Optimizing your Shopify store for search engines is crucial for attracting organic traffic and boosting sales. Whether you're setting up a new store or refining an established one, implementing basic SEO strategies can significantly improve your store’s visibility on Google and other search engines. In this guide, we'll walk you through the the basic SEO setup you should have once you start selling online.
Purchase a Custom Domain
By default, when you first create your store, Shopify offers a myshopify.com subdomain included in the cost of the plan. While this is convenient for starting out, it has its downsides, such as limiting your ability to brand and optimize for search engines. Ideally, you should switch to a SEO-optimized custom domain with a short and relevant name.
Steps to Purchase and Manage a Custom Domain:
Choose a Domain Provider: You can buy a domain from third-party providers such as Squarespace, GoDaddy, Hostinger, or directly through Shopify.
Purchase Your Domain: Select a domain name that is short, memorable, and relevant to your brand.
Manage Your Settings: After purchasing your new domain, manage your settings from the "Domains" page in your Shopify admin dashboard.
Set Up Google Analytics and Google Search Console
When launching your store, it's essential to track key metrics such as how long customers stay on your page, which pages receive the most traffic, and which pages perform the least. This is where Google Analytics and Google Search Console (GSC) come into play.
Benefits:
Google Analytics: Provides insights into user behavior, traffic sources, and conversion rates.
Google Search Console: Helps monitor your site's presence in Google Search results and identify any issues affecting your SEO.
Steps to Set Up:
Google Analytics: Create an account, add your website, and install the tracking code on your Shopify store.
Google Search Console: Verify your website ownership and submit your sitemap to help Google index your site effectively.
Consider a Mobile-Ready Theme
Google predominantly uses the mobile version of your store for indexing and ranking. Therefore, your store needs to be optimized for mobile traffic to ensure better SEO performance.
Tips for Choosing a Mobile-Ready Theme:
Responsive Design: Ensure the theme adjusts seamlessly to different screen sizes.
Fast Loading: Choose themes that are optimized for quick loading times on mobile devices.
User-Friendly Navigation: Simplify navigation to enhance user experience on smaller screens.
Your store's sitemap is a file that provides a structured list of all your store's pages, helping search engines like Google understand how your site is organized. This ensures that search engine bots crawl more pages regularly, improving your website's rankings.
Steps to Submit Your Sitemap:
Locate Your Sitemap: Shopify automatically creates a sitemap for you, accessible at https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml.
Submit to GSC: Log in to Google Search Console, navigate to the "Sitemaps" section, and submit your sitemap URL.
SEO-Friendly Product Titles
Your product titles play a pivotal role in both user experience and search engine optimization. An SEO-friendly title should be descriptive yet concise, incorporating relevant keywords without appearing cluttered.
Example:Instead of naming a product simply as "Arc'teryx Small Backpack" enhance it to include more descriptive elements:
Before: Arc'teryx Small Backpack
After: Arc'teryx 16L Small Backpack Royal Blue
Best Practices:
Structure: Start with the brand and model name, followed by the product type, and then include identifying features such as size and color.
Readability: While including keywords is important, ensure the title remains readable and not overly long. Aim for clarity over keyword stuffing.
Character Limit: Keep titles under 70 characters to prevent them from being cut off in search results.
Crafting Effective Product Descriptions
Product descriptions provide valuable context to both search engines and potential customers. A well-crafted description can enhance SEO and improve conversion rates.
Key Points:
Word Count: Aim for at least 100 words per product. While Google recommends around 300 words for general web pages, e-commerce stores can start with a minimum of 100 words.
Content Quality: Focus on highlighting the benefits and features of the product. Use bullet points for specifications to enhance readability.
Automation Tools: Utilize tools like Shopify’s AI writing assistant, Magic, to generate or enhance product descriptions efficiently, especially useful for stores with large inventories.
Example:For a product like a small backpack, your description might include:
Features: 16L capacity, royal blue color, lightweight design
Benefits: Perfect for daily use, easy to carry, stylish accessory
Optimizing Meta Titles and Descriptions
Meta titles and descriptions are critical elements that appear in search engine results, influencing both ranking and click-through rates.
Meta Titles
Purpose: Displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs), meta titles should encapsulate the essence of the page.
Structure: Similar to product titles, include the product name, type, identifying features, and your brand name.
Character Limit: Keep meta titles under 65-70 characters to ensure full visibility on SERPs.
Example:
Meta Title: Small Backpack 16L Royal Blue | YourStoreName
Meta Descriptions
Purpose: Provide a brief summary of the page content, enticing users to click.
Content: Write for humans, not just search engines. Highlight unique selling points and include a call to action.
Character Limit: Aim for around 150 characters, as Google typically displays this length.
Example:
Meta Description: Discover our 16L Royal Blue Small Backpack with next-day delivery and free returns. Shop online today at YourStoreName!
Tips:
Avoid keyword stuffing; focus on readability and engagement.
Use actionable language to encourage clicks.
Creating Clean Product URLs
A well-structured URL can enhance both SEO and user experience by making links more readable and memorable.
Best Practices:
Simplicity: Keep URLs as short and straightforward as possible.
Relevance: Include relevant keywords that describe the product.
Avoid Unnecessary Words: Remove filler words like "and," "the," or other conjunctions that do not add value.
Important: If you change a product URL, ensure you set up a URL redirect from the old URL to the new one to prevent 404 errors and maintain SEO value.
Selecting Appropriate Product Categories
Proper categorization helps search engines understand your products better and improves the visibility of your store across various sales channels like Google Merchant Center and Facebook Marketplace.
Steps:
Use Google’s Product Category Taxonomy: Align your product categories with Google’s standardized taxonomy to ensure consistency across platforms.
Be Specific: Choose the most accurate category for your product. For example, instead of a generic "Clothing" category, select "Motorcycle Protective Clothing" for motorcycle pants.
Template Generation: Automate the creation of SEO titles, descriptions, and alt text based on product data.
Image Optimization: Compress and rename images in bulk to improve load times and SEO.
Advantages:
Highly reviewed and built specifically for Shopify, ensuring compatibility and performance.
Affordable pricing with discounts available through referral links.
Why Use an SEO App?
Saves time by automating repetitive tasks.
Ensures consistency and accuracy across all SEO elements.
Enhances overall site performance and search engine rankings.
Conclusion
Implementing basic SEO strategies on your Shopify store doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. By focusing on key areas such as product titles, descriptions, meta data, URLs, categories, and image optimization, you can significantly enhance your store's visibility and attract more organic traffic.
How Wiredigital Can Help
Dealing with SEO can be complex, but you don't have to do it alone. Wiredigital is a digital agency that specializes in helping businesses succeed in SEO.
Our Services Include:
Website Audit: A complete analysis of your site's performance and SEO health.
Ongoing Optimization: Regular improvements to keep your site competitive.
Keyword Research: Finding the best keywords for your industry.
Monthly Blog Articles: Creating engaging content to attract and keep visitors.
Google My Business Optimization: Improving your local visibility.
Monthly Reporting: Providing detailed insights into your site's performance.
At Wiredigital, we're dedicated to helping you beat your competitors and achieve lasting success. Our team stays up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and changes, making sure your business stays ahead in search results.
Ready to boost your SEO?
Contact Wiredigital today, and let us create a custom SEO strategy that delivers results and helps your business grow.
