How to fill the meta tags in opencart?

At Dharma Web Studio, we work designing and developing web applications for small, medium and large companies. On some occasions, small or medium-sized companies do not have a sufficient budget to delegate the administration of the website to professionals who are able to manage SEO and site content. Therefore, these works end up being executed by other profiles; as they go through the process of modernization and digitalization.

If the above is the case of your company and organization, let us tell you that this has nothing negative; because our applications have always been designed and thought of in all our clients; and allow them to be administered according to the technical knowledge of the people who will take care of them; and precisely because of these specific cases, we make the attempt to transmit knowledge that allows them to reach more clients and gain positioning in the shortest possible time.

The SEO optimization of your OpenCart store is a fundamental and very important step if you plan to stay in your niche and get new sales and more customers, so in this post we will discuss some concepts fundamental in the positioning of a site and in the creation of content in any web project; we will explain what meta tags are; that you can fill in OpenCart natively; and we will give you some guidance and advice on how to fill them out; although in advance, we will tell you, there are no magic recipes on this topic, what if it is possible to do, is understand how they work, and use them based on arguments.

What are meta tags? What is a meta-title, meta-description or meta-words?

Meta tags, also called "metadata" or "metatags," are HTML tags that are inserted into your website code. For a user who visits your page from a browser on any device, these tags and their contents are invisible. Its function is to be used by a multitude of programs that can make use of it, but in the case of what refers to this article; I will tell you that they are very important for Google and other search engines; because it is from the meta tags that search engines can index your page, know its content and position you in the search results.

Among the most important meta tags is the meta-title, the meta-description, and the meta-words, which are used by the search engine to create the search results on their websites. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look closely at the image below; and it will surely be familiar.

What you have seen in the previous image is known in the professional community as a "snippet" search, and as we have indicated in the previous image, the snippet is composed; at a minimum, by the title of the page, the description and the URL. Then there are many cases of rich snippets, which we hope to talk about in another post in the future.

We have then that the search snippet is formed, as a minimum, by:

• Meta title tag: This field can be found named in different ways according to the Spanish translation that your OpenCart store is using. It may be called "Meta Title"; or "Meta Tag Title" or "Meta Tag Title"; or something similar. Write in it a short text around 65 - 70 characters. It is important to note that the changes you make in this section; it may take days to be indexed by Google or other search engines and therefore; Your changes are not immediately reflected in the search results.
• Meta description tag: This field can be found named in different ways according to the Spanish translation that your OpenCart store is using. It may be called "Meta Description"; or "Meta Tag Description" or "Meta Tag Description"; or something similar. Write in it a short text around 100 - 150 characters. As in previous cases, it is important to note that the changes you make in this section; it may take days to be indexed by Google or other search engines and therefore; Your changes are not immediately reflected in the search results.
• Meta word tags: This field can be found named in different ways according to the Spanish translation that your OpenCart store is using. It may be called "Meta Words"; or "Meta Tag Words" or "Meta Tag Words" or "Meta Keywords"; or something similar. This tag has lost relevance to Google as it has been reviewed by them multiple times, but it is still important for some search engines such as Yahoo or Bing. Our advice is that; While these search engines are less popular, they should not be belittled. You must write in this field words, or small sets of words; separated by comma.

How to fill in meta tags in OpenCart?

Once explained what the meta tags are, let's explain how to fill them in your OpenCart store.

How to fill in the meta tags of the homepage in OpenCart?

The opening page of your OpenCart store should be a summary of what you offer in it. Therefore, it is essential that search engines index it in the best possible way. For this to happen, you must describe what your business is doing by filling in a series of fields that Google, Yahoo or Bing will track and index later.

To make these changes, you must enter the administration of your OpenCart store, and from the main menu go to System > Configuration > Edit Store > General Tab. You can then fill in the meta tags according to the following considerations:

• Meta title tag: Write a short text around 65 - 70 characters indicating the name of the store; and any word that can match the search of a user on google associated with the products offered in the store and that is important in the intention to search and buy a user from your audience; such as the more general categories, their location, etc.
• Meta description tag: Write a short text about 100 - 150 characters on it. Use the name of the store on it; and any word that can match a user's search on google associated with your store.
• Meta word tags: Write the name of the store on it; its location, categories of products it sells, and any other word or set of words that may be relevant to users and match the intention of searching for a user in a search engine.

How to fill the meta tags of the categories in OpenCart?

The category pages of your OpenCart store should be a summary of what you offer in each of the categories. Therefore, it is essential that search engines index it in the best possible way. For this to happen, you must describe in a set of words, what type of products each category contains in a way that is relevant to the user's search intent.

