How can I effectively run ads for my online store?

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A store owner asks where to run ads; a respondent recommends prioritizing SEO (search engine optimization) to boost organic traffic instead of specifying ad platforms.

Key SEO actions suggested:

  • Add targeted keywords: edit page titles and meta descriptions, set image alt text, include keywords in H1 headers, and use them in page content.
  • Optimize site structure: improve navigation, use descriptive image file names, write descriptive internal link text, and increase links pointing to the store.
  • Submit your sitemap: locate the sitemap, verify the domain with Google, and submit the sitemap in Google Search Console (GSC).
  • Manage indexing: use robots.txt to control which pages search engines can crawl; Shopify provides a robots.txt.liquid template. Editing is risky and may harm traffic—consider a Shopify expert.

Notes and terms:

  • SEO: improving a site’s visibility in search results.
  • Sitemap: file listing site pages for search engines.
  • Google Search Console: tool to monitor and manage indexing.
  • robots.txt: file guiding crawler access.

Outcome: No ad platforms or campaign guidance provided; discussion remains open on ads.

Summarized with AI on February 4. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hi I am the owner of MustHave’sForYou.com,I’m just trying to figure out how to run ads and where would be the best place to run ads

2

Hey,

one way to increase the traffic of your store is to improve the search engine ranking for your store and help your customers to find your products. Here is a brief instruction of how to improve SEO, I hope this is helpful.

Brief solution for SEO improvement

  1. Adding keywords for SEO to your Shopify store.

    1. Edit the title and meta description for a page

    2. Set image alt text

    3. Add keywords to the H1 header for a page

    4. Using keywords in page content

  2. Optimizing your site structure for search engines

    1. Optimizing your online store navigation

    2. Use descriptive image file names

    3. Using descriptive text for internal links

    4. Increasing the number of links to your store

  3. Finding and submitting your sitemap

    1. Find your sitemap file

    2. Add domain properties and verify your site with Google

    3. Submit your sitemap file to Google Search Console

  4. Hiding a page from search engines

    1. Use robots.txt file to tell search engine which pages to request to view from your online store. It can blocks page content that might otherwise reduce the effectiveness of your SEO strategy by stealing PageRank. All Shopify stores have a preconfigured and optimized robots.txt.liquid template. If you want to edit your robots.txt, then you can hire a Shopify expert to edit the code for you. Incorrect use of the feature can result in loss of all traffic.