- Amelia Sabestine
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SEO is the most economical and effective digital solution for service marketing to attract targeted traffic to your Shopify store.
Taking the time to make sure your web design for small businesses is properly optimized can help e-commerce retailers increase their organic traffic, which in turn means more potential customers looking through your products.
Long after your ad budget expires, SEO techniques can continue to drive traffic to your Shopify website, unlike social media or Google Ads. Because of this, using SEO is among the best digital investments a Shopify site owner can make.
The Shopify SEO e-commerce checklist will be covered in today’s post, introducing it to Shopify SEO for beginners so they can efficiently utilize keywords. To learn more, keep reading!
On-page SEO optimization for Shopify
To optimize your Shopify store for search engines focus on on-page SEO. This means making your site easy for Google’s algorithm to understand so it ranks higher in search results. Follow these Shopify SEO tips to crush the on-page traffic for your store:
Choose a keyword-rich domain name. Your domain name is the first thing users and search engines see. Make it relevant to your niche and products.
Optimize your page titles. The page title appears at the top of the browser and in search results. Include your target keyword, your store name, and a compelling call to action. Keep it under 60 characters.
Write keyword-optimized page descriptions. The page description is a snippet of text under the page title in search results. Include your target keyword and describe what customers can expect on that page. Aim for between 150 and 160 characters.
Use alt text on images. Alt text is the attribute that describes an image. It’s important for SEO and accessibility. Include your target keyword in the alt text of product images and any other important images on the page.
Use internal links. Link to other relevant content on your site. This helps search engines discover all your pages and also provides a good user experience.
Blog about your products and industry. A blog is a great way to gain authority in your niche and rank for more keywords. Write about your products, your brand story, industry news, and topics your customers care about.
Make your content scannable. Use headings, bulleted lists, images, and short paragraphs to make your content easy to read quickly. This keeps visitors engaged and signals to Google that your content is of high quality.
By focusing on an on-page Shopify SEO guide, you’ll make it easy for search engines to find and rank your site. Be sure to also build high-quality backlinks to boost your rankings and crush them in the search results!
Technical SEO Factors to Optimize
To rank well in search engines like Google, you need to optimize your Shopify store for SEO. Technical SEO factors refer to the behind-the-scenes elements that impact your store’s visibility to search engines. Optimizing these factors will help improve your rankings and drive more organic traffic.
Site Speed
A fast-loading store is essential for good SEO and the user experience. Slow sites negatively impact your rankings and bounce rates. Use a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights to check your site’s speed and get recommendations to improve it. Things you can do include:
-Compress images -Minify CSS and JavaScript; -Remove unused CSS and JavaScript; -Enable caching; -Choose a fast theme
Mobile-Friendliness
With more and more people searching on mobile, having a mobile-friendly site is crucial. Make sure your theme is responsive so it displays well on all devices. You can also use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check if your site needs improvements.
URL Structure
The URLs for your products and pages play a role in SEO. Keep them short, simple, and keyword-rich.
For example: -yourstore.com/red-dress-yourstore.com/casual-shoes
Rather than: -yourstore.com/product=123-yourstore.com/pg=shoes
Internal Linking
Internal links connect the pages of your store. Include links from one product page to related or complementary products. This helps search engines discover all your content and improves the user experience. Check that all links work properly and lead to the correct pages.
Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
Page titles and meta descriptions appear in search results and should be optimized. Keep titles around 60 characters and meta descriptions under 160 characters. Include important keywords and entice users to click. These also need to be unique for each page.
By optimizing these technical SEO factors and keeping your store up-to-date with best practices, you’ll establish a solid foundation for success and see your rankings rise over time. Keep working at it and your store can rank at the top!
Link-building and Off-Page SEO strategies
Link building is one of the most important off-page SEO strategies for ranking your Shopify store higher in search engines like Google. By getting high-quality websites to link back to your store, you can boost your domain authority and search visibility.
Build Links From Industry Websites.
Seek out link opportunities from authoritative websites in your niche. Guest blogging, product reviews, roundups, and “best of” lists are all great ways to earn high-value links. Reach out to site editors and offer to contribute content in exchange for a link back to your store. Make sure any links you build are natural, contextually relevant, and provide value to readers.
