As of 2023, Amazon was still the top dog in the eCommerce game, but Walmart Marketplace came in second place with a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $134 billion.
Amazon is getting crowded, though, and shoppers are starting to note a decline in overall product quality. It’s no wonder why more dropshippers are embracing Walmart Marketplace to stand out.
However, selling on Walmart is no picnic, either. You have to follow effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to gain a top spot in the search results.
You’ll drive product visibility and make more sales by working with eCommerce search algorithms through the power of SEO.
In this guide, we’ll explain how the Walmart SEO algorithm works, offer tips on optimizing your Walmart store's organic rankings, and introduce a helpful tool that will free up more time—so you have more bandwidth to handle SEO.
What Is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. This is a technique that dropshippers use to make their product pages rank higher in search engines.
For eCommerce sellers, SEO involves optimizing various listing elements to ensure they appear higher in search engine results, making them more accessible to potential customers.
From rewriting a product description to experimenting with promotional pricing, the right tweaks will help you show up in more customer searches, whether through Walmart or Google SEO.
SEO is a broad discipline, but you need to understand these eCommerce SEO components to win at Walmart SEO:
- Keywords: These are terms and phrases shoppers search for when they want to buy something on Walmart.com. Sprinkling the right keywords throughout your Walmart listings is the key to effective SEO. Of course, keyword targeting alone won’t boost your place in search, but it’s a fundamental part of improving your product's visibility in search engines.
- High-quality content: While the Walmart algorithm cares about keywords, the shopper experience always comes first. Create high-quality, informative content that adds value to online shoppers. This includes writing compelling descriptions, using high-quality images, and ensuring all product information is accurate and detailed.
- Technical optimizations: You can do limited technical SEO for the Walmart search engine. This includes image meta information, file names, and optimized images that load quickly.
You might be busy selecting products and running your dropshipping business, but SEO matters. Without it, shoppers couldn’t find your listings or buy items from your store.
Following SEO best practices is the best way to boost your store’s visibility and bring more customers to your listings.
What Is Walmart SEO?
You can apply SEO best practices just about anywhere, whether it's your own website or Walmart Marketplace. That said, Walmart has its own sophisticated search engine algorithm to rank products in its search results.
You’re probably selling on multiple platforms, but Walmart SEO deserves its own special place in your daily routine.
As of 2022, there were over 150,000 sellers on Walmart Marketplace—a 66% increase over 2021. Needless to say, the platform is pretty competitive. Failing to invest in SEO could cause you to miss out on thousands of potential sales.
Walmart has stringent standards for its third-party sellers, but it also has very clear guidelines for improving your Listing Quality Score. Walmart ranks listings based on:
- Online content: Optimize your listings with high-quality images, detailed product descriptions, and relevant keywords.
- Offering: Competitive pricing helps you edge out the competition on Walmart's site. Experiment with item price strategies like discounts or coupons to stand out.
- Performance: Strive for high positive customer feedback, fast shipping times, and consistent stock levels.
How To Optimize Product Listings Using Walmart Marketplace SEO
Even the best-performing Walmart dropshipping stores have opportunities for optimization. Follow these seven tips to improve your Walmart SEO.
1. Research Keywords
Start by finding relevant keywords for your store, products, and shoppers. Identifying the keywords your target audience uses regularly makes it much easier to rank higher in Walmart search results.
Some store owners hire SEO agencies to do this, but you can do keyword research yourself with these tips:
- Use keyword research tools: The fastest way to find keyword ideas is to use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ahrefs. The holy grail is to find keywords with high search volume and low competition. But if you’re just starting out, go for long-tail keywords (phrases with three or more words) that are less competitive but highly relevant to your products.
- Look at the competition: Identify the top-ranking products in your category on Walmart Marketplace. Analyze each product title, all key features, and other product attributes. Identify common keywords other sellers sprinkle throughout their listings, taking care not to copy their content verbatim. Duplicate content is always an SEO no-no.
- Think about search intent: Are customers just looking for information, or are they ready to buy? Understanding this will help you tailor listings to meet their needs. For instance, keywords like "buy Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra" indicate purchase intent, while "best smartphone features" suggest they're gathering information.
Try to compile a list of five keywords per product.
The best (and most frustrating) thing about SEO is that you’re never really “done.” The keywords you choose today will likely change in a few months, so this doesn’t have to be perfect. What matters is that you monitor your Walmart rankings over time and adjust as needed.
If you don't see improvements, go back to the drawing board and rethink your keywords. It will require rewriting product listings to reflect the changes, but that’s just how SEO goes.
