SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation is a term you may have heard bandied about with reference to websites and selling your work online. In short, SEO refers to techniques that help your website or webpage appear near the top of search results. To the non-tech-savvy, it can all sound pretty daunting and easier just to ignore. Optimising your Felt shop needn’t be daunting though – we’re here to explain it all and give you a few tips and tricks!
We use search engines everyday to find what we’re looking for online, most commonly Google. When you perform a search, Google returns millions of results, then automatically puts the sites you’re looking for at the top of the list – as if they’re reading your mind! Google knows these sites are likely what you’re looking for, as they’ve been optimised to contain the keywords used in your search.
SEO can be tricky, because nobody but Google knows the exact algorithms Google uses to rank search results. While there’s no way to guarantee a top spot in Google searches, you can influence your ranking and how your listing appears by optimising your Felt shop, giving Google the best material to work with in understanding what you sell.
Search Results
When we talk about SEO, we’re referring to organic search results. Organic search results are unpaid search listings on Google, which appear because of the relevance to the search query, rather than the site owner paying for them to appear.
Here’s an organic search result for Jo’s Felt shop, Big Bunny:
The main parts to note here are the SEO Title, and SEO Description. But, what does this mean for your Felt shop?
SEO Title
The SEO Title is where your shop name appears in a Google search result. By default, it’s your username, but you also have the option to enter a custom Shop Name, if you haven’t already. You can do this by going to My Account » Shop Details
Your shop name should be the name you use to identify your shop or business to customers, as that’s what they’ll be searching when trying to find you on Google.
SEO Description
The SEO Description should contain a short description of your Felt shop and what you sell. Felt tells Google to use your shop header (the text that displays above your listings in your Felt shop) as the preferred SEO description for your shop. You can edit your shop header by going to My Account » Shop Details
Your description should be clear and concise, include your shop name, and keywords describing the products you have available in your shop. Think how you’d describe what you do to someone who has never seen your work before. While Felt lets you write up to 400 characters in your Shop Header, it’s important to note that a Google SEO description can only be 150–160 characters in length, so put the most important stuff first!
It’s super important that your shop header contains information relevant to what you sell. As it’s only the preferred SEO description, Google can choose to ignore it and use an alternative description if your header isn’t relevant.
TIP: When coming up with keywords, put yourself in the mind of a potential buyer of your products. Think about what the buyer is looking for, and what words they’re likely to enter into Google when searching for products such as yours.
Backlinks
A backlink is a direct link to your Felt shop from another website. Promoting your Felt shop address across the web will help to increase your Google search ranking too. The more links you have, the more people will click on and visit your shop, increasing its ranking.
Include your Felt shop address:
- on your social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
- in your email signature
- on your own website or blog
- on business cards or other printed material
- on customised Find me on Felt cards
Good things come to those who wait (and work on their SEO)
SEO can be a long game, but it’s well worth your time. Google needs to look at or ‘crawl’ your shop, understand your keywords, and update your SEO Title and Description in search results, which can take a few months. Over time, as more people search for, click on, and browse your Felt shop, its ranking in search results increases, bringing you even more visitors!
TIP: You can use the SEO keywords you identified to optimise your listings too! Include them when writing your listing title, description and keywords fields to further improve your Google search ranking.
In addition to these specific SEO tips, a generally well-presented, well-stocked shop will help you to get noticed by shoppers, and by the Felt team as we look for beautiful products to weave into our ongoing promotions. Review your shop, listings, and SEO regularly, to keep up to date with changing styles and trends. Add plenty of detail to your listings, take great photos, and fill out as much of your shop information as you can to further optimise your chances of success.
Share your comments or suggestions, or ask any questions below!
Thank you for this blog. It is always good to get tips on how to promote my goods, especially as i am just restocking my shop after a post christmas hiatus.