How To Improve Your SEO STRATEGY

How to Improve Your SEO Strategy — Step-by-Step Guide (for Shopify & Beyond)

This step-by-step plan gives you practical, prioritized actions to improve organic visibility, traffic, and conversions. It’s written so you (or your team) can execute it immediately — no guesswork. I’ll include quick wins, technical fixes, content strategy, tracking, and a 90-day execution roadmap.

Phase 0 — Quick Audit & Goals (Day 0–3)

  1. Set clear objectives

    • Examples: +30% organic sessions in 90 days, increase product page conversions by 20%, rank top 3 for X keyword.

  2. Quick audit (30–60 minutes)

    • Check Google Search Console (GSC) for indexing/errors.

    • Review Google Analytics / GA4 for top pages, traffic trends, bounce rates.

    • Run a site speed test (PageSpeed Insights).

    • Crawl key pages with Screaming Frog / Sitebulb (or Shopify apps).

  3. Create an SEO dashboard (GA4 + GSC + spreadsheet) with KPIs: organic sessions, impressions, clicks, avg. position, conversions, page speed, Core Web Vitals.

Step 1 — Technical SEO (Week 1)

Fixing technical issues prevents search engines from indexing your best pages and improves crawl efficiency.

  1. Indexing & Crawl

    • Ensure important pages are indexable (200 OK). Use robots.txt and noindex only where appropriate (cart, admin, checkout).

    • Submit/update sitemap.xml to GSC.

  2. Robots.txt & Canonicals

    • Optimize robots.txt to block low-value pages (you already offer this as a service).

    • Verify canonical tags are present and point to preferred URLs.

  3. Fix Crawl Errors

    • Resolve 4xx/5xx pages or redirect them properly (301).

  4. Structured Data (Schema.org)

    • Add Product, Breadcrumb, Organization, FAQ, and Review schema to relevant pages. Use JSON-LD.

  5. Mobile-First & Core Web Vitals

    • Improve LCP, CLS, FID/INP. Prioritize images (next-gen formats, compression, lazy loading), font loading, and server response time.

  6. Server-Side Tracking

    • Implement Conversion API (CAPI) for more accurate attribution (helps with ad optimization).

  7. HTTPS & Security

    • Ensure SSL is active and site is fully HTTPS.

Step 2 — On-Page SEO (Week 1–3)

Optimize individual pages for target keywords and user intent.

  1. Keyword Mapping

    • Map 1 primary keyword + 2–3 secondary keywords to each page (product, collection, blog). Avoid keyword cannibalization.

  2. Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

    • Title: 50–60 chars; include primary keyword near front.

    • Meta: 120–155 chars; persuasive CTA + keyword.

    • Example: Title — “Organic Cotton T-Shirts | BrandName — Free Shipping”
      Meta — “Shop breathable organic cotton tees. Soft, durable, ethically made — free returns & fast delivery.”

  3. Headlines & H tags

    • Use H1 for primary page theme, H2 for sections. Keep hierarchy semantic.

  4. Content Optimization

    • Product pages: unique descriptions (200–400 words), features, benefits, specs, and at least one buyer question answered.

    • Collection pages: 150–300 words to explain category value.

    • Blog posts: target long-tail informational queries (1200–2000 words for competitive topics).

  5. Internal Linking

    • Link contextually from blog -> product -> collection pages. Use descriptive anchor text.

  6. URL Structure

    • Keep URLs short, readable, keyword-rich (no long query strings).

  7. Image SEO

    • Descriptive filenames, alt text using keywords naturally, proper dimensions, and srcset for responsive images.

Step 3 — Content & Authority (Week 2–8)

Build topical authority and capture commercial-intent traffic.

  1. Content Pillars & Topic Clusters

    • Create 3–5 pillar pages (high-level topics). Produce cluster posts that link back to pillars.

  2. Product Content Strategy

    • Add buying guides, size charts, comparison pages, and FAQ sections to products/collections.

  3. Blog Calendar

    • Publish 1–2 well-researched posts/week targeting buyer journey stages: awareness, consideration, purchase.

