Like most people who have used the internet, and especially if you have your own website, you have asked “What the hell is SEO and do I need it?” The answer is "yes, you definitely need it." Well, let me take a few steps back and say that you should for sure have some solid SEO setup if you want people to actually visit your website. In this blog we will discuss the basics of SEO and how you can use it to make your website kick some serious ass.

Basics of SEO:

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization if we are using formal names, is how your website communicates with search engines. So, if you run an online store that sells skateboards, it would make sense that you want to be the first link to show up on google when someone searches for “skateboards”, right? Well, that’s SEO.

If your website was built in Shopify, you should have all the tools needed to make your site awesome. Fill out the SEO forms on each page and that will get you a solid base to start increasing traffic to your website.

How to use the SEO tools Shopify provides to you:

If you’re using Shopify to sell products online you have no excuse as to why you don’t have solid SEO. They give you all the tools you need to make it work the way it should, you just have to make sure you’re actually using them, and more importantly, using them correctly.

For this example, we will be using a blog post draft to show you how to fill everything out properly.

Page Title:

First things first, make sure you have a title that will make people want to read it. Instead of saying “Using SEO on your website” say something like “How to Kick Ass at SEO.” Or something along those lines. This can be applied to any page on your website, not just blogs. Make sure your page title is descriptive and reflects what is on the page. We see mislabeled pages all the time and that is not something you want on your site.

Meta Descriptions:

A meta description is what will show up underneath your website name and page url within the results of a search engine query. Ensure that this description makes sense with the page content and is compelling enough for people to want to visit the page.

URL & Handle

Again, this is pretty common sense, but be sure that the URL makes sense for the page it is linked to. If it is a page that has skateboard decks, make sure that is in the URL.

Tags

This is a step a lot of people forget to do, but it is probably one of the most important. Adding tags to your pages function as keywords which tells the search engines that they are associated with those topics. This way, search engines will more easily recognize the relevancy of your pages, showing them to someone who uses those same tag keywords in their search terms.

Taking it to the next level

While the info listed above is a solid start and will improve your SEO immediately, there is always more you can do. Here are a few more little suggestions on how to really take your SEO to the next level.

Backlinks

Backlinks are huge in improving your SEO score. Backlinks are basically any legitimate link that points someone to your website. This could be a link in a blog written by a company that featured your brand, or a social media link that points to your shop. You can also do this by adding links to other pages on your own website. Check out our blog about adding products to your Shopify Store the right way. See what I did there?

Content

You know what they say, content is king. But don’t just make content to get something up, make sure it is good and worthy of potential customers' attention. Write blogs, post on social media, fill out all the shit that Shopify asks you for and you should be good to go.

Image alt text

Images on your website work just like anything else. Image alt text is basically just a description of what the image is. So, if you have a picture of a skateboard deck on your homepage, you should describe that picture in depth.

Conclusion

SEO is pretty important when trying to grow your business. If you take the time to do it, it will make a huge difference. Follow the steps that Shopify suggests and you can get a good start. If you would like to take a deeper dive into SEO and how to make an even bigger difference, lets us know and we would be happy to talk further.

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