2. Create a Quality Product Listing With Strategic Keywords
Nobody sets out to create subpar listings. It’s tempting to put out bare-bones product descriptions when you’re in a hurry, but Walmart SEO prefers descriptive, helpful product listings.
Follow these guidelines to boost your listing quality:
- Product category: Does your product category accurately reflect what you’re selling? An accurate product category helps customers and Walmart's algorithm understand what your product is and where it fits within the marketplace.
- Title and description: Once you've identified your target keywords, incorporate them naturally into your product titles (50 to 75 characters), product descriptions (3 to 10 Key Features and 150 words minimum), and bullet points. Avoid keyword stuffing, which can hurt the user experience and search rankings. Instead, focus on creating clear, informative content that seamlessly weaves relevant keywords into the copy.
- Product Attributes: The Attributes section is what is displayed on the left-hand sidebar when shoppers look for products. Always list relevant attributes like shipping speed, availability, and special offers to stand out.
Not sure about your listing quality? Check out the Listing Quality Dashboard, a free tool Walmart provides to all sellers.
The dashboard evaluates the completeness of your content, whether you offer competitive prices, and how much positive feedback you've received from shoppers. Check your dashboard at least once a week to understand where your listing stands and what you should improve.
3. Always Include Images and Video
They say a picture’s worth a thousand words. In Walmart SEO, the right picture could be worth thousands of dollars in sales, so don’t overlook the power of multimedia in Walmart SEO.
Not only does it make you stand out in the search algorithm, but multimedia also gives shoppers a better idea of what to expect.
Include at least four professional product images with a minimum size of 1000 x 1000 pixels. Ensure the images have a white background to keep the focus on the product. You can also include a few lifestyle shots of the product in use.
Video content is also a great idea. Film how-tos, demos, and product showcase videos highlighting key features.
The downside is that creating multimedia yourself is expensive and time-consuming. Fortunately, you don’t have to do this alone. Consult Walmart’s list of vetted suppliers to create professional-grade multimedia.
4. Speed Up Shipping
Shipping speed is one of the biggest factors in Walmart SEO.
Enable Three-Day Shipping and apply for Walmart Two-Day Shipping. If approved, your listings will display an expedited delivery tag and rank higher than products with slower shipping speeds.
If you’ve ever dealt with logistics, you know shipping can get tricky. Enroll in Walmart Fulfillment Service (WFS) to offer fast shipping without headaches.
With this option, Walmart gives you access to preferred shipping rates and hassle-free fulfillment. WFS does come at a cost, though, so do a cost-benefit analysis to make sure this is a fit for your business.
5. Price Carefully
Walmart wants to offer competitive pricing, so it’s no surprise that prices affect Walmart SEO rankings. Some Walmart sellers manually adjust pricing multiple times a day to stay competitive, but that can be time-consuming.
Pricing automation tools like Spark Shipping handle this for you, automatically adjusting prices based on competitor activity, market trends, and customized rules.
Discounts and deals are also a clever way to rank higher in Walmart search. Applying clearance tags to products can significantly increase their visibility in the search results.
6. Keep Popular Items in Stock
Whatever you do, don’t run out of stock when you sell on Walmart.com. Walmart penalizes dropshippers who run out of in-demand products. Out-of-stocks hurts the customer experience, damage your seller’s reputation, and may result in you losing sales.
This is why it’s best to sell on Walmart Marketplace only once you have an established store and reliable supply chain. Follow these tips to stay in stock, no matter what:
- Use inventory management tools: Inventory management tools connect to your Walmart account and monitor stock levels in real time. They’ll even alert you when stock is running low so you can restock before there’s an issue.
- Forecast demand: Analyze sales data to forecast demand for popular items. Understanding sales trends and seasonal variations can help you plan inventory levels more accurately.
- Work with quality suppliers: Some stores go out of stock because of supplier issues. Build strong relationships with your suppliers to create a steady, predictable supply chain.
- Subscribe to WFS: Walmart fulfillment handles storage, packing, and shipping for you. It isn’t foolproof, but relying on Walmart to manage fulfillment can help you remain in stock and deliver shoppers’ orders on time.
7. Gather Customer Reviews
Shoppers can’t see or touch your products in person, so they rely on reviews to decide whether they want to make a purchase or not.
Plus, Walmart search prioritizes listings with plenty of positive reviews.
The easiest way to get good reviews is to provide awesome service. Not everyone will write a review, but the more seamless the shopper experience, the more likely they are to leave five-star reviews.
