How to include meta tags in Prestashop 1.7

SEO optimization of your online store involves establishing a positioning strategy with a detailed analysis of keywords . In this post we are not going to go into much depth, but we will give you the basic instructions so that your ecommerce has the metadata filled out correctly. If you still don't have much experience with your Prestashop, here we explain how to do it.

What are meta tags?

Meta tags, also called metadata or metatags, are HTML tags that are inserted into the code of your online store. They are invisible to a user visiting your page, but not to Google or other search engines, so it is very important to take into account the meta tags that Google understands and uses to control how the pages of our website will appear. Thus, among the most important are the title and description, which are used to create the website snippet .

Is a meta tag the same as a snippet?

Snippets are the descriptions that search engines create of your online store so that it appears on the results page. This snippet is made up of the title of the page, the description and the URL that we have previously defined. Meta tags , as we have explained above, are HTML tags that are invisible to those who visit our page, since they are HTML tags inserted in the code. Therefore, the snippet is made up of meta tags.

Do they help improve SEO?

At the code level, search engines read , among other things, the meta tags of a page to determine its content, so it can be said that meta tags are composed of basic information that a search engine needs to be able to include a website in its SERPs . It is, therefore, one of the factors that contributes to the good organic positioning of our page, and one of the first things that Google will read when analyzing our website, since these tags are located on each page. It is important to keep in mind that the title meta tag directly influences positioning, so it is where we should add our keyword, so that Google better understands what our online store page is about. As for the meta tag description , it is not a direct positioning factor: including keywords in it will not determine whether we will rank better or worse. The essential thing in this case is to write a text that captures the attention of users, since in this way we will encourage clicks, improve our CTR and, thus, improve our positioning. However, Google announced a few years ago that meta keywords , which are also a type of meta tags that include keywords to tell search engines what the content of the website is, are not a ranking factor . Therefore, it doesn't matter if you put one or 100, Google will not pay attention to this type of tag. Therefore, both the meta tags and the snippet are important for the positioning of your online store; they ensure that search engines can correctly index your content and know what it is about, but we must not forget that Google recommends focusing only on the essential tags, such as the title.

How to fill in metadata in Prestashop 1.7?

Fill in the Index or home page metadata

To add meta tags to the main page of our website, we have to follow the following path: Configuration Block > Store Parameters > Traffic & SEO. There, in the list, we will find the Index Page, which is our main page. We click on Edit, on the right. Now, we can easily add the two important meta tags for the main page: Page Title and Meta Description , without forgetting to click on the Save button when we have made any changes.

• Page Title - It is essential to fill this in, because if you don't, the title that will be displayed by default will be the name of the store. A good option is to write some content followed by - Store Name .
• Meta description . What we will do in this case is briefly describe what our online store is about.

Include metadata in your categories

The next thing to consider is adding meta tags to category pages. So, we need to follow the path below to get to them: Sales block > Catalog > Categories. Now, we just need to find the category we are looking for in the list and click on the Modify button. Once inside, we locate the fields: meta-title and Meta-description . Again, we cannot forget to click on Save .

• Meta title. This content refers to the title of the category in question, which will appear in search results. It should not exceed 70 characters.

• Meta description . This is a brief description of the category to draw the user's attention and let them know what the category is about. In this case, it should not exceed 160 characters.

Optimize your product meta tags

If you want to edit the meta tags on the page of each of the products on your website, you should follow the same path: Sales block > Catalog > Products. Once there, we look for the product that interests us and click on the pencil icon, where we will find the “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)” tab. Now we can add the meta tags that interest us: meta title, meta description.

• Meta title. The title that will appear in the snippets must be inserted, and it must be unique, since each product must have a different one.

• Meta description. In this case we insert a brief, unique description to describe what each product is about.

Add meta tags to the pages you have created

In the latter case, we must also add meta tags to the rest of the pages we have created on our website . To do this, the path to follow is: Improvements Block > Design > Pages. Here, we will find a list of PrestaShop 1.7 pages . We will only have to choose the one we are interested in and click on the Modify button. Afterwards, we fill in the fields: Meta title and Meta description , and save the information.

Is there a meta tag generator?

There are many meta tag generators on the web that you can use to ensure that you are generating meta tags correctly, thus optimizing your work time. Even so, our recommendation is that, even if you use these types of tools, you know how to correctly create meta tags yourself, so that you never lack criteria when creating them. When you need to write your website's metadata, we recommend the Google SERP Simulator (Snippet Preview) tool: it allows you to see how your snippet will appear on Google's search results pages. In this way, all meta tag generators provide you with the appropriate HTML code after you have filled in a series of important data about your website, so that you can enter it directly into your website. Something very interesting about these generators is that they allow you to have a unique code that is almost personalized for your website, and so that you do not need to use the same one on all pages.

Besides meta tags, what else can you do to improve SEO?

With this document you already have the first steps necessary to optimize your store for search engines. But there are also other essential factors to improve the SEO of your online store:

• Content SEO: Writing optimal content necessary to improve the position of your keywords in the main search engines is essential for good positioning.

• Link building strategies: the links in your online store directly influence its SEO Authority, so it is essential to work on existing ones and get new ones.

• Local SEO: You should also try to improve the local performance of your ecommerce to outperform your closest competitors.

• And more!

This way, you already know that adding meta tags is not enough to fully optimize your online store: doing SEO is much more . That's why at Línea Gráfica we have a Pack of SEO Modules for PrestaShop that includes the following modules: Multi-Language and Multi-Store Sitemap Generator, 301, 302, 303 URL Redirects and Canonical URLs to Avoid Duplicate Content. With them, you will solve the basic SEO aspects that your PrestaShop 1.7 or 1.6 store must meet to have adequate visibility.

Of course, if you need advice on content writing, other special SEO modules, comprehensive optimization of your online store, or you want to forget about this issue and leave it in the hands of professionals, you can request a quote from our Digital Marketing Department through the website or by calling 954 312 200. Our specialists in the sector will study your case to offer you a personalized quote according to the needs of your ecommerce. And if you have any questions about how to add Meta Tags in PrestaShop 1.7 , don't hesitate to contact us! We will help you with everything you need.