Here is your complete Shopify SEO guide that will help you optimize your store so that it ranks higher on search engines. Whether you are a seasoned Shopify store owner or a new one, this guide will have something for everyone. But before diving into Shopify SEO services, let us understand what e-commerce SEO is.

WHAT IS E-COMMERCE SEO?

E-commerce SEO is big. Do not take our word for it – see the stats. According to research, e-commerce sales went up by a whopping 125 percent in the first quarter of 2022 when compared with the first quarter of 2020. The same study even revealed that 55 percent of surveyed buyers said they would stick to their online shopping habits developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. That means online store SEO is huge and should not take a back seat.

Now that you have a clear idea of what e-commerce SEO is, so let us get down to understanding Shopify SEO.

WHAT IS SHOPIFY SEO?

The Shopify platform is growing at a steady pace. According to the usage statistics of the e-commerce platform at press time, there are 4,488,420 customers with live Shopify stores. Owing to the e-commerce platform’s growing market share, it is important to invest in SEO for Shopify stores. In simple words, Shopify SEO includes optimizations that are unique for the stores built on this e-commerce platform. But are Shopify stores SEO-ready? Let us find that.

DOES SHOPIFY GIVE GOOD SEO TO ITS STORES?

No doubt, Shopify brings many SEO-friendly features out of the box. But there are additional tweaks to get your store to rank higher on search engine result pages. Shopify stores give you the ability to create blogs or redirect. But Shopify stores may even create some SEO issues, including duplicate product pages that lead to duplicate content.

WHAT ARE SHOPIFY SEO BEST PRACTICES?

Step#1: Remove All The Duplicate URLs

Duplicate content is a key SEO issue that Shopify creates. Duplicate content occurs on Shopify stores in different ways – duplicate collection pages and duplicate product pages. For the uninitiated, duplicate content happens when similar or duplicate content is present on two different URLs. The thing with Shopify stores is that they allow their /products/ pages to be available on two different URL paths:

a)      Canonical URL: /products/<PRODUCT_NAME>

b)      Non-canonical URL: /collections/<COLLECTION_NAME>/products/<PRODUCT_NAME>

What is the solution? Adjust the internal linking structure. You can do that by adjusting the code present within the product.grid-item.liquid file.

Step#2: Put An End To Duplicate Paginated URLs

Shopify stores create reams of duplicate content via their pagination systems. Put simply, a duplicate copy is often created on the very first collections web page in any series. That is because whenever you are on a paginated URL within a series, the link to that very page will contain this code – “?page=1”. And the same code will be on the non-parameterized URL. The solution will be to have a developer again modify the linking structure so that the very first paginated result points toward the defined canonical page.

 Step#3: Focusing On Structured Data Should Be A Priority

Shopify has done a phenomenal job with structured data. But we are still sharing some key points to remember whenever you are focusing on the structured data for your digital store.

 a) Product Structured Data

The best part about Shopify is that most of its themes have built-in “Product” markups. These markups help in conveying key details – product name, price, description, etc. – to Google. This structured data format is a high priority for almost every e-commerce site. And Shopify has the advantage that most of its themes have “Product” markups. Every leading Shopify SEO agency believes that expanding Product structured data to the collection pages can bring massive benefits. How can you add Product structured data to the collection pages in your Shopify store? You simply have to integrate the Product structured data into every dedicated product link present in the products listing web page.

 b) Article Structured Data

Using the blog functionality in Shopify is a big yes. And if you are using this functionality, consider using the “Article” structured data. Why? Because this schema helps Google know that your blog content has an editorial theme. If you share informational content in your Shopify blog, you should add the “Article” schema. Likewise, you may even consider adding the “BlogPosting” schema – this is another structured data that can replace the “Article” schema in some instances.

c)BreadcrumbList Structured Data

Most owners should consider adding the BreadcrumbList structured data to their stores’ breadcrumb internal links. Breadcrumbs are integral to any e-commerce website because they offer the users an easy-to-use way of understanding where they are in a site’s hierarchy. Moreover, these breadcrumbs make it easy for Google to identify the store’s structure. As a trusted Shopify SEO company, we suggest putting site breadcrumbs into a Shopify digital store and then marking them using the BreadcrumbList structured data. That way, Google easily interprets a store’s internal links.

Step#4: Understand How To Take Care Of Product Variant Pages

Shopify stores create different URLs for the same products with slight variations. When that happens, duplicate content begins to occur because the core product remains the same with only slight variations in its attributes – colors, for example. But this does not have to be an SEO issue. In fact, some Shopify SEO experts believe that most e-commerce stores can benefit from a product’s variant pages. As a        Shopify store owner, you will need to ask some questions to understand whether these variant pages are good or bad for your business. These questions include:

a) Does your target audience search for a product using its variant phrases?

b) Does your business have the resources to build unique content for every variant page?

c) Can the unique content for variant pages deliver value?

However, if these variant pages are left as they are, they will start creating cases of duplicate content. Here is the bottom line – if your digital store on Shopify has product variants, then you should know whether they should have their separate URLs or exist on one page only. And if you decide on giving every variant its dedicated URL, create unique content and optimize it for the targeted keywords that best represent that variant.

Step#5: Get Useful Shopify Apps Only

Like WordPress offers plug-ins, Shopify offers apps to augment your store’s functionality. While you should hire Shopify SEO experts, you can still use some Shopify apps to improve your store’s SEO. Here are some of the best apps that help in improving Shopify SEO outcomes.

a) Crush.pics

b) Yoast SEO

c) Schema App Total Schema Markup

d) Rewind Backups

e) Yotpo Reviews

GETTING A TRUSTED SHOPIFY SEO PARTNER

Having to do so much optimization work on your Shopify store is a challenge – especially if you are managing your digital commerce business single-handedly. Our SEO experts have deep capabilities in helping businesses build scalable online stores on Shopify. In fact, recently, we helped an Australian online store built on Shopify improve its lead quality and strengthen visibility on search engines. Connect with our Shopify SEO specialists right away and discover how we can help you maximize the returns from your e-commerce business.