Is Shopify Optimised for SEO?
Shopify provides a solid foundation for SEO, but it requires additional efforts to fully optimise a store for search engines. Here’s a breakdown of what Shopify offers and what typically needs to be done for complete SEO optimisation:
Shopify's Built-In SEO Features
- SEO-Friendly Themes:
- Many Shopify themes are designed with SEO best practices in mind, including responsive design, fast load times, and clean code structure.
- Automatic XML Sitemaps:
- Shopify automatically generates and updates your XML sitemap, which helps search engines understand the structure of your site.
- Customizable Title Tags and Meta Descriptions:
- You can easily edit title tags and meta descriptions for your products, collections, and pages to improve click-through rates from search results.
- Clean URL Structure:
- Shopify allows for customizable and clean URLs, which are important for both user experience and SEO.
- Mobile Optimisation:
- Shopify themes are generally mobile-responsive, which is crucial for SEO given the emphasis on mobile-first indexing by search engines.
- Built-In Blog:
- Shopify includes a blogging platform, which can be used to create valuable content and improve your site's SEO.
- 301 Redirects:
- Shopify makes it easy to set up 301 redirects, which are essential for maintaining SEO value when URLs change.
Areas Requiring Additional SEO Efforts
- Keyword Research and Content Optimisation:
- Identifying and incorporating relevant keywords into your product descriptions, blog posts, and other content.
- Technical SEO:
- Although Shopify handles many technical aspects, some may require further optimisation, such as improving site speed, managing duplicate content, and ensuring proper use of canonical tags.
- Link Building:
- Building high-quality backlinks to your store, which is a key factor in improving search engine rankings.
- Advanced Schema Markup:
- Implementing rich snippets and structured data to help search engines better understand your content.
- Local SEO:
- For businesses with a physical presence, optimizing for local search, including Google My Business setup and local citations.
Our primary focus during a new build or rebuild will be on enhancing the user experience and optimizing for conversions. This involves improving your site's design, usability, and overall functionality to ensure that visitors are more likely to complete a purchase.
While these improvements are crucial for turning visitors into customers, it's equally important to attract those visitors in the first place. This is where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) comes in. SEO involves a range of techniques aimed at improving your site's visibility on search engines like Google, which helps drive organic (non-paid) traffic to your store.
What Shopify Offers for SEO:
- SEO-Friendly Themes: Shopify provides themes designed with SEO best practices.
- Automatic XML Sitemaps: Ensures search engines can index your site easily.
- Customizable Metadata: You can edit title tags and meta descriptions.
- Clean URL Structure: Shopify supports SEO-friendly URLs.
- Mobile Optimisation: Shopify themes are mobile-responsive.
- Built-In Blogging Platform: Allows for content creation to boost SEO.
- 301 Redirects: Easy setup for maintaining SEO value when URLs change.
Why You Need Additional SEO Efforts:
- Keyword Research: Identifying the right keywords for your business.
- Technical SEO: Further optimisation of site speed, duplicate content management, and proper use of canonical tags.
- Link Building: Acquiring high-quality backlinks to improve rankings.
- Advanced Schema Markup: Implementing rich snippets and structured data.
- Local SEO: Optimizing for local search if you have a physical presence.
Our Approach:
- We focus on conversion rate optimisation to ensure your site is set up to convert visitors into customers.
- To fully leverage the benefits of these changes, implementing a comprehensive SEO strategy is essential.
- SEO will help increase your site’s visibility, attract more visitors, and complement the work we've done on conversion optimisation.
Next Steps:
- We recommend partnering with an SEO specialist or agency to develop and implement an SEO strategy tailored to your business.
- This will ensure that your site not only converts visitors effectively but also attracts a steady stream of organic traffic.
Recommended Blogs to read more:
- WHY IMAGE OPTIMISATION IS CRUCIAL
- NEXT STEPS FOR MAXIMISED RETURN AFTER YOU LAUNCH YOUR NEW BUILD OR REBUILD
- IMPORTANCE OF PAID ADS AFTER A NEW BUILD OR REBUILD