Search engine optimization (SEO)

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  Plan SEO for your store's products and customer questions

  27 Nov 2025

  Choose content that helps your store's customers find the right product, instead of chasing generic terms about e-commerce platforms. This guide is for store owners and content managers in Go, Plus, and Pro. It's about your product range and your target audience. SEO fields and publishing areas may vary by page type and editor; the actual analysis should be for the correct store, language, and market. 1. Choose a real customer question If you sell hiking socks, "what size hiking socks?" is more relevant than trying to rank your store for "webshop". Collect questions from customers, your own website statistics, and relevant Search Console queries. Keyword tools can provide ideas, but estimates of volume and competition are not guarantees of clicks or business. 2. Choose the right page for the search intent Customer's intentAppropriate pageComparing a product rangeA relevant product group with helpful category text.Checking and buying a specific itemProduct page with specifications, images, size, price, and delivery information.Understanding how to chooseGuide/separate page that answers the question and links to the right group and products. Example: A size guide for hiking socks explains how the customer measures their foot, interprets the actual sizes you sell, and proceeds to the correct product group. Do not invent size measurements or product features to fill out the text. 3. Write, review, and link Write a clear title and a brief benefit, followed by a complete answer with understandable sections.Use verified product information and relevant images with correct alt text.Link from a natural place, for example, from the group page to the size guide and back to suitable products.Use AI as a writing assistant when it helps, but review all measurements, conditions, comparisons, and links. AI does not automatically have access to competitors' private statistics or your current product range.Check the saved/public page in the correct language, sub-store, and active layout. 4. Check the technical aspects without making ranking promises The page's availability, intended URL, canonical, title, meta description, mobile layout, and internal links must be correct. Follow the SEO settings guide for the correct fields. Do not publish many nearly identical pages for minor word variations, and do not change the URL structure as a routine measure. If a page does not appear in Google, inspect its intended address with Search Console's URL Inspection before changing settings. Check whether the page can be indexed and which address Google selected as canonical. Do not add noindex to a page that should be searchable, and do not point canonical to another page merely to try to improve rankings. Plan any URL move separately with a working redirect. Share useful content in relevant collaborations and social channels when it suits the business. This can generate visits and natural links but is not automatic proof of ranking. Avoid purchased or manipulative link promises. 5. Measure each step separately Note when and what was changed on the current page.Track indexing and relevant queries/landing pages in your own Search Console account.Compare impressions, clicks, and CTR over relevant periods; consider seasonality and other changes.Then track usage and purchases in the analytics that the store has legally and correctly configured. Indexing is not ranking, ranking is not clicks, and clicks are not purchases. Google provides no fixed timeline or placement guarantee for a text change. Prioritize improvements that help the customer complete their task even before the search results change. Quick startChoose a product-related customer question.Choose a product, group, or guide page based on the intent.Write verified content and link to the next relevant step.Check the public page and track the right metrics over time. Subscription and accessThis method applies to Go, Plus, and Pro. Special analytics accounts, apps, and external tools have their own terms. A package or an AI text does not imply a ranking or sales guarantee.

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  Improve your store's SEO and check the published page

  27 Nov 2025

  Make your store's pages understandable for customers and search engines, and check that the correct content and address are actually displayed. This guide is for store administrators and content managers in Go, Plus, and Pro. It describes basic page content and SEO fields. The placement of product, group, page, and theme fields may differ between editors; select the correct page type, language, sub-store, and active theme. No setting guarantees a specific ranking, traffic, or sales. 1. Choose the page's purpose and relevant search queries SEO is about making content accessible and relevant in organic search results. Paid ads are a separate traffic source. Organic clicks have no direct ad cost per click, but content and technical work still cost time and money. Start with the customer's actual question: a product purchase, a category choice, or a guide. "Buy camera" and "camera for nature photography" may require different content. Write useful product information and natural links; repeated keywords or large amounts of generic text are no substitute for relevance. 2. Fill in the correct fields SectionLocation and checkGeneral domain/SEO choicesSettings → Domains and SEO. Check how general templates are used for the current page type.ProductAssortment → Products → correct product. Name, description, identifiers, images, and group should match the item.Product groupAssortment → Product groups → correct group. Check the group text and any custom layout.Custom pagePages → correct page/editor. Check the title, meta description, language, visibility, and URL.ImagesUse the image type's actual alt field, not an arbitrary text field. Title and meta description Write a unique and descriptive page title that fits the content and helps the customer choose the right page. The visible main heading and the HTML title are different elements. Google may create a different title link than the one you suggest. The meta description summarizes the page's benefit and can be used for the search result's snippet, but Google may choose text from the page itself. It is not a direct ranking factor in itself. There are no general ranking requirements for exactly 40–60 title characters or 130–150 description characters; the space and context of the search result vary. Meta keywords, headings, and images Google does not use meta keywords for indexing or ranking, even if the words match the content. Focus your efforts on customer-friendly text instead. Use a clear main heading and logical H2/H3 sections. There is no ranking requirement for a maximum of four or five H2s. H4–H6 are used when the hierarchy requires it, not to distribute keywords. Write alt text based on the image's function and relevant content; 120–150 characters is not a universal limit. Filenames are additional descriptive information but do not replace alt text. A stable name that describes the image is better than meaningless codes, but a certain number of words in the filename does not guarantee any placement. Do not change existing public file addresses without managing their links. 3. Check URL, canonical, and indexing Open the actual published page in the correct language and sub-store.Check the title, meta description, main heading, content, and actual image alt text.Check that the page's intended URL and canonical tag point correctly. A currently rendered canonical tag and an older index entry are different observations.When changing a URL: map old links and check the actual redirect, status code, and destination. Support for moved URLs does not mean that every possible change automatically creates a correct 301.Use your own verified Search Console account for URL inspection, indexing issues, and relevant sitemap/canonical information when needed. Do not request indexing to hide an incorrect address or canonical tag. 4. Follow up on the right metrics and prioritize quality Impressions show views in search results; clicks and CTR describe visits from them. CTR is clicks divided by impressions and is also affected by the query, position, and design. Indexing, ranking, clicks, and purchases are different metrics. Compare relevant queries and landing pages over time, without fixed time or placement promises. Relevant, natural links from trustworthy contexts can help customers find what they need. Do not buy or exchange manipulative links to promise ranking. Mobile usability, understandable navigation, and reasonable loading times are also important parts of quality. Accessibility is a separate check Correct alternative texts, heading structure, and a functioning interface help more customers. Applicable accessibility rules for e-commerce may, among other things, follow the LPTT and EU directive 2019/882 with special conditions of application and exceptions. Directive 2016/2102 for the public sector is not a general legal description for all online stores. An SEO checklist does not prove compliance; see PTS's guidance for the correct business activity. Quick startChoose the customer query and the correct page type.Write a relevant title, description, headings, and image alt text.Check the current public URL, canonical tag, and indexability.Follow up on relevant impressions, clicks, and purchases separately. Subscription and accessBasic content/SEO work applies to Go, Plus, and Pro. Check the correct editor and page/language version; package access does not make a hidden or misaddressed page indexable and does not guarantee any ranking.

