Shopify SEO: Quick Tips to Boost Your Store’s Rankings

Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that powers over 4.89 million websites worldwide. This popularity can be credited to its user-friendly interface, comprehensive ecosystem (host, build, market and analyse), scalable nature, mobile responsiveness and a lot more. While this huge number reflects Shopify’s popularity, it is also symbolic of the tough competition that exists out there. 

There are millions of online stores out there, all utilising the multiple functionalities of Shopify and even selling the same products as you. So, how do you ensure your store is the one that appears on top of the search results whenever a search relevant to your business is made? In other words, how do you boost the ranking of your Shopify store? That’s where SEO comes into play. SEO is the one strategy that can ensure your business conquers the online market and becomes a household name. In this blog, we will be sharing a few quick tips to boost your store’s rankings, but before that, let’s understand why you should invest in Shopify SEO.  

Why Invest in Shopify SEO? 

In this highly competitive world, building your online store on Shopify is not enough; you have to optimise it and ensure it reaches your target audience. How do you do that? By implementing a fail-proof and effective SEO strategy. With paid ads, you can appear in the top results of SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), but if you are looking for long-term benefits, you must strategically invest in SEO. 

The right search engine optimisation strategy can help you increase organic traffic, attract ready-to-buy customers, establish brand credibility and maximise your visibility across search engines. To help you progress in the right direction in your Shopify SEO journey, here are a few quick, proven, and expert-recommended tips to boost your store’s rankings.

Let’s get started. 

SEO Checklist to Boost Your Shopify Store’s Ranking 

Site Structure Optimisation

When it comes to online stores, the simpler, the better. If a potential customer is looking for a specific product, they must be able to find it immediately. The longer it takes, the more chances there are of them switching to your competitors, thus increasing your bounce rate and bringing down your conversion rate. 

• Make sure to design a website that is easy to navigate and uses a simple, intuitive and hierarchical structure. 
• To enhance the navigation, make sure to limit the menu levels, place popular categories at the top and add search functionality. 
• Next comes the URL structure. Search engines prefer short but keyword-rich URLs. So, skip random codes and numbers and instead use words that provide clarity regarding the page’s content. 

Perform Keyword Research

You can never separate SEO and keywords. Incorporating keywords into your content is one of the most effective and easiest ways to improve the search engine-friendliness and ranking of your online store. To find keywords relevant to your business, you can always use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush. Make sure to prioritise long tail keywords (use “running shoes for women” instead of “shoes”) as they have lower search volume but higher intent. Also, place your keywords strategically in your headings, alt text, and meta descriptions so that they stand out. 

But when it comes to keywords, don’t go overboard. Keyword stuffing can have an opposite effect. The recommended keyword density for Shopify pages is 1% to 2%, which means that in a 500-word product description, you can use the keyword 5-10 times. 

Optimise Product Pages 

Your product pages are what convince your potential customers to make a purchase. If your product pages appear sloppy and lack information, it can negatively affect their purchasing decision. 

• A good product page should always give the customer complete insight into the product they are planning to buy. Also, when writing your product descriptions, make sure you use simple language that anyone can understand and avoid duplicate content from manufacturers. 
• Always use high-quality images. Why would anyone want to buy a product that doesn’t even look good? So, optimise your images by compressing them and also use alt text. 
• Another key component of any product page is reviews. A product that past customers have positively reviewed will make for a trustworthy purchase. So, gather as many reviews as you can and add them to your product pages.

Search engines will always prioritise pages that stand tall on all these fronts. 

Improve Site Speed

Do you know that user satisfaction is a key factor that determines the ranking of your ecommerce store? One factor that significantly impacts user experience is page loading speed. As per recent stats, pages taking more than 3 seconds can lose up to 40% of visitors. So, if you wish to boost your user engagement and ranking, you will have to improve your page speed. 

The most effective way to reduce loading time is to cut down on your page weight. The heavier the website, the more time it takes to load. What you can do is optimise your images (compress them before uploading), use a lightweight, speed-optimised Shopify theme and enable browser caching to improve load times for returning visitors.

Mobile Optimisation 

Today, mobile devices account for approximately 60.4% of global web traffic. That means there is a significant chance that your potential customers will access your Shopify store through their mobile phones. Also, owing to this number, search engines prioritise websites that are mobile-friendly. That’s why optimising your store for mobile devices is key. To enhance the mobile-friendliness of your Shopify store – 

• Choose a responsive web design that smoothly adapts to different screen sizes. 
• Simplify mobile navigation – use larger buttons, clear menus and minimal text. 
• Use a testing tool to troubleshoot issues and fix them. 

Content Marketing

Content marketing is indeed an effective way to boost the ranking of your store. But we are not talking about paid ads but organic marketing strategies like starting a blog, adding internal links, and answering FAQs. 

• Blogs will help your site rank for specific keywords and increase overall user engagement. 
• Target long-tail keywords through FAQs and build user trust by delivering accurate and expert answers. 
• Internal linking encourages users to explore other parts of your store. It improves navigation and also promotes engagement. 

Build Backlinks

Backlinks from trusted sources can help build your domain and brand authority. A store that excels in this area is more likely to rank higher on search engines. Make sure to earn as many backlinks as possible and add them to your online store. But only add backlinks from reliable players in your industry. Otherwise, they will be redundant and bring down the credibility of your business. Also, use tools like Ahrefs to identify broken links pointing to your site and request fixes. 

Use Schema Markup 

Schema markup is a code that is added to your website to help search engines better understand your content. If you use scheme markup, the chances of your content featuring rich snippets in search results will be greater. Some common schema types for Shopify stores include – 

• Product schema: Shows price, availability, and ratings in search results. 
• Review Schema: Highlights ratings and reviews. 
• FAQ Schema: Displays frequently asked questions and answers directly on search result pages.

Certain Shopify apps can help you with schema markup, such as JSON-LD for SEO and SEO Manager. 

Optimise for Local SEO

Optimising your store for local SEO is one of the key tactics for improving the ranking of your Shopify store. 

• You can begin by adding your business to Google My Business Listing. Include all important details like your store’s name, address, phone number, and hours if you have a physical location. 
• Use local keywords to increase your visibility in local search results. For instance, if you are a shoe store based in Melbourne, incorporate keywords like “best shoe store in Melbourne”. 
• Beyond your home and product/service pages, create location-specific pages that target keywords related to a specific location. 

Fix Duplicate Content

Duplicate content can confuse search engines about which page to prioritise, and it can negatively impact your rankings. Here are some ways to fix duplicate content in Shopify – 

• You use canonical tags (HTML element that tells search engines which URL is the preferred version) to prioritise your pages and avoid any associated penalisations. 
• Write unique content and prevent copy-pasting content from manufacturer websites.

By fixing duplicate content, you will improve your SEO, deliver a better user experience and boost your ranking. 

Track and Improve Performance

If you wish to boost your store’s ranking and maintain the top spot in the long run, you will have to constantly track your performance and implement the necessary changes. 

• To monitor traffic, clicks and search queries, use diverse Google-powered tools like Google Analytics or Google Search Console. 
• You can also use the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console to ensure essential pages are indexed.
• Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to track your keyword rankings. 

Ready To Rank High on SERPs? Connect with Us Today! 

Ranking high on search engines is a surefire way to ensure the success of your online store. If you are ready to embark on this journey and secure a top spot across all search engines, it is time you connect with us at Make My Website. Our SEO experts are well-versed in all aspects of search engine optimisation and help you devise an effective SEO strategy tailored to your business. Connect with us, discuss your expectations and get started on the right foot.