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Last Updated July 11, 2024
Shopify Plus SEO can increase organic traffic from search engines to your store. It costs $1,500 to $5,000 per month to improve your chances of attracting and retaining customers. Learn how to optimize your Shopify Plus store to boost traffic and sales.
Shopify Plus is an enterprise ecommerce platform. It’s a step up from the standard Shopify plans, offering a range of additional capabilities.
While Shopify Plus is a needed upgrade as your ecommerce business scales, it has limitations with search marketing.
So, if search engines are a primary traffic source for your online store, you should know how to implement Shopify Plus SEO effectively. This is critical to gain more visibility on search result pages and drive more qualified traffic to your store.
How?
Let’s start with the basics.
What is Shopify Plus SEO?
Shopify Plus SEO helps optimize your online store to make it more discoverable in organic search results. It improves your search ranking for target keywords.
This process involves adjusting different elements of your online store (like content and structure) to make it more friendly for search engines like Google and Bing.
Shopify Plus search engine optimization makes your store more visible to potential customers in search for products similar to yours.
What is the cost of Shopify Plus SEO?
The cost of SEO for a Shopify Plus store ranges between $1,500 and $5,000 per month. The rate depends on the size of your store and SEO needs.
For example, you’ll pay a lot more for an agency to create and optimize 2,000 product pages compared to a small shop with only a dozen products.
Then there’s the ongoing maintenance — if you need ongoing support, then you’ll pay a monthly fee.
5 common SEO issues with Shopify Plus stores (and how to fix them)
While Shopify Plus addresses many limitations of standard Shopify plans regarding SEO, it still presents challenges.
Here are common SEO issues faced by Shopify Plus stores and how to fix them:
- Duplicate content
- Limited URL structure customization
- Slow page load times
- Improper 404 error management
- Lack of flexible blogging capabilities
1. Duplicate content
Shopify Plus can inadvertently create duplicate content, particularly through its product pages, collections, and blog posts.
Imagine you have a product page for a “Blue Cotton T-shirt.” You list this T-shirt in two collections: “Summer Essentials” and “Eco-Friendly Cotton.”
Shopify Plus might create separate URLs for this T-shirt under each collection, like
- yourstore.com/collections/summer-essentials/blue-cotton-t-shirt
- yourstore.com/collections/eco-friendly-cotton/blue-cotton-t-shirt
Google’s approach to handling duplicate content involves clustering URLs with similar content and selecting the “best” URL to show in search results.
While this method consolidates link popularity and other properties to the chosen URL, the presence of duplicates can still dilute the overall SEO strength of your product pages.
Ensuring a single, authoritative page for each product avoids confusion and maximizes SEO potential by focusing all relevance and authority on that primary page.
How to fix it
Use canonical tags to address duplicate content. These HTML elements tell search engines which version of a page is the “master” or primary one, preventing SEO dilution.
You can add a canonical tag in the <head> section of your duplicate pages, pointing to the original page URL. It typically looks like this:
<link rel=”canonical” href=”http://yourstore.com/collections/summer-essentials/blue-cotton-t-shirt”/>
It tells search engines to prioritize this page over similar ones.
Additionally, you can structure your site carefully to prevent duplicate content from being created in the first place.
Here’s how:
- Assign each product to one main collection where it fits best
- Use tags and filters wisely to avoid making new pages that aren’t necessary
- Regularly check your site to find and either combine duplicates or point them to the original content
2. Limited URL structure customization
You can’t change the structure of your Shopify Plus store’s URLs as freely as you’d like. Every product page URL must include “/products/” and every collection page must include “/collections/,” which Shopify automatically adds.
This setup can make it tricky to create a website structure that’s super clear and easy for your customers and search engines to understand.
Let’s say you sell handmade candles and want to set up a URL like yourstore.com/handmade-candles to showcase your collection. In Shopify Plus, it automatically becomes yourstore.com/collections/handmade-candles, which is a bit longer and includes the mandatory “/collections/” part.
How to fix it
Even though Shopify Plus sets these URL rules, you can still make your site easy to navigate and SEO-friendly.
Here’s how:
Use breadcrumb navigation
Breadcrumbs are little text paths on your pages, showing where the page sits within the site hierarchy. For example: Home > Candles > Handmade Candles.
This helps customers see where they are on your site and lets them easily jump back to previous sections. It also helps Google and Bing better understand the structure of your site.
Keep your URLs clean and keyword-rich
Focus on the parts of the URL you can control, like the slugs after “/collections/” or “/products/.” Make these as short, clear, and descriptive as possible.
Using our example, you can’t remove “/collections/,” but you can make sure the rest of the URL is optimized, like “/collections/handmade-candles” instead of “/collections/product-type-candles-001.”
