Search engine optimization, more commonly known as SEO, can be a powerful tactic for improving your site’s rankings on Google and other search engines. Stores can expect to attract more customers simply by appearing higher in the search results.
Instant site is a single-page site that comes when you register with Ecwid. This site is naturally indexed by Google. Here, we’ll show ways to improve your Instant Site’s index.
In this article:
Connect your domain
Your Instant site comes with a domain (example.ecwid.com) by default. We recommend replacing this with your own domain to improve indexing.
Read about how to connect your domain to Instant Site.
Use Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a special service that allows to help indexing and watch how it goes.
Read about how to use Google Search Console.
Add your sitemap to Google Search Console
A sitemap is an XML file that contains a list of site pages. A multi-level menu (Home → Category → Subcategory1 → Subcategory2 → Product) takes Google a longer time to index these products because they are deep in the site structure. A sitemap will help search robots crawl and index your products faster.
New pages – and new products – are indexed faster with sitemap since search engines check sitemaps every day. New pages appear on the sitemap in about a day.
You can add a sitemap link to Google Search Console so Google reads your sitemap faster. For a link to the sitemap, add /sitemap.xml to your store URL.
Write the titles and meta-descriptions for your products
Go to Ecwid Control Panel → Catalog → Products, open any product and switch to the SEO tab. There you can add Page Title and Meta Description:
These fields help search engines understand how to show your products in search results. If you do not provide titles or descriptions, search engines take other information from your site for their ranking system. A good title and description can attract customers with clearly articulated search results.
The meta title and meta description for the site itself are automatically taken from the headline and description that you added to the Instant Site’s cover. When you add text to the first tile of your Instant Site, make sure to provide valuable information to your prospects, including relevant keywords. If you do not add any text for Instant Site headline, the metadata will be taken from your Store Front Page description.
Improve product and category descriptions
Search engines favor sites with unique content. Use your own product pictures with unique product and category descriptions.
Share your site and products
Links to your site via forums, social media, articles generate trust with search engines. To make your site more popular – and as a result, more credible – add your store to Facebook and Instagram and share your products with the help of Share buttons.
Sites do not appear in search results at once, it takes some time. Search engines keep their algorithms secret – very few people know how they work.
The first page can appear in 2-3 weeks while others don’t show up in search results until later. Prepare for the fact that indexing is not instant.
If you take all the steps above but fail to promote your site (social media, etc), other sites may beat yours for the top search results. One main contribution is site activity – yours should be teeming with visitors from many channels.
SEO is just one of the ways to bring visitors to your site. Check out the marketing checklist for more ways to promote your site and store.
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