  4. Multimedia & UX

    • Include videos, infographics, and comparison tables to increase time on page and shares.

  5. User-Generated Content

    • Encourage reviews, Q&A, and photos; embed reviews on product pages (schema markup).

Step 4 — Off-Page SEO & Link Building (Week 3–12)

Authority signals still matter — earn relevant, high-quality links.

  1. Link Prospecting

    • Identify niche blogs, industry publications, and partners for guest posts and mentions.

  2. PR & Outreach

    • Pitch product launches, studies, or brand stories to journalists and influencers.

  3. Resource Link Building

    • Create linkable assets (guides, calculators, research) that attract natural backlinks.

  4. Local SEO (if relevant)

    • Optimize Google Business Profile, create local citations, and get local reviews.

Step 5 — Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) (Week 4–ongoing)

Traffic is useful only if it converts — optimize CTAs and user journeys.

  1. On-Page Trust Signals

    • Add reviews, guarantee badges, secure checkout indicators, and clear shipping/returns info.

  2. Product Page Tests

    • A/B test CTA copy, product image placement, and add-to-cart flows.

  3. Checkout Simplification

    • Reduce steps, enable guest checkout, native payment methods (Apple Pay/Google Pay).

  4. Personalization & Remarketing

    • Use pixel data and email flows (welcome, post-purchase, abandoned cart) for higher conversions.

Step 6 — Tracking, Reporting & Iteration (Continuous)

Measure everything, iterate monthly.

  1. Conversion Tracking

    • Ensure goals & events are tracked in GA4 and linked with Google Ads & platforms.

  2. Search Console Monitoring

    • Monitor impressions, clicks, coverage issues, and performance by query.

  3. Monthly SEO Report

    • Report KPIs, top pages, wins, and next month’s priorities.

  4. Quarterly Technical Audit

    • Re-crawl the site, re-check Core Web Vitals, and update robots.txt/sitemaps as needed.

SEO Technical Checklist (Immediate)

  • Submit sitemap to Google Search Console.

  • Ensure robots.txt blocks cart/checkout/admin and allows product/collection pages.

  • Implement canonical tags.

  • Add Product & Breadcrumb Schema (JSON-LD).

  • Compress & lazy-load images; use WebP/AVIF where possible.

  • Fix broken links (4xx).

  • Ensure mobile responsiveness and <2.5s LCP target.

Content Checklist (Ongoing)

  • Product pages: unique description, specs, at least one FAQ.

  • Collection pages: 150–300 words intro.

  • Blog: publish pillar + cluster content.

  • Internal links from blog -> products.

  • Schema for reviews and FAQs.

90-Day Action Plan (High-Level)

Week 1: Goals, quick audit, fix critical technical issues, submit sitemap.
Weeks 2–3: On-page optimization for top 10 revenue pages (titles, metas, content, images).
Weeks 4–6: Implement schema, set up automated email flows (welcome, abandoned cart), begin content calendar.
Weeks 7–9: Link outreach, CRO tests on product pages, improve site speed.
Weeks 10–12: Review results, iterate; expand content topics and scale what works.

KPIs to Track

  • Organic sessions & users

  • Impressions & average position (GSC)

  • Click-through rate (CTR) from search results

  • Conversions from organic traffic (sales, leads)

  • Revenue per organic session

  • Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP/FID)

  • Backlink count & domain authority (or Ahrefs DR / Moz DA equivalent)

Tools & Resources (Recommended)

  • Google Search Console & GA4

  • PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse

  • Screaming Frog / Sitebulb

  • Ahrefs / SEMrush / Moz (keyword & backlink research)

  • Hotjar / FullStory (behavioral insights)

  • Shopify apps for redirects, SEO, and schema (if on Shopify)

  • Klaviyo / Omnisend for email automation integration

Final Notes & Next Steps

  • Prioritize high-impact, low-effort fixes first (meta tags, broken links, robots.txt).

  • Treat SEO as a marathon — sustainable growth builds from consistent content + technical discipline.

  • If you’d like, Excel Digital Solutions can convert this plan into a custom 90-day SEO engagement tailored to your store (site audit, prioritized task list, implementation, and monthly reporting).