Organize your site logically
Plan your site’s navigation thoughtfully. Group similar products together in collections that make sense and create menus that guide visitors through your site smoothly.
This will improve UX and boost your SEO by showing search engines that your site is well-organized.
3. Slow page load times
Page speed is an important factor for both ecommerce SEO and user experience.
Shopify Plus stores often have high-resolution images and numerous scripts for functionality, which slow their loading time.
This frustrates users and can negatively impact your rankings in search engine results.
How to fix it
Start by evaluating your site’s current load time with Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
Then, take the following steps:
Compress your images
Large, high-quality images look great but can slow your site down. Before you upload photos of your products, use a tool like Adobe Photoshop to make the file size smaller. This reduces load time without losing image quality.
Implement lazy loading
Lazy loading means pictures and videos on your site only load as someone scrolls to them — not all at once when the page open. This can make your initial page load much quicker, keeping your visitors engaged from the moment they arrive.
Choose a responsive design
A responsive theme adjusts your ecommerce store’s layout to fit the screen it’s being viewed on. This speeds up loading time on mobile devices and improves how your store looks and functions across all devices.
Clean up your apps and scripts
Look at the apps and custom scripts you’re using. Get rid of any you don’t need. This will declutter your site’s backend and boost its speed.
Plus, there are other technical SEO tactics that can help boost your site’s loading speed. Consult our experts.
4. Improper 404 error management
404 errors happen when your Shopify Plus store has links to pages that don’t exist anymore.
Such errors can negatively impact your store’s ranking in search results.
How to fix it
Regularly check for broken links using Google Search Console. Treat it like routine maintenance to ensure everything works smoothly. If you found a 404 error, here are two simple fixes:
- Update the link If the missing page has a new location
- Redirect the old link to a similar page or your homepage through Shopify’s admin panel if the page is removed
To set up a redirect, head to the “Online Store” > “Navigation” section in your Shopify admin dashboard and choose “View URL redirects.” There, you can easily add redirects.
This way, instead of hitting a dead-end, customers are smoothly guided to relevant content, which keeps their shopping experience positive and your site’s SEO strong.
5. Lack of flexible blogging capabilities
Shopify Plus offers a blogging platform, but it may not have all the features in specialized content management systems (CMSs) like WordPress.
It lacks several advanced features crucial for effective digital marketing for e-commerce.
These include detailed on-page SEO settings for finer control over your content’s appearance in search results, comprehensive design customization options to align your blog’s appearance with your brand, and robust content organization tools like tagging and categorizing for better user navigation.
The platform’s limitations might impact your ability to rank well on the search engine result page (SERP) and engage your audience effectively.
Remember, with Google and Bing leaning towards semantic SEO, where the page’s topic matters more than the exact-match keywords it includes, you need a robust blogging strategy as one of the SEO steps for the website.
How to fix it
You can integrate an advanced CMS like WordPress that supports your marketing and SEO strategy.
WordPress offers comprehensive SEO customization, extensive design options, and superior content organization capabilities — enhancing your blog’s search rankings and user engagement.
Simply set up your blog on WordPress, then link it back to your Shopify store. This ensures a seamless experience for your audience, leveraging WordPress’s powerful blogging tools while maintaining Shopify’s robust ecommerce functionality.
Further reading: 8 Must-Haves for an SEO-Friendly Blog
“As an agency, we enjoy using Shopify as a platform. It’s almost like the WordPress version but for ecommerce websites,” says Sam Yadegar, Co-founder and CEO of HawkSEM.
“Shopify Plus gets a lot of things correct right out of the box, like automatic sitemaps and mobile-friendly pages. But it also has some limitations. This is where having a deep understanding of the platform, SEO, and marketing at large becomes essential. And this is where clients hire HawkSEM for Shopify Plus SEO services.”
9 tips to improve Shopify Plus SEO
Follow these tips to effectively plan and implement SEO for Shopify Plus stores:
- Optimize your Shopify store structure
- Implement a comprehensive keyword strategy
- Enhance product descriptions for SEO
- Add structured data to your pages
- Improve internal linking across your store
- Regularly update content to keep it fresh
- Use multilingual capabilities for global SEO
- Build quality backlinks to your store
- Monitor your SEO performance
1. Optimize your Shopify store structure
Design your Shopify store so it’s easy for customers and search engines to find products.
Create a clear hierarchy: Home page > Category pages > Product pages.
Each category should cover a distinct product range, making it simpler for shoppers to navigate and for search engines to index your site.
Ensure every product is a few clicks away from the home page to streamline the shopping experience.
Further reading: How to Set Up Your Website Architecture for SEO (+ Examples that Work)
2. Implement a comprehensive keyword strategy
Identify keywords that reflect what your potential customers are searching for. You can use Google’s Keyword Planner (or similar keyword research tools) to discover relevant terms.
