Riddle me this: When you go on to Google to look for an online store or to search for something, say ‘best restaurant around me’, how many times do you go on to the 2nd or the 3rd page of search results?
I’m assuming like most people your answer is, Never or Hardly!
The right Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices not only allow you to rank higher on search engines (preferably 1st page of search results) to boost visibility but also help get more traffic to your website, be more relevant to your potential customers and boost sales.
If you’re building a new WordPress online store or an ecommerce website, it’s critical to understand and implement the right SEO practices from the word go.
To help you do just that, we’ve created this SEO checklist for a new WordPress online store.
WordPress SEO Checklist for an Online Store
As a beginner, setting up and managing your online store’s SEO needs may seem overwhelming, but we’ve listed down simple and basic points that are easy yet effective. Once you go live with your online store, you can slowly start implementing more strategic SEO practices, or if you need help you can always opt for professional Managed SEO services.
Here are 5 things you need to check off on your SEO checklist for your new WordPress online store:
Choose an SEO Friendly WordPress Theme
WordPress offers a wide range of themes to build your online store; make sure you pick a theme that is SEO friendly. This will help you maximize your website’s SEO functionality and build a fully responsive website that improves search engine rankings. You can pick a free WordPress theme too, just make sure that it’s SEO friendly.
Use Plugins that Aid Functionality
Depending on the type of online store you’re building you may need to add certain functionality to make it easier for your customers to shop from you. WordPress plugins help you do just that, and more! You can install free WordPress plugins to boost your online store to rank better on search engines, create easy shopping processes, build a customer base, market your online store to potential customers and a lot more.
Shorten your URLs
Shorter URLs with descriptive keywords make it easier for search engines to understand what your website pages are all about. For example, if you sell clothing items, instead of a URL that displays product ID or code, for example, www.clothing.com/bug.php?id=6578&edit=1, you can have a clearer URL like www.clothing.com/blue-formal-shirt-for-men. This will let users and search engines know that this link is for a blue formal shirt for men. All you need to do is enable WordPress Permalink to create shorter and relevant URLs.
Login to your WordPress dashboard > Settings > Permalink and you can create custom URLs as per your requirements:
Make your Website Navigation Easy
You want to make it easier for your website visitors to find what they are looking for and easily navigate through your website. Creating menus, categorizing products and paying attention to building a seamless buying process is critical. This will also help you add the right tags and categories for products, thus optimizing each product and website page for SEO.
Write Effective Product and Meta Descriptions
Using the right Keywords is critical when writing the meta description and product descriptions for your online store. This not only helps search engines rank your page better but also makes it easier for your potential customers to make the decision to visit your website and buy from you. Write effective product descriptions that sell, are informative, have the right keywords and your meta descriptions must be persuasive and concise.
Give your Online Store the SEO Boost It Needs!
If you want more visibility, rank high on search engines, get more website visitors and be more relevant to your target audience – SEO is the name of the game!
SEO is a mix of tools, practices and strategies that will make your online store easily accessible and visible to the right people, on the right platform. Whether you do it yourself or opt for professionals to manage your SEO needs, your online store needs the power of SEO to get noticed – right from the word go!
For more tips and information to build, manage and grow your WordPress online store, read more on our WordPress Tutorials page.
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