When you shop online, which retailer do you shop at the most? If it is an eCommerce site like Amazon or Walmart, then some things may be contributing to its ranking on Google. This article will provide a Shopify SEO checklist of the different aspects of your store’s SEO. Read on to learn more about what drives traffic and how to rank your shop #1 on Google!
In this checklist, you’ll find 22 Shopify SEO tips to improve search engine rankings and traffic for your store. All of them are essential. If you miss most of them, you won’t get free organic traffic from Google and other search engines. On the other hand, if you implement these tips correctly, you’ll see increased traffic and sales on your site.
So, read through the Shopify SEO guide and implement the techniques properly. You might already know some of them very well but might not know some others. In this case, you’ll find helpful books and courses in this article. Check them and learn to increase your skill.
If you don’t have time to spend on learning, instead want to hire a Shopify SEO expert, check the links provided. And view the best services in the specific areas you want to outsource.
Shopify SEO Checklist
1. Set up Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Bing webmaster tools
Setting up your Shopify site with Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Bing webmaster tools is the first step in achieving better visibility in search engines and reporting on your website traffic. After setting it up, you’ll be able to identify errors and crawler access on your site and make necessary changes to become more visible in search results. You can set up all these tools by yourself to save money. You have to submit your XML sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing webmasters tools. Also don’t forget to set up Google Analytics.
2. Keyword Research for Your Shopify Store
Shopify is an eCommerce platform. So, before choosing keywords, it is important to understand search intent. When you’re optimizing for the wrong keyword, it may be difficult for people who are ready to buy in their buying funnel. You want to find keywords with high volume and low competition, so they are easier to rank for. Aim your site around buying intent keywords to help people see your site. They are closer to making a purchase and want to know more about your products.
Keyword research is vital in this Shopify SEO checklist. Use a keyword tool to find the correct terms and phrases or read a book to improve your research skill. Or find an expert if you are hard to do it:
3. Avoid Keyword Cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization occurs when your store ranks for keywords that are similar to each other. If you’re selling dresses and t-shirts, it’s important to prioritize one type of product over the other. So, Google knows what your site is exactly about. Ranking for both simultaneously can confuse people who want to buy one or the other and will result in a lower click-through rate from the SERPs.
4. Include keywords and synonyms on your page
Websites that sell products online have to make their product pages as appealing as possible to improve sales. This means they need to include SEO keywords and synonyms in the page code. Be sure to include the main keyword in the page title.
This means including keywords and synonyms throughout the product page, such as page title, description, tags, etc. It is essential to include these keywords and synonyms and optimize them so that they are as effective as possible.
For example, if a person were looking for “red hoodie shirt” on an eCommerce site, including both words in the page title, description and tags would be beneficial. Using Google Keyword Planner or another keyword tool can help you find keywords that people use to find similar products.
Including these specific terms on the page will help you rank higher in search results and increase your sales. However, it is essential to note that including too many keywords can hurt SEO, looking spammy or unnatural. Because of this, it’s better to use only the most relevant and least competitive keywords on your product pages.
Besides, you have to write highly compelling copy to improve your sales and conversion rate. Check these copywriting books and services:
5. Meta title and description
To optimize your website’s search rankings, you should take the time to write a well-optimized meta title and meta description. When using SEO practices on a Shopify website, it is essential to consider how these two factors can be used to gain exposure for your products and services.
A meta title is a text that appears below your URL, while a meta description is the smaller snippet of text that appears just in organic search results. A meta tag for the title or description for Shopify should be descriptive and keyword-rich. It’s easy to fill it with relevant information when you use some of Shopify’s built-in features.
Shopify comes with several tools to assist you in creating the perfect meta title and meta description for your products. The first one is called Schema Markup, which comes with pre-built attributes that will populate your meta tags for you. Once you’ve enabled schema markup, select “Product” from your list of options under the “Object Type” tab. Shopify will automatically fill in all of your metadata for you.
Another tool to write great meta titles and descriptions is custom fields. Custom fields allow you to input content into your website’s back-end, which will appear like standard HTML on your product pages. You can use custom fields to provide additional information about your products, such as price points and the types of features they have.
6. Custom URL handle
Make sure that your store is easily found with a custom URL handle. The URL address should include the keyword you want to rank for. Make sure it is an easy-to-remember web address so people can find it quickly on Google or Bing. This will help improve your store’s ranking on Google.
7. Optimize images
Use descriptive file names for images on your site. Optimizing image filenames with keywords can help you rank higher in Google Images and target people interested in buying your products. This will also provide additional information about what is featured on that page. Make sure to use descriptive terms when optimizing your product images as well.
