WooCommerce SEO: Complete Optimization Guide for 2024

WooCommerce SEO is all about optimizing your online store for search engines. If done right, it can lead to more traffic, increased brand awareness, and, ultimately, higher profits.

Optimizing your WooCommerce store consists of several steps to help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). There's link building, keyword research, web performance optimization, and more.

Let's take a closer look at these strategies and how to maximize their impact.

What Is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin for building online stores. It holds a 38.74% market share, making it the most popular ecommerce website builder.

WooCommerce powers over 6.3 million sites, including top brands such as The Home Depot, Porter & York, UPS, and Joco. It can also be a good choice for small- to medium-sized businesses due to its user-friendliness, low cost, and flexibility. 

Use WooCommerce to sell products online, accept payments, take bookings, and manage orders.

If you want more features, choose from thousands of free and premium WooCommerce extensions.

For example, Vimeo for WooCommerce can turn your product images into videos. Another extension, User Experience Feedback, allows you to create quick surveys to gain customer feedback on your brand and products. 

Further reading: The 9 Best Ecommerce Website Builders: A Comparative Review

SEO and WooCommerce

SEO for WooCommerce follows standard ecommerce website optimization principles, such as link building, keyword research, and page speed optimization.

Its distinct advantage lies in the versatility of its tools.

Being an open-source platform, WooCommerce also allows for extensive customization. You can add or remove forms, implement new features, or change the default theme colors and fonts. 

For example, say you want to edit the checkout page. You can do this via the theme or by other means, depending on your level of technical knowledge. 

Its user-friendly interface allows you to easily manage and optimize your pages. 

All in all, the WooCommerce plugin is SEO-friendly out of the box, which, along with other optimizations, can help you get your site on the first page of Google. 

For instance, vendors can install ready-made WooCommerce themes, which are often optimized for search engines.

An example is WoodMart, a responsive theme with clean code, minified JS and CSS files, product filters, and other SEO features that can boost your efforts.

Additionally, most WooCommerce themes also support the best WordPress SEO plugins, such as Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant, Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and others. This aspect alone can make it easier to optimize your site. 

However, certain foundational SEO best practices are still necessary. You’ll have to write quality content, build links, ensure your website is easy to navigate, and deliver a seamless user experience. 

WooCommerce WordPress Setup and Plugins

There are a few different ways to add the WooCommerce plugin to WordPress. 

Install WooCommerce 

The first option is to download it directly from Wordpress.org.

Click "Download" and save the .zip folder on your computer desktop.

You can also download directly from Woo.com by clicking the “Download” button. 

Log in to your WordPress admin area and select "Plugins" from the left-side menu. Click "Add New Plugin."

Click the “Upload Plugin” button and select the .zip folder from your desktop.

If you downloaded the plugin from Woo.com, follow the same steps.

You can also install it directly in WordPress. 

Go to “Plugins” > “Add New Plugin” and search "woocommerce” in the search bar. You will see the plugin displayed in the search results. Click the "Install Now" button.

Once installed, the button will change to “Activate.” Click that button again to activate the plugin. WordPress will refresh. 

Perform the WordPress SEO Setup

Once the installation is complete, click "WooCommerce" > "Settings" from the left-side navigation menu. 

Enter your store address, selling location(s), and other relevant details, such as:

• Shipping zones
• Payment methods
• Page setup information
• Enabled currencies

You can also set up recurring payments, allow customers to create an account during checkout, choose how long to retain their data, and more.

Use WooCommerce-Optimized Themes

Look for WooCommerce themes with a responsive design, clean code, and SEO-friendly features like cross-browser compatibility.

A responsive design ensures your website looks good on all screen sizes, which enhances the user experience (UX). 

Clean code translates to faster-loading pages and improved website navigation. Plus, it allows search engine bots to crawl and index your website more easily.

Go to Woo.com to choose a theme that meets your needs and offers the above features (responsive design, clean code, SEO-friendly features).

Another website that offers over 1,500 WooCommerce themes is ThemeForest.

Filter the themes by category, rating, price, and other criteria. Select one and click "Live Preview" to closely examine its design and features.

Once you choose a few themes, enter the theme demo site URL into Google PageSpeed Insights to review its performance score.

Google will check its loading speed on mobile and desktop devices and flag potential issues. These may include unused JavaScript, offscreen images, large files, and other problems affecting website performance.

