We know, we know. You didn’t start selling vintage only to get caught up in mountains of keywords trying to figure out which ones to use.

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But SEO, or search engine optimization, is an important aspect of getting your shop seen online. It’s a way to gain organic traffic to your vintage shop’s e-commerce site or personal website — and knowing the basics of SEO can also help you be found on social media platforms.

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Many vintage sellers find SEO to be an intimidating aspect of their business because it feels too technical. And it can be — but it’s also a vital skill to learn to improve your shop’s visibility.

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E-commerce SEO specialist Catherine Mayer joined the Vintage Sellers Community to break some SEO concepts down into manageable chunks and show how they apply to websites and e-marketplaces.

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In our Apr. 24 webinar, she covered SEO best practices and on-page optimization for WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and Etsy.

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She also shared how to use Google Search Console, how to organize your pages on your website, how to find and use keywords and headers —  and selected some of our members’ vintage shops as examples to show where SEO could be improved.

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Here, we’re sharing a few of the tips Catherine shared:

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Let’s talk about the fold

Any page on your website has two areas: “above the fold” and “below the fold.” This refers to what you see on your tablet, computer, or phone without scrolling. It's a term that has its origins in newspapers: the content you see before scrolling is “above the fold,” and the content you see after you’ve scrolled is “below the fold.”

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Catherine says the information over the fold should contain “your most impactful information for the human, as well as the robot.”

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But while talking to the machine is important to ensure your website gets crawled by search engines, “never optimize for robots” first, Catherine says. “Optimize for humans, because humans are trying to be like robots.”

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What does she mean by that? Humans are trying to do the least amount of work possible when they reach your site. They want the information they are looking for, and if they don't get it or they're confused, they will bounce out of your page.

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When you’re looking at your page or your e-commerce listing, you want to consider what information you’re communicating and what the page is telling your potential customer before they scroll. Before the fold.

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Catherine suggested including important information like the product name, an image, price and a few key descriptions of the product, all at the top of a product page.

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What to consider when writing your content

To help you write thorough content for humans, and for the search engine, you want to consider the seven Wh- questions, Catherine says. This will help you present your information in a way that matters most to your user.

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These questions are: What? Who? When? Where? How (much)? Which? Why?

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When you focus on answering these questions for your user, you’ll create content that appeals to your buyer, and gives the search engine all the important information it needs to know what you’re selling, and who to show your items to.  

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For example, a product page should clearly show one product (which), a photo and header (what), your shop name (who), if it's available or sold out (when), details on how the shopper can procure it (where), the price (how much) and a description that shares how it benefits the shopper (why). Ideally all of this information is located above the fold.

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You'll notice most e-marketplaces are already designed with this information in mind in their listings templates. What's important then is determining which keywords you should be using in each field.

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Your homepage, on the other hand, should include the following above the fold: a keyword-friendly header about your inventory (what), your branding/shop name (who), information about your core business (which), what makes your shop different (why), when and where your products are available and how they can shop with you (e.g., 24/7 online shopping based out of Vancouver, Canada. Shipping worldwide!).

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Other SEO factors to consider

There are countless online tools that will help you check the traffic that comes from Google search results, understand what your website looks like for different users on different devices, and determine what types of keywords are effective.

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Catherine’s presentation included slides for Vintage Sellers Community members with more than 20 helpful links and resources to tools.

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And if you’re reading this right now, you may also want to consider how blog writing can help you increase traffic to your website.

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There is so much to learn about SEO, and it’s an incredible way to attract your target market and help them learn more about your vintage business.

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Improve on-page e-commerce SEO: Event replay

Get the recording of Catherine’s 1.5-hour workshop on e-commerce SEO, plus an SEO terms cheat sheet, inside the Vintage Sellers Community.

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Join our group of resellers who are actively investing in professional development and exchanging best practices. You’ll get access to all of our events and webinars (and replays!), our exclusive content to help you run and grow your vintage shop and improve your skills, our private discussion boards and more.

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