Search engine optimization is a critical part of the success of your Shopify store. So much of your success relies on where you rank and how easily people can find you through organic search.
As you start your Shopify store, you may not be sure of all the steps you need to take to achieve the rankings that you want.
Today, Genius eCommerce will provide a checklist of things to consider for the best SEO practices for your Shopify store. At Genius eCommerce, this is who we are and what we do, providing the tips, tricks, trends, and updates you need to have success in the eCommerce world.
Set Up Google Search Console
There are two steps you should complete to get set up with Google Search Console. First, submit your sitemap to Google. Shopify stores automatically generate a sitemap file, listing all individual pages which helps Google get a look at the organization of your website.
You also want to use Google Search Console to check for crawl errors. Bots crawl through websites and pages and errors occur when a bot cannot reach a specific page or site. It is important to know of these errors and get them corrected as soon as possible.
Keyword Research
Using a keyword planner, which Google also has at your disposal, determine the search volume of keywords and get keyword ideas. The volume of a keyword is the estimated number of monthly searches for that keyword.
As you come up with keywords, map them to specific content types ranging from product pages, category pages, blog posts, and the homepage and construct the pages you should create. Different keywords perform in different ways on each page, so you can target a higher-volume keyword for an informative page or blog post and a lower-volume keyword for a product page designed to draw in purchases.
Optimize Pages
There are a number of things you can do to optimize pages for your eCommerce store. On each page, make sure you are using only one H1 tag. Page titles should be under 60 characters. Meta descriptions should offer as much as possible while staying under 155 characters. Page titles should be compelling and written for human consumption, not search engines and optimization. Include keywords in your page URL. Give your images alt tags and file names.
All of these small pieces of SEO go a long way for your Shopify store and ensure that you will be recognized by search engines.
Link Building
Another step in SEO is to build a link building strategy. The number, quality, and relevancy of links to specific pages and websites are a ranking factor in Google. Links can be used as citations to build trust within your audience and form partnerships with whom you can share and provide value.
In building an effective link strategy, you want to analyze what your competitors are doing, how they have earned links and mentions and look for your own opportunities to get mentions from elsewhere. Free press is a great form of promotion.
Create Quality Content
Content is king when it comes to SEO on Shopify. The first thing to do is to plan your content marketing strategy.
Consider customer questions and if those would be a good topic. Write about the value of your products and what customers get out of it. Match questions that you get or popular search queries with keywords that you have researched.
Consider your word count when producing content. Write original product descriptions that list your features and benefits of the product, not the manufacturers. Add reviews of the product to your pages to help influence customers. All of these things can go a long way to building your credibility.
Additional Ranking Factors
Outside of the major recognizable factors for search engines, there are a few additional ranking factors to consider.
How your website looks on mobile makes a big difference. Google is starting to use mobile-first indexing, so having a quality mobile display and a theme that provides a good and clean mobile presentation is crucial.
Your website’s performance also makes a big difference. Speed is a ranking factor, so you want a website that loads quickly on both desktop and mobile.
If there are any doubts or anything you think you may be overlooking, you can always turn to Google’s recommended practices and use the guidelines provided.
Now that you know some of the steps to take to get your Shopify store optimized and using the best practices on search engines, it’s time to put them into use.
Keep reading the Genius eCommerce blog for more tips, trends, tricks, and updates on eCommerce news and ways to get the most out of your eCommerce store.