Building a great Shopify store is only part of the job. People need to find it.
That's where Shopify SEO comes in. Search engine optimisation for ecommerce differs from SEO for a relatively simple service website because Shopify stores can contain hundreds or thousands of interconnected product, collection and content pages.
We've worked on both Shopify web design and SEO, and that crossover is important because many of the most significant SEO decisions are made while the website is being built.
Start With Website Architecture
Before thinking about title tags and keywords, think about structure.
Suppose an online shop sells hundreds of pieces of jewellery. A poor structure could put all products into one general collection:
Jewellery
A stronger architecture might use:
Jewellery
→ Rings
→ Engagement Rings
→ Victorian Engagement Rings
This creates logical paths for customers and search engines. Collection pages can then target different search intentions and narrow down the product types.
Shopify Collection Pages Are SEO Assets
Product pages often disappear as products sell out. Collections are more permanent. That makes them particularly valuable SEO landing pages.
A strong Shopify collection can include:
- Descriptive H1
- Short useful introduction
- Relevant products
- Filters
- Supporting copy
- FAQs
- Internal links
- Useful metadata
But don't turn collection pages into essays. People arriving at a commercial collection usually want to see products. SEO content should support the shopping experience rather than obstruct it, so always add sections for FAQs and additional SEO text copy below the product grid.
Product Page SEO
Product pages need unique, useful information. Avoid copying manufacturers' descriptions where possible. Include details customers genuinely search for or need when making decisions.
Depending on the product, these might include:
- Materials
- Dimensions
- Size
- Colour
- Compatibility
- Ingredients
- Era
- Condition
- Specifications
- Delivery
Good product content benefits customers and gives search engines additional context.
Internal Linking
Internal links are hugely useful on ecommerce websites. A blog about Victorian engagement rings could naturally link to the Victorian engagement rings collection.
The collection might link to guides covering ring sizing or antique jewellery eras. Products sit inside relevant collections.
This creates a network of related information rather than isolated pages.
Shopify Blog Content
Blogging can help Shopify stores capture searches that aren't immediately transactional.
For example:
Commercial: antique engagement rings
Informational: how to choose an antique engagement ring
The informational article can introduce the customer to the subject and naturally direct them towards the commercial collection.
Technical Shopify SEO
Technical SEO can include:
- Crawlability
- Canonical URLs
- Redirects
- Broken links
- Structured data
- Page speed
- Sitemap
- Robots directives
- Internal linking
- Duplicate content
- Mobile usability
Not every warning produced by an SEO auditing tool is a disaster. Context matters.
We've seen lengthy automated SEO reports recommending substantial development work for issues that would have practically no commercial benefit.
A good SEO strategy prioritises changes by impact.
Structured Data
Structured data helps machines understand website information.
For ecommerce stores this can include information around:
- Products
- Prices
- Availability
- Reviews
- Business information
- Breadcrumbs
Many Shopify themes already produce some structured data, so adding more schema without checking the existing implementation can create duplication.
Always audit your existing theme first.
Page Speed and SEO
Performance matters, but don't become obsessed with achieving a perfect synthetic test score. Customers care about whether the site actually feels fast.
Start with large opportunities such as:
- Image sizes
- Unnecessary apps
- Excessive scripts
- Poorly implemented code
- Heavy video
- Third-party widgets
Shopify SEO Is an Ongoing Process
SEO doesn't finish when you've filled in every meta description.
Monitor:
- Rankings
- Organic traffic
- Search queries
- Landing pages
- Conversions
- Indexing
- Competitors
Then use that information to identify opportunities.
SEO Should Generate Business, Not Just Rankings
Ranking first for a keyword nobody uses isn't particularly impressive. Neither is generating huge traffic from people who will never purchase.
The objective is qualified visibility. We'd rather attract 1,000 visitors who genuinely want what a business sells than 50,000 irrelevant visitors.
That's the difference between SEO as a reporting exercise and SEO as a commercial strategy.
Shopify SEO Support
At Fat Buddha Web Design, we work across Shopify web design, development and SEO.
That means SEO isn't bolted onto the website afterwards. It's considered alongside the architecture, collections, navigation and customer experience.
Read our Complete Shopify Web Design Guide for more helpful conversion tips and advice.