Leverage Social Media.
Share your products and blog posts on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Engage with your followers by liking and commenting on their posts. Many social media users will click links in posts and profiles, which can drive referral traffic and potential links back to your store. Use relevant hashtags to make your content more discoverable.
Build An Email List.
Start building an email list with your very first sale. Offer a coupon or discount for signing up. Regularly send newsletters and promotional emails to your subscribers. Include links back to your store and specific products. Loyal email subscribers tend to frequently click links and share content, which can result in more link-building opportunities.
Participate In Online Forums And Groups.
Join industry forums, Facebook groups, and LinkedIn groups to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and customers. Provide helpful information and engage in discussions. Build genuine relationships and earn the trust and respect of other members. Once you’ve established yourself as an authority, you can include a link to your store in your forum signature or profile. But only do so if the group policies allow it.
Monitor Your Link Profile
Check which sites are linking to you using tools like Ahrefs, Majestic, or Moz Link Explorer. Reach out and thank the site owners for linking to you. Monitor your backlink profile regularly and look for opportunities to build more high-value links. Also, keep an eye out for toxic links you may want to disavow. Building a solid link profile over time is key to ranking higher in search results.
SEO Tools and Plugins to Use for Your Shopify Store
To optimize your Shopify store for search engines and drive more organic traffic, utilizing the right SEO tools and plugins is key. Here are some of the best options to use:
SEO Manager
This free app helps you research keywords, track your rankings, and make data-driven SEO decisions. It offers keyword research tools to find the best terms to target, rank tracking to see how you stack up against competitors, and page analysis to optimize your content.
SEO Image Optimizer
Images make up a large part of most e-commerce sites, so this app is essential for optimizing your media for search engines. It helps you add alt text, captions, and file name changes to your product images in bulk. It also compresses images to improve page loading times.
Google Tag Manager
While not technically an SEO tool, Google Tag Manager makes it easy to manage all your marketing tags (like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc.) in one place. It ensures your tracking codes are installed properly so you have accurate data to make informed SEO decisions.
AMP Plugin
Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMP, speeds up your mobile site and can give you a ranking boost. This plugin adds AMP functionality to your Shopify store so Google can crawl and cache your pages for a faster mobile experience.
SEO Booster
This powerful app helps with all aspects of Shopify’s SEO. It offers keyword research, internal linking tools, XML sitemaps, schema markup, and more. The competitor analysis feature provides insight into what other stores are ranking for to find opportunities. It also gives SEO recommendations to improve your rankings.
Using a combination of these SEO tools and plugins is the best way to perform a comprehensive technical SEO audit of your Shopify store. By optimizing your content, optimizing your images, speeding up your mobile site, and tracking your performance, you’ll be well on your way to crushing SEO for your store. Keep making incremental improvements and your rankings and organic traffic will continue to climb over time.
Engage with your visitors.
Engaging with your visitors and customers is key to building a loyal following and improving SEO. Make it a priority to interact with people on your site and social media.
Respond to Comments
When someone leaves a comment on your blog post or product page, take the time to respond. Thank them for the feedback and engage in a genuine conversation. Visitors appreciate knowing there are real people behind the site. Responding to comments also shows search engines that your content is active and up-to-date.
Be Active On Social Media.
Post regularly on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to increase brand awareness and drive more traffic to your site. Share blog posts, product photos, and news about your business, and engage with followers by liking and commenting on their posts as well. Look for opportunities to start conversations around topics that would interest your target customers.
Send A Welcome Email.
As soon as someone signs up for your newsletter or creates an account on your site, send them a welcome email. Thank them for their interest in your business and share a special offer or content they might find helpful. An automated email is a chance to make a good first impression and keep them engaged from the start.
Post A Welcome Message On Your Site.
Feature a welcome message prominently on your homepage. Express your gratitude for visitors and invite them to explore your products or blog. A friendly greeting helps establish a connection and conveys your brand’s positive attitude. Keep the tone lighthearted and avoid an overly salty vibe.
Ask For Feedback.
