How to perform Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on websites designed in Shopify

Kim’s Web Design & Marketing Blog

How to perform Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on websites designed in Shopify!

In today’s digital age, having a well-optimised website is crucial to the success of any online business – heck we do it for ourselves too. And when it comes to e-commerce, Shopify is one of the most popular platforms out there! But… with so many online stores online, it can be tough to stand out from the competition.

That’s where Search Engine Optimization/Optimisation (SEO) comes in. By optimising your Shopify website for search engines, you can improve your visibility and increase your chances of attracting more visitors and customers. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of optimising your Shopify website for SEO, so you can take your online store to the next level.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started with SEO on Shopify:

We will be doing a walk-through example and track progress on a live site for you to watch along with and learn. We will be posting this soon to our YouTube channel and Instagram platforms so standby.

Step 1: Research Your Keywords

The first step in optimising your Shopify website for search engines is to research your keywords. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find the most relevant and high-volume keywords related to your products or services. This will help you focus your website content and meta tags around those specific keywords so that customers looking to find information or products around those keywords can find you once you start ranking for those keywords.

Step 2: Optimise Your Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

The next step is to optimise your page titles and meta descriptions for the keywords you’ve identified. Make sure your page titles are concise and include your main keyword. Your meta descriptions should also include your main keyword and be compelling enough to encourage users to click through to your website. But MOST IMPORTANTLY, the page it leads to actually has to be relevant to what the potential customer is searching for. If not, you may be penalised. Google is all about serving customers. It tries to find the best matching information to the search query, so if you actually do not have what the customer is searching for on that particular page, Google will find out soon enough as it will be evident from bounce rates, time on page and other key indicators so be wise and don’t try to beat the system. They have refined it for long enough for them to know good and bad content appearing for particular search terms and if a client finds the information they are looking for or not.

To optimise your metadata in Shopify, please follow this secondary process below:

Login to your Shopify account and go to your Shopify admin dashboard.
Click on the “Online Store” section in the left-hand menu.
Select “Preferences” from the drop-down menu.
Scroll down to the “Search engine listing preview” section.
Here, you can optimise your page title and meta description for your homepage, collections, and products (among other editable categories) by editing the fields provided.
Make sure to include your primary keyword in both the page title and meta description and keep them concise and compelling to encourage clicks from search engine users.
Once you’ve made your changes, click “Save” to update your search engine listing preview.

Step 3: Use Descriptive URLs

From above, I need to highlight how and why it’s important to use descriptive URLs that include your keywords. This not only helps search engines understand what your page is about but also it makes it easier for users to remember and share your links. In Shopify, you can customise your URL structure under Settings > Preferences > Search Engine Listing Preview in the same steps as above.

Step 4: Optimise Your Content

Your website content is one of the most important factors in SEO. Make sure your content is relevant, informative, and engaging for your target audience. Use your keywords naturally (super important note about… NATURALLY, it needs to be as if you are talking one on one with your customer like we are doing here today) throughout your content and include relevant images and videos to make it more engaging.

Step 5: Optimise Your Images

Images can also play a big role in SEO. Make sure your images are optimised by using descriptive file names, alt tags, and captions. This not only helps search engines understand what your images are about but also makes them more accessible to visually impaired users.

Step 6: Use Internal Linking

Internal linking is a great way to improve your website’s SEO. Link to other relevant pages within your website to help search engines understand the structure of your site and which pages are most important. This also helps keep users on your site longer by providing them with more information related to what they’re looking for.

Step 7: Build Quality Backlinks

Backlinks are still an important factor in SEO. Focus on building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites in your industry. This can be done through guest blogging, social media outreach, and other link-building strategies. These need to be from highly reputable sites. Go for quality over quantity. This step is super important.

Step 8: Monitor Your Progress

Finally, it’s important to monitor your progress and make adjustments as needed. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your website’s performance and identify areas for improvement. Also SEO is an evolution, once you go through the above steps, it is important to continue to evolve your website to bring customers information according to their search queries.

By following these steps, you can optimise your Shopify website for search engines and improve your chances of ranking higher in search results.

Remember to focus on creating high-quality, informative content that’s optimised for your target keywords and search phrases, then build high-quality backlinks from reputable sources to improve your website’s authority.

Good luck with your SEO efforts!
If you need help with this or want us to do it for you, check out our SEO services here or call me, Kim on 0450871934

Happy SEO’ing!! It is one of the most fun processes within a business.

This is me doing it right now on this very blog post.

(Side note: headings, internal and external links, terminology, flow, hierarchy of info etc also play into it, but get started slowly… You will love it)

Over and out.

Kim

Kim’s (Affordable) Website Design & Marketing Agency