“Rome wasn’t built in a day” is an old proverb. Your Shopify store is the same way. When you start an eCommerce business on Shopify, there is one key thing that can help you do better. It is letting people know about your online store. If your potential customers don’t find your store online while doing research, you have no chance of doing well among the other dropshippers.
The SEO industry comes into play at this point. It’s the thing that will help you stand out from the crowd if you do it right. SEO is important for eCommerce just like it is for every other business. The Business Research Company says that the SEO industry will be worth as much as $77.6 billion by 2024. This shows how popular the industry is. It means that more and more businesses are starting to understand how important SEO is and are working harder to make sure their websites are optimized.
But what does SEO mean? Let us tell you about SEO and the best ways to use it for your store.
SEO: A Quick Start
Let’s start with a simple explanation of what SEO is. When you look at SERPs, all of the results you see are basically “served” to you based on a number of different things. SEO, which stands for “search engine optimization,” is the term that covers all of these things. If we put them in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Model in order from lowest to highest, we would have indexability and crawlability, relevant and compelling content, keyword optimization, and link building. All of these things can work together to bring in more and better customers to your store. Last, it will help you get a higher ranking in search results.
Still, the optimization process is like a two-way mirror. You have the search engines on one side and your audience on the other. You need to find the right balance, and you shouldn’t try to make your store too good for search engines. If you do this, you might end up making content for machines instead of people. On the other hand, you need to know what your customers want and give them a lot of good content.
A list of all the SEO terms
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- SERPs stands for “Search Engine Result Pages.”
- Sitemap is a list of all the web pages you need to send to search engines so they can crawl and index them.
- Meta Description is an HTML element that describes the page’s content.
- Title Tag: An HTML element that shows the title of a web page
- Alt Text is an HTML element used to explain what an image shows.
- Keyword stuffing is a spammy practice in which too many keywords are used.
- DA stands for “Domain Authority.” This is a metric that MOZ made to figure out how well a website will rank in SERPs.
How can SEO be used in the eCommerce field?
SEO is a group of techniques that can make your Shopify store more visible and easy to find. SEO can help get the right people to your website and turn them into repeat customers. The more optimized and easy to use your store is, the more likely it is that Google will rank it higher. SEO is different from paid advertising in that it doesn’t cost anything to do. Because of this, is considered an essential part of the eCommerce business that you can’t ignore. With SEO, you can get people to find your store on their own, and if you can turn them into customers, you can increase your sales. All you have to do to build a winning store is follow every step of the SEO process. So, let’s talk about what SEO is all about.
The basics of SEO are explained
The SEO process is made up of two main ideas that work together. Off-page SEO comes next. It all starts with On-page SEO. After reading the definitions, you’ll know why On-Page SEO is always where you should start.
What is “on-page SEO”?
On-page SEO takes care of a website’s internal parts. It’s called “on-page” because of this. All of the things that fall under “On-page SEO” have a direct effect on your website as a whole.
To be more specific, on-page SEO is about your website’s content and how it is set up. For Shopify stores, this means that you need to make sure that every part of your store looks its best. This goes for titles and descriptions of products, blog posts, and more. Before you can even think about moving on to Off-Page SEO, you need to clean up your own house.
What is “off-page SEO”?
Off-page SEO refers to everything outside of your website that affects its ranking. It is the opposite of on-page SEO. These things aren’t part of your website, but they have a direct effect on how it ranks.
Once you’re done with the On-page SEO for your online store, you should move on to the Off-page SEO. It includes things like building links, guest blogging, local SEO, and so on. We talk about these things below.
Getting started
Let’s say you’ve found a great product to sell and set up your Shopify online store. No matter what niche your products are in, you need to find a way to set yourself apart from your competitors. On-page SEO comes into play at this point.
Your Shopify store’s on-page SEO
Adding keywords
A few years ago, a website full of keywords was an example of a good SEO site. After that, things changed. Right now, adding keywords is important, but using them too much can hurt your site. Today, a website that is full of keywords is a sign that it is trying too hard.
Think about a Shopify store where the product descriptions are full of spam. It’s a risky thing to do. When you open your store, you need to find the best opportunities for short-tail and long-tail keywords and play it safe. Adding the right keywords can help your store rank higher in SERPs, which can lead to more sales.
Start by putting keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, descriptions of your products, and alt texts for your images. If you decide to add a blog to your Shopify store in the future, you can also use your targeted keywords in the articles you write.
