SEO on Shopify

We know that Shopify It’s all the rage when it comes to setting up and developing an e-commerce site, thanks to the ease of use it offers to those managing their shop.

But here comes the an unpopular opinion: most add-ons require a payment or end up being too technical for the end user.

And that is precisely what happens with the SEO on this platform. There are changes which, on paper, seem straightforward, but which end up being a real headache.

There are no magic formulas that will take you to the top of Google’s search results.

What we can tell you is that you’ll need a good foundation. As with any digital business, a solid strategy always starts with the basics.

And what are they?

• Analyse your business: understand how your customers search for you and how they currently find you. Next, study your competitors and carry out a thorough keyword analysis. That alone will give you a solid foundation on which to build.
• Remove anything that doesn’t add value and, if necessary, restructure the menu and the way in which users navigate to your categories and products.
• Work on your SEO by business sector or vertical. Don’t try to optimise the whole shop in one go; as well as being overwhelming, it’s much harder to gauge what’s working.
• If you change a URL that was already ranking or receiving traffic, always set up a redirect. It’s a much more common mistake than you might think, and it can cause you to lose visibility overnight.

And that’s just the less technical part.

If you want to edit the file robots.txt, customise structured data or make certain advanced SEO changes in Shopify; in many cases, you’ll need to edit the shop’s code or use platform-specific solutions.

Here, Yoast remains the leading platform. But if you’re curious, you can check out the best SEO apps for Shopify on their website.

Remember that the vast majority of these apps offer a free trial period before you have to pay. Make the most of this time to check whether it really meets your shop’s needs and whether it’s worth the investment.

What’s more, SEO isn’t just about optimising titles and meta descriptions. On Shopify, you’ll also find tools to optimise images, manage redirects, generate structured data, improve performance and integrate review and feedback platforms.

In short, there is a comprehensive range of apps that can help you get much more out of your online shop, provided you choose the right ones for your project.

Right… we know. You’ve come this far hoping we’d tell you what steps to take to get your shop to the top of Google and start raking in the cash non-stop, haven’t you?

We’re sorry to say that’s not how it works.

Every digital strategy is different for each business. Some need a stronger social media presence; others can optimise their product listings more effectively, as they pay close attention to every detail.

Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all SEO strategy for your Shopify shop. What does exist, however, is analytics and the ability to measure the changes you implement to check that we’re on the right track.

Data on visits, conversions and sales will guide the SEO expert in helping you continue to grow your online presence.

We could certainly get very technical and tell you exactly what to do. But if we had to sum it up in a few tips, they would be these:

• Try to find a topic that isn’t too heavy going. Remember: a solid foundation always helps.
• Optimise the images. And, if you can, use formats such as WebP o AVIF, much better.
• Don’t overload your website with JavaScript. And, if you can delay the loading of non-critical scripts, do so.

These are a few simple tips that can help you improve the performance of your online shop and, in doing so, offer your users a better experience and increase your chances of attracting more visitors.

We use AI for some internal processes, but never to generate SEO content. It sounds repetitive and Google might pick up on it.

That’s why we try to ensure that these automated processes focus on tasks such as image optimisation, submitting the optimised pages to Google Search Console, and tracking new keywords.

Ultimately, naturally written content is still far more valuable than automatically generated content. And no one knows your product, your brand and your sector better than you do.

Shopify is a great platform for selling online. It’s quick, simple and allows you to get an online shop up and running in no time.

But that doesn’t mean SEO comes as standard.

In fact, it’s quite common to come across websites that have been live for months or even years and are still making mistakes that limit their growth on Google. Some of these are technical, others are more to do with strategy, and others simply stem from trying to do everything too quickly.

From installing apps you don’t really need to failing to optimise images, creating an illogical structure or not measuring the changes you make. These are small details which, taken individually, may seem insignificant, but together can make a big difference.

And best of all, most of them can be sorted out.

You can always use this word, which, deep down, is our favourite: depends.

As an agency specialising in web development and online shops, we carry out a thorough analysis of the current state of your digital business to suggest exactly what you need – no nonsense.

We usually follow the steps below:

• We’ll carry out a technical audit of your online shop. This will help us identify any issues and prioritise the errors that need to be resolved urgently.
• Next, we’ll develop a digital marketing and SEO strategy tailored to your business. We’ll analyse the competition, assess the state of the sector and propose specific actions.
• Measure. Review. Start again. There’s no other way. We don’t have a magic wand, but we are confident that by taking the right steps and adapting to market trends, Google’s changes and the way users search, we’ll manage to move in the right direction.

Put simply, all of this enables us to draw up a value proposition for optimising the SEO of your online shop on Shopify.

Imagine you go to the gym three times a week for four years. Has it been worth investing that time to feel better, be healthier and build strength? It certainly has.

Well, it’s exactly the same with your online shop’s SEO.

At first, you might not have what it takes to go head-to-head with your competitors. But if you work consistently, hone your strategy and entrust your business’s SEO to the right people, you’ll gradually start to see results.

We can’t promise you’ll end up looking like The Rock… but we can promise that, with patience, hard work and a good strategy, you’ll be much closer to turning your online shop into a leading name in your sector.