Shopify is the ultimate commerce platform for launching your online store. With its user-friendly interface, robust features, and renowned security, Shopify caters to businesses of all sizes. Trusted by over 1 million brands worldwide, Shopify provides the tools and support you need to sell your products to a global audience.
Being an eCommerce website, most Shopify stores are very hard to optimise for the search engines since options for doing SEO for a Shopify website are limited and hard.
So if you have one and you want to learn some “not so secrets” in doing SEO for your Shopify website, read on and learn....
Important Things to know when doing SEO for a Shopify website.
When doing SEO for a Shopify website, the most important things to think about are:
- Keywords: Choose the right keywords that your target audience is searching for.
Here are some of the most crucial ones:
Relevance: Ensure that your chosen keywords are highly relevant to your content or website. They should accurately reflect the topic, products, or services you offer. Irrelevant keywords may drive traffic, but it will likely be of low quality and result in a high bounce rate.
Search Volume: Look for keywords with a significant search volume. Higher search volumes indicate that more people are actively searching for those terms, increasing the potential for traffic and visibility. Keyword research tools can provide estimates of search volumes.
Competition: Assess the level of competition for each keyword. Highly competitive keywords are more challenging to rank for, especially if you're starting out or have limited resources. It's advisable to target a mix of high-competition and low-competition keywords to balance your SEO efforts.
Long-Tail Keywords: Consider incorporating long-tail keywords into your strategy. These are longer, more specific keyword phrases that often have lower search volumes but can yield higher conversion rates. Long-tail keywords tend to have less competition, making it easier to rank for them.
User Intent: Understand the intent behind the keywords you choose. User intent refers to the reason why someone is searching for a particular keyword. It could be informational (seeking knowledge), navigational (looking for a specific website), or transactional (ready to make a purchase). Align your content with the user intent behind the keywords you target.
Trends and Seasonality: Stay updated on the latest trends and seasonality in your industry. Certain keywords may have higher search volumes during specific times of the year or in response to current events. Adjust your keyword strategy accordingly to capitalise on these opportunities.
Analytics and Testing: Continuously monitor and analyse the performance of your chosen keywords. Use web analytics tools to track rankings, organic traffic, click-through rates, and conversions. Experiment with different keywords and adjust your strategy based on the insights you gain.
User Experience: Ultimately, prioritise the user experience when selecting keywords. Optimise your content for the keywords you choose, ensuring that it provides value to users and aligns with their search intent. High-quality, relevant content will not only attract more visitors but also keep them engaged and encourage them to take desired actions.
- Content: Create high-quality content that is relevant to your keywords.
Here are some key considerations when it comes to creating impactful content:
Audience Research: Understand your target audience, their demographics, interests, needs, and pain points. This knowledge will help you create content that resonates with them and addresses their specific challenges or interests.
Clear Goals: Determine the goals of your content. Are you aiming to inform, entertain, educate, inspire, or persuade? Clarifying your objectives will guide your content creation process and ensure your messaging is consistent and focused.
Unique Value Proposition: Differentiate your content by offering a unique perspective, expertise, or value proposition. Provide information or insights that are not readily available elsewhere, and strive to deliver it in a compelling and memorable way.
Storytelling: Use storytelling techniques to captivate your audience. Humans are wired to respond to narratives, so craft your content with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Engage emotions, create relatable characters, and build suspense or excitement to keep your audience hooked.
Clear and Concise Writing: Communicate your ideas clearly and concisely. Use plain language, avoid jargon or technical terms if they aren't necessary, and break up your content into easily digestible sections with headings and bullet points. Make it scannable for readers who skim or are looking for specific information.
Visual Appeal: Incorporate visuals such as images, infographics, videos, or illustrations to enhance your content. Visuals can grab attention, convey complex information quickly, and make your content more shareable on social media platforms.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): Optimise your content for search engines by using relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptive headings. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant terms your audience is searching for, and incorporate them naturally into your content. However, prioritise user experience and readability over keyword stuffing.
