SEO optimization in Shopware

Many store owners who have relied on the Shopware solution are happy about exciting functionalities, a satisfied user experience and many other advantages that Shopware offers.

But what happens after your launch? How do your first orders come in? And how can you generate more orders through your Shopware-based online store?

Many people who work with this system are concerned with these questions. In this blog post, we would like to give you some interesting approaches and impulses on how you can bring your store to the top in organic search based on search engine optimization.

This article is about the content part of SEO optimization - that is, the content. If you'd like to learn more about the technical part, feel free to check out this (german) post.

What exactly is Shopware SEO?

SEO describes all measures with which a website or an online store is optimized for search engines. The goal of SEO optimization is to increase the findability and visibility of your own content (products). The preferred target group thus finds your content and your products organically and, in the best case, can place an order. In the area of Shopware SEO, there is a lot to pay attention to, because even though Shopware provides some basic functionalities in the area of search engine optimization from the ground up, special handling is required here. 

1. The Keyword strategy

Google is a search engine that sorts content based on text information. This means that the texts in your store must correspond thematically and linguistically to what your target group enters as a search term in Google.

In your keyword research, it is therefore a matter of finding keywords that are searched for particularly frequently and at the same time match your content.

Let's say you sell a tire bed. In technical terms, a tire bed is a mat that is placed under a car to prevent flat tires. A keyword research shows that the term "tire bed" is searched for only 200 times per month on Google in Germany. But a more intensive keyword research shows that the keyword combination "avoid flat tire" is used about 900 times a month. So it is necessary that you not only talk about a tire bed in your online store, but also mention that flat tires can be avoided with a tire bed.

Thus, keywords are differentiated according to their length and search intention.

Generic keywords are search terms that name topics in a very general way and have a broader user intention as background. Generic keywords, or short-tail keywords, are very short. Usually, they consist of only one or two words. An example of this is the keyword "shoes".

In contrast, long-tail keywords are characterized by a longer chain of individual search terms, such as "Nike shoes size 46". Longtail keywords often consist of three to eight words. They are therefore more specific, as the user follows a precise search query with them.

Generic keywords usually have a very high search volume and therefore face a lot of competition.

Long-tail keywords are less competitive, but the search volume is much lower than generic keywords, so you will reach fewer potential customers who will be brought to your website.

So which strategy is right for you? Opinions differ regarding the success of different keyword strategies, but to summarize, there is not THE one right strategy that can be universally applied to every website. We recommend a good mix of long-tail keywords and generic keywords to reach as many users as possible.

A universal formula for splitting the different types of keywords that works for all websites is also non-existent. Keyword strategies and compositions depend on various factors such as industry, budget, etc. and must be evaluated for each individual case.

The selection of keywords in general is therefore extremely important in Shopware SEO, so that visitors are targeted to your content. You do SEO solely for your target group. Therefore, it is essential to understand what exactly the needs, questions and language of your target group are. Only from this can you deduce what your actual content strategy should look like and how the search intent of your users can be satisfied.  

There are hundreds of tools that use different functions and types of calculation to help you with keyword research, but also analysis. They give you practical tips, suggestions and information for your SEO online marketing. All these tools differ in terms of features, amount and source of data and definitely in prices.

If you want to take your search engine marketing to the next level, in the medium term you will certainly not be able to avoid investing in a paid tool like Sistrix, Semrush or KWfinder.  

But also free tools like Keyword-Tools.org or Seobility can be helpful to start your SEO without any investment.

2. SEO- texts, images and videos that speak for themselves

"Content is king" also applies to your store. Therefore, try to fill your website with content that stands out from the crowd, is very informative and as unique as possible.

Of course, a good online store also thrives on visual objects such as images and, if applicable, videos. Pictures say more than 1000 words and Google loves this kind of media.
These objects also need to be considered in a search engine optimization.

With the right image SEO you can extremely support Google in understanding your page, which makes this SEO aspect necessary for your Shopware store as well.

Use clear file names here, in which your focus keyword must not be missing. In addition, the file name should be short and meaningful, so that Google knows what to see on this page. Videos and images increase the time spent on the pages and thus have an influence on your ranking.

Another important SEO Shopware tip to attract users to your website are blog posts. Pick up current topics and show the search engines that your website is alive. Linking your post to external sources can also be helpful and don't forget the important relevant keywords here either.

And what about AI-generated texts? The idea that you can easily rank higher through pure AI-generated texts has been around for years. From our experience, however, we can say that this can work well for a short time and it is also possible to generate more traffic. However, it does not work sustainably and permanently. The problem is that these texts are rarely of good enough quality and are often used to manipulate the search algorithm.

Of course, you can always use artificial intelligence as a template to a certain extent, but you should always run the "human touch" over it again to make sure that your texts really hit your users and appeal to them. 

3. Optimize your URLs for articles, categories and co.

It is not only important for the product page to be filled with certain keywords that satisfy a specific search intention, but also for the category pages. Because these are also found in the Google index and must be optimized accordingly.

An example of this is the search term "wallet". If someone enters "men's wallet" as a search term on Google, then the user expects an overview of wallets for men here. The same structure in relation to your keywords, you can request a keyword research from an experienced SEO agency.

