AutomationShopify Product Tags SEO: Ultimate guide to boost your store in 2024
Last updated: December 05 2024
Getting your Shopify store to rank higher in search results is more important than ever, especially with the competition growing each year. In this Shopify Product Tags SEO: Ultimate Guide to Boost Your Store in 2024 article, we’ll explore how you can use product tags effectively to enhance your SEO and increase visibility. By the end of this guide, you'll have the knowledge to optimize your product tags and drive more organic traffic to your store.
What are Shopify Product Tags?
Shopify product tags are like keywords that categorize products, improving navigation and user experience. Well-chosen tags not only organize a store but can subtly enhance Shopify product SEO by creating a more structured site. I’ve learned that tagging carefully is crucial; however, overdoing it can lead to messy SEO issues like duplicate content.
Are Shopify Product Tags good or bad for SEO?
The answer is either since Shopify product tags can both help and hinder SEO, depending on how they are implemented:
Potential Benefits:
- Enhanced Product Categorization: I’ve noticed that using tags to group related products makes navigation easier for customers, which keeps them on my store longer and reduces bounce rates.
- Improved Indexing Potential: In my experience, adding tags has helped search engines discover more products in the online store, creating more opportunities for them to be indexed and found.
- User Search Alignment: Aligning tags with common search terms has improved my store's visibility because the tags match how people actually search, which makes it easier for my products to appear in relevant searches.
Potential Drawbacks:
- Duplicate Content Problems: I’ve seen tag pages create duplicate content that confuses search engines, which can hurt your ranking, especially if you're not careful with how they're set up.
- Thin Content Risk: In my experience, having tag pages with almost no content really drags down the overall quality of the site, and it makes it harder to rank well in search results.
- Wasted Crawl Budget on Non-Essential Pages: If tag pages aren't handled properly, they can eat up the crawl budget, and I’d rather search engines focus on my product pages instead.
- Index Bloat: Excessive tags can definitely lead to index bloat, and I've found that too many low-value pages just end up diluting the SEO strength of important sections of the store.
Qualifications of a Good Shopify Product Tag for SEO
In my experience working with Shopify product tags, a well-structured tagging system significantly impacts both SEO and user experience. Here are the key qualifications of a good product tag for SEO, based on my own experience plus the experts’s views:
- Clear Product Relevance
- Inclusion of Targeted Keywords
- Standardized Tag Formats
- Unique Descriptive Terms
- Consistent Use Across Products
- Controlled Tag Length
- Limited Tags per Product
- Avoiding Duplicate Tags
- No Overlap with Collections
- User-Friendly Phrasing
- Alignment with Search Intent
- Avoidance of Jargon
- Focus on High-Impact Tags
- Regular Tag Audits
Overall, these criteria help ensure that tags support both SEO and customer experience effectively.
How to optimize Product Tags for Shopify SEO
Getting the most out of product tags can make a real difference in how well your Shopify store ranks, but it’s not always straightforward. I’m going to share some tips on how to optimize product tags for Shopify SEO to help boost your store's visibility and make things easier for customers to find what they need:
- Use Descriptive and Relevant Tags: Assign tags that accurately describe each product, incorporating keywords that match customer search terms. This improves product discoverability and aligns with search intent, which I found increased relevant traffic to my store.
- Maintain Consistency in Tag Usage: Standardize terms across products to avoid variations (e.g., “t-shirt” instead of both “tshirt” and “t-shirt”). Consistent tagging prevents fragmentation, creating a more organized and SEO-friendly site structure.
- Limit the Number of Tags: Focus on 3-5 relevant tags per product rather than over-tagging. Fewer targeted tags reduce redundant pages, minimizing risks of duplicate content issues and wasted crawl budget.
- Apply Noindex to Low-Value Tag Pages: Prevent search engines from indexing less valuable tag pages by adding a “noindex” directive. This step helps search engines prioritize essential pages, boosting the SEO value of high-priority content.
