Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the world, powering over a million online stores. While Shopify is known for its ease of use and powerful features, optimizing a Shopify store for search engines requires some specific tactics and considerations.
In this article, we’ll explore how Shopify handles SEO, and provide tips and best practices for improving your Shopify store’s organic search performance.
Does Shopify Automatically Do SEO?
Shopify does provide some automatic SEO features and optimizations out of the box. These include:
- Unique page titles: Shopify automatically generates unique title tags for your pages based on your store name and page name.
- Auto-generated canonical tags: Shopify adds canonical URL tags to pages to prevent duplicate content issues.
- Automatically generated sitemap.xml: Shopify automatically generates a sitemap file, which helps search engines discover and index your store pages.
- SSL certificates: All Shopify stores include SSL certificates for secure browsing, which is a positive ranking signal for Google.
However, while these automatic features provide a solid SEO foundation, there’s still plenty you need to do to fully optimize your Shopify store for search engines. You’ll need to take care of things like keyword research, meta descriptions, image alt text, and product descriptions manually.
Is SEO Free on Shopify?
Yes, Shopify’s core SEO features are included with all Shopify plans, even the basic Shopify Lite plan. You don’t need to pay extra for things like editing title tags, meta descriptions, or product tags.
However, Shopify does offer some advanced SEO and marketing features as paid add-ons or apps. For example:
- Plug in SEO: This is a popular Shopify app that provides advanced SEO features like bulk meta tag editing, JSON-LD structured data, and SEO scanning and analysis.
- Smart SEO: This app automatically optimizes your Shopify store for search engines, including generating meta tags, sitemaps, and Google Rich Snippets.
- SEO Manager: This is another comprehensive SEO app that handles things like keyword research, broken link checking, sitemap generation, and more.
While these paid apps can save time and provide additional optimization features, they’re not strictly necessary for SEO success on Shopify. You can achieve strong organic rankings by manually optimizing your on-page elements and following SEO best practices.
Do Shopify Tags Help SEO?
In Shopify, “tags” refer to keywords that you can add to your products to help organize and categorize them within your store. For example, you might tag a t-shirt product with keywords like “men’s”, “cotton”, and “graphic tee”.
From an SEO perspective, Shopify tags are not directly used by search engines for ranking. Google and other search engines don’t “see” your Shopify tags or use them to understand your page content.
However, Shopify tags can indirectly benefit your SEO in a few ways:
- Better site organization: By using tags to categorize your products, you make it easier for users to navigate your site and find what they’re looking for. This improved user experience can lead to higher engagement and lower bounce rates, which are positive signals for SEO.
- Keyword inspiration: Your Shopify tags can serve as inspiration for the keywords and phrases you optimize your actual on-page SEO elements for, like your product titles, descriptions, and meta tags.
- Easier internal linking: By tagging related products, you can quickly find and link between them in your product descriptions or blog posts. Strategic internal linking with keyword-rich anchor text can boost your SEO.
So while Shopify tags aren’t a direct SEO factor, they can contribute to your overall SEO strategy by helping you organize your site, target relevant keywords, and improve your user experience.
Where Do I Put Keywords for SEO on Shopify?
When optimizing your Shopify store for specific keywords, there are a few key places you should focus on:
- Page titles: Your page title is the most important on-page SEO element. Be sure to include your primary keyword for each page in its title tag, ideally towards the beginning.
- Meta descriptions: While meta descriptions don’t directly impact rankings, they do show up in search results and can influence click-through rates. Write compelling meta descriptions that incorporate your keywords naturally.
- Product names: Your product names are often used as your page titles and H1 headings, so make sure to include relevant keywords.
- Product descriptions: Your product descriptions provide a great opportunity to incorporate keywords naturally while providing valuable information for potential customers. Aim for unique, keyword-rich descriptions of at least 200-300 words.
- Image alt text: Search engines can’t “see” your images, so they rely on your alt text to understand what the image contains. Be sure to include descriptive alt text with relevant keywords for each of your product images.
- URL handles: Shopify allows you to customize your URL handles for products, collections, and pages. Use short, descriptive URLs that include your primary keywords.
- Blog content: If your Shopify store includes a blog, use it to create keyword-rich content that provides value for your audience and attracts inbound links. Optimize your blog post titles, headings, and content for relevant keywords.
Remember, the key is to use your keywords strategically and naturally throughout your site. Don’t engage in keyword stuffing, or repeating keywords unnaturally just for the sake of SEO. Focus on providing genuine value and a positive user experience, and the SEO will follow.
What is the Best SEO App for Shopify?
There are a number of popular SEO apps available for Shopify stores. Some top options include:
- Plug in SEO: This is one of the most comprehensive SEO apps, with features like automatic SEO fixes, advanced meta tag editing, structured data, and more.
- SEO Manager: This app provides a suite of SEO tools, including keyword research, sitemap generation, broken link checking, and regular SEO scans.
- Smart SEO: This app automatically optimizes your store for search engines, including generating meta tags, rich snippets, and XML sitemaps.
- SEO Booster: This app focuses on automating technical SEO tasks like sitemap generation, broken link fixing, Google Search Console integration, and more.
- SEO Image Optimizer: As the name suggests, this app helps optimize your Shopify store’s images for search, including automatic alt text generation and image compression.
Ultimately, the best Shopify SEO app will depend on your specific needs and budget. If you’re just looking for basic optimization assistance, a free or low-cost app like Plug in SEO or Smart SEO could suffice. For more advanced features and regular site audits, a paid app like SEO Manager or SEO Booster may be worth the investment.
Regardless of which app you choose, remember that no app can replace the fundamentals of solid SEO: keyword research, quality content creation, strategic link building, and continuous performance monitoring. SEO apps can help automate and streamline parts of the process, but the core strategy still requires manual effort and expertise.
In conclusion, while Shopify provides a robust platform for e-commerce, optimizing your Shopify store for organic search requires a strategic approach. By understanding how Shopify’s built-in SEO features work, doing your own keyword research and on-page optimization, and potentially leveraging SEO apps for additional support, you can improve your store’s visibility and organic traffic over time.
Remember, SEO is a long-term game, and success doesn’t happen overnight. Focus on consistently providing value for your target audience, optimizing your site using proven tactics and best practices, and monitoring your performance to identify areas for improvement. With patience and persistence, you can achieve SEO success and drive more organic sales for your Shopify store.