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  Edit page titles, search descriptions, and image captions

  27 Nov 2025

  Find the right SEO fields for products, product groups, the home page, and custom pages, and write text that describes the current page. This guide applies to administrators in Go, Plus, and Pro. Page title, META description, the page's regular content, and the image's alternative text have different purposes. The Keyword field is not a shortcut to a better ranking in Google. 1. Write for the page, not a list of keywords Choose a clear and relevant title for the specific product or page. Write a unique, natural META description that summarizes the content. Use the customer's words where they fit, including special characters; don't repeat the same words unnecessarily. META keywords: if you use this older field, the words are entered separated by commas. Google does not use META keywords for indexing or ranking. It is therefore more important to make the page's actual text, title, and description useful. Google may use text from the page instead of your META description and may show different snippets for different searches. There is no guarantee that the introduction will always be prioritized over the product description, or that a specific number of characters will be displayed. 2. Edit a product group Go to Catalogue → Product groups.Select the product group and click Edit.Open the Search engine optimization tab.Enter the title and description in the correct language. Select manually entered title if you want to replace the automatic title for the group.Click Save. 3. Edit a product Go to Catalogue → Products and select the product.Open Search engine optimization.Change the title and META description for each language. Use manually entered title if you want to replace the automatic one.Save. A custom META description for the product is used before the automatic fallback text. If the field is empty, Abicart may use a general description or product texts as a fallback. This does not mean you should put all product information in the introduction. Write an understandable introduction and a full description for the customer, and enter a custom META description when you want to control the summary. Product image alternative text Open Product properties, expand Image settings next to the image and fill in Alternative text in the correct language. Describe what the image shows and what distinguishes it from other images; avoid lists of keywords. Save. 4. Edit the home page and the global title patterns Open Settings → Domains and SEO → Title and description. Here you write the home page's title and description per language and choose the basic design for titles on other page types. The fields for an individual product or product group are, however, on the respective object, according to the steps above. This does not change the domain's DNS records. Do not change the domain or URL structure when the task is only to change a title or search description. 5. Edit a custom page Open the list of Custom pages under Pages. In older menu versions, the main menu is also called Custom pages.Select the page you want to change.Open Search engine optimization and edit the title and description for the correct language.Save. An image in the page's text editor Open Page properties.Select the image in the text editor.Open the image icon Insert/Edit Image.Write the description in Alternative description, confirm the image dialog, and save the page. 6. Check the published page's content Open the correct page and language after you have saved. Check the page title, META description, and the image's alternative text in the page's HTML or with the browser's inspector. Also check the visible text and image. A changed admin text is not proof that Google has already re-read the page; the search results are updated later and may use different text. The image examples contain an older menu appearance and length recommendations. Use them to recognize the fields, not as fixed limits or a promise of Google's display. Quick start Decide which page and which language to change.Open the object's Search engine optimization, or the home page's global SEO fields.Write the title, description, and relevant image texts and save.Check the correct page; distinguish the saved change from later search engine indexing. Subscription SEO and alternative text fields are available in Go, Plus, and Pro. Images in theme blocks may have different editing fields than product images and images in custom pages' text editors; choose the guide for the location where the image is actually located.

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  Search engine optimization of images

  27 Nov 2025

  Images help you get visitors' attention, increase user experience, help SEO and keep your visitors engaged. But with a slow image load time, we understand that the sales experience is negatively impacted.  The Google Core Web Vitals list specific factors that they consider important to a website's overall user experience. How the site handles images is one of their parameters.How does it work?This update doesn't change how you add the images, but how we deliver them to the different browsers. You can upload the images in GIF, PNG and JPEG as usual.The new update will force the website to select these images and automatically detect the format supported by your browser. Based on that, it will request the best possible image format for the specific browser.For example, if the image is in JPEG format and the visitor is using Chrome (browser). Then the theme will search for the best format that suits the Chrome browser (WebP or AVIF). We will then convert JPEG to WebP or AVIF automatically for best results.Not all browsers support WebP and AVIF, so we have not added an option to upload them in admin. If the browser does not support them, it will fall back to its normal format.How does it affect Core Web Vitals?The next generation image format improves the loading speed of the images. So that's the first and foremost change you'll notice when you test your site.We've changed how we load slideshows and other blocks. So that helps with the efficient loading of images.