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Shopify SEO Guide: Step-by-Step Instructions for Shopify SEO [2023]

5 minutes

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most powerful weapons you can use to increase your e-commerce site’s performance. SEO helps make your Shopify store more visible to current and future customers. The question is: how to improve SEO on Shopify? In this Shopify SEO guide, we will take a look a how you can boost your Shopify SEO ranking. Plus, we will discuss SEO tips for Shopify you can put to good use right away.

What is Shopify SEO?

SEO refers to your Shopify store’s visibility. But what exactly do we mean by “visibility?”. When users search on engines such as Google, Bing, or Duck Duck Go, they use keywords and phrases to find what they are looking for. The search results display top-ranked sites based on keywords and phrases.

You might think that rankings are based on the most popular sites. While popularity does play a part in visibility, it is not the only one. There are other factors at play.

Please note that SEO is highly important. The goal is to appear is the first page of results on major search engines.

How so?

Think about it this way. Nearly three-quarters of users will never scroll past the first page of search results. Does that ring true? When was the last time you looked at the third or fourth page of search results? Indeed, the goal is for you to make the first page of search results – these SEO Shopify tactics will help you get there.

Does Shopify Have Good SEO?

In short, yes. SEO for Shopify is quite effective. The trick is knowing how to get the most out of it. In particular, getting the most out of SEO for Shopify is about understanding how your Shopify store works. Then, you can focus on boosting SEO optimization on Shopify by using the best SEO tips for Shopify.

To kick off our Shopify SEO guide, here are three key things to keep in mind:

#1: Shopify SEO ranking begins with your site structure

Your site structure must be a certain way search engines can read. Search engines are programmed to look for specific patterns and structures. If your Shopify store’s structure is too complicated or does not follow SEO best practices, search engines will have a very hard time finding it.

#2: Boosting SEO for Shopify includes using the right keywords

When we talk about “keywords,” we’re talking about specific terms that users input into search engines to find what they want. As a result, your Shopify store’s content must reflect specific target keywords to ensure that search engines will find it.

There are various ways you can find out what these keywords are. Tools such as SEMRush or AhRefs can reveal target keywords related to your particular e-commerce site. Additionally, using Google Analytics can reveal the most common search terms for your specific products or brands.

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#3: Improve SEO on Shopify by improving user experience

User experience is often overlooked but highly critical for improving SEO on Shopify.

But what does user experience involve?

User experience generally involves aspects such as loading times, customer reviews, number of visits, and average time spent on your site. Search engines pick up these stats. Then, search engines use these data to display search results. That is why the most popular sites get a special boost in search results.

What are the Best Free Tools for SEO on Shopify?

Boosting your Shopify SEO ranking just got easier, thanks to the free tools available for your site. These tools are part of Shopify’s app store. You can install Shopify apps to help you increase your Shopify SEO ranking. The best part is that these tools are completely free. So, you don’t need to pay a penny for them.

While there are paid tools, we wanted to include in our Shopify SEO guide some free apps can help you hit the ground running, especially if you’re on a shoestring budget. Let’s take a look at the top three free Shopify apps for SEO on Shopify.

#1: StoreYa: Image Optimizer & SEO

StoreYa: Image Optimizer & SEO by Storeya is a free SEO on Shopify app you want to check out. It’s totally free. It also helps your SEO optimization Shopify ranking. This app boosts your SEO ranking by improving user experience.

In particular, it helps optimize product images, so your store loads faster. Plus, it conducts a site audit to determine specific areas that need improvement. Get comprehensive data on how your site drives traffic.

Here’s why we love this Shopify SEO tool:

#2: SEO Optimize - Image Alt Text

SEO Optimize – Image Alt Text by Yity Apps is another free SEO on Shopify app you can use to boost your e-commerce site’s SEO ranking. This app improves SEO on Shopify by using text to include specific keywords.

In particular, this app uses the power of ALT Text on images to increase site traffic. The best part is you can automate ALT Text updates across your entire e-commerce site. So, you don’t need to update ALT Text manually.

Here’s why we love this Shopify SEO tool:

#3: GroPulse Rich Snippets for SEO

GroPulse Rich Snippets for SEO by GroPulse is a free SEO on Shopify app you can’t overlook. This app helps boost your SEO on Shopify by improving your snippets. Snippets are the short descriptions websites use for products and pages.

You can use this app to create rich snippets chock full of keywords to boost your SEO on Shopify. Best of all, this great app helps you produce machine-readable data from websites. As a result, you can easily improve SEO on Shopify without breaking your back or the bank.

Here’s why we love this Shopify SEO tool:

How to Improve SEO on Shopify: 7 tips

Improving SEO on Shopify is something you cannot overlook. While it’s clear just how important SEO on Shopify is, the question remains, “how to improve SEO on Shopify?”

In this section of the Shopify SEO guide, we are going to look at seven simple SEO tips for Shopify that you can implement today.

#1: SEO optimization Shopify structure

Your e-commerce site’s structure is crucial for your Shopify SEO ranking. In essence, it’s always best to keep things short and simple. By “short and simple,” we mean keeping your Shopify store’s structure easy for customers and machines to navigate.

Specifically, it’s best to avoid using too many categories (collections) and sub-categories (sub-collections). You’d ideally want to keep your categories as general as possible while using only the sub-categories that you need.

Consider this situation:

This structure keeps things simple while allowing users to find what they need, and is the best way to navigate SEO for Shopify collections. Extensive categorization and sub-categorization cause machines (such as search engines) to go through more data, thus taking longer to find your site. Ultimately, your e-commerce site will rank lower in search results.

