Are you just starting out with Prestashop, or do you already have an e-commerce site based on this CMS? Do you have some e-commerce success but are missing something to be at the top?
SEO is the key to attracting visitors and converting them. Indeed, an e-commerce site without visits is of little interest. So you’re wondering: how can I improve the Google ranking of my Prestashop site?
In this article, you’ll find out everything you need to know about SEO for a Prestashop site.
1- Determining keywords to reference your Prestashop site
To get your Prestashop site listed on Google and sell your products more effectively, you need to make it visible to potential customers.
This means using keywords related to your products.
What do you sell?
What keywords do Internet users search for that relate to your products?
To help you determine and list these keywords, there are several tools available online, such as the Google Adwords keyword generator or Ubersuggest.
Choose relevant keywords that relate to what you’re actually selling..
Choisissez également des mots clés de la longue traîne, c’est-à-dire qui sont généralement composés de trois mots ou plus.
Ils seront moins concurrentiels, surtout si vous débutez et que tout est encore à faire sur votre site au niveau référencement.
Knowing your keywords is the starting point for optimizing your Prestashop site for Google.
You’ll then need to place them strategically throughout your web content.
Practical tips for keyword research :
- Choose highly relevant keywords.
Opt for slightly broader terms at category level and more specific terms for product pages. - Choose terms that show strong buying intent.
Someone searching for the terms “coffee machine comparison” is still in the research phase, while someone searching for “coffee machine for a small kitchen” is more likely to be ready to buy. - Check search volume per keyword.
Search volume is the number of times a keyword is searched for in a month.
There’s no point in optimizing a keyword with little or no search volume.
On the other hand, if a keyword has extremely high search volume and is highly competitive, you may never be able to achieve first-page positioning.
Try to strike a balance between keyword relevance, search volume and competition. - Get inspired by your competitors’ keywords.
But be careful!
Just because a competitor is optimized for a keyword doesn’t mean it’s the right term for you, or that they’ve done their research in terms of search volume and intent.
2- Optimizing your Prestashop site for SEO
Optimizing your Prestashop site internally is essential if you want to rank well in Google.
Here are the main elements of your site to optimize.
Choosing a theme optimized for SEO
One of the very first steps in optimizing your e-commerce site for SEO is choosing your Prestashop theme.
A theme that is optimized for SEO from the outset will save you a lot of hassle in the future.
An SEO-optimized theme is first and foremost a responsive theme, whose display adapts easily to mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.
More than half of all Internet users today browse on mobile devices, which is why Google gives responsive design sites a greater advantage in terms of SEO.
The loading time of a website also influences its SEO.
The longer it takes to load, the more Google will penalize it.
Before you install your theme, put it in demo mode and test the loading speed.
The faster it loads, the better your site will rank.
If you already have a theme installed with an active store, you can use a Prestashop module to remove all unnecessary elements slowing down your e-commerce site. However, it’s best to spend some time and choose the right theme from the outset, or even change your theme if it’s not optimal.
Making good use of tags
Once you’ve identified your keywords, you can start integrating them into your various tags.
One of the most important tags for SEO on a Prestashop site is the meta title tag.
This is the title you see in Google search results.
Not to exceed 70 characters, the title tag must contain your main keyword.
The meta description tag is also important.
Although it has no direct influence on SEO, it will be read by Internet users in Google search results.
As a result, it must contain a call-to-action message that will encourage them to visit your site.
The alt tag will optimize images.
Note that before you upload images or photos to your Prestashop site, you need to rename them with the right keywords.
This will improve their ranking in Google.
Once again, modules are available to help you fill in all the tags.
Finally, the H1 and H2 tags, which are the title and subtitles of your pages, must contain your keywords to improve the SEO of your Prestashop site.
Optimizing text content
To rank your Prestashop site on Google, it’s important to have a lot of text content.
Optimization is then based on the texts present on the site: product descriptions, category pages, home page, blog posts, etc.