Of course, shoppers might need a nudge to actually write a review. Enroll in Walmart’s Spark Reviewer Program to gather reviews more quickly. This program connects you with a community of reviewers who receive your products for free in exchange for honest feedback. Third-party outreach tools like Bazaarvoice can also help you gather more reviews.
Mistakes To Avoid in Walmart SEO
SEO has a lot of moving parts, and it’s common for shop owners to make a mistake here and there. But your livelihood is on the line, so it’s best to avoid SEO missteps where you can. Avoid these common mistakes to preserve your SEO rankings.
1. Inconsistent Branding
As a dropshipper, you’re selling goods manufactured by someone else. They aren’t exactly unique, but that doesn’t matter: you still need a brand that sets you apart. A strong brand is the key to gaining support from shoppers and building a stronger presence in Walmart SEO.
Maintain a consistent presence on Walmart, as well as your other selling platforms. Your logo, colors, and messaging should all be uniform and appear to be from the same company.
2. Overlooking Mobile Shoppers
Walmart Marketplace takes care of most of the mobile optimization for you, but it’s a mistake to overlook mobile shoppers’ experience. How will your listings look on mobile devices?
For example, large image files won’t render quickly, which can frustrate time-strapped shoppers. Compress images for quick loading and consider writing short, snappy product bullet points that are easier to read on small screens.
3. Forgetting Seasonality
Events and holidays shape eCommerce trends, and you’ve got to roll with it. The holiday shopping season is a tremendous opportunity, but other times of the year matter, too. Set a reminder to revamp your listings before popular eCommerce shopping occasions like Mother’s Day, Back To School, Spring Break, Valentine’s Day, and more.
4. Ignoring Customer Needs
Shoppers shouldn’t have to dig for your customer support information. While they can always submit a request through Walmart Marketplace, it’s best to be proactive. Create an email address just for customer communications. If you’re strapped for time, consider outsourcing to a service like Zendesk to give shoppers the timely help they expect.
5. Failing to Update Old Listings
SEO isn’t one-and-done. Failing to periodically review and update older product listings can hurt your rankings over time, even if you're number one in the search results right now. Regularly audit your product listings to ensure everything is current and relevant. You’ll also need to update images, descriptions, and bullet points to reflect any changes in the product or market.
How Spark Shipping Can Help
Ultimately, Walmart SEO success comes down to creating a quality shopper experience. The Walmart algorithm rewards businesses that take care of its shoppers, but it isn't easy to meet the platform's high standards. SEO also requires ongoing effort, but as a dropshipper, you have a lot on your plate.
Instead of allowing important tasks to slip through the cracks, use Spark Shipping to put more of your business on autopilot so you have more bandwidth for SEO management.
Up-To-Date Pricing
Manual pricing updates take way too much time. They also put you at risk of falling out of MAP compliance and losing money because of incorrect pricing.
Connect your Walmart store to Spark Shipping and let us take over your pricing changes. We update prices in real time to give you the ultimate peace of mind. We always maintain your margins, regardless of price changes. Set overrides for specific vendors and create custom parameters based on how you prefer to price products.
Managing Inventory
Walmart SEO performance hinges on your ability to keep products stocked at all times. With Spark Shipping, you get automatic inventory syncs across all vendors.
Not only that, but our system routes real-time product updates from all vendors and routes orders to the best-priced, in-stock vendor for every order. Whether your vendors publish inventory in XML, FTP, or manually, our scalable solution updates inventory faster than any other automation tool.
Rich Data From Etilyze
Are you selling electronics on Walmart Marketplace? Spark Shipping’s Etilyze integration makes it a cinch to get rich consumer electronics data. This tool definitely beats writing product descriptions yourself.
While this feature requires a separate Etilyze subscription, the strong connection between platforms saves you hours of time. Generate titles, descriptions, rich media, attribute data, technical specifications, marketing text, and much more with this integration.
Need Bandwidth? Automate It All With Spark Shipping
Walmart Marketplace is a popular selling platform for dropshippers, but competition is stiff. Investing in Walmart SEO could be your golden ticket to increased visibility and record-setting sales.
But remember: SEO is an ongoing process. You’ll likely need to tweak your product listings on an ongoing basis, depending on what your seller analytics tell you.
You might not be able to put SEO on autopilot, but you can certainly automate other aspects of your business. From pricing to inventory management to smart integrations, Spark Shipping is an all-in-one automation solution designed to save you time and hassle.
Request a Spark Shipping demo now to see how we simplify operations for Walmart dropshippers.