For the past two years, we’ve been monitoring 857 Walmart product pages. We’ve noticed an increase in traffic to these pages since October 2014. We think Walmart’s SEO efforts are responsible for this increase in traffic. And while we have no idea what SEO tactics Walmart employed to bring more customers to their site, it’s working. Congrats Walmart.<\/p>\n
![\"WalmartSEO\"](\"http:\/\/content26.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/WalmartSEO_Blog-Sucha-edits.png\")
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Shift in Focus to SEO Brings Sizeable Results<\/h2>\n
We\u2019ve been tracking these notable changes since July 2013. In July 2014, Walmart documented\u00a0their concerted shift in\u00a0focus on\u00a0SEO<\/a>, and sent out an “SEO Best Practices” instruction PDF\u00a0to their retailers around the same time.<\/p>\n Our data shows what\u00a0we have to assume are\u00a0results of\u00a0the\u00a0implementation of their new team members’ strategy. And the results\u00a0are everything an online retailer\u00a0could hope for. In October 2014, site views tripled before settling down a bit over the course of the next year. Then this summer, the number of views beat the initial record\u00a0from 2014.<\/p>\n The\u00a0857 unique product pages we’ve been monitoring are from 46 brands and\/or manufacturers on Walmart.com’s\u00a0U.S. and Canadian sites. These brands reach across\u00a0retailer\u00a0aisles with product categories in Health\u00a0and Personal Care,\u00a0Grocery, Baby, and Consumer Electronics, proving once again that the power of good content is universal.<\/p>\n The “Best Practices” document from Walmart encourages vendors to improve content specifically on product pages. They place a special\u00a0emphasis on the elements we know produce results, such as uniqueness and specificity. Walmart\u2019s SEO-optimized pages have exclusive product descriptions focused on features and benefits and product titles include brand names and top attributes. Product names are also repeated within running text. These practices yield higher search rankings so\u00a0listings appear more often on Google\u2019s shopping module.<\/p>\n And Walmart knows\u00a0unique content doesn’t stop at the written word. They’re pushing for more rich media\u2014and lots of it<\/a>. High-resolution zoomable images, videos, and how-to and buying guides–all labeled and named with product keywords–create a full buyer experience while improving that ever-critical search ranking on Google and other search engines.<\/p>\n And because Walmart knows corporate sites tend to rank higher on SERP (search engine results pages), linking from corporate brand sites to Walmart.com product pages is also recommended. Well-known sites are viewed as more trustworthy, so shoppers are more likely to click “buy”.<\/p>\n Great SEO rankings are also a matter of organization. Walmart highly suggests an active partnership<\/a> with their vendors. Aligning marketing schedules and sharing product launches, campaigns, promotions, and marketing materials can help vendors get the most from their pages. Open, active communication improves sales and ensures products are accurately represented on the site.<\/p>\n Want to read\u00a0more about Walmart\u2019s innovations and insights? Check out the Walmartlabs blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n Need more still? Sign up below for our monthly newsletter for insider info on all things ecommerce.<\/p>\nUniversal\u00a0Benefit from Focus on SEO<\/h2>\n
Walmart.com’s SEO Best Practices<\/h2>\n