There are a couple of things that go into image SEO:
– the alt tag
– image title and description
Both of these elements affect how your images might show up on Google Images and other search engines. The more information and words you can use, the better chance you can get it to show up.
– Alt text (title tag) should be unique and include words that you might use, just like in regular SEO writing.
– Image title and description can also contain keywords, but it’s best not to stuff too many into these fields if they don’t fit naturally.
Optimizing your images helps get your product in front of more eyes and drive search engine traffic to your site.
8. Internal linking
Internal links are vital for helping your pages rank on Google. Linking from one page to another with relevant keywords will help provide people searching for that product.
Internal linking is the bread and butter of any eCommerce SEO strategy. It helps you:
1) Organize your content (by type of products, sections of the site…)
Adding internal links can be as simple as copy and pasting. Duplicating the same link with different variations is fine.
2) Add internal links to every section of your store
By “section,” I mean any area on your Shopify website where there is a group of products organized in some way (by color, style, material…etc.). This is very important if you want your Shopify SEO to be successful.
If you wonder why linking all the products of each section is important, consider this: What if one of your customers was looking for a product like “Custom Sweatshirt” but had no idea that there is an article about it on your site? If that’s the case, they will most likely end up on Google with the same problem.
3) Add a link to the home page of your store
You should add a link from every section to the homepage of your Shopify website. This way, visitors coming from any section will end up at the homepage of your store, where they can get a quick overview of what you sell and how it all works.
4) Add internal links in your blog posts
Adding internal links in your blog is essential because it helps drive more traffic to your internal pages. This is an excellent way to increase engagement and overall sales. For example, if you have an article about customizable sneakers, you should link “customizable shoes” in your blog post.
9. Create landing pages for product categories
Creating landing pages for your top-selling products will help you rank higher in Google. It also provides that information to the people who are looking for it. This is a great way that can also increase site traffic when done correctly. People searching for a specific type of item should easily find what they’re looking for on your site.
10. Maintain a blog
A blog is one of the easiest ways for a business to increase its online presence. While some companies try to beef up their website with keywords and SEO tricks, creating a blog on your Shopify store makes it easier for customers to find you. It is an essential thing for the Shopify SEO checklist.
The goal of a store blog should be to provide unique value-added information that educates customers and brings them back for more. A successful blog is an integral part of your content strategy; because it builds trust with potential customers.
If you have a product to sell, providing detailed information about the item helps convince visitors that they need it in their lives. You want to be seen as more than just a business trying to make money; you want to be seen as an authority on the subject. So, be sure to include information about your products in the context of how they benefit the customer.
11. Increase engagement with your visitors
The more interactive you are with your visitors, the more chances to share your information on social sites. This will help contribute to a higher SEO ranking by increasing the number of backlinks pointing back to your site. For this to work, you’ll need an active social profile and a platform where people can post comments or ask questions.
12. Implement JSON-LD markup and product schema
Using JSON-LD and product schema will provide search engines with more information about your site. Structured data would help if you did this for all of the products that you have on your site. Hence, people searching for them will be able to find what they’re looking for easily. If implemented correctly, this can also help you rank higher in the search engine results pages.
13. Technical SEO
Checking that your site is not experiencing crawl issues or broken links can help you rank higher on Google. You’ll also want to make sure that the pages load quickly on your site. Because slow loading times mean people will visit another site instead of staying on yours.
Read this comprehensive article about on-page SEO, Click Here.
14. Avoid duplicate content
Take these tips into account to ensure you don’t accidentally include content twice:
1) If you’re using Shopify’s Content Manage System, check the “Remove all content” box and click on “empty trash” for items older than 30 days to make sure you’ve caught everything.
2) Make sure you’re familiar with the guidelines for duplicate content on Shopify’s support site.
3) Check each category page and product page for any duplicated text once your store is launched and running. Make sure it doesn’t cause any damage to your SEO.
4) Avoid using automated article spinners – this can hurt your search engine rankings.
5) Use language that’s natural rather than robotic.
15. Use a responsive theme
Using a responsive theme can help you rank higher on Google since more people will access your site. This gives them an easy way to look through the products that you have. If your current theme is not suitable for both mobile or desktop visitors, change it immediately.
16. Link building for Ecommerce
You can also use SEO practices that are designed to drive traffic to your website. The more backlinks you have, the higher your site will rank on Google. A backlink strategy is important because it takes time for new sites to build up trust and authority with their visitors.
1) Do not buy links or participate in link schemes that violate Google Guidelines.
2) Focus on writing content that will naturally attract links from quality sites that will likely receive traffic from your content.
