SEO for Farm to Table Meat Companies

Seach Engine What???

If you're not familiar with search engine optimization (SEO), you're not alone.

When we talk to farmers, butcher shops and fishermen about their online stores and marketing, most have no idea what SEO is or why it's so important.

But in 2022, 42% of ChopLocal's website visitors came via search.

This means that they may have never heard of ChopLocal or our vendors before, but they searched google for meat (or farms or butcher shops or something similar) and they found ChopLocal!

That's right.

Unlike "interruption advertising" like Facebook ads that appear on someone's timeline when they're just trying to catch up on memes and pictures of their friends' kids, SEO WORKS because people are actively searching for whatever it is that you want to sell them!

But how do you make sure YOUR site shows up in the search results?

Here are a few quick tips:

1. Write thorough, helpful product descriptions. This helps Google understand what your site is all about.
2. Write blog posts about your farm, store or products. Generally, the more Google has to "read" on your site, the better.
3. Use metadata to help Google even more. Page titles and descriptions entered in the metadata fields are what show up on Google search results.
4. Use H1 and H2 headings to indicate the most important keywords on your page.
5. Make sure your site speed is top notch. In order to do this, you need to use a platform optimized for speed and keep your product images to a reasonable size. (If you notice that your store loads slowly, Google will notice, too. And Google wants to send users to sites that provide a great, FAST, experience.) You might be able to DIY some effective SEO, but there's actually an entire industry of SEO professionals available for you to hire to optimize your site. These professionals often charge $100-150/hour or a monthly retainer of $500-$1000/month.

Of course, if you use ChopLocal to build your online store, you won't need to DIY it OR hire an SEO professional. Our platform is designed for SEO, with quick loading times, easy-to-find meta-data fields, and text-rich blog posts and category descriptions. Ready to get your ChopLocal store set up? Click here and fill out the form at the bottom of the page to apply to be part of the marketplace.