This means that the category page must also be filled with this keyword. It should also be noted that the keyword is to be found in all Google relevant places. These are to be filled in the following order:

1. Page title

Google reads the page title of a page and prioritizes content based on the words and terms found in the page title. It is advisable to put the focus keyword right at the beginning of the title. This way, Google can understand more quickly what the page is ultimately about.

2. Metadescription

The meta description is information that is present in the source code of the page and can be easily filled via Shopware. However, Google always varies the number of characters that can be placed in a meta description. At this point, we recommend the Sistrix Snippet Generator tool, which can always be used to readjust. Here you have the possibility to make sure, based on a previous keyword research, that the user is sufficiently informed about the content of the page and that the user promise in the meta description is correspondingly high, since this meta description is also displayed in the Google search and ultimately decides on the click rate in the organic search results.

3. URL structure

Before a blog post, product or category page goes online, you should make sure that the keyword is used consistently in the URL. Make sure that no special characters or umlauts, no filler words are used here. When users look at your URL, they should get a clear indication of what your page is about. Meaningful, simple URLs are also particularly easy for customers to remember and can be reproduced more easily.

4. How to increase your user behavior

Another essential tip for Shopware SEO is that you should always take a look at the page and check how and whether the user behavior has changed or whether there are points that you have not considered before and which could positively influence the user behavior. In all areas such as the checkout process, the home page, blog posts, etc., you should regularly fine-tune in terms of user experience, etc.

There are quite a few tools you can use that will take the guesswork out of user behavior on your website and help you discover new potential and eliminate sources of error. You'll gain insight into website traffic, how long your users spend on the site, bounce rates for individual pages, and general user behavior. You can also find out which keywords your customers use to reach you.

5. With siloing to the optimal website structure

The right structure of your website plays an important role in search engine optimization. It is important that your content is packaged and organized in such a way that your users can find it quickly. To do this, it can be helpful to first group your content into thematic blocks or so-called silos, in which relevant information is bundled. All related subtopics are then placed within the appropriate silos.

Since very nested websites tend to be difficult to navigate, we recommend building your silos as flat as possible in terms of content. The most important keywords are then linked to each other within the silo. You can also link the large topic blocks (silos) among each other by all means, but try not to criss-cross your website, as this can cause your users to get "lost".

Using siloing can bring several benefits to your search rankings. A siloed structure helps the algorithm better categorize your content and understand the relevance and connections between different pages. In addition, increased user-friendliness is a factor that should not be underestimated, as siloing provides tremendous guidance to your users. The resulting positive user signals play an increasingly important role for SEO.

So the structure of your website is the foundation to get into the top positions in search engines. Even though it may be difficult to define and identify meaningful silos at the beginning, siloing pays off in many ways.

6. Backlinks - what they are and what you should pay attention to

Backlinks are the links from another external website to your website. The backlinks in the off-page area are an important SEO factor, because pages with many backlinks convey to Google that the content is particularly respected and important. The more links that lead to a page, the better it will rank in the search results.

That's why you should try to build a good backlink profile for your Shopware store, which contains high-quality backlinks and fits thematically to the content of your products in the online store, because only then there will be an influence on the ranking.

But not all backlinks are the same. And to recognize a good backlink is sometimes not so easy.

Such a backlink should come from a page that itself enjoys a high level of trust in the algorithm and that has preferably existed for a long time.

Another quality factor is the topic relevance. Google checks whether the link-giving website is found thematically on similar topics as the linked website.

Furthermore, links that come from websites that do not have too many outbound links are more valuable. This makes it easier for Google to determine that the link is a special link.

It is also important to make sure that the links are as far as possible DoFollow links, i.e. links that can actually be followed by Google.

NoFollow links, on the other hand, can only be followed by real users of the website, but not by a search engine.

An easy way to get high quality backlinks is to buy them. However, we do not recommend buying backlinks in the classical sense, because buying links is expressly forbidden in Google's guidelines and is regularly penalized.

However, it is possible to build quality backlinks naturally by using time, budget and certain techniques. For this, contacting an SEO expert can definitely be helpful.

It is indeed also possible that a competitor implements negative SEO measures to harm you. Therefore, it is important to continuously check if there are new backlinks and if they are inferior, i.e. if they come from spam, erotic, poker etc. and are therefore identified as red flags by Google. If you find such backlinks, you have the possibility to submit a so-called Disavow request to Google, through which the harmful links will be neutralized.

In summary, you should always make sure to have a natural backlink profile. A good mix of anchor text, a large variety of backlinks from different backlink sources, some NoFollow backlinks, etc. is extremely important. 

Conclusion

The possibilities for SEO optimization for Shopware are numerous and a good combination of SEO measures is worthwhile to achieve a better ranking in Google in the long term. In addition, with a well thought-out SEO strategy, you also significantly increase your sales and turnover

For all those who want to go deeper into the basics of Google search in connection with the SEO basics, to find out how best to optimize, what exactly matters and what Google expects from us, we recommend the Start Guide for Search Engine Optimization that Google Search Central provides.

If you have questions about SEO optimization in Shopware or are simply looking for a professional SEO consultant for your upcoming or ongoing Shopware project, feel free to contact Hamed from the SEO agency SEOeffekt.