Google PageSpeed Insights assigns a performance score to each site. Ideally, choose a theme with a performance score of 90 or higher. 

Use the Best WooCommerce SEO Plugins

WooCommerce SEO plugins are software add-ons that extend the core SEO functionality of WooCommerce and WordPress. 

They can simplify optimizing your content, product pages, and website code for search engines. 

Let's look at a few examples of the best WooCommerce SEO plugins:

• Semrush SEO Writing Assistant
• All-In-One SEO Ecommerce (AIOSEO)
• Yoast SEO Ecommerce
• Rank Math
• Schema & Structured Data for WP
• Broken Link Checker
• NitroPack
• Premium SEO Pack

For instance, use Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant to make your blog posts and product descriptions more readable and search-engine friendly. 

It's available as an online writing tool, WordPress plugin, and an add-on for Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

The SEO Writing Assistant can review and optimize your content for readability, originality, SEO friendliness, and tone of voice. You may also use it to rephrase, simplify, summarize, or expand the text, depending on the desired outcome.

Most importantly, SEO Writing Assistant provides actionable advice on how to improve your content. You can see which sentences or paragraphs require changes and how to go about it. 

Another option is the Yoast SEO WooCommerce plugin.

This add-on allows you to generate advanced sitemaps, optimize metadata, and improve page loading times with just a few clicks. If you're ready to give it a try, see our guide on how to use the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress.

Other website optimization tools will scan your website for duplicate content, broken links, 404 pages, and other issues.

To download them, click "Add New Plugin" from the left-side navigation menu on the WordPress dashboard. Type in the issue you’re trying to solve in the search bar. For example, “404.” Browse available options.

You can also search plugins by going to WordPress.org > "Extend" > "Plugins." Similarly, you can search using the issue you’re trying to solve. 

Website and WooCommerce Security

Website security can improve the user experience (UX) and boost search engine rankings.

For example, HTTPS (hypertext transfer protocol secure) has been a ranking signal since 2014. Its role is to encrypt the data transferred between web browsers and websites.

It tells customers their data, such as passwords and credit card details, is safe and protected. It also signals to Google that your website is secure.

Install an SSL Certificate 

To make your website secure, first install an SSL certificate. The acronym "SSL" stands for Secure Sockets Layer.

This data file enables HTTPS, encrypting the information sent from servers to web browsers. As discussed earlier, having HTTPS at the beginning of your website URL can contribute to higher search engine rankings.

Let's Encrypt, Cloudflare, GoGetSSL, and most web hosts offer free or low-cost SSL certificates.

In some cases, the certificate is automatically installed on your site when you sign up for web hosting.

If that's not an option, download an SSL certificate and use Auto Install Free SSL, Really Simple SSL, or other WordPress plugins to install it and configure HTTPS.

Improve Website Security

Next, follow these practices to improve your website's security:

• Set up two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Enable auto-updates for plugins and themes
• Use trusted payment gateways, such as PayPal, Stripe, or Authorize.net
• Set strong passwords for your website's admin panel and hosting account
• Delete unnecessary or outdated files, plugins, add-ons, and other resources
• Use WordPress plugins like UpdraftPlus, Solid Backups, or BackWPup to run automated website backups
• Regularly scan your site for malware
• Implement Captcha to safeguard your website from spam bots

Use an SEO Tool to Detect Security Issues

Go one step further and use Semrush's Site Audit tool to detect non-secure pages and other potential issues.

Here’s how: 

First, log in to your Semrush account and click "Site Audit" under On-Page & Tech SEO.

If you've already added your website to Semrush, click on its domain name. If not, click the "+ Create Project" button and enter your website address.

Click “Create project.” 

Next, configure the Site Audit tool. If you have a free account, you can check up to 100 pages per audit, as shown below:

Click "Start Site Audit" and wait up to 24 hours to get the results. When completed, you’ll see your Site Audit dashboard.

Click "Issues" and check for potential problems related to website security.

This report will show any “Errors,” “Warnings,” and “Notices.” 

• Errors: These issues should be addressed and rendered immediately
• Warnings: These issues are important but should be addressed once errors are all resolved
• Notices: Issues that ideally should be fixed but are not impacting SEO significantly 

Security & HTTPS issues may be displayed as “Errors,” depending on the severity of the issue.

Let's say you have an incorrect certificate, meaning it doesn't match the name displayed in the address bar.

Click on “Why and how to fix it” to see information “About this issue” and “How to fix it.”

