Shopify site not showing up on google

[tkahn]

repost from technical Q&A - post seems more at home here.

Hi all,

I'm looking for some guidance on how to get my shop to show up on google search. A couple of weeks ago I asked google search console to index the site and submitted the sitemap. The site map was submitted successfully but I do not see any discovered URLs. Did I do something wrong? Thank you!!

Link to store:  https://dirtbagsupplyco.com

Sitemap: https://dirtbagsupplyco.com/sitemap.xml

[Mark_02]

Hello,

It takes time .. give it some time and it will show. 

Go to Google's search bar and type "site:" then type your website's URL without a space! Type it like this "site:yourwebsite.com".

The results will show you the pages that have been indexed by Google.

Mark.

[tkahn]

Thank you Mark! Ah yes, the ol' waiting game. I do see now that google has at least indexed the main page. Any idea why google search console couldn't read the pages on the sitemap? Is this also something that takes time? Much Appreciated. 

[Moira]

Hey, @tkahn!

This is Moira from the Social Care team at Shopify. Thanks for posting, and a very warm welcome to the Community. It’s great to hear you are looking for some guidance on how to have business exposure on Google!

As @Mark_02 mentioned above, once your sitemap is successfully submitted, the process of crawling and indexing your site can take time, and Google doesn't guarantee how long it'll take. This is probably the most common-sitemap issue that you will encounter in Google Search Console. You can learn more about what to expect from Google's Help Centre here. In the meantime, let's go over a few others ways that will help your website appear in Google search.

What steps have you taken to improve your search engine ranking so far? People who find your online store in a search engine are probably looking for products like yours, so they are more likely to buy something. 

Here are some steps that will definitely help you improve your store search engine ranking:

• Rename the image - When uploading an image to a store, make sure to rename the image with a descriptive file name that will relate to the product in the image. By doing this, the search engine can understand what the image is related to.

• Use keywords - Search engine filter searches using keywords and so make sure these keywords appear in your page titles, image ALT text (good for people who have visual impairment), meta descriptions, and page's content. Here is a guide on how to add keywords to your store.

• Meta descriptions - Products, Collections, and Pages all have meta descriptions that you’re able to customize yourself, in the Edit website SEO section at the bottom of their admin pages.

• SEO description - There are a couple of things that you should keep in mind in order to have an SEO description that ranks well. You want to write the description as if you’re writing it to a potential customer, touching on descriptive words about the product and its use. A lot of the time merchants list keywords without any structure, thinking the more keywords the better - but this is not the case. We have a great blog post with further detail on this.

SEO is a really great path to take because the upside of getting unpaid (free) traffic is certainly great. It can help keep your advertising costs down and increase your sales. One last thing I do recommend is getting structured data for your site.

Structured data can help increase your SEO and make you look better to Google. Structured data helps Google understand what you're selling better. In turn, structured data can encourage Google and other search engines to show you more in search results (since they'll know what you're selling). Lastly, structured data helps Google award your site with something called "rich snippets" which are enhanced search results. These rich snippets pop out because they display pricing, availability, and star ratings.

One way to get structured data is by installing an app like Get Clicked SEO which can do this for you automatically. This app communicates with Google and supplies them with the information they need so you can get awarded with "rich snippets". Rich snippets are great because they can increase your click-through rate (by being more eye-catching and standing out).

Here are a couple of additional resources that can help you out after you work through the list above:

• The Beginner’s Guide to Conversion Rate Optimization

• Increase Website Traffic: 20 Low-Cost Ideas [Ranked] (2021)

Once you have tackled the SEO suggestions I have mentioned above please reach back out and let us know how you got on. I’m happy to answer any questions you think of as you continue to work on your business.

Cheers!