opening hours, and accessibility status of your store are all essentials. Conduct some local SEO keyword research and find out what people in your area are searching for in relation to your services, and add these findings into your ‘description’ content. These actions will all contribute to an increased presence in local search results, and there’s an element of organic credibility to be had from the customer reviews and Q&A’s that you can opt into adding to your listing.
Add valuable location pages to your domain
Onsite, you could consider adding specific location pages to target local traffic. These pages should provide the same core information as your Google Business profile, but you can also utilise them as a means of serving users with helpful information about your services in their area, From detailing the products available in your local stores, to outlining any in-store experiences that might offer, such as click and collect.
Craft a content strategy that sticks
A targeted content strategy is an indispensable tool for any homeware brand. It might include developing content hubs, publishing regular blogs, or investing in seasonal content marketing campaigns to maximise the impact of organic efforts and drive meaningful user interactions. There’s plenty of topics to engage with in the homeware space, and this can be embodied across a variety of formats – from creating timely listicles that target the latest interior decor trends, to designing ‘get the look’ infographics for rooms in the home. The key to supercharging your content strategy assets with relevance is by taking a holistic approach to the ideation process – use Google Trends, Pinterest and TikTok to identify any current trends that could be incorporated into your ideas.
If your homeware ecommerce website is struggling in SERPs, we’re here to help. To understand how Libra Nine could help you to refine your search presence, simply get in touch with us today.