Optimization of pages
Optimizing your separate pages and descriptions isn’t just about using keywords in the right way. Meta descriptions, title tags, and alt texts are also important parts that you shouldn’t forget about. If you don’t follow the best SEO practices for this step, having the right keywords won’t matter much.
Names of pages
Your page titles should have between 50 and 60 characters, which is the best length. Page titles are important because they show up in places like SERPs, web browsers, and social networks. If your page titles are long, messy, and full of keywords, you will definitely make a bad impression on your potential customers. On the other hand, your store will look more trustworthy and appealing to customers if the titles are short, clear, and to the point.
Meta descriptions
The same thing goes for each page’s meta description. Between 50 and 160 characters is the best length for a meta description. If you want your meta descriptions to work, you should write them as sentences that briefly explain what the page is about. It is best if each meta description is a unique sentence that includes some of your target keywords. Still, don’t stuff your sentences with keywords to get a better ranking, just like you shouldn’t do that with your page titles. It is a useless strategy that will hurt the ranking and traffic of your store.
Alt Texts
Last, the images you upload to your pages must have alt texts. First, because search engines can’t read pictures, and second, because some people can’t see. To be more specific, alt descriptions are used to explain what the image is showing. So, it’s best to add descriptions to your images instead of leaving them with just symbols and numbers. Try to add alt texts with keywords that describe your images well, and if you’re lucky, they will show up in Google’s image search results.
Store’s structure optimization
Even though Shopify has SEO features built in, you can always put in more work to make your store’s structure even better. Start by optimizing your store menu to improve the way your site is set up. Also, when you upload pictures of your products to your store, make sure to rename the files by giving them specific names. Since search crawlers can’t read pictures but can read text, it’s important to give image files names that are easy to understand.
Indexing a store
Once you have optimized your Shopify store’s structure and content, it’s time to officially launch it. Your store and products can’t start ranking in SERPs if they are not indexed and crawled by Google. To do this, first, you need to verify your store with Google. This is achievable by disabling your password protection to notify Google that you want your store to be visible to the public. After completing this step, you can proceed with submitting your automatically generated sitemap in Google Search Console. Your sitemap consists of all pages on your store and tells crawlers about their organization.
Your Shopify store’s off-page SEO
Link building
Off-page SEO is based on building links. Backlinks are used to make a brand more trustworthy. Because of this, search engines recognize their hard work and give their website and content a higher ranking. In the practice of link-building, there are three types of backlinks: natural, built by hand, and ones that you make yourself. Links that are used in a way that doesn’t try to sell something are called “natural links.” For example, if you are writing an article and want to link back to Wikipedia or other sources that are related to the topic, you can do that. Backlinks that are built by hand are those that come from link-building activities. One way to build a backlink manually would be to ask a customer to write a review of your products and link to it. Backlinks made by the company’s marketing team, such as mentions on forums, online directories, or guest blogs, are self-made backlinks. But you should know that links from sites with low authority can hurt your SEO strategy. So, building links from spammy sites or PBNs (Private Blog Networks) is not a good idea because it can hurt your website’s reputation and rankings.
You should try to get all three types of backlinks for your Shopify store if you are a dropshipper. As the number of backlinks to your store grows, so will its domain authority (DA). But keep in mind that building links is powerful as long as you do it right. You need to find the right ways to build links for your store and products and come up with a plan. During this step, you should get links from sites that are relevant to your niche, trustworthy, and have a high domain authority.
(Unlinked) brand mentions
In addition to building links, you can also build brand mentions, which can also help you move up in the rankings. Brand mentions is the process of getting people to talk about your brand, which includes your store and products. Most brand mentions happen naturally, so you should work on building relationships with your customers to get them to talk about your store and products. Also, brand mentions are usually not linked to anything else. Still, you should keep playing because it is a fair game. Later, if you find opportunities to do outreach and turn these mentions into backlinks, you will have a lot of backlinks.
Social media marketing
Social media marketing should never be neglected. It is yet another way to increase brand awareness and acquire quality backlinks to your online store. Once your Shopify store is up and running, invest in creating your social media profiles and adding links to your website. All the major social media channels can bring benefits to your store and help you rank higher in SERPs. Even if you don’t get a vast number of backlinks through social media, you will surely build trust, reputation, and awareness for your brand.
Content marketing
The one thing you can do to make sure the best customers come to your store. There are many benefits to going after customers through content creation instead of just paid advertising. People are more likely to interact with useful articles than with ads these days. No matter what kind of products you sell, this is a good SEO strategy for your Shopify store. All you have to do is figure out who your buyer personas are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and give them the content they need.
