SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a way of driving targeted traffic to your website through search engines.

Almost 60% of all traffic comes via Google search. When you add together traffic from other popular search engines, it will make up to 70.6%.

SEO means ranking your website higher up in the organic search results. Google loves its users. Therefore, when you search for something, an algorithm works in real-time to deliver the “best” result to you. How do they determine the “best” result? Even though they don’t make their algorithms public, on the basis of Google’s statements and patents, the web pages are ranked according to:

• Authority
• Usefulness
• Relevancy

Tip #1: Check XML Sitemap

Register your sitemap with Google Search Console. This will help Google to analyze your website properly.

You can download Google XML Sitemap plugin if you have a WordPress site.

Syncing your sitemap isn’t enough. Make sure Google is reading it properly. Ensure there are no indexing errors.

Tip #2: Crawlable site

Log into your Search Console > Click the Site > In “Crawl” section, click “Fetch as Google” > Select either “desktop” or “mobile”

Test for both desktop and mobile. Once you’re finished testing, request indexing. This will make sure Google is crawling your website. You can even request to crawl all of its direct links. 

Use Google’s robots.txt Tester Tool to see if you have set it up correctly for all the pages.

There are two ways to check indexing:

1. Go to Google and type “site:yourdomain.com”
2. Go to “Search Console” and select “Index Status”

Both methods should give the exact number of pages. If Google is showing fewer pages than the actual number, it means some of your content hasn’t been indexed. Whereas, if it is showing more pages, there’s a problem of duplicate content.

Tip #3: Use “NOFOLLOW” Link

You might not want to index a few pages like checkout, my account, admin, and cart. Add “NOFOLLOW” links in these pages. Add entries to your robots.txt file. Make sure the setting of Robots is Index, Follow.

Tip #4: Improve speed

The number of pages a search engine will spider on your website each day depends on your website speed.

To increase the Magento speed:

• Enable caching
• Get Magento optimized hosting: They will take care of the website and server-side caching.
• Merge and minify JS CSS

Tip #5: Canonical URLs

Duplicate content is one of the most common issues in Magento SEO. It could offer because of:

• Product sorting
• Product filtering
• Variation of the same product
• Same product in different categories
• Pagination

You can get rid of it using the canonical tag:

Simply go to the “Stores” > “Configuration” > “Catalog” > on the right side, scroll down to “Search Engine Optimization” > set “Canonical LINK Meta Tags for Categories and Products to Yes”

On-Page SEO

Tip #1: Use Headings

By default, the logo is an H1. All other pages should be no more than an H3. The titles will be an H1 tag.

Example: For a category page, it should be the category name whereas, for a product page, product name should be in H1.

• Don’t overuse the headings.
• Don’t add unnecessary words to heading tags.
• If you want to use, you can simply change all the heading tags in <div class=”head”> to <strong> tags.

Tip #2: Use Long-Tail Keywords

Specific keywords that contain 3 or more words perform better as the customers know what they exactly want. If your landing page is optimized, there are higher chances of conversion and engagement.

Tip #3: Optimize Product Description

With so many products out there, yours should have a unique description with relevant keywords. Don’t use the manufacturer’s product description. It will be viewed as duplicate content and Google may penalize your website. In fact, it may not be indexed in the first place.

Tip #4: Use Relevant URLs

The main objective is to make your URL search-friendly. You should add the focus keyword in it. For example, domain.com/category/sub-category/product-name/

Tip #5: Meta Description and Title

For better on-page SEO, add compelling meta titles and descriptions to every product page. This will help customers get an overview of what your web page will be like. Include keywords to make it search-friendly.

Tip #6: URL Optimization

For better Magento SEO, enable Server URL rewrites:

Go to Systems > Configuration > Web > Search Engine Optimization > Go to URL options > Add Store Code to URLs > Set functionality to “No”

You also need to choose between https://domain.com/ and https://www.domain.com/ as they are considered two separate entities.

If you’re facing www vs non-www problem, create a 301 redirect through .htaccess with mod_rewrite.

Tip #7: Add Rich snippets

Rich snippets add “extra information” to your product pages. These can be included in a meta description to display information for a product like prices, availability, review, and images. This will help you improve rankings and achieve better CTRs.

Tip #8: Keep Out of Stock Products Live

Since these pages already have built-up the SEO over time. It’s better to leave these pages live even if the product is out of stock right now. You can instead update the information by adding when it will be back in stock.

Tip #9: Get Customer Reviews

Pages having customer reviews are ranked higher because of the unique, fresh, and updated content it offers.

