12 best WooCommerce SEO tips to make your brand stand out

The internet is a chaotic place. With tons of people joining each day and businesses launching, it can be hard to keep track of everything significant happening in the world of digital media.

As a result, you could easily get lost in this frenzied crowd and miss out on the best of opportunities the internet has to offer. To counter this problem, you need the help of SEO. Search engine optimization will increase your web rankings, drive more traffic to your platform and ultimately get you the deserved recognition. 

What is WooCommerce? 

WooCommerce is a customizable, open-source e-Commerce plugin built for WordPress and meant for small and medium-level merchants. This free plugin helps create your WordPress website into an e-commerce store. In addition, there are multiple features like payment, tax management, shipping, etc., to ease the shopping experience for both customers and sellers.  

SEO Tips for your WooCommerce Store

Set up WordPress SEO

WooCommerce SEO is directly based on how search engines optimize your WordPress. If you are looking to save time, you can use themes and plugins from mythemeshop. 

Choose appropriate product SEO titles

All search engines use titles to redirect the search results for all users. Just like you are recommended to choose a catchy yet proper headline for your blogs, you need to pick precise product titles that can help boost up your WooCommerce SEO rankings.

The product title also appears in the browser's title bar. Try using keywords that will help a customer reach your page more easily. Mention all significant features that a user is more likely to search for.

Don't forget to include a product description 

Product descriptions appear below product titles and help optimize search engine results. This text will act as a sales hook that will compel the customer to click on the link. Include all the vital information in a feature benefit pattern.

Please avoid using any buzz words as they can reduce the professional impact of your site and come across as informal.

Focus on local SEO

Whether you have a physical shop or an online platform, it is necessary to boost local SEO. If used wisely, the local community paves the way to success for many brands.

In addition, improving your rankings in the local geographical region can help you connect with many customers and service providers. For example, you can offer in-person services or a same-day delivery option for people in your ZIP code. 

Ways to boost local SEO for improved WooCommerce SEO rankings - 

• Create a profile on the Google My Business platform so you can show up in the local maps. It will also provide you with much-needed credibility. 
• Include location-specific keywords in your content.
• Write articles or blogs for your local community. 

Optimize your product slug

Your WordPress permalink includes an editable portion that can be described as a short product name. This part of the URL is known as a slug. By default, the slug includes a product's title. But in some cases, it might not contain any keywords.

You can change the slug for improved WooCommerce SEO by accessing WordPress > Settings > Permalinks. Make sure to keep the slug brief and include the primary keyword. 

Enable breadcrumbs 

Breadcrumbs are navigational aids that appear at the top of the webpage. It is a text path that helps you understand your position on the site.

For example, you will see BrandName > Skin Care products > Moisturiser on the page if you are accessing moisturizer from the skincare category.

On clicking any of these words, the site will direct you back to that specific page. In addition, breadcrumbs appear in search results and are used by Google to understand the structure of your website. 

Simplify the site navigation

Aspects like bounce rates and time spent on the site can heavily affect the WooCommerce SEO rankings. To make sure that your site is successful, you need to ensure customer comfort and make site navigation easy with the help of a user interface.

Main navigation for the site should include all significant links, while the rest can be added in the footer. If you miss out on this step, google search spiders won't review and index search results effectively. 

Maintain short and descriptive URLs 

Permalink settings will allow you to choose the URL structure and use product name instead of product ID. URLs need to be optimized because they are accessible to both your customers and search engines. 

Normal URL - domainname.com/?product=111 

WooCommerce SEO URL - domainname.com/product/product-name

Don't skip out on meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are tiny text snippets visible before each search engine result link. Even though it will not affect the WooCommerce SEO results directly, meta descriptions can help increase click rate and divert more organic traffic to your page.

In addition, adding a catchy yet valuable meta description will entice customers to click on the web link. The usual length for meta description is 160 characters. 

Add alt text to product images 

Many customers prefer to use image search as it is a much simpler way to shop. But if an image doesn't load, people like to scroll past the product.

Alt-text is added to remedy such a situation as it shows up in the absence of a product image. Google uses AI, image recognition, and many more algorithms to direct the right set of images for each search result.

Of course, you must add keywords in the alt text but not stuff them unnecessarily. Alt-text is an HTML attribute and can help boost WooCommerce SEO results.

Encourage product reviews

Reviews can heavily impact which business Google shows to its users. Positive reviews also instill confidence in customers and can convince them to visit your website.

Users can leave their thoughts on Google My Business and product pages, giving them an easy option to do so. You can ask customers to leave a review by -

• Establishing a regular connection and sending a polite mail asking them to do so
• Including a thank-you card with a review request while shipping the orders 
• Offer reward points or coupons for each review left by customers

To boost your WooCommerce SEO rankings further, you can also focus on industry-based platforms like Yelp, Houzz.com, weddingwire.com, etc. 

Build backlinks

When any other website is linked to yours, a backlink is created. Google looks upon backlinks very favorably and considers this a positive step in the way of credibility.

However, backlinks for small blogs don't carry the same influence as a big industry giant. Buying your way into backlinks can backfire and result in negative WooCommerce SEO impact due to spamming errors. One way to maintain a steady flow of backlinks is to keep a valuable and active blog. 

The Final Say 

In the era of technological advancements, SEO is the face of most companies and brands. Right SEO can get you the desired results, but illegal SEO practices can lead to a permanent ban or negative impact.

To build focus on WooCommerce SEO, it is necessary to pay attention to all significant optimization practices.