6 Ways to Improve SEO Performance on Shopify

More and more online businesses are using Shopify for their online store. But what happens after you've set up shop? And how can you reach customers and convince them to come to your store over your competitors? 




That's where Shopify SEO comes into play. To learn more about using Shopify's platform features to maximize SEO impact, check out our handy checklist below. 

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    No. 1: Simplify the structure of your Shopify store




    First, you'll want to structure your online store so that it's easy for your customers to navigate. An organized layout can help buyers quickly find what they're looking for, increasing the time spent on your pages and improving your search engine rankings. 




    To optimize your site hierarchy, create a simple structure with categories and subcategories (Home Page > Category Page > Product Page). This makes it easy for Google to crawl your site and determine which pages should take priority. 




    Along with your product pages, include a search bar, a contacts page, and an "about us" page. Besides building credibility and connections, these info pages can help rank your store higher in searches. 




    No. 2: Research and implement the right target keywords




    Next, perform general keyword research to find the search terms shoppers actually conduct. The best target keywords will attract shoppers ready to buy your products and give Google more insights into your store. 




    Once you have your target keywords, sprinkle them throughout your site. Like Yoast SEO for WordPress, Shopify lets you plug your keywords into elements such as title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs. This allows Google to see what each of your pages is about so it can decide if they're relevant to searchers. 




    No. 3: Optimize your store's product pages 




    Now that your store is easy to navigate and you know which target keywords to use, it's time to optimize your store's product pages. Create thoughtful descriptions from a user's point of view. And include relevant keywords throughout your product pages, titles, and tags. Integrating customer reviews to increase the number of keywords on each page is a good idea here, too. 




    Writing about product features your shoppers care about can help improve both conversions and SEO. But creating unique content for every product can be time-consuming. To find out which products to focus on first, use Shopify's "Sales By Product" report. (To find this report go to Analytics > Dashboard > Top Products By Units Sold). This targeted approach will help you identify which pages to prioritize. 




    No. 4: Use content marketing to rank higher by starting a Shopify blog




    It might be tempting to rely only on your product pages for your store's content. But not utilizing Shopify's blogging feature is a huge disadvantage to your business. 




    A blog creates a natural place to share informational content about your products. This helpful insight can generate organic traffic and revenue. Not to mention that blogging on Shopify can generate backlink opportunities, one of the top three ways to rank high on Google. 




    No. 5: Boost the speed of your Shopify site




    Even if you have the most informative content on your site, if it's slow, shoppers aren't going to stick around. And when consumers leave quickly, Google will think your store is no longer relevant to the search terms used. A slow-loading site can knock your store down in search results. 




    To increase your store's speed, there are a few things you can do. First, pick a fast, mobile-friendly Shopify theme. Next, only install apps you really need. And lastly, automatically compress images using Shopify SEO plugins like Crush.pics Image Optimizer. 




    No. 6: Address Shopify's duplicate content issues 




    Duplicate content is one of the biggest SEO challenges on Shopify. As a store adds more pages, Shopify duplicates content for products with different variations. These duplicates exist on multiple pages and URLs. If both pages rank for similar keywords, search engines won't know where to send the traffic.




    Combating this duplication issue can be one of the most impactful ways to improve SEO performance on Shopify. Here's what you can do. 




    • For duplicate product page links, work with your development team to adjust the code in the Snippets section. (This is seen as "product-grid-item.liquid"). Following Shopify's instructions, your team can point the site's collections pages to the canonical version (the master page) and consolidate link equity. 




    • Shopify also creates duplicate content through the site's pagination—more specifically, it duplicates the first page of a collections page series (one way to spot this is by searching for a URL that contains "?page=1"). Once again, work with a developer to remove this duplication and adjust the internal linking structure. 





    If you’re using Shopify to run your online business, you may wonder whether it’s time to upgrade and what features you might be missing out on without Shopify Plus. Read more about when the right rime is to upgrade to Shopify Plus.

    Antonella P.