Now and then, ask your customers and newsletter subscribers for honest opinions and suggestions. Create a short survey on your site or send an email asking what they like about your business, how you can improve, and what other products or content they’d be interested in. Make changes based on the feedback and be sure to thank everyone who provided input. Feedback not only helps strengthen your connection with customers but also gives you valuable insights into optimizing their experience.
Submit An XML Sitemap.
An XML sitemap is like a map of your website that helps search engines index all of your pages. Submitting an XML sitemap to Google and Bing can significantly improve your Shopify store’s SEO and ranking in search results.
How To Create An XML Sitemap
It’s quite easy to create an XML sitemap for your Shopify store. Here are the basic steps:
- Install the Google XML Sitemaps app in your Shopify app store. This free app will automatically generate an XML sitemap for your store.
- Open the Google XML Sitemaps app and click “Generate Sitemap.” This will create an XML sitemap file for your store called sitemap.xml.
- Download the sitemap.xml file. You’ll need to upload this file to the Google Search Console.
- Sign in to Google Search Console and click “Sitemaps” in the left menu.
- Click “Add/Test Sitemap” and upload your sitemap.xml file.
- Click “Submit Sitemap,” and your sitemap will start crawling your site.
- Repeat the same steps for Bing Webmaster Tools to submit your XML sitemap.
Submitting your sitemap to Google and Bing accomplishes a few important things:
- It helps the search engines discover all of the pages on your site, especially new pages. This improves the chances of those pages getting indexed and ranking in search results.
- It provides information about the priority and frequency of updates for each URL. This can help influence how often search engines crawl and index those pages.
- It gives search engines a structured layout of your site hierarchy and internal linking structure. This additional information helps them better understand your site architecture.
- It can help speed up the indexing of new pages on your site. With an XML sitemap, search engines have a roadmap to all of your content.
- It may lead to improved rankings over time. The more search engines know about your site and content, the better equipped they are to rank your pages appropriately.
Submitting an XML sitemap is one of the easiest and most effective ways to boost your Shopify store’s SEO. Be sure to keep your sitemap up-to-date as you add new products, blog posts, or pages to your site. Search engines will continue to crawl the latest version to keep their index fresh.
Create a robots.txt file.
One of the first steps to optimizing your Shopify store for search engines is creating a robots.txt file. This simple text file tells search engine crawlers which pages of your site they can access and index.
To create a robots.txt file, follow these steps:
- Log in to your Shopify admin and go to Settings > Files.
- Click “Add file” and select “Create file.” Name the file “robots.txt.”.
- In the file editor, add this line:
User-agent: * Disallow: /cart
Disallow: /checkout
- This tells search engines not to index your cart and checkout pages. You want to focus their crawl budget on your product and content pages.
- Click “Save” to publish the robots.txt file.
- Your store’s robots.txt file will now be live at yourstore.com/robots.txt. Search engines will automatically discover this file and follow the instructions you’ve set.
- You can edit or add to the robots.txt file at any time. For example, you may want to add:
Disallow: /search
to block search engine crawlers from indexing your store’s internal search results page. Or add:
Allow: /blog/
to explicitly allow search engines to crawl your blog content.
- Test your robots.txt file using a tool like the Google Search Console Robots Testing Tool to ensure there are no issues before it goes live.
Creating a basic robots.txt file is an easy way to optimize your Shopify store for search right out of the gate. Be sure to revisit your robots.txt periodically to make any changes needed as your store grows and evolves. Focusing search engine crawlers on the most important areas of your store will help improve rankings and drive more organic traffic.
Add JSON-LD markup
To help search engines fully understand your Shopify store content, you need to add JSON-LD markup. JSON-LD, or JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data, is a method for encoding structured data in a JSON format. When added to your site, it helps search engines interpret your content and can improve your ranking in search results.