To fix the issue, install a new SSL certificate that covers all subdomains (e.g., www.yourwebsite.com, shop.yourwebsite.com, and blog.yourwebsite.com).

Further reading: HTTP vs. HTTPS: Differences, Benefits, and Migration Tips

WooCommerce Website Speed and Performance

Optimizing your website speed and performance can streamline website navigation and enhance UX, helping your website rank higher in search results.

The steps below can make your site load faster and improve its performance. 

• Optimize your images: Use tools like JPEG Optimizer, ImageRecycle, and TinyPNG to compress large images without sacrificing quality
• Switch to a content delivery network (CDN): Using a CDN allows you to store copies of your content across multiple servers worldwide. When someone visits your website, the CDN will deliver the content to the server closest to them, which can improve page load speed.
• Minify CSS, HTML, and JavaScript: These resources take up a lot of space and can slow down your website. Use the Autoptimize plugin or NitroPack to clean your code and reduce file size.
• Implement lazy loading (on-demand loading): This practice involves delaying the loading of CSS files, large images, videos, and other non-critical resources on your site. An example is infinity scroll, a technique where the content loads as users scroll down the page. Consider using the Lazy Loader plugin to implement on-demand loading without having to manually modify your website’s source code.
• Enable GZIP compression: Compress your website's files before sending them to a browser. This reduces their size and speeds up load times. Consider using WP Rocket, WP Super Cache, or similar plugins to enable GZIP compression in WordPress.

Page load speed is a ranking factor that affects the user experience positively or negatively.

According to a study by Portent, B2B websites that load in one second have three times higher conversion rates than those loading in five seconds. They also generate five times more conversions than a website loading in 10 seconds.

But that's not all.

Slow-loading pages are also more likely to deter potential customers.

As page load time on mobile devices goes from one to three seconds, the chances of visitors leaving a site increase by 32%. 

If a page takes five seconds to load, the probability of users leaving your website increases by 90% compared to a one-second load time.

Further reading: What Is Page Speed & How to Improve It

WooCommerce Category Optimization

Well-optimized category pages can make navigating your site easier for users and search engines. They also enhance UX by guiding customers to relevant products, how-to guides, blog posts, and other resources.

Select Keywords for Your Category Pages

To optimize your categories, first, identify the keywords or search terms people use to find your web pages.

For example, someone who wants to buy a winter jacket may type "warmest jackets," "waterproof snow jackets," or "best winter jackets for men" into Google's search bar.

If you optimize your category pages, product descriptions, and blog posts for relevant keywords, they have a better chance of ranking well in Google.

To get started, go to your Semrush dashboard and select the Keyword Magic Tool. You’ll find it under “SEO” > “Keyword Research” in the left-side navigation menu. 

Next, choose a search term related to the product category you want to optimize. Let’s say you sell winter jackets on that page. 

So, “winter jackets” could be your seed keyword. 

Enter this keyword into the search bar and select your target market, such as the U.S., the U.K., or Germany. Click “Search.”

The Keyword Magic Tool will generate a list of keywords related to “winter jackets.”

You can sort them from here by keyword density (KD%), volume, and other criteria. 

Ideally, opt for keywords with at least 100 monthly searches and a KD of up to 49%. Those with a KD of 50 or higher are more competitive and can be difficult to rank for. 

Go to the top navigation bar and apply these filters, as shown below. 

Select one primary keyword for each product category page on your ecommerce site. An example would be “baby winter jackets” or “Levi’s winter jackets.” 

Your web pages should also include secondary keywords (close variations or synonyms of the keyword), such as "winter coats" or "lightweight winter jackets," so they appear in more search queries.

Now, let's discuss how to use your target keywords to increase your category rankings in the search results.

Optimize Your Category Page Titles

Ensure your category page titles include relevant keywords that describe the page's content. 

Here’s what these may look like:

This practice allows visitors and search engines to understand what the page is about. Customers can easily navigate your website and find what they need quickly. 

Most online stores have three types of category pages:

• Mega category pages (e.g., "Women's clothing," "Footwear," and "Brands")
• Main category pages (e.g., "Activewear," "Dresses," "Tops")
• Sub-category pages (e.g., "Athletic jackets," "Short-sleeve dresses," "Workout shoes")

Mega category pages and main category pages are broad, so you'll use more generic keywords.

