Key Practices for Leveraging Ecommerce SEO in Shopify

Ecommerce SEO differs somewhat from standard search engine SEO. Add to that specific ecommerce platforms, SEO can present some unique challenges and opportunities. Take Shopify. Implementing ecommerce SEO within this particular platform can be very different in practice.
Webtek Digital Marketing, a Salt Lake City SEO agency that offers ecommerce SEO services, explains that the Shopify platform makes SEO easier on retailers whose knowledge is limited by way of built in tools and apps. But hiring an agency to manage SEO is probably the smarter move for most established retailers.
If you would like to give ecommerce SEO a try in Shopify, here are some key practices recommended by Webtek:
1. Use Built-In Features
Shopify offers a number of key SEO features built right into their platform. Take advantage of them. They include:
- The ability to edit everything from title tags to meta descriptions and product URLs.
- Automatic sitemap and robots.txt file generation.
- Support for canonical tags.
- Themes with built-in support for social media and sharing.
It can take some time to learn and master Shopify’s built in SEO features. But just leveraging these four things alone can make an enormous difference. They represent the starting point for maximizing ecommerce SEO for Shopify.
2. Leverage the App Ecosystem
One of the things that sets Shopify apart is its vast app ecosystem. The platform offers a seemingly endless supply of third-party apps designed to enhance the Shopify experience. Many of those apps are designed specifically to help shop owners improve their SEO efforts.
There are apps that can help you implement structured data. There are others that optimize images for speed. Shopify even has apps for implementing SEO in multiple languages. All the apps bring at least some level of automation with them, streamlining a shop owner’s SEO efforts.
3. Blogging Opportunities
Some ecommerce platforms limit users to homepages, product pages, and shopping cart apps. Shopify goes one step further. How? By allowing shop owners to implement blogs right within their online stores. Why does this matter? Because regular blogging is one of the easiest ways to boost a retailer’s SEO efforts.
Never forget that search engines rely on content to point users to the best websites. Because search engine algorithms cannot see or hear in the same sense that human beings can, they rely on text to understand a website or page. And what do blogs offer? Text – and lots of it.
Ecommerce operators make a mistake when they ignore blogging opportunities. Do not make that mistake yourself. Shopify lets you put a blog in your store. Take advantage of the opportunity. Then publish one or two new posts every week, posts crafted around targeted keywords. You will see the results over time.
A Final Note About Limitations
The three key practices offer a starting point for in-house Shopify ecommerce SEO. But it is important to note that Shopify SEO does have its technical limitations. For instance, while you can do things like publishing blog posts and manipulating title tags, there is nothing you can do to control Shopify’s servers.
Shopify provides a solid platform with a collection of built-in SEO tools. But your own limited knowledge might prevent you from optimizing them. If that is the case, you might consider bringing on an SEO agency with proven ecommerce experience. At the end of the day, ecommerce SEO should drive more traffic to your Shopify store. Combined with effective digital marketing, it should also lead to greater conversion. Ignoring ecommerce SEO will have just the opposite effect. Why take that risk if you do not have to?