Search engine optimization?

The domestic internet marketing environment is focused on Naver to the extent that it can be said that internet marketing = Naver top exposure, so there was a lack of information on search engine optimization that conforms to web standards. However, if you are targeting overseas business, you need to build a website (shopping mall) and prepare for marketing that conforms to the Google environment based on web standards. When preparing to build an overseas shopping mall, you must understand Google and the concept of search engine optimization before you start so that you can properly operate the site later.

"Search Engine Optimization" seems like a grand name, and it seems like there's a lot to study, but it's not a difficult field if you understand the basic principles. So what should you consider and prepare for search engine optimization? In this post, we'll learn about overseas shopping mall search engine optimization through the Shopify platform, which is already built so that no additional SEO settings are needed.

Google Search Console and Google Analytics

The basics of search engine optimization (SEO) are keyword analysis and setting target keywords. Google Search Console tells you what words were searched in the Google search box to reach your site.

Google Search Console provides site index information such as how much of my shopping mall or site has been indexed on Google servers, how many times the submitted page is exposed on Google search results pages, and whether there are any server issues during crawling, as well as technical site diagnosis services such as AMP and structured data. After submitting your sitemap to Search Console and completing the settings, you can set your goals for search engine optimization by checking the index status, backlinks, and search exposure rankings once or twice a month on a set date.

Google Analytics can set target countries through country-specific visit analysis, site stay time analysis, real-time visitor statistics, etc., and can perform various campaign analyses by linking with a Google Ads account when conducting an advertising campaign. In Shopify, you can simply complete the installation by entering the Google tracking code in the Shopify Admin Log in > Preferences > Google Analytics menu.

Shopify Analytics is an analysis tool similar to Google Analytics, and is optimized for analyzing internal data such as keywords searched in shopping mall search boxes. If there are frequently found keywords, you can add them to product descriptions or tags to get ideas for internal search optimization.

Keyword research and utilization

For shopping malls, the product name (title) itself is a keyword and the product description is a description, so rather than general keyword research, keyword research based on the product name or brand name is necessary. If you are new to SEO, try extracting keywords through Google Keyword Planner . If you have completed general keyword research, you can also consider long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords can be researched by adding keywords such as "buy" or "online shop" to the front or back of the product name or brand name.

For a shopping mall that sells furniture, the blog title should be something like "10 things to consider when choosing an office chair" or "What was the most talked about mattress brand on Facebook in 2017?". This will help increase traffic by using keywords that buyers might search for or clickable tips.

Since the purpose of a shopping mall is not to convey information like a blog or forum, but to sell, the shopping mall's blog posts should contain sales information. To this end, Shopify provides a function called Buy Button, which allows you to insert related product pages between blog posts. Using Buy Button, you can attach a shopping cart page to the middle of a blog post. Buy Button can be used in email marketing, external forum sites, etc. in addition to blog posts.

If you use a professional SEO tool, you can check more detailed indicators that are not provided by Google Keyword Planner.

List of representative keyword tools

• WordStream : Agency-level keyword analysis service, easy PPC advertising keyword management.
• Keyword Tool : Keyword analysis tool using Google autocomplete keywords
• MOZ : Provides total keyword services including keyword explorer
• Spyfu : Provides services specialized in competitor keyword analysis

Title (Shopping mall product page optimization)

Since the title is displayed up to 60 characters on the Google search results page, it is recommended that the product title be written within 60 characters. The "Product Title/Keyword 1/Keyword 2/Keyword 3" format, which is widely used by domestic Gmarket and Qoo10 sellers, is absolutely not a desirable method. The product title should be written concisely in the format of brand + product features + specifications. If there are keywords that do not fit the internal format, add them to the description or tags instead of the title, so that customers can find the product through the search bar in the shopping mall.

Product Page (Description)

The characteristic and problem of Korean shopping malls is that they create product descriptions as "full" images without any text. This is a "fatal problem" from the search engine's perspective because it is recognized as a page without a description. If it is created as a full image, it is impossible to connect external marketing tools such as Google Ads. In addition, product description pages created in this way cause problems with slow loading when accessed on mobile devices, and in the case of domestic solutions such as Cafe 24, it is difficult to read the text included in the image because it is not a responsive design. Accordingly, descriptions (product descriptions) must be written in text.

Shopify provides a WYSIWYG editor, so you can use the editor to write a description and apply the H (Heading) tag to subheadings to create a description structure that will give your shopping mall a sense of unity. H tags are a basic element of search engine optimization, so do not use B (bold) for subheadings and be sure to use the H tag of the editor! H tags must have a hierarchical structure for search engine optimization, so if you use H2 as a main title, you should use H3, H4, etc. for subheadings and subtitles.

Descriptions should be written in 155 characters or less based on the Google search results page. Shopify provides search engine optimization previews on product listing pages and at the bottom of blog posts, so you can immediately check how your product will appear in Google searches when registering it. (The maximum length recognized by Google is 70 characters for titles and 320 characters for meta descriptions, so they are displayed as numbers in the Shopify system, but the title actually displayed on Google is 60 characters and the meta description is 155 characters .)

Search-friendly URL structure

Shopify is configured to automatically input the product page title as the URL address, so there is no need to modify it unless it is a special case. When copying and registering a product during operation, the URL of an existing product may be imported as it is, so please check the URL of the copied product. When creating a page, if you copy and use an existing page, the URL is automatically configured as mysite.com/pages/contents-1-1, -2, so please check this part as well. When changing the URL, Shopify automatically supports the 301 Redirect function. 301 Redirect is an essential SEO function that automatically connects a previously registered URL to a new page URL. Be sure to check the checkbox when changing the page.

Image optimization (file name, size, alt tag)

Google Image Search is an active search area, accounting for 23% of total Google searches. Image optimization is essential for exposure in this image search. Image file name, image size, and Alt tag settings are representative optimization factors. Shopify is an e-commerce platform and CDN, so unlike installation-type builders such as WordPress, there are no other connection speed issues when specifying server locations. Therefore, there are no issues such as images or content loading slowly depending on the region.

Image size can also be adjusted at a certain ratio in the backend, reducing the effort required for image upload and management. For search engine optimization, the image file name should consist of keywords that represent the image, not file names such as 3456345.jpg, DCS180717,jpg, and an alt tag should be added when uploading the image. The image alt tag should consist of words that can describe the image in case the image link cannot be accessed according to the web standard. For the convenience of the operator, Shopify has an app that automatically inputs alt tags such as "title (product name) image + brand name", so alt tag input can be automated when used.

Link Building

Link building is divided into internal links and external links, and link building refers to creating and managing backlinks that external sites link to the shopping mall. Backlinks can be social channels operated by the person, such as Facebook pages, YouTube channels with reviews of products sold, blogs, etc. Shopping mall operators should research and select these channels to create direct backlinks. Backlinks from these review channels are factors that directly affect shopping mall visits and sales, as well as simple search engine optimization. If you are curious about which sites are linking to your shopping mall or are curious about backlinks from competing sites, try the service below.

• MOZ Link Explorer
• ahrefs

_

There are many techniques(?) other than those mentioned above for search engine optimization, but I have introduced the concepts that you absolutely must know when operating a shopping mall. Shopify 's backend is basically designed for search engine optimization, so you can say that you have completed basic SEO settings by only entering the contents required by Shopify. SEO is Not Magic. It's Processing.