Sub-category pages, on the other hand, may include long-tail keywords like "black sleeveless dresses" or "puff sleeve crop tops." These are longer and more specific search terms with relatively low competition.

Further reading: 18 Best Keyword Research Tools (Free + Paid)

Optimize Your Category Page Descriptions

Your category pages should provide easy-to-access relevant information about your products or services.

Include relevant keywords where appropriate, but don't overdo it.

Let's say you have a category page called "Workout shoes."

Write a brief description of workout shoes and the products you offer. Keep it to one to two paragraphs. 

Here’s an example by Adidas:

Also, include information about the different types of workout shoes, their features, and their benefits, such as how they improve sports performance.

Optimize Your Product Page URL Slug

A website slug, or URL slug, is the final part of a web address, as illustrated below:

URL: HTTPS://www.yourshop/collections/black-dresses

Slug: black-dresses

According to Google Search Advocate John Mueller, the URL slug is a ranking factor. Therefore, it can impact your search engine optimization strategy and rankings.

Keep your URL slugs short, relevant, and easy to read. Remove unnecessary elements like special characters, dates, or product identifiers.

Let’s say a product page URL looks like this: 

As you can see, the URL lacks clarity and readability. 

But if you remove unnecessary elements (e.g., session IDs and special characters) and include a long-tail keyword related to the products on that page, the URL becomes more user-friendly. 

Here’s an example:

Long-tail keywords consist of three or more words. They’re usually easier to rank for and less competitive than short-tail keywords (e.g., black dresses). 

Also, separate the words with hyphens, not underscores, and use lowercase letters.

Changing a URL slug in WordPress is easy.

Log in to your dashboard and click "Posts" > "All Posts.”

Hover over the post you want to update, and options will appear. Click "Quick Edit."

Modify the text in the "Slug" field and click "Update."

Product Optimization for Your WooCommerce Store

Optimizing your products can make them more discoverable in search results. Greater product visibility and higher rankings in search engines can lead to more traffic and sales.

Your product pages should include relevant keywords, internal links, and optimized images. Here’s how to optimize your products. 

Optimize Your Product Page Titles

Create unique product page titles that contain your primary keywords. Include relevant details, such as the brand name and type of product.

An example would be "Rivington Wellington Boots" or "Karrimor Hot Rock Men’s Walking Boots."

You can also include the product's color, material, size, and special features. The more descriptive the title, the better.

Go one step further and add a title tag, or meta title, to your product pages. Also known as an SEO title, this tag can be the same or slightly different from the product title.

The title tag is displayed in SERPs.

And browser tabs. 

Serving as a name tag for that page. It helps search engines understand what the page is about.

Title tags are a “small” ranking factor and can improve your SEO. However, John Mueller states, “... it’s not the most critical part of a page,” but you definitely want to avoid stuffing them with keywords. 

Keep them around 50 to 60 characters, and add your focus keyword.

Optimize Your Product Page Descriptions

Your product page descriptions should be as descriptive as possible and include one or more relevant keywords.

Most importantly, write with your customers in mind. Think about their product questions and answer them in the description.

Start with one or two sentences that briefly describe the product. Continue with a more detailed description of its features and benefits. 

Here’s a made-up example: 

Stylish and comfy, the Superga 2750 Cotu Sneakers can complement most outfits, from jeans and leggings to casual dresses. They have a timeless design, with textured canvas uppers and clean lines, blending functionality and aesthetics. 

Depending on what you sell, add a bulleted list of specs and other details, such as:

• Size
• Weight
• Color
• Style
• Materials or ingredients
• Maintenance requirements
• Warranty information

Add Relevant Meta Descriptions 

Each product page should have a unique meta description that includes your primary keyword. Based on our research, it's best to keep it around 105 characters to get higher click-through rates (CTRs) and optimize your meta description for mobile.

This piece of text appears in link previews on Google and social media sites. It summarizes a web page's content for users and search engine bots.

The meta description for a page selling windproof running jackets from Adidas could look like this:

Discover our selection of Adidas windproof running jackets for comfort and performance in any weather. 

In the above example, we used “Adidas windproof running jacket” as our target keyword. 

Yoast and the All in One SEO Woocommerce plugin have a designated field where you can enter a page or post's meta description. 

Their premium versions can also automatically generate meta descriptions, which you can edit afterwards if necessary. 

Further reading: What Is a Meta Description? [+ SEO & Writing Tips]

Optimize Your Product Page URL Slug

We have already explained what a URL slug is and how to optimize its structure. Those principles apply to all of your web pages.

