Search Engine Optimization for Shopify: Useful Tips
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Although it may not be as intuitive as WordPress, performing Search Engine Optimization for Shopify can be done successfully without that much of a hassle. This platform is a growing favorite when it comes to eCommerce and applies basically the same principles as any other CMS. By implementing some tweaks and optimizations, you can improve your store’s visibility and rank on SERPs.
The Very Beginning of Search Engine Optimization for Shopify
The Search Engine Optimization for Shopify starts right at the moment your build your store. Why is that? When you choose a theme for your store, you need to make sure it doesn’t hurt your site’s speed and usability. These are the key factors of every good SEO. It is convenient to run tests on your theme’s URL through useful tools like GTMetrix, Web Page Test or PageSpeed Insights.
GTMetrix and Web Page Test can deliver useful information about the resource demand of the core theme you chose. On the other hand, Google’s PageSpeed Insights can evaluate if the theme’s code is good for your rankings.Turbo Shopify theme from Out of the Sandbox is also very useful to enhance your Shopify store speed. With all this in mind, you already have part of the job done, as you would be covering most of the elemental traits of good SEO since the very beginning.
On Page SEO on Shopify
Shopify doesn’t differ very much from other platforms when it comes to SEO. You need to upload a robots.txt file for bots to crawl your site. Make sure you have an XML sitemap to guide Google through your site’s architecture. Install Google Analytics and validate HTML and CSS. As yours is an eCommerce platform, it is fundamental to have an SSL certificate and upgrade to HTTPS. Crawl errors and redirect issues need to be addressed. The title and H1 of each page should have a targeted keyword and all the other headers should be optimized in a way that they look natural. This is an ongoing process that you need to supervise periodically.
Basic on-page SEO for Shopify can be easily performed through its backend. You can optimize your homepage when you go to Sales Channels > Online Store > Preferences. Once you’re there you can add your SEO title and meta description, as well as link your Google Analytics account. To set up your redirects, manage them or add new ones go to Sales Channels > Online Store > Navigation and click on “URL Redirects”.
Just like you did with your homepage, you can optimize your site’s pages, blogs, products and collections by easily accessing them on the menu on your left. While it may not be as intuitive as WordPress nor have easy to use plugins like Yoast, On-page SEO for Shopify is not complicated either. It will automatically stop adding excessive characters to your SEO title and meta description, which might seem like a minor detail but is quite useful.
It’s all About the Product
As it is an eCommerce platform, your products are the star on Shopify. Make sure your product pages are fully optimized and feature useful, comprehensive and attractive descriptions. Avoid copy-pasting from one to another, even if there are way too many products. In those cases, you might as well add variants to each product. Information like shipping, return policy, sizing information or promotions should always be available, as they make a good user’s experience. Your images product images should have a file name and alt text that match the product as well as the keyword related to it.
Products with wrong URL or duplicated should be avoided at any cost. However, if you can’t afford not to have duplicates, you or your developer can apply the rel=canonical tag to the products you want to have priority. There are special cases like when your store duplicates products across collection pages. If this happens apps like the NoFollow and NoIndex Manager are very useful to make sure the right products are followed and indexed.
You may also need to delete a product because you ran out of stock, it became obsolete or simply don’t sell it anymore. If you just erase it from your stock you could cause major problems in your SEO. Make sure you set up 404 redirects for all the products you delete. You can aso link to the most similar products that you still have live or to the most relevant collections page. As a last resort, you can also redirect to your store’s homepage.
Have your Shopify Store with Website Depot
Do you have an existing Shopify platform? Would you like to build one from scratch? Website Depot can help you! We have an in-house team of elite coders and web design experts that can provide you with a powerful, optimized platform to sell your products online. Call us at (888) 477-9540 to make a consultation.