Consistency and Frequency: Maintain a consistent content schedule to keep your audience engaged and build trust. Whether you publish content daily, weekly, or monthly, set realistic goals that you can consistently meet. Consistency helps you establish a loyal readership and improves your search engine rankings.
Engagement and Interactivity: Encourage audience engagement by inviting comments, questions, and social sharing. Respond to comments promptly and create opportunities for two-way communication. Consider incorporating interactive elements such as quizzes, polls, or surveys to make your content more engaging.
Analytics and Iteration: Monitor the performance of your content using analytics tools. Analyse metrics like page views, time on the page, social shares, and conversion rates. Use this data to identify what content is resonating with your audience and make data-driven decisions for future content creation.
- Structure: Make sure your website is well-structured and easy to navigate.
The structure of a website refers to the organisation and hierarchy of its pages, content, and navigation. It determines how information is categorised and presented to users. A well-structured website makes it easier for visitors to navigate, find relevant information, and have a positive user experience. Here are some key aspects to consider when structuring a website:
Clear Navigation: Design a clear and intuitive navigation menu that is prominently displayed on every page of your website. Use descriptive labels for each menu item, and organise them logically. Consider using drop-down menus or submenus for nested content categories.
Hierarchical Organisation: Organise your website content in a hierarchical manner, grouping related pages under broader categories. This creates a logical structure that helps users understand the relationships between different sections of your website. Consider using main sections, sub-sections, and sub-pages to create a hierarchical structure.
Consistent Layout: Maintain a consistent layout and design across your website. Use consistent headers, footers, and sidebars to provide a familiar experience for users as they navigate through different pages. Consistency in design elements and placement of key information helps users feel comfortable and orient themselves within the website.
Logical URL Structure: Create URLs that are descriptive and easy to understand. Include relevant keywords in the URL structure to improve search engine optimisation (SEO). Use a hierarchical structure in the URLs that reflect the organisation of your website's content.
Breadcrumbs: Implement breadcrumbs on your website to provide users with clear navigation paths and help them understand their current location within the website's hierarchy. Breadcrumbs display a trail of links, typically at the top of a page, showing the path from the homepage to the current page.
Sitemap: Create an XML sitemap that outlines the structure of your website and lists all the pages. This helps search engines crawl and index your website more efficiently, improving its visibility in search engine results. Additionally, consider creating an HTML sitemap that serves as a user-friendly overview of your website's structure.
User Testing: Conduct user testing to gather feedback on your website's structure and navigation. Observe how users navigate through your website and identify any areas of confusion or difficulty. Use this feedback to make necessary adjustments and improvements to enhance the user experience.
Analytics and Iteration: Regularly analyse website analytics to understand user behaviour, popular pages, and any navigation issues. Use this data to iterate and optimise your website's structure over time. Continuously monitor user feedback, conduct A/B testing, and make data-driven decisions to improve the structure and navigation of your website.
Remember, a well-structured website makes it easier for users to find the information they need and enhances their overall experience.
- External links: Build backlinks from high-quality websites to your website.
External links, also known as outbound links, are links that point from your website to another website. They are an important aspect of SEO and can have several benefits for your website and its visibility. Here are some key considerations regarding external links:
Relevance and Authority: When linking to external websites, ensure that the linked pages are relevant to your content and provide value to your users. Choose reputable and authoritative websites that are trustworthy and relevant to the topic you are discussing.
Quality and Reputation: Link to high-quality websites that have a good reputation and a strong online presence. Search engines consider the reputation and authority of the websites you link to when assessing the credibility and relevance of your own content.
Anchor Text: Use descriptive anchor text when creating external links. The anchor text should accurately represent the content or topic of the linked page. Avoid using generic phrases like "click here" or "read more." Descriptive anchor text helps search engines understand the context of the linked page.
Nofollow Links: Consider using the rel="nofollow" attribute for certain external links. Nofollow links tell search engines not to pass authority or "link juice" to the linked page. This is useful when linking to untrusted or paid sources, user-generated content, or any links you don't want search engines to associate with your website.
Diverse Link Sources: Aim for a diverse range of external link sources. Linking to various websites and domains shows search engines that your content is well-researched and connected to relevant resources across the web. However, prioritise quality and relevance over quantity.