Here's another tip: If your online store isn't live yet, change your permalink settings in WordPress. You won't have to edit each page's slug manually.

A permalink, or permanent link, is a URL address that remains unchanged over time (i.e., yoursite.com/sample-post).

So, instead of modifying the slug of an individual product page (or any web page), set a permalink structure before you launch. Future URLs will automatically adopt this URL structure. 

Log in to your WordPress dashboard and click "Settings" > "Permalinks."

Next, select a clean permalink structure like "https://yourshop.com/shop/product-name" or create a custom structure like "https://yourshop.com/store/product-name."

Optimize Product Images (Including Alt Text)

Google recommends using high-quality photos, descriptive titles, and alt text.

A generic image title like "picture01" says nothing about the content of the photo. Instead, use descriptive titles like "nike-running-sneakers" or "red-winter-jacket."

To edit image details and add alt text, access your Media Library in WordPress. From the left-hand navigation bar, click “Media” > “Library.”

Select the image you want to optimize. There's a field for “Alternative Text,” “Title,” “Caption,” “Description,” and “File URL.” 

Simply fill out each field by typing the text you want to insert. Or you can edit the existing text (if any). 

Let’s see an example:

• Alternative text: Open composition notebook for students
• Title: Open composition notebook
• Caption: An open composition notebook with blank files
• Description: Open composition notebook for students 
• File URL: https://yourshop.com/wp-content/uploads/open-composition-notebook.jpg (WordPress will automatically generate the file URL)

Remember to add your target keywords, such as “composition notebook.”

Search engines cannot "see" images the way we do. They rely on alt text, file names, and an image's context to understand its meaning.

Alt text describes an image's content for screen readers. It also provides search engines with additional information about your site photos.

Let’s say you have a product image depicting a woman wearing red sneakers during her morning run. The alt text could be “Female runner wearing red sneakers” or “Woman running in red sneakers during a morning workout.” 

This piece of text also allows users with visual impairments to understand your image's meaning. This can improve web accessibility, leading to a better UX and higher engagement.

The other fields provide additional information about an image.

For instance, captions appear below the graphic. Both Google and visitors can read this text.

The image title will only appear when someone hovers the mouse over a photo. Search engines can read it, too.

Further reading: [Study] Is Web Accessibility Key to Driving Organic Traffic?

Define Proper Product Categories and Tags

Defining categories and tags allows you to group related products and keep your site clean and organized.

Category organization can also improve your site structure and help customers—and Google—navigate your store more efficiently.

To create product categories, access your WordPress dashboard and hover the mouse over "Products" in the left-side menu. Click "Categories."

Under the "Add new category," fill out the name, slug, and description.

Scroll down and click “Add new category.”

To modify an existing category, select it from the list on the right side of the page and click "Edit." Now, you can change its name, slug, description, and other elements.

You also need to define your product tags. These labels describe specific product characteristics, such as color or material.

For example, you may use tags like "red," "leather," or "fleece hoodies." By comparison, product categories are broader (e.g., "men's clothing," "women's fashion," or "Shoes").

To get started, log in to WordPress and go to "Products." Click "Tags."

Complete the designated fields. Select “Add new tag.”

There's also the option to modify existing tags from the right-side menu, just like you did for your product categories.

WooCommerce Website Navigation

Website navigation is crucial to UX and directly impacts your search engine rankings.

Good website navigation allows customers to quickly and easily find what they want.

Having happy customers typically results in a lower bounce rate (the percentage of single-page sessions) and a longer time on your site.

The bounce rate and time-on-page are not ranking factors but user experience metrics.

A poor user experience translates to low conversions and can negatively affect your SEO.

Make Site Navigation Simple

Your customers should be able to find the information or products they need as quickly as possible. That usually means two or three clicks from the homepage.

First, most users don't have the time or patience to browse dozens of pages. If they get lost on your website, they will eventually leave.

Image Source: TopDesignFirms

Second, Google and other search engines assign a higher value to the pages closest to a site's homepage. Pages that take more than a few clicks to access are perceived as less important.

Keep your site navigation simple. Define your main category pages, and add sub-categories logically and hierarchically.

Let's say you run an ecommerce store selling clothes. The main navigation menu could look like this:

• Our story
• Men's clothing
• Women's clothing
• New
• Featured
• Sale

Each category page could have several sub-categories, such as "tops and t-shirts," "shorts," "jackets," and "tracksuits" under "men's clothing."