- Conduct Regular Tag Audits: Periodically review and update tags to remove outdated or irrelevant ones and incorporate new tags that align with current product offerings. I found regular audits kept my tagging system relevant, reflecting changes in inventory and trends.
Common SEO issues when setting up Shopify Product Tags And How to fix them
Setting up Shopify product tags can sometimes lead to unexpected SEO issues that end up affecting your store’s ranking. I’m going to walk you through some of the common SEO issues with Shopify product tags and share how you can easily fix them to keep your store performing well.
Duplicate Content Issues
Product tags can create duplicate content when multiple pages with similar content are generated, potentially harming SEO rankings.
→ How to fix: Add a canonical tag to point search engines to your main collection page. You just need to modify your theme.liquid file and replace the current canonical link with the code below.
{% if template contains 'collection' and current_tags %}
<link rel="canonical" href="{{ shop.url }}{{ collection.url }}" />
{% else %}
<link rel="canonical" href="{{ canonical_url }}" />
{% endif %}
This adjustment consolidates content authority to the main collection page, enhancing SEO performance. In my experience, this method has improved page ranking consistency across similar content.
Unnecessary Indexing of Low-Value Tag Pages
Indexing all tag pages can dilute SEO efforts, as low-value pages compete with high-priority pages for search visibility.
→ How to fix: Use a noindex, follow directive on product tag pages to stop them from being indexed while still letting search engines follow the links. Just insert the code into your theme.liquid file.
{% if template contains 'collection' and current_tags %}
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, follow" />
{% endif %}Crawl Budget Waste
When search engines crawl low-value tag pages, it can waste valuable crawl budgets that should focus on more critical pages.
→ How to fix: Stop crawlers from accessing tag pages by updating the robots.txt.liquid file. Add the rule listed below to keep tag pages out of search engine results.
{% if group.user_agent.value == '*' %}
{{ 'Disallow: /collections/*/*' }}
{% endif %}However, this requires caution, especially if using default product URLs that might inadvertently be blocked. I advise you to consult with an SEO specialist before implementation to help ensure the right pages are blocked.
Potential for Misleading URL Structures
Using tags as subcategories (e.g., /collections/sofas/leather) may seem appealing for SEO-friendly URLs but can create an overly complex structure.
→ How to fix: Stay away from complex customizations unless you have skilled developers who know how to handle URLs without messing up the site structure. I know subcategories sound cool, but in my experience, it's easier and more effective to just create separate collections.
Unused or Redundant Tags
If tags aren’t actively used for filtering or navigation, they may simply create clutter and confuse site structure, impacting SEO negatively.
→ How to fix: Delete any unused tags and set up 301 redirects to the main collection pages to avoid 404 errors and keep users happy. Regular audits helped me remove old tags, which improved SEO by consolidating value on relevant pages and made navigation better overall.
FAQs
Do Shopify tags help SEO?
Yes, when used strategically, product tags can support SEO by improving site navigation and helping search engines understand product categories. However, improper use can lead to duplicate content issues.
Should I use tags on Shopify?
Yes, using tags is beneficial for organizing products and enhancing user experience. Just ensure tags are relevant and avoid over-tagging to maintain SEO quality.
Are Shopify tags searchable?
Yes, tags are searchable within Shopify’s internal search. This means customers can find tagged products more easily when using search terms related to tags.
How to optimize tags in Shopify?
Use descriptive, relevant tags with targeted keywords. Limit the number of tags, ensure consistency, and apply noindex where necessary to prevent indexing of low-value pages.
What’s the difference between tags and collections in Shopify?
Collections are broader categories that group products, while tags add specific details. Collections appear in site navigation, whereas tags help with filtering and organization within collections.
Final words
This guide covers essential strategies for using Shopify product tags effectively to enhance SEO and improve store organization. As an experienced Shopify merchant, I recommend that newbies and inexperienced Shopify merchants regularly audit Shopify product tags and implement best practices to maximize their impact on your store’s visibility and user experience.
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