SEO for beginners
So I still class myself as a beginner when it comes to SEO (search engine optimisation) but I have actually learned a huge amount about it since starting An’du. I am by NO means claiming to be an expert – far from it – but, if you are starting up a business and particularly if that business relies on website traffic, then I have compiled a few of the things I have learned to help you get started out.
What is SEO?
Put simply, SEO is the text you have written on your website (both visible and behind the scenes) that search engines, like Google, read. It helps these search engines ‘decide’ where to place you in their rankings when people search for different things. For example, if you are selling hand-made children’s toys and someone searches for ‘hand-made children’s toys’ if your website is optimised then you are more likely to appear on Google’s first page. That being said, the competition out there is VAST and so even with the best SEO in the world, if you are a small business, getting organic traffic through these search engines is still incredibly difficult.
Why is SEO important?
SEO, when done well, can help grow the number of people visiting your website and more visitors equals more sales. This kind of traffic is:
- Free
- High intent (ie the people visiting your site have been actively searching for something you are offering)
This means you are spending no money on traffic that is more likely to convert to sales than some other forms of traffic.
3 top tips for optimising your website (SEO)
1) Update your meta-title and description
At An’du we used Shopify to build our website, so I will be referring specifically to Shopify features here, however the same applies to all websites, you just might find them in different places.
Your Meta title and description is what you see when you Google something.
Meta Title:
The Meta title is the highest level of description of your store. Use no more than 70 characters.
Make sure you include: the name of your store and a brief description of what you sell/ who it is for
Meta Description:
This should be 3-4 simple sentences that include a mix of features and benefits. These should be the things that you think your ideal customer will be asking or looking for when doing a search.
Make sure you include: what it is you are selling, who it is for, your USP or why the customer needs it.
- Open Shopify Admin
- Click on Online Store in sidebar menu
- Click on Preferences
Common mistakes to avoid:
- Blank meta-titles and descriptions – obviously a blank space here will mean search engines have nothing to read
- Key word stuffing – don’t just jam this section full of key words you think your customers might search for. Use sentences with well written English. Search engines can penalise you for key word stuffing
- Using emojis – search engines can’t ‘read’ emojis, don’t put them in!
2. Optimize your Product Pages for SEO
Product Pages need these 3 things (you can obviously have more stuff on there, but these 3 are essential)
a) A Descriptive Title
b) Clear Benefits (Marketing copy)
c) List of Features (SEO copy)
All of these things are on your product page and will be read by your potential customers, so even though you want your key words and features in there for Google to read, you must make sure that it reads well and is persuasive for customers.
a) A descriptive product title
Product titles are often fun/ made up names. While this is fine, it needs to include at least one word that clearly describes what it is:
For example instead of my product title just reading : ‘Nourishment’, it should read: ‘Nourishment Shampoo Bar’
b) Clear Benefits (Marketing copy)
This bit of text is all about persuading the customer that they need your product. It tells you about how the product will make you feel and all the benefits of it. It might cover the problem that it is solving or simply why your target customer needs this product in their lives.
This is not designed to be read by search engines (although there is no harm in making sure your key words are in there.
c) List of Features (SEO copy)
This SEO copy clearly explains the product features. These can be in the form of a list or bullet points. They would typically include the size, colour or shape, product materials, where something is made, or care instructions.
3: Optimize images for SEO with File names and ALT Text
You may have noticed that when you Google something, sometimes a row of images come up as well as links to sites below. This is because search engines use the file name and alt text on your images to match them to what people search for.
This means that if your image files are saved as a string of letters and numbers (which they usually are) when you upload them, you are missing an SEO opportunity!
I was advised to save them using a hyphen between each word and including the product name and key word description for each item.
Eg beard-botanics-shampoo-bar-for-beards-and-hair
Your alt text is what comes up if your bandwidth is low and the picture doesn’t load. Its main purpose is for people with visual impairment who may have their screen read out to them, so it must accurately describe what your picture is. However, it is also SEO friendly as search engines will read this when matching search queries to images, so again, make sure you use your keys words, product name and description.
In Shopify, you can edit your file name and alt text by clicking on products and then the product you want to edit and then the image.
And that’s it! There’s lots more you can do for best SEO practice, including clever ways to find your perfect key words and the kinds of things people might be searching for, but if I’m perfectly honest, I don’t fully understand them yet either!
If you do these three things though, your website should be much more visible than it was before and hopefully Google will send a bit more organic traffic through your way! Good luck!