Your sub-category pages may include product filters so customers can search by size, color, style, and other criteria.

For inspiration, here are some great examples of ecommerce navigation that can improve sales.

Enable Breadcrumbs

Contextual links show users where they are on a website. They're located at the top of a page and show users the pages they visited, making it easier to return to a previously viewed page. 

Breadcrumbs are contextual links that can improve website navigation, helping customers find what they're looking for.

Here is an example of a breadcrumb menu from the earlier Adidas example:

Home > Women > Workout > Shoes

Google uses breadcrumbs to understand your site's hierarchy and the relationships between different pages. With this hierarchical information, Google can deliver more relevant search results, which may boost your qualified website traffic.

To enable breadcrumb navigation, log in to your WordPress dashboard and install the WooCommerce Breadcrumbs plugin.

From the WordPress menu, select “Plugins” > “Add New Plugin” and type in “woocommerce breadcrumbs.” Click “Install Now.”

Next, click "Settings" from the left-side menu and select "WC Breadcrumbs."

Make sure “Enable breadcrumbs” is checked.

Scroll down and "Save Changes."

You can also use Breadcrumb NavXT, Flexy Breadcrumb, or other free plugins.

Keep Permalink URLs Short and Descriptive

Search engines use permalinks to better understand a web page's content. Therefore, these URLs should be relevant, descriptive, and optimized for your target keywords.

For best results, follow these practices:

• Include your focus keyword toward the beginning of the URL
• Avoid special characters and stop words like "in," "on," also," "and," "before," "from," and "just"
• Keep your permalinks short and simple (e.g., https://yourshop.com/mensclothing/tracksuits)
• If you're targeting specific countries, use the Permalink Manager Lite plugin along with Polylang to translate your permalinks into multiple languages
• Choose a permalink structure and stick to it

Additional WooCommerce SEO Tips

No single SEO practice can impact your rankings. Launching and maintaining a successful ecommerce SEO strategy depends on many components, including optimizing your website code, pages, copy, and performance. 

Use SEO Tools

To evaluate your SEO strategy and identify areas of improvement, consider using Semrush's On Page SEO Checker. 

Our tool will analyze your competitors' websites and generate fresh ideas to optimize your ecommerce store.

To get started, access your Semrush account and click "On Page SEO Checker" under On Page & Tech SEO.

Enter your domain and click “Get ideas.”

Click the drop-down country option to select your target location and choose whether you want to target “Desktop” or “Phone” search results.

Click “Continue.”

Then, add the web pages you want to check. This can be done in several ways, either manually or automatically.

See our guide to configuring the On Page SEO Checker to understand what each option entails.

When you're done, click "Collect Ideas." On Page SEO Checker will display the top pages to optimize and a list of ideas to improve your SEO efforts.

Your finished report will start with an “Overview.” 

The overview parses out different types of ideas that are offered, as well as why applying these ideas may be beneficial for your site. 

In this case, these suggestions may help increase traffic to this site by over 1,000%.

To see the full list of pages, click "View all pages & ideas," Semrush will redirect you to a new page.

These pages are sorted by priority and suggest keywords to target per page. 

Click the blue “# Ideas” button for strategy, content, backlink ideas, and SEO recommendations respective to a specific page.

In the example below, Semrush recommends using a more relevant meta description and page title. It also suggests rewriting the content to make it easier to read.

If you scroll down the page, you'll find potential backlink opportunities. Backlinks are links from other websites linking to yours.

Ideally, get relevant backlinks from high-authority websites in your niche.

The links you acquire from other sites act as virtual endorsements, telling search engines that your pages are valuable and useful.

Semrush's SEO tool will also identify the technical issues affecting your website's performance (if any are found) and show you how to fix them.

Scroll over “Why should I do this?” for an explanation of why this fix is recommended.

Here are five more WooCommerce SEO tips to help boost your store rankings.

Add Structured Data for Rich Snippets

Structured data is a piece of code that makes the information on web pages more readable for search engines. 

Google can pull additional information about web pages from structured data and display it in search results as rich snippets.

Snippets may include images, videos, product ratings, prices, and more.

In the rich snippet examples above, Google displays the page's meta title, meta description, and some quick facts about the product.

The product's pros and cons, rating, and other details make those pages more appealing to searchers, which increases click-through rates.