Apart from the SEO perspective, customer reviews convert 58% more visitors.

Tip #10: Use Social Media Buttons

Social media signals indicate the product page’s authority and relevancy. When you add the social media buttons like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc, you increase the chances of shares.

Off-Page SEO

Tip #1: Forum Posting

Make a list of blogs and forums related to your niche. Review the content of these forums and blogs. Exchange comments to engage with readers. Through this, you can exchange links, and more.

Tip #2: Guest Blogging

One of the best ways to get relevant and high-value links is to post on other blogs. You can post on the blog where you usually read or blogs with the same niche as yours.

Tip #3: Promote your content effectively

If your content is high quality and shareable, your content will be shared thoroughly. The more social sharing on the web, the better its SEO.

Tip #4: Tap on Trending Content

Use Buzzsumo to analyze which type of content is performing the best for your niche, topic or competitor.

 1. SEO Toolkit by Amasty

This Magento SEO extension is one of the best in the market. It takes care of:

• Make your product reviews SEO-friendly
• Generates relevant meta tags
• Helps in optimizing URLs
• Helps in building robust sitemaps

Compatibility: It is compatible with both.

SEO Toolkit for Magento 1 and SEO Toolkit for Magento 2

Price: $290 (Magento 1) & $249 (Magento 2)

2. Improved Layered Navigation

This extension takes care of the navigation.

Features:

• You can display multiple filters and widgets to help them find the product
• Speed up product filtering with AJAX
• Generate SEO-friendly URLs
• You can have custom brand pages

Compatibility: Magento 1 & Magento 2

Price: $149 for M1 and $349 for Magento 2

3. Ultimate SEO Suite by Aheadworks

You can add canonical URLs to the head of each product page, sitemap, and Google sitemap.

Features:

• Ability to split Google sitemap
• Canonical URLs in Google sitemap
• Add pictures in your sitemap

Compatibility: Magento 1

Price: $159

4. Landing Pages

With this extension, you can use a custom design template for each landing page based on search results.

Features:

• Add unique meta descriptions and titles
• Create optimized URLs for your landing pages
• Canonical URLs prevent duplicate content
• Landing pages are added to your sitemap to help their indexing by search engines

Price: $69

Compatibility: Magento 1

5. Magento 2 SEO Extension by Mageplaza

This is one of the best Magento SEO plugins which boosts traffic for your site. The features are auto-active when you install from Mageplaza.

Features:

• Adds meta description and keywords for your products
• It has org structured data
• Supports Google services
• Has smart meta tag
• Breadcrumbs
• Offers social integration

Compatibility: Magento 2

Price: Free

6. Advanced SEO Suite by Mirasvit

One of the most powerful Magento SEO tools that fine-tunes your website perfectly.

Features:

• Generate meta-tags
• Get advanced Sitemap for Google
• Get advanced rich snippets
• Configure canonical URLs
• Take care of all redirects easily without wasting time
• SEO analysis of every page

Compatibility: Magento 1 & 2

Price: $149

7. URL Rewrite Regeneration

Most people forget about redirection issues when working on Magento search engine optimization. URL rewrite regeneration solves all the redirection problems along with:

Features:

• Supports multiple storefronts
• Generates all URL rewrites
• Can be run from the command line
• You can automatically run by using a cron
• Regenerate category URL rewrites

Compatibility: Magento 2

Price: $49.95

1. Outerbox

Established in 2004, they focus on website designing, developing, and marketing. They are headquartered in Ohio. Features:

• Weekly review calls
• Detailed SEO task reporting
• Plan & review next month’s marketing strategy

Plan: Personalized to needs

2. Digital Marketing Agency

They are headquartered in Chicago. Brands like Kohler, TripAdvisor, Blockchain are their customers. Features:

• Review requirements
• Competitor analysis
• On-page
• Off-page
• Reporting
• Re-assessment

Price: Custom

3. WebFX

They have 4 plans according to your requirements. Features:

• On-Page SEO
• Technical SEO
• Link building & Off-page SEO
• Customer reviews
• Monthly revenue reporting

Price: Starts from $1250/month

4. MagentoGuys

They are headquartered in India and offer development and marketing services. Features:

• Website Audit
• On-Page Optimization
• Local Search Optimization & its Setup
• Content Promotion
• Social Media Sharing
• Analysis and Improvement Report
• Off-Page SEO

Plan: Starts from $175

5. AdonWebs

Features:

• Complete Website Optimization including on-page, off-page, and technical SEO
• Link building for your store
• PPC
• Monthly reporting
• Continuous optimization according to future trends

Price: Custom Plans