3) Register your website on high authority web directories.
4) Make sure you have a blog on your site to keep users coming back and give yourself fresh content that can be used as link bait for other sites.
5) Add a FAQ or customer service section where customers can ask questions about the product and post the answers online.
6) Participate in social sites like Twitter, Facebook, or others to connect with other users and give them another reason to link to your website.
7) Link out (when appropriate) to other websites you feel would be of interest to your customers.
8) If writing guest posts on other blogs, make sure to link back to your site and include one of your keywords.
9) Post videos on sites like YouTube or Vimeo, especially if they demonstrate how your product works.
10) Get links from other websites with high Page Rank or Domain Authority.
11) Create new content that is unique for your site and that you believe contains helpful information for users.
Link building is time-taking and tedious work. Learn from experts to make the process easy for you. Read the following books or hire an expert in this field to make your life easy:
17. Shopify SEO apps
There are many Shopify SEO apps that can help you increase your rankings. You’ll want to check out the right SEO app for your site before installing them. For your smart SEO campaigns, choose the best one for you.
Check the Shopify app store, Click Here.
18. Screaming Fog
Screaming Frog is an SEO tool that you can use to help with the technical aspects of your site. It will let you know if there are any broken links or crawl issues that need to be fixed. You can also export this information into a spreadsheet to fix all of the problems at once.
19. Do a Content Marketing Strategy
To increase your search engine rankings, focus on creating helpful and engaging content that will keep people coming back. This could be in blogging, video tutorials, or simply sharing helpful information via social sites.
You can do this in several different ways:
– Paid advertisements on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
– Posting links to your content on popular social networking channels with a large audience such as Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter.
– Promoting your content through print advertising can also be effective, given that it’s done in the right way.
– Content directories help you get your site or blog in front of people actively searching for content on your topic.
This strategy is crucial to increase your exposure and drive traffic. For in-depth study and initiating an action plan, check these books:
20. Use a Social Media strategy
Having a social strategy can help you improve your search engine rankings because of the SEO benefits of creating content on social platforms. Creating a schedule or an editorial calendar will help you stay organized and know how often to post new content.
The first step in developing a savvy strategy is identifying which channels you want to use for each type of post. Many brands will put out general marketing content on one channel while using a different channel to send personalized responses to customers.
Before anything else, you need to have a goal in mind. Why are you looking to use social platforms? Do you want it as a customer service tool or as a promotional platform? Answer that question first, and then look at which channels you can use to accomplish that goal.
Before deciding which channels to use, it is also essential to understand your audience and where they spend the most time online. Knowing this information will help you select the correct type of posts for each channel.
Missing social networking in an SEO checklist for Shopify is a big mistake. Social strategy can boost your Google rankings, traffic, and sales. Click the link below and read any book from the list:
21. Local SEO
This is something that Shopify users will benefit most from using since most online stores are local. You can register your business with Google, Bing, Apple Maps, and other sites to make sure you appear when someone is searching for a similar store nearby.
Google My Business (GMB) is the foundation of local SEO. It’s free to create an account, and you should optimize it for every business location. Next, claim your GMB listing through the search console.
You can do it for free by listing your business on these sites, which include: Google Maps, Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and Bing Local. It would be best if you also searched the web to find more directories.
If your business is for local people, a particular city, or a country, you have to learn optimizing the Shopify site for your local people. Find some guides from the following link:
22. Shopify Plus
If you’re using Shopify Plus, they have built-in SEO tools that can help make site maintenance easier. This includes the ability to view where your site stands compared to other sites on Google, as well as comprehensive reports on how well your site is ranking.
Shopify SEO Services
Search engine optimization is a challenging, time-consuming task. Although the results are slow, they are long-lasting and free for driving traffic to your shop. If you are busy optimizing your site while spending your time on other business areas, a Shopify SEO expert can help you build and optimize your Shopify site. Check these services:
Recommended Courses & Guides for Your eCommerce website:
| Shopify SEO courses
| Best e-commerce books
| Best dropshipping books
| Recommended SEO books
By following the steps in the Shopify SEO checklist above, you’ll be able to improve your site’s search engine ranking and increase your online sales. Always remember that SEO is a marathon and not a sprint, so be patient and work hard at it and you will see results!
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Ibochouba Singh is a content writer and reviewer with a passion for writing about digital marketing and tech gadgets, including software tools and new tech gadgets. He has over 15 years of experience writing for several consumers and clients, including tech startups, marketing agencies, and software companies. He is writing many articles and product reviews for many websites, including nigcworld.com, buywin.in, medium.com, and quora.com.
