How To Improve SEO On Shopify in 11 Ways

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is important for any online business.

It helps to increase visibility and drive more organic traffic to your website. Online shops always require a specific set of optimisation strategies to stand out among the competition.

In this article, I will guide you through practical steps you can take to improve your Shopify store’s SEO. This improvement will ultimately boost your sales.

Key Takeaways

• Understanding SEO is vital for your Shopify store’s visibility on Google
• Selecting relevant keywords and optimising your site are crucial steps
• Regular audits and content refinement contribute to ongoing success

How Does SEO Work?

Search engines use crawlers to explore and index website content. Based on this information, search engines evaluate and rank sites using complex algorithms.

These rankings determine the order in which websites appear on SERPs for specific search queries.

Here’s a quick table on the core components of SEO:

Component	Explanation	Example
Keywords/intent	Terms that users search to find content or products similar to yours	“men’s shoes”, “winter coat”
Content	High-quality, informative, and relevant text and media on your site	Detailed product descriptions
Site Structure	Organising your store in a user-friendly and logical manner	Categories and subcategories
Meta Tags	Code snippets providing information about your site’s content	Meta title: “Best Men’s Shoes”
Technical SEO	How Google crawls your website for search.	Does Google have to jump through redirect chains?

11 Practical Steps to Optimise Your Shopify Store

#1 Choosing the Right Keywords

 

Keyword Research

Keyword research is one of the first major steps I take when optimising content for my client. I usually create a list of primary keywords related to the client’s products or services. Then, I expand the list by identifying relevant terms using various keyword research tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner or Ahrefs.

Create a table to organise your findings effectively:

Keyword	Search Volume	Competition	CPC
Primary Keyword	1000	High	£2
Related Keyword	500	Medium	£1

Have a clear grasp of your customers’ search patterns. Then, take the time to identify and prioritise relevant keywords with high search volume and low competition. This will help boost your site’s visibility and attract quality traffic.

Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are more specific search phrases, usually made up of three or more words. Although they have a lower search volume than generic keywords, they often hold stronger user intent, resulting in higher conversion rates.

To effectively target long-tail keywords, consider the following aspects:

1. Descriptive phrases: Including highly descriptive, detailed phrases in your content can help attract niche audiences looking for specific products.
2. User Intent: Tailor your content to address and fulfil the needs of users who search for long-tail keywords.
3. Optimisation: Include long-tail keywords not only in headers and product descriptions but also throughout the site metadata.

#2 Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are crucial for SEO, as they provide a brief summary of your page content in search engine results. This will encourage users to click on your links.

For each page of your Shopify store, follow these guidelines:

• Keep your meta descriptions between 150-160 characters.
• Accurately summarise the content of the page.
• Use important keywords without keyword stuffing.
• Write unique descriptions for each page.

Example of an effective meta description: “Discover our hand-picked selection of high-quality men’s leather shoes. Find your perfect pair from a range of colours, sizes, and styles.“

#3 Optimising Images

Images can significantly impact your store’s SEO, so don’t overlook their importance. Optimise your images with these tips:

• Use descriptive file names – Include relevant keywords in your file name, and separate keywords with hyphens (e.g., mens-black-leather-shoes.jpg).
• Apply alt tags – Alt tags describe the contents of your image. This improves accessibility for visually impaired users and helps search engines understand your content.
• Compress images – Large image files slow down page loading speeds, negatively affecting user experience and SEO. Use free online tools like TinyPNG to compress your images without sacrificing quality.
• Choose the correct file formats – Use JPEG for photographs and PNG for images with transparent backgrounds or sharp lines (e.g., logos).

#4 Optimise your Site Speed

A fast-loading website offers a better user experience, which ultimately results in higher search engine rankings.

Here are some effective methods for increasing site speed on your Shopify store.

Minimising the use of apps and plugins

Each app or plugin you install adds extra code that might increase loading time. Evaluate your current plugins, remove the ones you do not need, and seek lightweight alternatives for essential functionalities.

Optimising your theme

Another way to improve site speed is by optimising your theme:

• Keep your theme updated: Ensure you are using the latest version of your theme, as updates often include performance improvements.
• Use a fast and lightweight theme: Some themes are designed with speed in mind. Research and select a theme that prioritises performance.

Browser caching

Browser caching stores static resources, such as images or style sheets. This means the user’s device doesn’t need to reload these resources with every visit.

Check your theme’s documentation for recommendations on how to enable browser caching. Alternatively, consider using a third-party app that offers this functionality.

Consistent analysis and monitoring

Try to analyse and monitor your site’s performance using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. These tools provide valuable data and suggestions on how to improve your site’s speed, performance, and overall user experience.

#5 Create SEO-Friendly URLs

To improve your Shopify store’s SEO, start by creating SEO-friendly URLs. Include relevant keywords in your URLs to help search engines understand your store’s content. Simplify your URL structure by avoiding unnecessary characters and numbers.

Here’s a comparison of a good URL vs a bad URL:

• Good URL: https://yourstore.com/mens-leather-shoes
• Bad URL: https://yourstore.com/prod12345XI-mensshoes

#6 Mobile Optimisation

A large portion of online shoppers use their smartphones for browsing and purchasing. Having a mobile-friendly website helps improve user experience and positively affects your SEO. I usually these steps to optimise a website mobile:

Responsive Design

Make sure your Shopify theme is designed responsively. This means your site will automatically adapt to different screen sizes and orientations, providing a seamless user experience. Many Shopify themes come with built-in responsive design. Using themes like this will save you time and effort.