To make these changes, you must enter the administration of your OpenCart store, and from the main menu go to Catalog > Categories. Upon entering this section a list with the categories that you have previously registered in your store will be displayed. Select one of them and in the same row; On the right side you will find a button to edit the category. Then in the "General" tab you will find the meta tags; that you can fill in according to the following considerations:

• Meta title tag: Write a short text around 65 - 70 characters indicating the name of the category; and any word that can match the search of a user on google associated with the products offered in the category you are editing and that is important in the intention of searching and buying a user from your audience; as it can be.
• Meta description tag: Write a short text about 100 - 150 characters on it. Use the category name on it; and any word that can match a user's search on google associated with the category you are editing.
• Meta word tags: Use the category name on it; the sub-categories (in case you have registered sub-categories), a list of the products you sell associated with this category, and any other word or set of words that may be relevant to users and match the search intent of a user in a search engine.

How to fill the meta tags of the product pages in OpenCart?

The product pages of your OpenCart store should be a comprehensive sheet of product information and specifications. It is essential that search engines index it in the best possible way and for this to happen, you must describe in this a summary set of words, which reflects that the page contains the information of a product in a way that is relevant to the search intention of the user.

To make these changes, you must enter the administration of your OpenCart store, and from the main menu go to Catalog > Products. Upon entering this section a list of the products that you have previously registered in your store will be displayed. Select one of them and in the same row; On the right side you will find a button to edit the product. Then in the "General" tab you will find the meta tags; that you can fill in according to the following considerations:

• Meta title tag: Write a short text around 65 - 70 characters indicating the name of the product; and any word that can match the search of a user on google associated with the specific product you are editing and that is important in the intention of searching and buying a user from your audience.
• Meta description tag: Write a short text about 100 - 150 characters on it. Use the product name on it; and any word that can match a user's search on google associated with the category you are editing.
• Meta word tags: Use in it the name of the product, the category and sub-categories to which it belongs, the name of the product brand, model number, characteristics and in general Any keyword that may be associated with a specific product and that may be relevant to users and match the intention of searching for a user in a search engine.

How to fill the meta tags of brand pages or manufacturers in OpenCart?

The brand pages or manufacturers in the OpenCart store allow you to group products by their manufacturer or brand; and not for a specific category. It is essential that search engines index it in the best possible way and for this to happen, you must describe in this a summary set of words, which reflects that the page contains the information of a product in a way that is relevant to the search intention of the user.

Natively, OpenCart does not foresee the use of meta tags on these pages, however there are many extensions in the OpenCart market that allow having this functionality on the website; and depending on the store and the audience, the intention of wanting to position the brands may be very important. In these cases; We recommend filling them according to the following considerations:

• Meta title tag: Write a short text around 65 - 70 characters indicating the name of the brand or manufacturer; and any word that can match the search of a user on google associated with the specific product you are editing and that is important in the intention of searching and buying a user from your audience.
• Meta description tag: Write a short text about 100 - 150 characters on it. Use the name of the brand or manufacturer on it; and any word that can match a user's search on google associated with the brand you are editing.
• Meta word tags: Use in it the name of the brand, of the categories and sub-categories that may be associated in conjunction with the brand, some representative products of the brand in conjunction with the brand name, and in general any keyword that may be associated with a specific brand and that may be relevant to users and match the intention of searching for a user in a search engine.

Final considerations: doing SEO in OpenCart stores (or in any application or CMS), is much more than this.

SEO is usually divided into three fundamental pillars, such as:

• SEO on page.
• Link Building or Link Profile.
• Behavior and user experience.

What we have discussed in this article, constitutes only part of what is considered important aspects of "SEO on Page"; and it turns out to be a much more complex issue than what we have discussed in this article; where we have only described the procedure of how to fill in and where to find the meta tag fields in an OpenCart site and some general guidelines.

The process of filling in meta tags usually precedes an investigation of the keywords that may be relevant, estimation of the search volumes that they can bring, as well as indices of the difficulty that it could have to position itself in first position, top 3 , top 5 and top 10 respectively, in the search results for a particular keyword.

Having the knowledge that emerges from an investigation like this implies the possibility of structuring and defining an SEO on Page action plan and a strategy aimed at achieving positioning in a certain niche market. In addition, we cannot ignore the continuing need to monitor the evolution of the positioning behavior of each keyword; so that, in a continuous way the necessary adjustments are realized in obtaining a better positioning in the search engines.