Integrate these keywords thoughtfully into your product titles, product descriptions, page title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs.
Keyword research is one of the core SEO principles. Including keywords aligns your content with search queries and user intent, which enhances your visibility on the search engine result page and draws in more targeted traffic.
3. Enhance product descriptions for SEO
Create unique and engaging SEO product descriptions that naturally incorporate your main keywords.
Focus on describing your product’s features and benefits in a way that’s relevant to your target audience, using language they may use to search for items online.
This helps search engines accurately index and rank your products. It also enhances the customer’s shopping experience by giving them the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.
4. Add structured data to your pages
Structured data (also called schema markup) helps search spiders better understand the content of your pages.
You can add it to your product pages, blog posts, and reviews to enhance how your content appears in search results with rich snippets like star ratings, price, and availability. This can increase your click-through rates.
Shopify Plus allows you to add structured data through its Liquid template language or third-party apps. Smart SEO is one of the best Shopify Plus SEO apps for this. (We discuss this tool later.)
5. Improve internal linking across your store
Internal linking connects your content (ideally in a relevant way), guiding users and search engines through your store.
Ensure to link related products and blog posts to products and vice versa. This helps with navigation and boosts your pages’ SEO value by spreading link equity throughout your e-commerce site.
A well-thought-out internal linking strategy makes it easier for search spiders to index your site and for customers to discover more products.
Further reading: How does internal linking help SEO
6. Regularly update content to keep it fresh
Search engine algorithms favor websites with fresh, up-to-date content.
Regularly updating your product descriptions, blog posts, and landing page signals to search engines that your site is relevant. This can lead to better rankings.
Also, fresh content keeps your audience engaged, encouraging repeat visits. Consider seasonal updates, new arrivals, and industry news as opportunities to refresh your content.
7. Use multilingual capabilities for global SEO
Shopify Plus supports multiple languages, enabling you to reach a global customer base by offering your site in different languages.
Content localization improves user experience for international customers and also boosts your SEO in various regions.
You can create language-specific versions of your site to ensure search engines can index content in each language properly, increasing your visibility in international markets.
Implementing hreflang tags is key here. It guides search engines to serve the correct language version to visitors based on their location.
Using tools like Weglot is the easiest way to implement multilingual SEO. It takes care of everything from hreflang tags to metadata translation.
8. Build quality backlinks to your store
Backlinks from reputable websites signal to search engines that your content is valuable, boosting your site’s authority and search rankings.
Focus on earning backlinks through high-quality content, partnerships, guest blogging, and influencer collaborations.
Avoid purchasing links or participating in link exchange schemes. They can harm your SEO.
Instead, create compelling content that naturally attracts links (called link baiting) and share your products or posts across social media and industry forums to increase visibility.
A good link-building strategy can make a big difference in your search engine rankings for online retailers.
9. Monitor your SEO performance
Shopify Plus has robust analytics designed to track your store’s performance, including marketing-related metrics.
Use Shopify’s dashboard to monitor key performance indicators, such as traffic sources, customer behavior, and conversion rates — metrics that reflect the success of your SEO strategy. This is one of the key Shopify SEO best practices — after all, unless you know your store’s performance, you wouldn’t know how to improve it.
For an even deeper analysis, integrate Google Analytics with your Shopify Plus store.
(Image: Reconvert.io)
This combination offers a comprehensive view, enabling you to measure specific SEO outcomes, like organic search traffic, and track goals, such as purchases or sign-ups.
Together, Shopify Plus and Google Analytics provide a powerful suite of tools to refine your approach and boost your store’s online visibility based on SEO data.
“Many Shopify users believe their SEO is fully managed by the platform itself, but that’s not entirely accurate,” says Yadegar.
“To really stand out, you must actively work on your site — optimizing content, title tags, layout, and more. Just setting up shop isn’t enough. Differentiation and strategic SEO efforts are key to rising above the competition.”
He adds that, while Shopify offers some tools for SEO, such as easy metadata updates, it’s the additional steps you take — like using specific plugins for speed optimization — that truly boost your store’s online presence.
Some of these tools might cost you, but the investment is worth it if you choose the DIY path rather than hiring a Shopify Plus SEO agency.
SEO benefits for Shopify Plus stores
Here are some benefits of doing SEO for your Shopify Plus store:
- Increased visibility: You’ll appear higher in search results by optimizing your store. This makes it easier for potential customers to find you when searching for products you offer.
- Higher quality traffic: SEO attracts visitors interested in your products. These visitors will more likely engage with your site and convert into customers.
- Cost-effective marketing: Once set up, SEO provides a steady stream of organic traffic without the costs associated with paid advertising. It’s a long-term strategy that pays dividends over time.