In the future, your articles will give you more chances to get backlinks. If you can make high-quality content, you will be able to move up in the rankings and increase your domain authority. If your domain authority is high, many other eCommerce players will link back to you, making your store more visible.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a type of online marketing that has grown in popularity in recent years. You can do very well if you find the most influential people in your niche. It’s something else you should do as part of your SEO strategy. “Trio fantastico” refers to the way social media marketing, content marketing, and influencer marketing work together. To get the most out of them, you should use them both at the same time. Influencer marketing on its own can help build a better reputation for your brand, reach a new audience, and boost sales. Influencer marketing takes time and money, which is something you should know.
Local SEO
Off-page SEO includes local SEO, which is the first optimization a business owner should do after opening their business. Local SEO is mostly used by small businesses with a physical location, but dropshippers also use it for their Shopify-built online stores. If you want to get local attention for your Shopify store, you need to pay attention to a few things:
Google’s Business Page
To start improving your Local SEO, you need to make sure that your store is listed on Google My Business. It’s a simple step that can bring a lot of people to your store and help you make more money from dropshipping. When you list your store on Google My Business, you’ll need to include the registered company’s address, phone number, and hours of operation. Also, you should ask your customers for reviews, which will show up in the section of Google My Business for your brand’s name. In real life, your brand’s image will be better if you get more and better ratings.
Lists of businesses
Local SEO is helped when you list your Shopify store in business directories that are related to your industry. When people shop online, they often look for stores that ship to the area where they live. So, based on the dropshipping options you have, you should list your store in business directories that are relevant to the places you ship to. After you finish this step, more people will be able to see your online store and your chances of making more money will go up as well.
Local SEO is helped by content marketing.
In content marketing, it’s a good idea to target your audience based on where they live. When making content for a local audience, you should focus on using keywords that are important in that area. Find out where your store’s target customers are, and keep in mind that you want to get customers from those places. A list of Canadian dropshipping suppliers is an example of the kind of content that would be written for Local SEO.
Plus, Shopify gives your store SEO tools.
The biggest platform for selling things online knows how important SEO is for online stores. Because of this, Shopify has built-in SEO tools and apps for dropshippers, as well as Shopify apps with live chat support that can be used to boost the ranking of their stores. It’s never a bad idea to have a number of tools on hand to help improve SEO for Shopify. They can help you get the most out of your online business and make your work easier. These are the most-used tools that both new and experienced dropshippers use every day to improve their Shopify stores.
SEO Booster
Everyone who does dropshipping on Shopify uses this tool, no matter how much experience they have. This Shopify tool has a free plan that includes an SEO scan, detailed instructions for fixing problems, and a Google sitemap. With the growth plan, you can get image alt texts for an unlimited number of products and a diagnosis of your competitors’ stores, among other things.
Plug in SEO
A tool that most dropshippers who use Shopify use. It makes the store’s SEO better by setting keywords to focus on, optimizing headings, and duplicating content. After a free 7-day trial, Plug in SEO costs $20 per month.
SEO Optimizer – Auto SEO
With SEO Optimizer, you can improve the way your Shopify store looks on each page. This app says that it will automatically optimize your store every day to make sure you get good traffic and make more money.
SEO Plus
This free tool is made to help you boost sales and bring more people into your store. It is easy to use and doesn’t require you to know a lot about coding. Because of these things, it is a great SEO tool for dropshippers who don’t know much about SEO.
Smart SEO
This tool lets you create meta tags and alt tags quickly and easily. Smart SEO also makes a sitemap for your store automatically, and you can choose which pages to leave out based on your preferences. After the free trial of 7 days, it costs $4.99 a month.
Bulk Image Edit – Image SEO
This is a very popular option for optimizing images. With it, you can easily resize and crop your product images to fit in your store without lowering their quality. Also, it helps protect your photos by letting you add watermarks to them.
SEO Doctor: 404 and Sitemap
A useful tool that helps Shopify stores with technical SEO. By adding this tool to your store, you’ll be able to find and fix any problems that are slowing you down. Some of the most common things this tool helps with are fixing 404 errors, making sure your site is mobile-friendly, tracking errors in real time, and more.
SEO Manager
This tool has a free trial period of 7 days, after which it costs $20 per month. It has more than 20 features that can help you get your Shopify store ready for SEO. Some of the things this tool can do are edit titles and descriptions, scan for SEO issues and suggest ways to fix them, and take care of broken links.