The easiest way to add structured data to web pages is to use a plugin like Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP or All-In-One Schema Rich Snippets. Simply install the plugin and fill in the required fields.

You can also use Google's Rich Results Test to check which pages support rich snippets.

Further reading: What Are Rich Snippets & How to Get Them in 2023

Optimize for Mobile and Other Devices

Optimizing for mobile can help you reach a wider audience and increase profits.

According to Statista research, mobile e-commerce sales account for 60% of all online sales.

As of November 2023, 53.66% of website traffic comes from smartphones, whereas only 44.59% comes from desktop computers. The remaining 1.82% comes from tablets.

It's also worth mentioning that Google favors mobile-friendly websites. If your web pages look good on smartphones and tablets, you have a higher chance of ranking in SERPs.

The first step to creating a mobile-friendly WooCommerce site is to choose a responsive theme like Flatsome or Xstore (which would look good on any device). 

Next, optimize your website structure, images, and code for mobile devices.

For example, compress large image files and simplify your forms. Other elements, such as your web copy, navigation menu, and call-to-action (CTA) buttons, may require changes, too.

Further reading: The Complete Guide to Mobile SEO—8 Tips & Best Practices

Track WooCommerce Customers in GA4

A survey by Epsilon indicates that 80% of consumers prefer brands offering personalized experiences.

When personalizing the customer experience, it's crucial to understand the buyer's behavior. The more you know about your target audience, the better you can meet their needs.

A good starting point is to enable customer tracking on your website.

To do that, connect your WooCommerce store to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

First, follow our guide: “How to Set up Google Analytics.” 

Once you’ve done that, go to your WordPress dashboard, select “Plugins” > “Add new plugin,” and type “WooCommerce Google Analytics” into the search bar.

The top option should be “WooCommerce Google Analytics Integration.” 

Click “Install Now” and “Activate.”

Install and activate the plugin.

Next, select “Plugins” > “Installed Plugins,” and then click “Settings” under WooCommerce Google Analytics. Enter your tag ID, and click “Save Changes.”

Use Google Analytics to track website traffic, user engagement, CTRs, and other data. You'll also see your top-performing pages, traffic sources, conversion rates, and customer locations.

Leverage this data to personalize your offers, product recommendations, and website content so you can turn visitors into customers. 

Check Your Site for Broken Links

Broken links are internal or external links pointing to a page that no longer exists.

For example, you may have a blog post linking to a product page.

You deleted the product page but forgot to remove or redirect the link from your blog post. As a result, customers who click the link will get a 4xx error (e.g., 404 pages).

Broken links lead to dead ends, affecting the user experience. They can also harm your backlink profile and cause indexing issues, hindering your SEO efforts.

This problem can negatively impact your credibility and brand image if not addressed. Potential customers may perceive your site as outdated or untrustworthy and hesitate to purchase.

One solution is to use the Site Audit tool to find and fix broken links.

Access the tool from your Semrush dashboard as described earlier and click "Issues." If your website has any broken links, you'll see them on this page.

Click on the “# internal links” to see specific page URLs.

Now that you know which links are broken, you can go to the individual posts and update them or redirect them.

Further reading: How to Find and Fix Broken Links with Semrush

Avoid and Consolidate Duplicate Content

Semrush's Site Audit tool will also flag pages with duplicate content.

This issue occurs when two or more pages have the same or similar content. For example, two product pages featuring white T-shirts may have similar copy.

Google may not know which version to prioritize in search results. This can lead to indexing issues, penalties, and other problems affecting a website's search rankings.

To prevent duplicate content, check your web pages with the Site Audit tool or Google Search Console every few weeks.

If you encounter this problem, use canonical URLs to tell search engines which version to index and rank.

Another option is to combine the pages with duplicate content into one.

You may also find that other sites have copied and outranked your content. In such cases, your web pages could get flagged for duplicate content.

First, contact the website owners. Ask them to remove the content copied from your site or add a canonical link back to your page.

If you don't hear back, file a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown request via Google.

Master WooCommerce SEO for Higher Search Rankings

Ecommerce success depends on various factors, from website design to product types.

But even if your website looks great and offers quality products, you may still struggle to get sales. That's why it's crucial to optimize it for search engines.

Proper optimization can boost your site's visibility online, leading to more traffic and sales.

For starters, try Semrush's Site Audit tool to evaluate your website and discover its SEO health.