Page Load Speed

An essential aspect of mobile optimisation is ensuring quick page load times. Here are a few ways to enhance your site speed:

• Compress images without losing quality.
• Keep CSS and JS files minimal and optimised.
• Use caching to improve speed for returning visitors.

Simple Navigation

Mobile users navigate differently than desktop users, so streamline your menus and filters. Clear and concise navigation helps users find what they need quickly.

Desktop	Mobile
Multi-level menus	Collapsible or single-level menus
Large text	Large buttons

Typography and Readability

Mobile screens are smaller, so it’s important to use readable font sizes, line heights, and spacing on your website. Avoid using italic and complicated fonts on mobile displays. Instead, pick simple fonts, such as sans-serif.

Tappable Elements

Users on mobile devices tap instead of clicking. Ensure all elements like buttons, links, and input fields have adequate spacing and are easily tapable. For instance, text links can be replaced with tappable buttons.

#7 Using Shopify SEO Tools

Shopify SEO App

One effective way to improve your ranking is with Shopify SEO apps. These apps are designed to streamline the process of optimising your store’s content for search engines. Some popular options include Plug-in SEO, SEO Manager, and Smart SEO.

When choosing an SEO app, take into account the app’s reviews, pricing, and compatibility with your store theme. Remember, the more user-friendly and effective the app, the better results you’ll achieve.

Google Search Console

Another tool I often use for improving SEO on Shopify is Google Search Console. By integrating this free service, you can gain insights into how your store is performing in Google search results.

If you want to setup GSC, here is how to get started:

1. Create a Google Search Console account: If you don’t already have one, sign up at Google Search Console.
2. Verify your Shopify store: Add your store’s URL to your Search Console account and verify ownership using the available methods, such as adding an HTML file or a meta tag to your site.
3. Submit your sitemap: In your Shopify admin, you’ll find your sitemap URL listed under ‘Online Store’ > ‘Preferences’. Add this URL to Google Search Console to help Google index your store’s content.

Once your store is connected to Google Search Console, you can start analysing data to identify areas for improvement. I usually look for information such as:

• Site performance: This helps me to monitor a page’s click-through rates and average search rankings.
• Index coverage: With this, I can identify pages that Google isn’t indexing and fix any crawl errors.
• Mobile usability: This can be used to confirm if a store is mobile-friendly and make necessary adjustments.
• Keyword performance: I use this to find out which keywords are driving the most traffic to a store, and optimise accordingly.

#8 Leverage Social Media

I have found that social media can help drive traffic to a website.  It also offers the opportunity to engage with a target audience. By leveraging social media, you can gain valuable insights into your customer base and understand their preferences.

Create shareable content for your target audience on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This content may include product images, promotions, and industry information.

I always ensure that I use eye-catching visuals and clear, concise text to capture the attention of followers. Your content should be both engaging and informative, offering value to your audience.

To maximise your social media impact, follow these best practices:

• Post regularly: Maintain a consistent posting schedule.
• Engage: Respond to comments and messages from your audience.
• Monitor: Keep track of your analytics to understand how your content performs.

Don’t forget to optimise your profiles by including relevant keywords, up-to-date business information, and a URL to your Shopify store. This helps improve your visibility on search engines and makes it easier to find your business online.

#9 Quality Content Creation

Creating high-quality content is important for SEO to improve your ranking on search engines. It also establishes your credibility and attracts potential customers.

Once you have identified relevant keywords for your products and services, incorporate them naturally and strategically throughout your content. This could include your product descriptions, blog posts, and metadata.

A caution, though – do not merely stuff your content with keywords.

Focus on developing clear and engaging content. Write product descriptions that inform and persuade while addressing the customers’ needs and expectations. By adopting this approach, you increase the likelihood of customers sharing your content or other websites linking to it.

Implementing good formatting practices in your content is also important.

Here are a few tips to take into consideration:

• Use headers and subheaders
• Incorporate bullet points or numbered lists
• Break up text with images or videos
• Use italics, bold, or underlines for emphasis

Also, ensure you update your content regularly.

Google typically favours fresh content when determining rankings. Consider creating a blog section for your Shopify store and posting consistently on topics relevant to your market or audience.

#10 Backlink Building

Backlinks can help you improve your page ranking quickly. Below are a few techniques to help you build better backlinks to your Shopify store.

Content creation

Publish engaging, high-quality content that other sites would find valuable. Focus on producing unique, well-researched articles, infographics, or videos that relay your expertise and align with your audience’s preferences. Remember, relevant and attractive content is likely to gain more backlinks.

Guest posting

Contribute guest articles to reputable websites in your industry. It is important to ensure that your content adds value and fulfils a need for their visitors. If done well, this can boost referral traffic and enhance your domain authority.

#11 Regular SEO Audit

Carry out a regular check on your site’s SEO health. This will help you identify areas that need improvement and implement necessary changes.

Here is a quick summary of my work process for SEO audit:

Component	Description	Recommended Tools
Technical SEO	Site structure, load speed, mobile-friendliness, indexing	Google Search Console, GTmetrix
On-Page SEO	Meta tags, keywords, header tags, image alt tags	Google Keyword Planner, Moz Keyword Explorer
Off-Page SEO	Backlink quality and quantity	SEMrush Backlink Analytics, Ahrefs’ Backlink Checker
User Experience	Navigation, readability, design	Crazy Egg, Hotjar
Competitor Analysis	Identifying areas of opportunity and competition assessment	Ahrefs, Moz

Over the years, I have helped several Shopify businesses to improve their SEO and, ultimately online sales.

If you need a customised Shopify SEO Service. I mean something that is built specifically for your niche, brand, and business goal. Reach out to me today, and let’s talk about growing your Shopify business. 

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