5 Things You Must Do to Improve Your Wine Site’s SEO

SEO (or search engine optimization) is a process that increases your website’s visibility. It’s what pushes your website to the top of a search engine’s page when someone types in key words that are related to your website.

But it’s not a one-and-done task; like a muscle, it needs regular exercise to stay strong.

While there is a lot to know about SEO, you don’t have to be an expert to start making real gains on where your website ranks in search.

Here are five simple and effective ways to boost your website’s visibility through SEO.

To get started on improving your SEO, you’re going to need the right tools.

The first step is setting up Google Search Console (formerly Webmaster) which will allow you to track your process. Without this, you can’t see the potential errors that could be affecting your authority score and your S.E.O. in the process.

• Next, generate and submit a site map to Google. A site map, or guide of your website, is a text file of your entire site that allows Google to go through (or “crawl”) your website for text, video, images, and more.
• Index your website by submitting your website to Google to be able to crawl. This is as simple as installing some code. Indexing allows Google to analyze the text, images, and content on your website and stores the information in a database.

Slow websites are a slog on SEO. Check your site speed through a site like pagespeed.web.dev that points out what areas could be improved.

Keywords make your SEO world go ‘round. Without them, Google thinks you’re just another wine website with nothing special to offer.

Prove Google wrong by developing a strong keyword strategy. You can get a headstart on your keyword strategy by using tools like Semrush. Or, you can start fresh and build your keywords if you have a new website.

To establish a strong keyword strategy, know what makes your wine brand different from the rest, and research your competitors. Think about what you want your customers to search for in Google to find you. Then — get specific.

What is your specific region? For example, you’re not just a Napa Valley Pinot Noir brand. You’re an Oak Knoll Pinot Noir wine brand from Napa.

Other keyword tips include:

• Be patient and keep keywords consistent. It will take time for your website to build authority with your keywords. So don’t use variations. If you’re trying to build your wine membership don’t use the word “subscriptions,” for example. And don’t change out your keywords until you’ve had a chance to track their progress and see if you’re gaining traction.
• Create a list of sub-topic keywords. For example, if red wine is one of your keywords, subtopics would be, red wine from the Napa Valley; low-sugar red wine; or foods pairing with red wine
• Use keywords in your headlines and headings of pages and titles (often called H1 and H2 tags.)
• Target at least one keyword per web page, but use different keywords on each page (so you’re not competing with yourself). If your keywords are Rutherford Valley Cabernet Tastings, target Rutherford, Cabernet, and Tastings.
• When structuring your URLs, use keywords and hyphens. Underscores are not crawlable by Google.

Metadata is data that contains information about your content. In a nutshell, it helps search engines identify if your website has what the searcher is looking for by targeting keywords. To make your metadata the strongest it can be, make sure to do the following:

• Keep your URL short. Manipulate your URL to include keywords, and keep it succinct and easily readable.
• Think about what your customers would search for and use those keywords in your titles and descriptions for products. Bonus points if you can be as specific as possible.
• Make sure your metadata is up-to-date, especially if you’re adding new vintages to your ecommerce page.
• Avoid any auto-generated metadata. Some sites think they’re doing you a favor by offering up their idea of the right metadata. Make sure you review whatever is auto generated and manipulate it to include the exact keywords you need to use.

Good content — compelling blogs, images, and videos — makes for a more compelling website and creates multiple opportunities to build in keywords and metadata.

Whether your winemaker writes a bi-weekly blog about where they are in the winemaking process or you’re sharing pictures from a recent tasting event celebrating your latest vintage, regularly publishing content keeps your website fresh.

Build up your content bank with blogs that feature your keywords (and make sure you have the right metadata to match). Add descriptive metadata to your images, which is also a must for accessibility. Tell your brand’s story in rich, captivating ways.

A high search ranking doesn’t do much good if you lack quality content your customers are looking for.

When it comes to having a strong SEO score, credibility and authority matters. Build your authority with Google by regularly using relevant, high-quality links in your content. High- quality links means that the content found on the other site is credible and authoritative.

Your public relations or communications team should be constantly monitoring industry sites and blogs for links to your site, and ensuring that the links are correct. When other websites link back to your site, it builds your reputation with Google as well.

Find opportunities to link to credible industry publications in your blog content. Even better, link to your own content if the reference is relevant — and keep the traffic on your website. For example, if you’re writing a blog about the new Sauvignon Blanc that you released, you should link to the actual product page.

Just like gaining traction with your keywords, building your authority score takes some time. Check on it every month through your Google Search Console. Within three months you should start seeing progress.