How to Optimize Shopify SEO for Free Traffic in 2023?

Introduction

SEO offers an affordable way to drive traffic to your Shopify store by improving search engine visibility and ranking. This guide provides expert advice and a detailed checklist for e-commerce entrepreneurs to implement successful SEO strategies.

SEO and Free Traffic

• Paying for ads to drive traffic to your Shopify store is becoming expensive, but there’s a way to get visitors for free through SEO (search engine optimization).

• SEO aims to make your website appear when people search for related terms, and the goal is to rank as high as possible in search results.

• Optimizing your Shopify store for SEO involves ensuring search engines understand your store’s content and relevance, ultimately boosting free traffic.

• SEO expert Brendan Gillen, with over 10 years of e-commerce experience, guides e-commerce entrepreneurs with an SEO checklist to implement the process effectively.

Understanding SEO Keyword Planning

• The key to SEO optimization is choosing the right keywords that match what people search for in search engines.

• Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that helps in finding the most effective keywords for a store.

• By entering potential search terms into the Google Keyword Planner, it provides a list of related keywords and their average monthly search volumes.

• For example, for a store selling handmade soap, the tool can show the monthly search volume for keywords like ‘natural soaps’, ‘handmade soap near me’, and ‘handmade soaps’.

• This information helps in selecting the most relevant and high-searched keywords to improve the store’s search engine ranking.

Choosing Keywords for SEO Optimization

• When selecting keywords for SEO optimization, it is crucial to focus on those with high average monthly searches to drive significant traffic to the website.

• The primary keyword should have the most relevant and highest search volume, while two supporting keywords should also have good search volume and relevance to the main keyword.

• In this case, the primary keyword chosen is ‘handmade soap’ due to its high search volume and relevance.

• The secondary keywords selected are ‘natural soaps’ and ‘homemade soaps’, with search volumes of 720 and 320 respectively.

• A checklist is created to directly list these chosen keywords for further implementation in the SEO strategy.

SEO Optimization for Shopify Store

• SEO optimization for a Shopify store involves strategically placing relevant keywords in the code and content to improve search engine rankings.

• The code in the back of the website, including title tags, H1 tags, and page text, needs to contain primary and secondary keywords for search engines to recognize the content.

• Shopify and Shopify themes automatically create the necessary code, so the focus is on placing the keywords in the right spots within Shopify.

• On collection pages, such as handmade soap collection, the H1 tag, and page text should include the targeted keywords to signal the content’s relevance to search engines.

SEO Optimization for Collection Pages

• When optimizing collection pages for SEO, it’s crucial to include the primary and secondary keywords in the text and meta description.

• Adding the primary keyword in the page title (title tag) and creating a description with both primary and secondary keywords is essential for search engine optimization.

• Including the primary keyword in the URL handle is also a recommended practice for SEO optimization.

• Utilizing tools like ChatGPT can help in generating effective descriptions for SEO purposes, as demonstrated in a tutorial video.

• After creating SEO-friendly descriptions, inserting the long text into the paragraph section and adding the meta description to the bottom of the page in Shopify completes the SEO setup for collection pages.

Optimizing Product Pages for SEO

• When optimizing product pages for SEO, we need to follow similar steps as the collection page.

• We include the title and long description with relevant keywords, ensuring that metadata is in place.

• The key addition for product pages is the inclusion of alt tags for images to communicate their content to search engines.

• Alt tags are essential for describing images and providing relevant keywords for search engine ranking.

• It’s important to use images related to targeted keywords and describe them accurately in the alt tags for effective SEO.

• To add alt text, simply click on the image, find the ‘edit alt text’ option, and input the keyword along with a descriptive image summary.

• The alt text should accurately represent the image and include the keyword for SEO purposes.

Optimizing Image Alt Tags and Creating Fresh Content

• It’s important to ensure that each image of a product has a unique alt tag and angle so as to avoid duplicate content.

• Using specific descriptors such as ‘front side,’ ‘back,’ ‘close-up,’ and ‘detail’ can differentiate multiple images of the same product while still optimizing for the keyword.

• Updating image alt tags on product pages is crucial for improving site ranking and visibility on search engines.

• Creating fresh content, such as blog posts, on a regular basis is highly valued by search engines and can positively impact site ranking.

• Tools like ‘Answer the Public’ can be helpful in generating ideas for blog posts, ensuring consistent and frequent updates to the website.

SEO Optimization for Blog Posts and Shopify Store

• Typing in the term ‘natural soap’ has generated numerous ideas for different blog posts, such as where to buy natural soap, the effectiveness of natural soap, types of natural dish soaps, and the characteristics of natural soaps, including whether they are vegan.

• Creating a schedule for blog posts and publishing them every two to four weeks on the website is recommended. It’s important to include relevant keywords, update meta descriptions, titles, and headings for better ranking.

• In addition to blog optimization, Shopify store also needs attention. It’s crucial to ensure the correct store name and a compelling homepage description. This can be done by accessing the online store and clicking on preferences to update the homepage title, meta descriptions, and including a call to action to encourage engagement.

• Utilizing tools like ChatGPT to generate meta descriptions and focusing on optimizing content for search engine listings are important strategies for improving SEO and user engagement.

Optimizing SEO and Domain Redirect

• The first step in SEO optimization involves creating a Sitemap XML to inform search engines about the website’s structure and content.

• Shopify automatically generates Sitemap XMLs, which simplifies the process for website owners.

• The Sitemap XML contains code that communicates every page and link on the website to search engines, enabling them to index the website’s content for search results.

• Submitting the Sitemap XML to Google Search Console is essential to ensure that search engines are aware of the website’s content and can display it to users.

• Additionally, implementing a domain redirect is crucial, especially for websites with multiple domains such as www.yourcompany.com and yourcompany.com.

• Choosing a preferred domain and informing Shopify about it ensures that the selected domain is the primary one used for ranking purposes.

Setting up Shopify SEO

• When setting up Shopify SEO, it’s important to ensure that redirects are correctly configured for the domain.

• Redirects help in focusing the ranking efforts on a single domain, preventing traffic from being split between multiple domains.

• Proper setup for collection pages, product pages, and consistent blog posts are vital for store ranking.

• In addition to content, technical aspects such as specifying the right language for search engines are equally important.

• A checklist is provided to guide through keyword placement on product and collection pages, as well as keyword planning.

• The checklist also includes a link for more information and resources to improve Shopify store ranking.

Conclusion

Implementing SEO strategies for your Shopify store is crucial for driving free traffic and improving search engine rankings. By following the steps provided in this guide, e-commerce entrepreneurs can effectively optimize their store and attract more potential customers.

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