Site Settings for Optimal Performance

Site Settings

for Optimal Performance

A walkthrough of every setting available in your Buddi SEO Menu dashboard.

Your site settings are where you configure the details that shape how your store appears online, how customers find you, and how your menu behaves. Taking the time to fill these out carefully is one of the most impactful things you can do to improve your store’s performance in search results.

This guide walks through each of the five settings sections: General, Search Engine Optimization, Technical, Integrations, and Redirects.

General

The General section covers the foundational settings for your website. These are the first things you should configure before your site goes live.

Domain

This is where you enter the web address your Buddi SEO Menu will be hosted on (for example, yourstore.com). If you haven’t connected your domain yet, your Buddi onboarding contact can help you with this step.

Favicon

A favicon is the small icon that appears in a browser tab when someone has your website open. It’s a subtle but important branding detail. Upload a square image (ideally 32x32 pixels or larger) in .png or .ico format. If you have a logo, a simplified version or just your logo mark works well here.

Contact Email Routing

This setting controls where contact form submissions from your website are sent. You have two options:

• Use the same email for all locations. All contact form submissions, regardless of which store location a customer is browsing, will be sent to a single email address you specify. This is the simplest option and works well for single-location retailers or anyone who manages all inquiries from one inbox.
• Use store-specific emails. If you operate multiple locations, you can set a separate email address for each store. Submissions from customers browsing a specific location will go directly to the email associated with that store. This helps keep things organized if your locations are managed independently.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The SEO section is where you control how your website appears in Google search results and when links to your site are shared on social media. This is one of the most important sections to fill out thoughtfully, as it directly affects whether customers can find you online.

Search Preview

As you fill out the fields below, a live preview on the right side of the screen will show you exactly how your site will appear in a Google search result, including your favicon, title, and description. Use this preview to make sure everything looks the way you want before saving.

Page Titles and Descriptions

You can set a unique page title and meta description for each page on your site. This includes your home page, your shop page, your contact page, and all product category pages (flower, edibles, vapes, and so on). To edit a page, click on it in the accordion list to expand its settings.

Page Title

The page title is what appears as the clickable headline in a Google search result. It is also what shows up in the browser tab when someone has your page open. A good page title tells customers and Google exactly what the page is about. Keep it under 60 characters so it doesn’t get cut off in search results. For product category pages, a title like “Buy Flower in Vancouver | Your Store Name” works well.

Meta Description

The meta description is the short paragraph of text that appears below your page title in search results. It doesn’t directly affect your ranking, but a well-written description encourages customers to click through to your site. Aim for 150 to 160 characters. Describe what the page offers and include a reason to visit, for example: “Browse our selection of premium BC flower, pre-rolls, and edibles. Updated daily with live inventory from our Vancouver store.”

Open Graph / Social Sharing

Open Graph settings control how your website appears when someone shares a link to it on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp. Without these settings, social platforms will often pull in random content or show nothing at all.

Social Title

The headline that appears in the link preview when your page is shared. This can be the same as your page title or something slightly different, written more for social audiences.

Social Description

A short description that accompanies the link preview. Keep it engaging, as this is what social media users will see before deciding whether to click.

Social Image

The image that appears alongside your link when it’s shared on social media. Use a high-quality, eye-catching image that represents your store or brand. Recommended size is 1200x630 pixels. A well-chosen image can significantly increase the number of people who click through.

Technical

The Technical section gives you visibility and control over two behind-the-scenes files that affect how search engines interact with your website. You don’t need a technical background to use these settings, but understanding what they do will help you make good decisions.

Sitemap

Your sitemap is a file that lists every page on your website. It is essentially a map that helps Google find and index all of your content. Buddi generates your sitemap automatically, and you can view or copy the link here.

You don’t need to edit your sitemap manually. It updates automatically as your inventory and pages change. If you ever need to submit your sitemap to Google Search Console (a free tool that helps you monitor your site’s performance in Google), you can copy the link directly from this section.

Robots.txt

The robots.txt file is a short text file that tells search engine crawlers which pages of your site they are and are not allowed to visit. Think of it as a set of instructions left at the door for Google’s automated readers.

Buddi sets up a sensible default robots.txt for you, so most retailers won’t need to change anything here. If you’re working with an SEO professional who has asked you to make a specific change, this is where you would do it.

Integrations

The Integrations section allows you to connect third-party tools to your website by adding code snippets. This is how you can enable things like Google Analytics to track visitor traffic, Meta Pixel to run Facebook ads, live chat widgets, or any other tool that requires a piece of tracking or script code.

Each integration you add appears as its own card in this section and can be edited or removed at any time.

Adding a Code Block

To add a new integration, click “Add Code Block.” A window will appear with the following fields:

Name

Give your code block a clear name so you can identify it later, for example “Google Analytics” or “Meta Pixel.”

Code Snippet

Paste the tracking or script code provided by the third-party tool. This is usually found in the tool’s setup instructions under a section like “Install tracking code” or “Get your pixel code.”

Pages

Choose which pages of your site the code should appear on. Some tools (like analytics) should run on every page. Others, like a checkout tracking pixel, may only be needed on specific pages.

Code Placement

Select where in the page’s code the script should be inserted. Most integrations will tell you whether their code goes in the “head” or “body” of the page. Placement guidelines are shown in the panel to help you decide.

Editing or Removing an Integration

All saved code blocks appear as individual cards in the Integrations section. You can click to edit any of them at any time. If you want to remove one, click the delete option on the card and confirm when prompted. Deleted integrations are removed from your site immediately.

Questions? Contact your Buddi account manager or visit our support centre.