Add Product Schema
The most important markup to add is product schema, which provides details about the items you sell. This includes:
- The product name
- Description
- Price
- Image(s)
- Brand
- Product identifier (SKU or UPC)
- Availability
To add product schema, you’ll need to go into the code for each product page and add the JSON-LD markup. Here’s an example:
{“@context”: “https://schema.org/”,”@type”: “Product”, “name”: “T-shirt”, “image”: “t-shirt.jpg”, “description”: “Comfortable cotton t-shirt.”, “brand”:
{“@type”: “Brand”, “name”: “Acme Clothing”,”SKU”: “1234”, “offers”: {“@type”: “Offer”, “price”: “29.99”, “price currency”: “USD”, “availability”: “https://schema.org/InStock”, “URL”: “https://www.example.com/t-shirt”}}
Add Site Schema
You should also add a general site schema that provides details about your business. This includes:
- Business name
- Description
- Logo
- Contact info (address, phone, email)
- Hours of operation
Add this markup to your store’s home page. For example:
{“@context”: “https://schema.org“, “@type”: “Store”, “name”: “Acme Clothing”, “description”: “Online clothing store”, “logo”: “acme-clothing-logo.png”, “ContactPoint”:
{“@type”: “ContactPoint”, “telephone:+1-401-555-0123”, “contact type”: “customer service”},
“openingHoursSpecification”: {“@type”: “Opening Hours Specification”, “dayOfWeek”: [“Monday”, “Tuesday”, “Wednesday”, “Thursday”, “Friday”]. “open “: “09:00”; “close”: “17:00”
Adding JSON-LD markup is an important step to help search engines fully understand your Shopify store. Be sure to add product schema to all product pages and general site schema to your home page. Doing so can significantly boost
Detect And Fix Technical Errors And Make Recommendations.
Detecting and fixing technical errors in your Shopify store should be a top priority. SEO crawlers scan your entire site, looking for issues that could affect your rankings or user experience. Run a technical SEO audit and look for:
Broken Links
Check that all links on your site lead somewhere. SEO crawlers penalize sites with lots of broken links. You can use a free broken link checker tool to scan your entire site. Then either fix or remove any broken links found.
Page Speed
If your pages take too long to load, it frustrates users and hurts your SEO. Test your page’s speed with Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. Look for ways to optimize images, reduce file sizes, and improve caching. Faster page speed means happier users and better search rankings.
Mobile-Friendliness
Over half of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices. Make sure your Shopify theme is optimized for mobile, with large text, tap targets, and a responsive design. Test your mobile-friendliness with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. If it’s not mobile-friendly, you’ll need to switch to a responsive theme.
XML Sitemaps
An XML sitemap helps search engines index your site. Make sure you have a sitemap setup in your Shopify admin. It should include all pages on your store, including product, blog post, and store policy pages. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console to aid in crawling and indexing.
Robots.txt File
The robots.txt file tells search engines which pages they can and can’t access on your site. Make sure your Shopify store has a robots.txt file in the root directory. It should allow access to all pages you want indexed. You can adjust the file as needed to block any pages you don’t want showing up in search results.
Running a technical SEO audit and optimizing any issues found is key to a successful SEO strategy. Keep your store fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to crawl for the best search rankings and user experience. Stay on top of any new updates to avoid penalties as algorithms change. Technical SEO is an ongoing process, but it is well worth the effort for SEO success.
Page Performance (Speed) Is The New King.
Page speed is crucial for SEO and the overall user experience. If your Shopify store takes too long to load, visitors will get frustrated and leave. Google also factors page speed into search rankings. The faster your pages load, the higher they can rank.
To improve your page speed, start by enabling gzip compression in your store. This shrinks the size of files like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML, so they load faster. You should also minimize redirects. Too many redirects slow down your site and confuse search engines.
Optimize your images by compressing and resizing them. Large image files significantly impact page load time. Aim for images under 100KB in size. You can use a free tool like TinyPNG to compress images.
Consider using a content delivery network or CDN, to serve static assets. A CDN stores copies of your files on servers around the world so visitors can download them from the closest location. This speeds up load times, especially for international visitors.
Minify your code to remove unnecessary characters like spaces, tabs, and line breaks. This shrinks the size of files and speeds up loading. You can use an app like Code Minifier to minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files.
Finally, regularly test your page’s speed and performance. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and Pingdom to check load times and get recommendations to improve. Aim for pages that load in under 3 seconds for the best user experience.
Optimizing page speed should be an ongoing process. Continually check for new ways to shrink file sizes, reduce redirects, and speed up your server. Page performance is the foundation of good SEO, so make it a priority for your Shopify store.
Use A Mobile-first Shopify Theme.