This structure is a great way to keep things simple:

#2: Improve user experience

Improving user experience is one of the most powerful and effective ways to improve SEO on Shopify. But how can you improve SEO on Shopify by improving user experience?

Firstly, improving your site speed is critical. In essence, the longer your site takes to load, the lower your SEO rank.

Here are three effective ways to boost user experience:

1. Use a light, responsive theme. By “responsive,” we mean mobile-friendly. The best responsive themes look good on desktops and mobile devices.

2. Use small, size-optimized images. Using images sized to Shopify’s recommended dimensions will help you keep your site fast. Also, compressing images can help you improve loading times. Tools such as TinyJPG can help compress your images’ sizes without compromising picture quality.

3. Avoid unnecessary animations and videos, especially on your homepage. While adding slideshow features and demo videos seems cool, it can drag your e-commerce site’s speed down.

#3: Target the right keywords

We could not leave out keywords from this Shopify SEO guide.

Keywords must become the meat and potatoes of your SEO on Shopify strategy. The challenge is to find out what keywords are trending. Based on that, your can optimize your Shopify store’s content, ALT Text, and metadata to reflect these keywords.

Paid tools such as SEMrush and Ahrefs can provide highly detailed information on keywords and phrases you can use to optimize your site.

Alternatively, you can use Google’s Keyword Planner to search for keywords relevant to your industry. While Keyword Planner does not provide as highly detailed insights as paid tools, it can provide helpful data to plan your content and product descriptions.

Be careful because there is one caveat: avoid keyword stuffing at all costs. Keyword stuffing consists of adding keywords within the text without the keywords making sense. AI can pick up on this since it won’t be able to read the content. In fact, keyword stuffing can get your e-commerce site ranked lower. Therefore, making sure your keywords make sense within your content is crucial.

#4: Optimize content and images on product pages

Optimizing content, especially for keywords, can take time. While automated tools can help, you still need to ensure the right keywords are used.

A good SEO tip for Shopify is to start with the most important aspects of your homepage and product pages. In particular, focus on optimizing title tags on each of your pages.

Consider this description for a sports apparel store:

Men’s t-shirts >> Shop for Men’s Sport T-shirts Online – The Sports Outlet

In this example, we have used the following structure:

Main Keyword >> Secondary keyword >> Store name

Following this structure is a great way to ensure search engines find your product pages.

As mentioned earlier, ensuring a natural and logical fit for keywords within the text is important. It’s definitely worth taking the time to ensure keywords make sense within the text.

#5: Harness the power of links

Linking other websites within your Shopify store’s content is a great way to boost its SEO ranking.

It may seem counterintuitive. After all, how can someone else’s site help yours? The reasoning is that links to other sites (also known as backlinks) help your SEO ranking by establishing credibility.

Additionally, search engines can recognize top-ranking backlinks in your Shopify store’s content, boosting your site’s ranking.

What types of backlinks should you use?

Here are some ideas:

Supplier or manufacturer links. Product descriptions and information on supplier or manufacturer websites can help boost your SEO ranking.

Industry leaders. Links to sources such as industry-relevant magazines or influencers can also help boost your store’s SEO ranking.

YouTube videos. Videos can be a highly effective way of kickstarting your store’s SEO ranking. Including links to popular videos, especially those with relevant keywords, can help boost your Shopify SEO ranking.

Please remember to keep an eye out for broken links. Avoid these at all costs, as they negatively impact your SEO ranking.

#6: Focus on content marketing

Content marketing is a highly effective way of getting relevant content out there for SEO purposes. A blog is a simple yet effective way of boosting your Shopify SEO ranking. A blog is a great way to get product information out there while loading up on relevant keywords.

Additionally, using customer reviews on your e-commerce site can help boost Shopify SEO ranking. Customer reviews generate more traffic, especially when comments include relevant keywords.

Lastly, no Shopify SEO guide would be complete without suggesting a comprehensive FAQ page. FAQs allow you to load your e-commerce site with keywords and phrases. Plus, a solid FAQ page gives customers more information about your products and brands.

#7: Test your site

You can’t be sure about your Shopify store’s performance without monitoring. As such, using an SEO checker is a great way to monitor your Shopify store’s performance. Free tools like SEObility allow you to perform a free basic SEO audit. This audit helps you spot areas for immediate attention.

For more in-depth and comprehensive analyses, paid tools such as SEMrush and Ahrefs are worth checking out. The main thing is to conduct regular checks and audits to ensure your SEO strategy is humming along. Otherwise, you can always tweak it to ensure you’re on top of your game.

That’s it! Improving your Shopify SEO ranking does not have to be a complex endeavor. With the SEO tips for Shopify in this Shopify SEO guide, you have everything you need to get the ball rolling.

Get started with an SEO audit. From there, you can determine priority areas for your SEO strategy. Best of all, you can get started for free. There is no need to break the bank. You can make the most of your Shopify store’s SEO strategy easily and effectively.

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Shopify SEO Guide: Step-by-Step Instructions for Shopify SEO [2023]

Table of Contents

What is Shopify SEO?

Does Shopify Have Good SEO?

#1: Shopify SEO ranking begins with your site structure

#2: Boosting SEO for Shopify includes using the right keywords

Grow your sales with high-performing deals.

#3: Improve SEO on Shopify by improving user experience

What are the Best Free Tools for SEO on Shopify?

#1: StoreYa: Image Optimizer & SEO

#2: SEO Optimize - Image Alt Text

#3: GroPulse Rich Snippets for SEO

How to Improve SEO on Shopify: 7 tips

#1: SEO optimization Shopify structure

#2: Improve user experience

#3: Target the right keywords

#4: Optimize content and images on product pages

#5: Harness the power of links

#6: Focus on content marketing

#7: Test your site

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