- Enhanced user experience: SEO involves improving your site’s structure and content, making it easier for customers to navigate. A better user experience results in higher satisfaction and more sales.
- Improved conversion rates: SEO not only brings more traffic but also optimizes your site to encourage purchases. This leads to improved conversion rates and revenue.
- Competitive advantage: A well-optimized Shopify Plus store can outrank competitors in search results, giving you an edge in the market. It captures more market share by being the first choice for customers.
Best Shopify Plus SEO apps
Here are five of the best Shopify Plus SEO apps or plugins:
1. SearchPie
SearchPie offers a comprehensive solution for page optimization and speed enhancement of Shopify stores.
Its suite includes SEO reports to detect issues, traffic boosters (like rich snippets and backlink support), and speed optimization through image compression and AMP implementation.
SearchPie simplifies complex SEO tasks with AI-driven tools, aiming to improve rankings and customer acquisition.
Its features, like the SEO content generator and website credibility protector, are tailored to make SEO manageable for beginners and advanced users alike.
Price: Starter – Free, Premium – $39/month, Enterprise – $99/month
2. Plug In SEO
Plug In SEO simplifies the SEO process for Shopify store owners, offering a user-friendly platform to detect and fix common issues.
It provides site audits, templates to rank for target keywords, and structured data support to enhance search rankings.
The app provides clear instructions to optimize your store, which makes it ideal for those new to SEO.
With its focus on improving search rankings and customer satisfaction, Plug In SEO features are practical for stores to increase their traffic and sales through better SEO practices.
Price: Starts at $29.99/month after a 14-day free trial
3. Smart SEO
Smart SEO is designed to automate and simplify ecommerce website optimization on Shopify. It offers features like AI-generated meta tags, image optimization, and structured data support for better understanding by search engines.
Its automated features reduce the manual workload, making SEO tasks more manageable and less time-consuming.
For Shopify Plus stores looking to enhance their search ranking without extensive SEO knowledge, Smart SEO provides an easy-to-use solution that covers key SEO areas efficiently.
Price: Free plan available, Pro – $9.99/month, Business – $19.99/month, Premium – $29.99/month
4. SPO – SEO Product Optimizer
SPO optimizes Shopify stores for better search engine and social media presence.
It identifies niche keywords with search volume data, sets up structured data for rich search result previews, and customizes social link previews.
SPO is particularly useful for stores refining their SEO strategy with targeted keywords and improving their social media sharing effectiveness. It offers tools that save time and enhance online visibility.
Price: Free – Lite version available, Basic – $15.99/month
5. SEO Content Blocks
SEO Content Blocks allows you to add SEO-friendly content sections to your web pages.
This app addresses Shopify’s limitations in URL structure and content optimization. It provides tools to easily insert and manage content blocks, FAQs, and more.
SEO Content Blocks is ideal for stores with a strong content-centric SEO strategy looking to boost their search visibility through enhanced content and site structure. It’s easy to use and doesn’t require coding knowledge.
Price: Basic – $5.99/month, Standard – $9.99/month, Premium – $19.99/month
Hire a Shopify Plus SEO agency
Fixing Shopify Plus SEO issues, as well as auditing and optimizing your site, requires platform and marketing knowledge. So, it’s recommended to work with experts.
Shopify Plus SEO agencies specialize in optimizing Shopify stores for better search engine visibility.
They assess your site, identify areas for improvement, and implement tactics that enhance your ranking on search engines.
These agencies have:
- Deep understanding of Shopify’s platform
- Access to specialized tools
- Ability to bring targeted traffic to your website
Hiring a Shopify Plus SEO agency can free your time to focus on other aspects of your business while experts handle the complex SEO implementation. It’s a strategic move for any Shopify Plus store looking to boost its online presence and increase sales efficiently.
Team up with HawkSEM
HawkSEM is one of the fastest emerging digital marketing agencies, offering end-to-end ecommerce marketing services, including Shopify SEO. We work with brands like Nike, Microsoft, Honda, and Verizon.
With a large team of ecommerce experts specializing in SEO and content marketing, we empower clients with creative and strategic directions, enabling their online growth and top-line revenue.
Our team has helped brands like Timbuk2 (a renowned accessory ecommerce platform that uses Shopify) increase YoY net revenue by over 56% and average order value by 21%.
If you want to be our next success story, book a free consultation today.
The takeaway
Shopify is the most popular ecommerce platform. But even its enterprise-level plans that come with additional capabilities have limitations for effective SEO.
It’s important you know a way around these limitations and have a proper understanding of SEO for Shopify Plus. After all, with ecommerce competition high, you’ll need the right digital marketing strategy with SEO tactics to improve your search visibility.
If you want help, contact us for Shopify Plus SEO services.