Semalt Explains How To Optimize Metadata In PrestaShop
Optimizing the metadata in an online shop is one of the basic SEO activities that must be carried out on every sub-page. How to do it quickly and painlessly without spending long hours in the shop panel? Today we're going to do a workshop on PrestaShop - luckily, metadata in this CMS is not difficult, and you'll learn it in no time!
Prestashop - what metadata should be optimized in the online store?
Each online store requires an individual approach, but there are types of metadata that need to be properly optimized for any e-commerce, without exception. What meta tags in the PrestaShop store should be considered important? Two of the three following are elementary parts of on-site optimization.
SEO title
Although technically it does not belong to the metadata group (it is a separate HTML tag), it most often occurs in very similar contexts, so we will talk about it here as one of the optimization elements. To distinguish it from the usual page title, we will use the term SEO title.
Why is this topic so important in SEO?
The SEO title is one of the most important ranking factors for Google, and unoptimized (or poorly optimized), it can do a lot of damage to the store, both in terms of positioning and sales themselves.
What does it look like with Presta?
After adding a new page, SEO titles are created automatically, and most often, they draw information from the data about a category or product or simply show the name of the store, which is sometimes insufficient for effective SEO.
And how to set a meta title in PrestaShop so that it serves both the user and Google robots? Later in this article, you'll find a simple list full of tips that you should always have on hand when optimizing.
Meta description
It is a place to put a catchy, accurate summary of what is on a given subpage. Although the meta description is not a ranking factor, its content is of great importance for the interest of users, which translates into a better CTR (click-through rate). Therefore, its optimization is one of the basic SEO activities.
And while the automatic SEO title will probably make a lot of sense, the default meta description of the homepage, for example, is "Powered by PrestaShop" or "Store on PrestaShop" - which is extremely put off for users. That's why changing the meta description is essential!
Meta keywords
It has been denied for a long time that the keywords we place in the meta keywords tag are of great importance to search engines - Google algorithms are already so complex that placing a few useful phrases in the HTML code will not affect your position in search results.
Initially, indeed, the keyword tag was one of the most important for SEO, but it's easy to imagine the scope it leaves for manipulating positions - that's why Google doesn't take meta keywords into account at the moment. So you can fill them in, they certainly won't hurt, but it's not a priority action for your visibility on Google.
Are tags and meta keywords the same?
No! Tags are phrases that will help your potential customers find products through the store's internal search engine. It is good to include a few synonyms describing a given product and slightly wider categories - e.g. plates, but also tableware.
You can view all tags by going to the Store parameters → Search subpage. Although you can find other information in Presta's documentation, let's remind you once again that meta keywords do not have a direct impact on positioning on Google.
What is what in search results?
The SEO title is a large blue headline that appears below the page link and is the first thing the user reads when browsing the search results. Below the title you see a small block of text - this is a meta description that acts as a preview of a blog post, encouraging you to click on a link. Meta keywords are invisible in the SERPs, you will only find them in the HTML code of the page (in the form of <meta name = "keywords" content = "phrase, another phrase, another phrase" />).
How to set meta title in PrestaShop? Step-by-step meta tags
In order to modify the meta tags of a given sub-page in PrestaShop, it only takes a few clicks, so there is nothing to stop you from implementing the changes yourself. When making said changes, you can edit both the meta title and the meta description in the same place in the admin panel. Good information: all these activities in Presta are very intuitive, you don't have to worry about clicking on something and the page crashes.
- First, log in to your admin panel (or, as Presta likes to call it, back-office). The next steps will differ depending on what page you are trying to edit.
- How to get to the correct tab in the panel?
- Home page title / meta description modification
Configure → Preferences → Traffic → SEO & URL → Index
Important! If you haven't updated your Presta to newer versions and are using PrestaShop 1.6, your path will be slightly different:
Preferences → SEO & URL Data → Index → Edit
- Product title / meta description modification
Sales → Catalog → Products → Selected product → Product edition -> "SEO" tab
- Category title / meta description modification:
Sales → Catalog → Categories → Editing categories
- Changing title / meta description of other subpages:
Enhancements → Appearance → Page Editing
What to remember when setting metadata in PrestaShop?
You already know how to technically set your metadata - that's a big achievement! Remember, however, that their implementation is only part of the success because you still need to implement something else. The most important thing is the proper analysis of key phrases with SEO tools like the Dedicated SEO Dashboard and the entire SEO strategy for the store. Below are the previously mentioned tips for meta description and meta title:
SEO title
- The default SEO title of the homepage is the name of the shop, category, or product. Anything you add in the Title edit box will overwrite the previous value.
- The SEO title should be 60-70 characters maximum. Always check if it displays correctly using the PrestaShop preview.
- Note that it may take some time from the moment you change your SEO title to the moment you see the updated page in search results - if you want to shorten it, add the page to be indexed by Google Search Console.
- The SEO title should contain the most important distinguishing features of the product in the form of key phrases. At the beginning, put important information, and only at the end, after the separator (e.g. "-", "|"), the name of the store.
- Each title must be unique - duplications in this regard are a big mistake.
Meta description
- Each meta description must be unique, even if you are using an automatic meta description.
- The meta description is very important to the user, so go ahead and add a CTA and anything that will make you stand out from the competition.
- Limit the size of the meta description to about 160 characters with spaces, and check its display in the Presty panel or any SERP Preview tool.
- Own meta descriptions have a much better CTR than automatically downloaded content from the website, which is often random.
- You do not need to use key phrases here (according to the current information from Google, they do not affect the ranking), although you should definitely write directly about what the user will find on the page.
PrestaShop metadata and how to optimize it? - summary
Meta tags in PrestaShop are set and edited in a very intuitive way, so remembering what, where and how does not require high competence and you can easily do it yourself. Remember to keep in mind good SEO practices and carefully watch changes in SERPs after editing the metadata - who knows, maybe thanks to great titles you will quickly jump to your dream positions?
FAQ
Is the meta description in the online store important?
Yes, the meta description is very important from the point of view of CTR, i.e. the click-through rate. The meta description is one of your chances of getting the user interested in the search results, so it must be properly optimized. It is not just about key phrases (meta descriptions as such do not affect ranking positions and visibility), but about influencing the user's actions and encouraging him / her to click on the store's link.
How to change the name of the store in PrestaShop?
The name of the store is set during its creation (PrestaShop installation), but it is possible to edit it. All you need to do is enter the "contact details" tab after logging in to the administration panel.
How to get there?
Store parameters → Contact → Contact details.
If you need to learn more about the subject of SEO and website promotion, we invite you to visit our Semalt blog.