When you hear the term Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) it often feels like a complicated task that you’d need an SEO Agency near you to execute, especially due to the abundant complex tools and techniques you hear about. However, your Shopify Store SEO can be done using some simple techniques, which do not require any external help.
You must have heard about the infamous 80/20 rule, where 20% of your efforts, bring you almost 80% of the impact, and the same goes for your E-commerce store SEO. The techniques mentioned in this blog can streamline your SEO strategy and drive significant results, whether you’re working on a new or existing Shopify Store.
So Let’s get started. We will first focus on the product page, which is one of the most important business-driving pages of your E-commerce store.
1. Product Title - Your product title must be a unique identifier of your product. People often overlook the importance of a well-optimised product title. Let’s take an example to understand this better. If your website sells backpacks, and your product name is “Starry Black” it will not show up in search results for users searching for bags, backpacks etc as opposed to if your product name was “ Starry Black Faux Leather Unisex Backpack”. Always include important, decision-driving attributes of your product, in the product title, for better search visibility and relevance. Research what search terms are relevant to your product, and try to incorporate them in your product title.
2. Product Description - Product descriptions play a very crucial role in your Shopify Store SEO, but it is often overlooked. While product pages prioritise pricing, features, offers and Add to Cart functionalities, investing time in crafting custom descriptions is essential for ensuring search engines understand your offerings and show them to relevant potential customers. You can also an AI tool like “SHOPIFY MAGIC” to write custom product descriptions easily.
Now, the question arises, if we’re optimising the title and description, why do we need to optimise the Meta title, Meta description and Meta URL also? While the product title and product description play a role in relevance to the search terms, your meta data is what shows on the search engine results page (SERP) and depicts how the user perceives your product in connection with their search input.
3. Meta Data - In your Meta title and description, try to include keywords, product and brand USPs and other specifications of your product. Aim to keep all essential information of your meta description within 150 characters to ensure that critical information is captured and displayed effectively.
4. Product URL - Avoid including unnecessary words like “and” “the” “that” etc and keep your URLs concise and keyword rich. Usually, on Shopify, your product title is captured as the URL, however, it is a good practice to always review it and make changes accordingly.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, if you change the URL, ensure that you create a URL redirect, so that anyone who clicks on the old link can be redirected to the new URL, otherwise they will land on an Error 404 page.
5. Product Category - Google merchant centre, most marketplaces and other marketing platforms all use a standardised categorisation of products. On Shopify, you will find a product category field, where you must select the most relevant category to your product offerings. This helps the search engine understand the category of your products and make them visible in relevant searches.
We’re almost done with the product page optimisations. One final thing, which often goes neglected is optimising your images. You must utilise Image ALT TAGS to help the search engine understand the content of your images. Another important aspet is renaming your file names to reflect relevant product keywords, instead of numeric/generic file names.
While our focus has primarily been on product pages, similar SEO principles apply to other areas of your Shopify store. Don't overlook the importance of optimizing collection pages, including crafting descriptive collection descriptions and ensuring homepage SEO settings are properly configured.
On your Shopify Settings, go to Preferences and fill in the title and description for your homepage. Also ensure, that you go to the “brand” option under settings and fill in all relevant brand information like your logo, brand slogan, social links etc which is used in many different places.
By implementing these SEO optimization strategies across your Shopify store, you can enhance visibility, drive increased traffic, and ultimately boost sales and conversions. Remember to regularly monitor performance metrics and refine your strategy based on insights to ensure continued success. With the right approach, SEO optimization can become a powerful tool for growing your online business and reaching your target audience effectively.