User Experience: External links should enhance the user experience by providing additional information or resources related to your content. Consider the needs and interests of your audience when selecting external links and ensure they align with their expectations.
Broken Links: Regularly check your external links to ensure they are still active and pointing to relevant pages. Broken links can harm user experience and negatively impact your website's credibility. Use tools or plugins to scan your website for broken links and update or remove them accordingly.
Linking Policy: Establish a clear linking policy for your website to ensure consistent practices across your content. Define guidelines for external linking, including criteria for selecting external sources and the appropriate use of nofollow attributes.
Social Sharing: Encourage social sharing of your content by including social sharing buttons on your website. When users share your content on social media platforms, it can generate external links back to your website, increasing its visibility and potential for attracting more traffic.
Relevance and Context: When linking to external websites, provide context and explain why the linked resource is valuable or relevant to your content. This helps users understand the purpose of the link and encourages them to explore further.
Remember, external links should be used strategically to enhance the user experience, provide additional value, and demonstrate the credibility and authority of your content.
- Technical SEO: Make sure your website is optimised for search engines.
Technical SEO refers to the optimisation of a website's technical aspects to improve its visibility and performance in search engine rankings. It involves optimising various technical elements that search engines consider when crawling, indexing, and ranking websites. Here are some key areas of focus in technical SEO:
Website Speed: Optimise your website's loading speed to provide a fast and seamless user experience. This can include compressing images, minifying CSS and JavaScript files, leveraging browser caching, and using content delivery networks (CDNs) to deliver content more efficiently.
Mobile Friendliness: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive, meaning it adapts to different screen sizes and devices. With the increasing use of mobile devices for browsing, search engines prioritise mobile-friendly websites in their rankings.
Website Architecture: Create a logical and organised website structure that makes it easy for search engines to crawl and understand your content. Use clear URLs, hierarchical navigation, and internal linking to establish a hierarchy and relationships between pages.
XML Sitemap: Generate an XML sitemap that lists all the pages of your website, helping search engines discover and index your content more effectively. Submit the sitemap to search engines through their respective webmaster tools.
Robots.txt File: Use a robots.txt file to control which pages and sections of your website search engines should crawl and index. It helps prevent search engines from accessing sensitive or duplicate content and focuses their attention on important pages.
Canonical Tags: Implement canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a web page when there are multiple versions with similar or identical content. This helps consolidate the ranking signals for that page and avoids duplicate content issues.
Structured Data Markup: Use structured data markup (such as Schema.org) to provide additional context and information about your content to search engines. This can enhance the visibility of your website in search results by enabling rich snippets and other enhanced search features.
HTTPS and Website Security: Implement an SSL certificate to secure your website and enable HTTPS encryption. Search engines prioritise secure websites and may penalise those that don't have SSL certificates. Additionally, ensure your website is protected against malware and other security threats.
Page and Image Optimisation: Optimise individual pages and images by using descriptive titles, meta descriptions, and header tags (H1, H2, etc.). Optimise image file sizes, add alt text, and use descriptive file names to help search engines understand and index your content more effectively.
Technical Auditing: Regularly conduct technical audits of your website to identify and fix any issues that may affect its performance or visibility. Use tools like Google Search Console, website crawlers, and other SEO auditing tools to identify and resolve technical issues such as broken links, crawl errors, or duplicate content.
Technical SEO is an ongoing process, and it requires continuous monitoring, optimisation, and adaptation to keep up with search engine algorithms and evolving best practices.
With all the above considered we can sufficiently conclude that…..
SEO is an ongoing process. Regularly monitor your website's analytics, conduct technical audits, and adapt your strategy as needed. By staying informed, testing different approaches, and continuously optimising your content and website, you can achieve better visibility, increased traffic, and ultimately, more success online.
Remember, SEO is not just about search engine rankings; it's about creating a positive user experience, delivering valuable content, and building a strong online presence. So, embrace the power of keywords, structure your content effectively, optimise your website technically, and utilise external links wisely. With these elements combined, you'll be well on your way to SEO success.
.png)
