How are many competing Shopify sites there in any niche? Too many?
There are only too many if you rank behind them in Google.
Use this workflow will help you prioritize your Shopify SEO tasks.
Shopify On-Page SEO
Improving your on-page ranking factors needs no coding or SEO knowledge; just follow these simple steps.
1. Make your Store Faster
Every second counts, and changing your Shopify theme could work for you. Check your site speed with your current theme using Google’s page speed tool, then recheck after installing a new theme.
A poorly-coded e-commerce theme will mean your product pages take longer to load, meaning Google and Bing will rank them lower in search results. Choosing the fastest theme might mean compromises in other areas, but higher ranking in search results will mean more site visitors and more sales, regardless of perceived deficiencies in your theme.
Given that so many people will be browsing your Shopify site on phones and tablets, a responsive theme is essential. Nobody wants to scroll sideways to see photos or prices, so make your site easy to use on small screens.
2. Improve Your Hosting
Google has decided to mark all non-https sites carrying personal data as insecure for Chrome users. You now have no option but to upgrade to secure hosting and to pay for anSSL certificate. This Search Engine Journal article includes a guide that is easy to follow.
Moving to VPS hosting at the same time will give your site an additional speed boost. Check for user ratings before deciding and remember that most hosting recommendations are driven by the possibility of affiliate commissions. This WPBeginner article shows Siteground, and InMotion hosting stand out as excellent options.
Cloud hosting is another option to consider, and this TheCoders.vn article will help you in that decision.
3. Unique Product Descriptions
Replace the default product descriptions from your suppliers with individually written ones. Tweaking the default description is not enough.
Extended descriptions are better than short ones, but be sure to include your main keyword in the first sentence and common variations in the first hundred words. Shoppers won’t read more than that, but Google sees everything you write and uses it to decide your relevance to the search phrase.
Find low-cost writers on sites like Upwork, but be aware that many foreign writers’ English will be lacking, which will alienate some site users.
4. Shopify Header Tags
Google uses your H1 header tags in its listings so getting these right is a vital step in your Shopify SEO workflow.
In the example above a customer’s chief concern is to find a ‘drop waist dress.’ The brand or store name is secondary so put it at the end of your H1 tags, not at the start.
5. Optimize Your Product Images
Most of the data on your site is in the images you use. Look for a theme that lets you choose your image size. Look for rollover effects that allow shoppers to zoom in, or links to open a larger image in a new window.
Include your keyword in your alt-image tags and use the title and description tags to good effect. Every word on your page is accessible to search engines, so make use of these ‘hidden words’ to improve your ranking. Your image ‘description’ tag will naturally include related terms.
6. Shopify Redirects
Decide whether your preferred URL includes www or not and use a 301 redirect to send visitors to the alternative URL to your preferred one. You can set this up in your Shopify Dashboard – Preferences-DNS & Domains-Always redirect customers here CheckBox.
Nothing in life is constant, and that applies doubly online. Your products change, but those pages will still appear in Google, leading to frustrated customers facing a ‘404 Page not found’ error. Use the built-in Shopify redirect feature – Bottom of page-Admin-Navigation to choose an alternative product whenever you discontinue a line.
The Short Version
Your Shopify competitors are always going to be there, and they are going to get better year by year. You can outrank them on Google, but you need to go the extra mile.
Your site needs to be faster, your page tags need to be descriptive, and your content must be unique. Choose a quick and responsive Shopify theme, then look for secure and speedier hosting. Then writing unique descriptions, optimizing your images and setting up redirects will put you ahead of most competitors.
