AutoPilot is designed to simplify the SEO optimization process. With AutoPilot, you can take a hands-off approach which can significantly reduce the time and effort spent on optimizing a website. When in doubt, it is recommended to keep all AutoPilot switches turned ON. Rest assured, AutoPilot only affects a site's SEO code and does not overwrite any visible product titles and descriptions.
Here are the steps to enable AutoPilot and how to customize the templates:
Step 1
Access the AutoPilot section of the app
Toggle the switches for Meta Title Optimization and Meta Description Optimization to ON.
💡 If you previously created custom meta tags and are concerned about it being overwritten by AutoPilot, refer to "How can I keep my custom meta tags?" for possible solutions.
Step 2
Select Let the app decide
Let the app decide is the default setup. With this option, the meta title and image alt text include the product or page title along with your shop name. As for meta descriptions, the default tag is derived from the product description.
💡 If this is not your preferred option and you want to create your own template, proceed to step 3.
Step 3
Select Use Template
Create custom templates
The AutoPilot feature of the app allows you to customize your template according to your preferences. You can select the specific template variables you want to use for your meta tags and decide how they should appear.
Sample Scenarios
→ Sample 1
Let's say you have an office supply store with a unique and non-descriptive name like "925er". It is unlikely that customers will search for "925er" specifically. Instead, they will use more general search terms related to the products you sell, such as "specialty office products". To make your meta titles more descriptive, you can add this relevant phrase to the end of each meta title.
What are template variables?
Whenever you want specific product information (such as the title or vendor) or your shop name to appear in a meta tag, you can include a template variable, and then in the actual site code, the app will replace each variable with the corresponding information for each page.
In the example shown, let's say you have a meta title template of "[title] - [shop_name] Specialty Office Products". If you have a product titled "Anvil Paperweight 20 lbs." on your site, the resulting page title won't include "[title]" or "[shop_name]". Instead, the app will substitute those variables with the specific information for that page. In this case, it would be "Anvil Paperweight 20 lbs. - 925er Specialty Office Products".
→ Sample 2
Let’s say you want your store Shoe Warehouse customers to find your products on Google using not only the product titles but also the product vendors (shoe companies). To achieve this, you can create a custom template like "[title] - [product_vendor] - [shop_name]". For a shoe made by Dr. Sketch, the resulting title tag would be "Comfort Sport Slip-On - Dr. Sketch - Shoe Warehouse".
After familiarizing yourself with AutoPilot customizations, think about how you can use AutoPilot templates to create more descriptive meta tags that align with the words and phrases your potential customers use in their web searches. These specific search terms are known as target keywords. If you want to roll up your sleeves and customize each product to have the best SEO that it can have, target keywords are your secret weapon and you can learn more about it in these resources.