There are a number of things that influence your site’s search engine optimization (SEO). Even though one of the key factors is relevant content, there are a number of other things you can do to improve your Shopify store SEO. SEO is an ongoing process so you should revisit the checklist periodically and keep it in mind when creating new content on your store.
In this post, we’ll take a look at 3 ways you can improve your store’s search optimization – by making navigation easier, using the right amount of keywords, and speeding up your site.
Improve Shopify store SEO: 1. Easier site navigation
Bounce rate is the percentage of people who leave your store after seeing just one page. This number tells search engines whether visitors are seeing what they expected on your site or not. This is one proxy for whether the content on your site was relevant to your site visitors.
You can mitigate your site’s bounce rate by creating engaging copy. You can reduce it even further by making your site easier to navigate through a main call to action on your pages, and creating a well-structured top navigation. As an example, if your store only sells bikes, perhaps you can name your shop page as “Shop Bikes”. If you sell apparel, add the men’s and women’s collection categories in the top navigation, rather than within a drop down.
You can change labels for the Shopify navigation by going to Online Store > Navigation in your dashboard.
Improve Shopify store SEO: 2. Right amount of keywords
SEO of the past meant adding loads of keywords to your copy. Unfortunately, the misconception that SEO is synonymous with injecting as many keywords in your copy as possible still continues. This often leads to content that’s not user-centric because the main aim is to add as many keywords as you can.
Today, this practice is penalized by search engines as such pages tend to be deemed spammy. Part of it also has to do with the site visitor experience where customers may leave because they get bogged down with content that’s not relevant to them. You can create a better user experience if you focus on what the users want in your copy. You can keep the density of keywords roughly between 0.5% to 3% of the total copy on a page or post.
Improve Shopify store SEO: 3. Low site load time
According to this report, roughly 40% of users abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. People generally expect sites to load in less than 2 minutes. Anything longer than that not only hinders their browsing experience, it also erodes trust in sites.
You may be losing potential customers and adding to your bounce rate if your site load times are slow. Take a look at this post about speeding up your Shopify store by optimizing your images, deleting inactive apps, and using mobile-optimized themes.
Improve Shopify store SEO: Summary
There are some foundational steps you can take to increase your search ranking that I covered in this past post about SEO. One of the main things being unique and useful content for your audience to build and maintain engagement. The 3 things in this post not only help improve your sites searchability, these also help improve the customer experience on your store.
Easier navigation helps customers where they want to get quicker. A copy that’s not riddled with specific keywords makes it looks less spammy and more authentic. Lastly, lower load times mean that customers are likely to continue browsing on your store and have better trust for your brand.
Are there other things that help you with your SEO? Please tell us about them in the comments below.
Jai Sangha
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