As the owner of a Shopify store, you know the potential there is for you to succeed. In 2021, there will be over 230 million digital buyers in the U.S, and that number continues to rise. How do you get your fair share? Here’s a Shopify store SEO checklist with fifteen tips to help you build your business!
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- Set up Google Analytics on your site. You need to know how your site is performing to tell you what’s working and where you need improvement.
- Perform keyword research. Perform keyword research to help you discover what shoppers are looking for and the best keywords to put in your content to help them find you. Look at the search volume to see where your best potential is, but be aware that you’ll likely have plenty of competition for that product if a keyword has a high search volume. Keyword research will also provide ideas about demand for new products or categories you could add to your store.
- Optimize your images. Images play an essential role in SEO. Visitors to your site will spend more time there if you have high-quality images of your products, and having visitors spending more time on your site equates to better position with search engines.
- Get quality backlinks. Google favors sites that have an endorsement from other high-quality sites. Obtain backlinks by having guest bloggers, getting links from your suppliers and manufacturers, and having authoritative influencers review your products.
- Create strong content marketing plan. Having a blog on your site is a great start, but don’t forget that social media can also help generate more traffic for you. Rely on your keyword research to determine viable topics to best target members of your audience.
- Make sure your site is optimized for mobile. Millions of people are making purchases on their mobile devices, like smartphones and pads. Most sites are pre-optimized for mobile these days, but it’s important to take the time to ensure your site is set up appropriately.
- Check page load speed. Today’s shoppers are impatient. They’ll quickly leave your site if your pages are loading too slowly for them. This can lead to a bounce off your site, which can be detrimental to your rankings. Check your page speed yourself and get with your website developer if you’re not satisfied with the speed.
- Register with Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. By registering your store, you can be sure the search engines will be coming to index it, and you’ll start ranking on the results pages. Don’t forget to use Bing as well as Google. Even though Google controls about two-thirds of the search volume, the other one-third is worth going after.
- Track your ranking. It’s important to know if your efforts are paying off. You’ll be able to do this by using tools like ahrefs and SERPWatcher. Look for areas where you’ve improved and any areas that could use more work.
- Build your reputation. Use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to promote your business and have a place for satisfied customers to tell others about the quality of your offering. Building reviews is especially important, both on and off your site.
- Optimize your title tags. Title tags are what people see in larger, bold print when they look at the search engine results pages. It’s a critical element of SEO. Be sure to incorporate your keywords and follow other best practices when drafting.
- Draft compelling meta descriptions. This is the text that appears under your title tags in the search results. Google will put the words the searcher entered in the search bar in bold print, so this is where keywords again prove their importance. What you say in your meta description is also critical. It’s what gets people inspired to click on your listing and visit your site.
- Optimize your URLs. Your page URLs are also visible on the search results page. Having your target keyword in your URL is a user’s first clue that your site is a place they can find what they’re looking for. This is a step people often overlook, so be sure you take advantage of it.
- Add internal links. Internal links are good for cross-selling and upselling as well as building authority with search engines. Adding a “related products” section to your product pages will increase sales and it will keep people on your site longer, which can also help your rankings.
- Stay up to date with Google’s recommendations. Google updates its algorithms occasionally, and you need to know what the changes are to stay current and improve your ranking.
Work With An Experienced Shopify Agency
SEO for your Shopify site takes time and effort, but it’s worth it. Follow these tips to reach the level of success you want to attain. If you need assistance, reach out to ClickGiant today. We work with many eCommerce clients in Shopify and can help you build organic traffic to your Shopify site, too!