A mobile-first theme is designed to look great on any device, from smartphones to desktops. For an e-commerce store, having a responsive design is crucial since many customers shop on their phones. Shopify offers several mobile-first themes that will make your store look professional, no matter how people view it.
Choose A High-converting Theme.
Look for a theme with a minimal, uncluttered design and clear calls to action. Themes like debut, impulse, and supply are great for beginners. They highlight products beautifully and make it easy for customers to buy. Stay away from themes with busy designs that can distract buyers.
Optimize For Speed.
A fast mobile site leads to higher conversions. Compress images, minify CSS and JavaScript, and limit third-party apps to keep your store running quickly. Use a content delivery network (CDN) to serve static assets from servers closest to your visitors. Shopify has its own CDN, which you can enable in your store’s settings.
Focus On Mobile Navigation.
The mobile menu should only include essential pages and links. Bury less important content under submenus to avoid cluttering the small screen. Consider a hamburger menu icon to conserve space. Arrange pages logically based on your customer journey. The home, product list, product, cart, and checkout pages should be directly accessible from the main menu.
Streamline The Checkout.
The smaller the screen, the more friction in the checkout process shows through. Only ask for the necessary information in the checkout form. Use dropdowns instead of long lists of options. Offer guest checkout and Apple Pay or Google Pay as options in addition to Shopify Payments. Keep the number of steps in the checkout flow to a minimum so customers can buy quickly on mobile.
Optimizing for mobile is key to success with e-commerce today. A fast, easy-to-navigate store that highlights your best products will keep customers shopping on their phones and tablets. Choose a mobile-first theme, focus on speed and simplicity, and refine the mobile checkout experience. Your sales and conversions will thank you.
How Do I Rank In SEO on Shopify?
So, you’ve got an SEO Shopify store up and running, but now you need to get found in searches. The good news is that, with some Shopify SEO best practices, you can rank well on Google and bring more traffic to your store.
Focus On Your Product Content.
The content on your product pages is key. Use your target keywords, but don’t overdo it. Aim for about 1-3% keyword density. Describe your products in detail, including specs, features, benefits, and high-quality images. The more content you have, the better.
Optimize Page Titles And Meta Descriptions.
Your page titles and meta descriptions are what show up in search results. So make them compelling! Your title should be about 60 characters and include your target keyword. Your meta description, about 150–160 characters, should describe what the page is about and end with a call to action.
Build Internal Links.
Link to other relevant content on your site. Not only does this create a good user experience, but it signals to Google that your content is connected and helps pass authority between pages.
Earn High-quality Backlinks.
Get other sites to link to yours. Submit your content to industry publications and ask friends with blogs if they’ll link to you. But focus on getting links from authoritative, trusted sites.
Blog Frequently
Having a blog on your site is one of the best ways to improve SEO. Blog posts rank well in searches and also bring referral traffic to your store. Aim for 2-3 posts per month, about 500–1000 words each. Make sure to link to products within your posts whenever relevant.
If you follow these SEO tips for your Shopify store, keep optimizing, and publish high-quality content regularly, you’ll start ranking higher in search results and see more organic traffic coming to your Shopify store. The results take time, so keep at it and stay consistent!
Content Optimization And Keyword Research
To rank well in search engines like Google, you need to optimize your Shopify store for SEO. This includes researching keywords, optimizing page content, creating an internal linking structure, and building authority through backlinks.
The content on your product pages, blog posts, and other pages is one of the most important factors for SEO. You need to:
- Conduct keyword research to find terms people are searching for that relate to your products and brand. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Moz Keyword Explorer, or SEMrush to find keywords with high search volume and low difficulty.
- Optimize your page titles, URLs, image alt text, and meta descriptions for your target keywords. The page title, URL, and meta description are displayed in search results, so they need to be compelling and contain your keywords.
- Use your keywords in your page content, including in headings, bolded text, and 2-3 times in the first 100 words. Repeat keywords 3-5 times total, and also include synonyms and related terms.
- Keep your content concise and scannable. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, numbered lists, and headings to break up the text. Search engines prefer content that is easy to read and navigate.
