What Are The Best Ecommerce SEO Platforms For Small Businesses?

Finding an eCommerce platform that works well for your business is especially difficult for small businesses because not every platform is worth investing in and those that are, aren’t always affordable.  

As any eCommerce SEO agency will be able to tell you, there are quite a few platforms that can suit smaller businesses. But it can be tricky to know where to start, especially if you’re looking to build brand awareness through organic traffic.  

So, let’s explore.  

How to choose an eCommerce platform for your small business

User experience

When it comes to eCommerce platforms, the key behind the success is user experience. An eCommerce platform should be easy to use, have a clear layout, and have seamless navigation. And most importantly, it should work as advertised because no matter how good your website is, only a good user experience will allow you to convert more visitors into customers. 

Budget

Hosting your business on a platform is a recurring expense. You can stretch your budget for cool features for a few months, but having extravagant overheads won’t make financial sense if you aren’t generating enough income.  

So, no matter how stunning the UX or the integrated features in the platform are, if you can’t afford it, then there’s no point in considering it.  

SEO opportunities

To grow your online business, you must choose an eCommerce platform that offers ample SEO opportunities. After all, search engines like Google dictate how much traffic you get.  

Since not all eCommerce platforms offer you optimisation opportunities, you need to dig deep and do proper research to ensure you get enough brand visibility and avoid a wasteful investment. An eCommerce SEO agency can take these benefits even further with refined strategies and expert knowledge.  

Device compatibility

Your eCommerce platform must offer you the same seamless experience on mobile devices as it does on desktops. Otherwise, you won’t get steady traffic from mobile users, who make up 50% of all searches on the internet, and your investment won’t pay off in the long run.  

Integrations

Integration is the ability to connect with other apps, websites, and platforms through your existing eCommerce site. They allow you to add features to your site, such as social sharing or mail opt-ins.  

Now, every platform offers some software integrations. The problem is, they may not be the ones you like. For instance, if you want to use MailChimp but your eCommerce platform doesn’t support it, you will have to reconsider your options.  

Best eCommerce platforms for small businesses

Shopify

Shopify is a great eCommerce platform for new businesses to get started on. It is highly user-friendly and offers many customisation options, which means you can make your store look exactly the way you want it to with minimal work using a simple drag-and-drop function. 

Ideal for any size business, Shopify doesn’t have long-term contracts, yearly fees or hidden costs. It works on a subscription-based model, so you can pay as you go and choose a plan that suits your needs. It is like Netflix for eCommerce businesses, so you don’t have to make any commitments. 

Shopify has among the best SEO tools, as well. Therefore, increasing your store’s visibility is never an issue – especially if you get involved with an expert eCommerce SEO agency to take your brand even further. 

Pricing: Starting at £22/month + 2% transaction fees 

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a powerful eCommerce platform that both small and large businesses can use. It provides you with an easy way to set up your site using wireframes, 24/7 live customer support, hundreds of software integrations, and more. It also offers several tools to help you manage your product inventory, customers, and orders. 

At its core is an intuitive point-and-click interface with drag-and-drop functionality, which allows you to build beautiful eCommerce stores without any coding experience or prior HTML programming knowledge required.  

Additionally, there are tons of ready-made themes to choose from, which help you create a clean, organised store regardless of your expertise in web development.  

BigCommerce is the best choice for small businesses looking to start an online store quickly as it only takes a few hours to set it up. It also accepts all primary payment methods, including credit cards, PayPal, Amazon Payments, and more. So, you never struggle to offer a complete experience through your store.  

Pricing: Starting at £22.89/month (0% transaction fees) 

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a powerful WordPress plugin that enables anyone to set up a fully functional eCommerce site with a few clicks. It is easy to install and has many developers, with lots of tutorials and support forums available at your disposal. 

With WooCommerce, you can list your products across multiple categories, manage inventory, accept payments, ship packages, and organise an extensive network of vendors in your supply chain, among more. You can also customise your site with themes designed to be compatible with WooCommerce’s UI – all within the WordPress ecosystem. 

As a WordPress product, WooCommerce also offers the best SEO opportunities in its segment. And that’s why more than 23% of the world’s eCommerce businesses host their stores on this platform.  

Pricing: Free to set up and host. You pay a small commission + transaction fee on every sale.  

Wix eCommerce

We can’t talk about eCommerce platforms for small businesses without mentioning Wix eCommerce – a platform that undercuts all its competitors when it comes to costs.  

Wix eCommerce allows you to set up an online store in minutes by choosing from hundreds of customisable templates and then importing your products. It wins hands down when it comes to ease of use. 

The drag and drop editor makes adding products to your store more accessible than any other platform. You can also create custom product pages for each item in your inventory and fully integrate your store with Google Analytics to track sales. 

The platform works great on phones, tablets, and desktops, making it easily accessible to everyone, and social media integration allows you to reach more people without any coding knowledge. 

The only problem is that Wix still hasn’t figured out how to ace the SEO game yet. So, you need a professional eCommerce SEO agency to increase your brand visibility.  

Pricing: Starting at £13/month with 2.1% + 20p transaction fee. 

Not everyone needs a multi-tier platform that supports multiple sales channels. But you need an SEO plan to create a visible online business to be successful in the market. With a well-structured strategy, you can succeed on any platform. A dedicated eCommerce SEO agency can help you scale!