3 Random Beginner Questions

[geographyvault]

Hey all, 

I am new and still little confused. I have 3 simple questions.

1) I have a home page and 4 collection pages. I have registered to google search console and my website has been crawling for 1 month every 2-3 days. But I still don't see my collection pages on google when I use the keywords that I inputted in my collection. I want to make it clear, I am not expecting my collection page to show up in first 1-5 pages. I just want to see my collection on google, it can be on the 20th page. My first step is to get my collection pages on google even if its towards the back. Can someone educate me on this?

2) What's the point monthly for SEO app? Once you put in keywords in title, images, nice descriptions, etc. Then you are done. What's the point of continuing to pay for it?

3) I'm still trying to understand backlinks, I viewed many youtube videos. For example, my store is geography based. So I just goto other geography blogs, make valueable posts and just leave my store address and say 'please come and buy'? Some can tell me specifically...like if I'm a 10 year old on how to get backlinks?

Thanks in advance.

[FuFei]

hey @geographyvault 

1) try typing "inurl:yourstore.com" into Google to check which pages are being indexed.

2) If it is just to add these once, it isn't worth it. If it helps you monitor these keywords, maybe.

You can monitor these keywords, title, images, descriptions yourself.

• Head into Google Search Console once a week,
• Check the impressions and click-throughs.
• Are they trending upwards or downwards.
• Work on the Title & meta descriptions for those pages not doing too well 
• Click into pages that are doing well for click-throughs but have a high bounce rate, work on the load speed.
• If the load speed is fine, work on H1-H6 and the descriptions based on the search terms used.
• (Visitors didn't see what they were looking for, therefore bounced)

Or use an app to monitor this.

3a) Backlinks are Google's way of deciding which site to rank for. 

Here is a theoretical example. Image a clone of your site. Exact clone in term of products, images & content.

But a 100 other credible sources from CNN, National Geography to Universities link to that site. Which would a normal consumer think is more credible?

3b) How to get backlinks?

Passive way: Write amazing content. Wait for people to link to you.

Active way: Research 15-20 websites in your niche. Narrow down to those that accept guest blogging.

Email those sites, telling them you have a piece of content that their audience would enjoy. Repeat every month.

[JoesIdeas]

I like using dedicated SEO software like ahrefs.com for monitoring SEO, but for just starting out I don't think you need it yet. You'll have plenty of low hanging fruit to take care of (title tags, alt attributes, CTR optimization with titles and description, generating content, getting backlinks through blog posts and strategic reachouts, etc).

I wrote a guide with tools, tips, and shared examples how I've applied SEO to increase organic traffic: SEO Tools and Tips for Shopify. Also if you prefer learning and DIY instead of hiring, this is my favorite guide for helping people learn the basics of SEO and build the knowledge to develop a sound strategy: Beginner's Guide to SEO by Moz.

If you're not running Google Ads, I would get that going as well. SEO is awesome, but it's a long game. Google Ads can get you instant traffic and sales, and then you can use that data to turn into actionable SEO improvements.

[flareAI]

Hey @geographyvault 

1) If you want to check that your collection page is on google. Follow the below steps:

 Login to your google search console > Select URL Inspection Tool on the left navigation pane > type your collection page URL in the search box > press enter 

It retrieves the complete data w.r.t to your URL, such as whether the URL is on google, when was the page last crawled and other details. 

Hope this was helpful.