- Create cornerstone content like blog posts, guides, and resources around your keywords. Long-form, in-depth content ranks well in searches and provides value to your customers.
- Build internal links between pages on your site. Link to other relevant content and category pages using keywords as the anchor text. Internal links pass authority between pages and create a good user experience.
- Consider guest blogging on other sites to build quality backlinks and referral traffic. Reach out to bloggers and publishers in your industry to contribute content and link back to your site.
By optimizing your content and conducting thorough keyword research, you’ll drive more organic traffic to your Shopify store from search engines like Google. Focus on creating the best customer experience, and your SEO will follow.
Does Shopify Automatically Do SEO?
Shopify does provide some basic SEO features out of the box, but to crush your SEO and rank higher in search engines, you’ll need to put in some extra effort.
Shopify’s built-in SEO tools include:
- An SEO-optimized theme with title tags, meta descriptions, and semantic HTML markup
- The ability to customize page titles, URLs, meta descriptions, and images
- A blog that creates a sitemap to help search engines discover your content
- Basic analytics to see how customers find your store
However, to truly optimize your Shopify store for search engines, you should take advantage of these additional best practices:
Optimize Product Pages.
Go beyond the default info and add detailed titles, descriptions, images, and content for each product. Include important keywords, related terms, and phrases to help search engines fully understand what you’re selling.
Improve Your Homepage.
Your homepage is the most important page on your site. Make sure it loads quickly, has a <H1> header tag, and contains keywords related to your products and brand. Share details about new arrivals, bestsellers, company stories, customer reviews, and more.
Write A Blog.
A blog is one of the best ways to generate organic traffic to your site. Post weekly content like how-to guides, product spotlights, industry news, and trend reports. Include keywords and internal links to your products.
Technical SEO Audit
Check that your site has a mobile-friendly design, fast loading speed, a secure HTTPS URL, and follows other best practices. Fix any errors to ensure search engines can easily crawl and rank your store.
While Shopify does provide a good e-commerce SEO foundation, investing time in optimizing your content, improving site speed, building backlinks, and encouraging customer reviews will result in higher rankings and more organic search traffic to your store. With some regular SEO maintenance and monitoring, you’ll be well on your way to crushing it in search!
Is Shopify SEO Any Good?
Shopify’s SEO service offers everything you need to rank well in search engines like Google. Their platform is designed to make SEO easy for beginners while still providing powerful features for experts.
Built-in SEO Tools
Shopify comes with on-page SEO tools to help you optimize your store. You can easily add page titles, meta descriptions, alt text for images, and schema markup. Shopify also gives you an SEO report to check how well your store is ranking for important keywords.
Mobile-Friendly
Shopify themes are all responsive, meaning your store will look great on any device. Since Google prefers mobile-friendly sites, this helps boost your SEO.
Fast Hosting
Shopify’s enterprise-level hosting keeps your store running quickly. Fast page load times are an important ranking factor, so Shopify’s performance helps your SEO.
Apps And Integrations
The Shopify app store has over 2,000 apps to enhance your store’s functionality. Many of these apps can also help with SEO by doing things like generating product descriptions, optimizing images, building backlinks, and more. You can also connect Shopify to many popular marketing tools.
Blogging Platform
The Shopify blogging platform makes it easy to add content to your store. Blogging helps build authority in search engines and gives you more opportunities to rank for important keywords. Shopify’s blogging features include SEO tools to optimize your posts.
While Shopify provides a solid SEO foundation, you still need to put in the work. Perform keyword research, create optimized content, build high-quality backlinks, encourage reviews, and make the most of Shopify’s tools. With time and effort, you can rank at the top of search results and drive more organic traffic to your store.
Conclusion
Any Shopify store hoping to increase its online visibility and attract more customers and sales needs to have a solid SEO strategy. You can raise your search engine rankings and draw more potential customers to your store by adhering to the above-mentioned Shopify SEO checklist, which includes optimizing product pages, producing excellent content, constructing backlinks, and interacting with your website’s visitors. But always keep in mind that SEO is a continuous process that requires time and work to yield results. Having a well-developed website also helps to bolster your SEO efforts. You can achieve long-term success and growth for your company by adhering to your plan and regularly reviewing and tweaking your tactics.