With high-quality, keyword-optimized editorial content, you’ll not only attract more visitors to your e-commerce site, but also convince potential customers to buy.
The difficulty with SEO for an e-commerce site lies in duplicate content.
In e-commerce, it’s common to have many similar products.
You need to produce a unique product sheet for each item, and avoid having two exactly identical pieces of content.
What’s more, duplicate content doesn’t just apply to your own products; you also need to avoid copying competitors’ or suppliers’ content.
Having a blog to accompany your e-commerce site is also a good way to get your Prestashop site listed on Google.
Indeed, the more content your site has, the more it will be appreciated by Google, provided that this content is well optimized.
Potential customers may first find you through your blog, and this blog will then redirect visitors’ attention to your e-commerce store.
Give customers the opportunity to leave a review
Customer reviews are an excellent way to gain credibility, and a great way to win the trust of new customers.
What’s more, customer reviews will also boost your Prestashop site’s SEO.
Google will treat customer reviews as additional content for your site.
And to ensure that customer reviews are indexed in Google search results, you can use the schema.org language. This can also be used to display a rating and Google stars for your page, as in the example below.
Optimizing the user experience
A good user experience means that a site is easy and pleasant to use.
It also means your users will spend more time on your site, which is great for SEO.
Practical tips for optimizing the user experience :
- Your site’s navigation should be easy to understand and navigate.
Use only French if you’re selling to a French-speaking audience, and avoid English terms. - Place your search bar in a visible location.
Enable predictive searches and incorporate product typographical errors into your search bar. - Make your ordering process as quick as possible.
The fewer steps, the better.
Inserting a quick order form is also an idea to consider. - Use a chat widget.
This not only reduces your site’s bounce rate, but also gives you the opportunity to sell live. - Finally, place your contact details in a visible place (usually in the header) so that customers can easily reach you.
3- Optimize the link profile of your Prestashop site
A large part of Google’s ranking algorithm is based on the quantity and quality of inbound links to your site, as well as the quantity of internal links within your site.
Get backlinks to boost your popularity with Google
Inbound links” are links that are created on various websites and point to your own site.
For search engines, inbound links are proof of your credibility: if lots of other sites are linking to you, then you must be a legitimate resource.
Unfortunately, when you launch an e-commerce site, few sites will naturally mention yours.
In this case, you may be looking to “create” links yourself.
In this case, concentrate on links from very good, high-authority sites, offering them something of value in exchange for a link.
For example, you can offer to write a high-quality guest article, provide a quote for an article, create an infographic, etc.
Also try to find opportunities to be mentioned in the press.
Find an original angle that will make journalists want to talk about your store, and send your press release to as many targeted media as possible.
Finally, don’t neglect social networks.
The number of mentions and shares of your publications on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will prove the legitimacy of your Prestashop store and improve your Google referencing.
Optimize your internal link structure
Internal links” are the links that connect the pages of your own website.
A strong internal link structure helps spread the “link juice” of high-authority pages throughout the site, and makes it easier for search engines to discover related content.
Practical tips to improve your link profile:
- Make links between your product pages.
And if you have a blog, make links between your blog posts and to your category and product pages. - Optimize the anchor of internal links on a target keyword.
- If you write educational content about the products you sell, such as tips or how-to guides, make sure it’s as useful and interesting as possible so that your readers will want to share it.
- Partner with the best influencers in your niche to reach a wider audience.
To conclude on Prestashop SEO for your e-commerce site
Now that you know how to get your Prestashop site listed on Google, it’s time to take action.
Even though SEO can take weeks or even months, as soon as you implement these various actions, you’ll start to see results on your e-commerce site.
And if you need help developing your Prestashop site or are looking for Prestashop modules to perform a specific function for your site, don’t hesitate to call on me. As a Prestahop freelancer since 2008, I’d be delighted to help you with your e-commerce project.
