Noob sitemap question

[GelertDesign]

So my store has been up a couple of weeks now. I'm still adding and editing listings. My actual store name appears on page 3 of a Google search. I appreciate that it can take a while and that I can speed things up by submitting the sitemap to Google. 

My question is, should I do this now or after I have finished adding all the alt tags, tags, improving descriptions etc?

Many thanks

[PageFly-Richard]

Hi @GelertDesign, This is Richard - CRO and Marketing Expert at PageFly - Shopify Advanced Page Builder. 

My advice is that you should submit your sitemap now so that your store and product pages can get indexed as soon as possible - Imagine the sitemap is like a Lighthouse - letting out signals to help Google crawl your pages better.  Check out this tutorial that walk you through the whole process of submitting the sitemap the right way. 

If you like my comments, be sure to give it a thumb up - cheers.

[EcomGeeks]

Hey @GelertDesign,

I would recommend doing your alt image descriptions, descriptions and etc. first, before you submit your sitemap to google.

We just did a video showing all of the ways you can optimize your store to ensure you are getting the right kind of traffic. We hear from a lot of store owners that they get a lot of traffic but no conversions, we show how to target your intended audience:

If you have any questions, you can contact us using the information in our signature.

Best of luck!

[Andrew]

Hi @GelertDesign 

Hyde here from Shopify. Great question!

Generally speaking, it's a good idea to submit your sitemap every year or so, just to give Google a gentle nudge to get them to recrawl and index your site. I'd suggest submitting your site map straight away, and then adding all your alt tags, tags, descriptions, content, and metadata. I would also highly recommend our SEO Checklist. 

A few crucial steps that you can take for good SEO are listed here:

* A Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing.
* Ecommerce SEO 101 Video Series.
* Find out more about blogs.

Here, too, is how you can look up keywords to help boost your site’s ranking.

Think of yourself as a curator as much as you are a business owner. You need to create, craft, and communicate your brand content regularly to keep the activity buzzing your site and ensure your search ranking picks up. Think of it as a heat source, the more heat you generate, the more attention Google pays you.

So be sure to create a blog to share far and wide and establish your authority in your field, and add a video to your store that can also be easily shared and will pull people into your story so that they can make it their story.

I hope this helps!

All the best, Hyde.