SEO Made Simple: A Starter Guide for Retail Businesses

7 SEO Basics for Product Businesses - How to Get Found Online

Welcome to SEO Made Simple, your easy starter guide for retail businesses to get found on Google.

Learn how to get your products seen (and sold) with simple, beginner-friendly SEO tips.

If you’re a product-based business owner trying to grow your online shop, you’ve likely heard about SEO. But maybe it still feels confusing, complicated, or just one more thing on your never-ending to-do list.

That’s why I’ve created SEO Made Simple, your easy-to-follow starter guide to help retail businesses improve their product page visibility and get found on Google,.

In this post, you’ll learn seven simple, actionable tips you can implement to improve your SEO today and start scaling your retail sales.

First up, what even is SEO?!

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It’s the process of improving your website with keywords so it shows up in search engines like Google when people are looking for products like yours.

SEO Made Simple – 7 Easy Steps to Optimise Your Product Pages

1. Use SEOquake to Review Your Page

Start with SEOquake, a free Google Chrome extension that gives you a quick SEO checkup for any web page. It’s a brilliant tool for beginners.

Install the extension in Chrome
Visit the product page you want to optimise
Click on the SEOquake icon
Open the Diagnosis tab to see what’s working and what needs improving

Look out for green ticks – these indicate good SEO health. Focus first on areas flagged with red or orange so you can make simple fixes that improve your page’s visibility.

2. Write an SEO-Optimised Title

Your page title is what appears at the top of a browser tab and in Google search results – and it’s one of the first places Google looks to understand what your page is about.

Best practice format:

Title | Your Brand Name
Use the vertical bar | to separate them for clarity.

Examples:

✔️ Silver Moonstone Crystal Necklace | Wild & Woven
❌ Necklace

Use clear, descriptive product names to help Google and your ideal customer understand exactly what you’re selling.

3. Use Key Terms, Not Just Keywords

Forget keyword stuffing – modern SEO is all about key terms and answering the question people are searching for.

Think:

What question is your page answering?
What is someone typing into Google when they’re looking for your product?

Examples of effective key terms:

Gold Birthstone Bracelet for Mum
Personalised Dog Treat Jar

Use 2-4 word phrases that naturally describe your product. These should also appear in your page title, description, and throughout your content.

4. Write Unique Meta Descriptions for SEO

A meta description is the short summary that appears under your page title in Google search results. It should be clear, engaging, and between 180–300 characters.

Include:

The product name
A brief description
A soft call to action (CTA) like:
- Discover now
- Browse the full range
- Take a closer look
- Not: Buy now

Avoid using the same meta description on multiple pages. Google favours unique content!

5. Use Headings (H1, H2, H3) Correctly

Your product pages should have a clear heading structure – this helps Google understand the content hierarchy on your page.

Simple heading structure:

1x H1 (main page title)
1–2x H2’s (e.g. “Product Features”, “Why You’ll Love It”)
2–3x H3’s (sub-points, materials, shipping info)

Only use one H1 per page, and never skip heading levels (e.g., don’t go from H1 straight to H4).

6. Add Image Alt Descriptions

Google can’t “see” your images – it relies on alt text to understand them.

Here’s how to make your images work harder for SEO:

Add alt descriptions to every image on your product page
Make the main image alt text exactly the same as your product title
Use variations for secondary images to make them unique

Plus alt text improves accessibility for visually impaired users too.

7. Build Backlinks to Boost Your SEO

Backlinks are links from other websites to your own and are one of the strongest ranking factors in SEO. Google sees them as votes of confidence.

Best way to get started? Try blogger outreach:

Find bloggers or influencers who love your niche
Pitch them to feature your product
Ask them to link back to your site

Backlinks are a cornerstone of SEO and always has been. Even a few quality backlinks can significantly improve your domain authority and help more customers discover your products.

SEO Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by SEO, this guide is your invitation to keep it simple and take action one step at a time. SEO Made Simple is exactly that – approachable, doable, and effective for real product businesses.

With just a few tweaks to your titles, descriptions, images and structure, you can help more customers find your shop, discover your products, and say yes to buying from you.