In this Shopify SEO course you’ll learn how to optimize product pages!
We’ve already gone into SEO keyword research, SEO on page optimization and even how to set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console for Shopify.
Today we’re talking product pages – the heart and soul of any Shopify store.
What are SEO product page optimizations?
Product pages might be the reason why a certain consumer finds your page. But if they’re not SEO optimized, then they may not be able to find the product they’re looking for, resulting in lost conversions.
SEO product page optimizations can help:
- Improve your SEO ranking and organic results.
- Get more quality traffic to your website
- Provide a great UX (User Experience)
- Offer more detailed information about a certain product
- Drive conversions
- Save you time and effort when setting up Google Merchant Center to run Google Shopping campaigns (more on this in a separate article)
Before you start...
First you need to know how a default Shopify product page is structured:
- Product Name (Title)
- Product Description
- Media (images/videos)
- Product Type
- Product Vendor (Brand)
- Product Tags
- GTIN
- Search engine listing preview
In this tutorial, we are going to teach you how to optimize everything in this page except for the Search engine listing preview. We’ve already gone through this in our previous tutorial.
How do you optimize a Shopify product page?
There are a few key steps to optimizing your product pages in order to make them more findable and increase conversions.
STEP 1: Find Your Focus Keyword
We’ve already discussed how to do SEO keyword research for your Shopify website, so we won’t dive into it here. But once you find the right keyword, get ready to include it everywhere!
STEP 2: Prepare Your Optimizations
You need a small template on which to plan out your optimizations beforehand. Lucky for you, we have just the thing! In this Product Page Optimization Workbook, you’ll be able to plan your title, product descriptions, image alt tags and more.
Get Your Free Product Page Workbook
Once you know which product pages you want to optimize and have prepared all the changes beforehand, you’re ready to start optimizing live in your product pages.
STEP 3: Optimize Your Product Name
This section is also called Title in your Shopify backend, but for simplicity’s sake we will refer to it as Product Name.
Just like our on page SEO optimization, your product title needs to:
- Have a total of 57 characters or less (when possible)
- Include your focus keyword
- Include the product name
- Include the product brand
For example, if your product is a Cleansing Oil Balm from a particular Korean Brand, you should mention it:
Korean Brand Cleansing Oil Balm – Your Shopify Store
If it’s also a certain color, quantity, or size, this should be included in the title as well.
Blue Korean Brand Cleansing Oil Balm 100 ml – Your Shopify Store
STEP 4: Optimize your product descriptions
Shopify gives you the chance to create UNIQUE descriptions for all the pages of your website. Take advantage of it!
This is where you can go crazy with the content. A few best practices are:
- Include the focus keyword
- Include the product’s name
- Display a list of benefits
- Provide relevant, useful and original information
- If you have a blog post/review, you can link it here!
All of this is important because duplicate content & descriptions are a big no-no for SEO, so don’t copy and paste the same description every other page has. Make it your own and tell users what’s so special about this particular product.
STEP 5: Optimize the Media
Images and videos can make or break your conversion. Since users can’t physically view your product or try out a tester, your images have to provide all this information for them. As a few best practices, only upload images created for the web (highest quality at smallest size) so that they don’t slow down your site.
Next you need to edit the images’ Alt Text.
Alt text (alternative text) is used within your site’s code and can help search engines find images related to a user’s search. That means, they can help users find your site. This is particularly important because potential customers can run image searches first, meaning they land on your site after looking for Google images of a particular product. It’s also good for user experience, because if an image fails to load completely a screen reader can “describe” what’s in the image.
Here’s how you edit them:
- Prepare your alt text tags (use our free Workbook!)
- Go into the product page you want to edit
- Navigate to the Media section
- Click on the image you want to optimize
- Click Add Alt Text
- Click Save
- Repeat for other images/videos
STEP 6: Add Product Type
This is important for categorization purposes. Always remember to include the type of product (Shirts, Shoes, Sunglasses, etc.) in order to keep your site’s categories clean and readable.
However, since there are over 5,000 product categories, this can seem overwhelming. This is why we’ve gathered a full official list to make it easier for you to find the right category for your products.
STEP 7: Add Product Vendor
Same as the step above, this step helps keep your Shopify catalog clean (and trust us, it will make things a lot easier when you want to run ads). “Vendor” basically stands for “Brand”, so just make sure you add the correct information.
STEP 8: Add Product Tags
Product tags are searchable keywords associated with your product. They can help customers find a product when searching through your store, and can also be used to create automated collections.
To edit them:
- Prepare the keywords you will use
- Remember to include other relevant information (color, size, special attributes)
- Navigate to the product page you want to optimize
- Scroll to the Tags section
- Add tags separated only by a comma (blue,large,summer,sandals)
- Click Save
STEP 9: Review Your Pricing
This is necessary both for direct sales on your product page and for future advertising campaigns. It’s always better to check if your prices are set correctly for each product and variant.
STEP 10: Optimize the Inventory Section
This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but it will make advertising later easy as pie because it’s what allows Google to categorize and reference your page.
The Inventory section includes:
- SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
- Barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN, etc.)
- Quantity Tracking
Although the SKU can be internal, the Barcode or GTIN needs to be standardized. GTIN stands for Global Trade Item Number. It’s a unique identifier used internationally to store and locate product information. You can find the GTIN above or below the barcode on your product’s physical packaging. If you don’t have it, contact the manufacturer to get it.
It’s important to make sure the GTIN is correct, since several sales and advertising channels need it in order to run campaigns. For example, if you don’t have your GTINs included from the beginning, you won’t be able to run Google Shopping campaigns later.
But if you do have them, then you’re ready to run!
STEP 11: Add Product Schema Markup
Schema Markup (or structured data markup) gives search engines more information about your website, your product and your content. For Shopify, this means that structured data gives Google valuable information about what you’re selling, like pricing, availability, rating, total reviews, etc.
To check if it’s showing up you can run a Google search for one of your products and make sure the structured data is showing up or you can use the Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool*. Technically, it should already be installed in your Shopify store. But just in case that it isn’t, you can add it. To do it, you can:
- Add it manually: This requires you be familiar with Shopify Liquid, JSON-LD, HTML and schema.org). We do NOT recommend to do it this way if you’re not an expert since the schema structure is unique and you could end up messing up your site.
- Install an app: Shopify Store apps like JSON LD for SEO can be a good option since it will automatically provide search engines with all the structured data in the necessary format. However, apps like this one normally require payments.
- Hire an expert: Sometimes it’s best to let a certified Shopify expert do the task for you.
*Even if your default Schema exists, it usually includes a couple of warnings. These warnings don’t really affect SEO, but any errors showing up should be fixed both for UX and for Shopping Campaigns later on.
Other Product Page Optimizations To Consider:
- Include Ratings & Reviews
- Cross-Sell to other products
- Frequently bought together
- Include Trust Signals
In the end, your product page should be able to connect with your customers, tell them what your product is all about and convince them to purchase. Get creative, include images and optimize your heart out and you’ll save yourself a ton of effort when it’s time to advertise.
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Zima Media Tip: if you have 10,000 products (or more!) in your Shopify store, don’t feel overwhelmed. You should always start with your best sellers and top traffic products. Or you can always hire SEO professionals 🙂
Now that you’ve learned all about how to optimize your product pages, it’s time to start selling!
