Shopify SEO Guide: How to Rank No:1 on Google in 2025?

The retail industry has shifted as more people choose online shopping. Whether for convenience or due to the pandemic, e-commerce is booming. Platforms like Shopify have attracted millions of businesses.

How can you differentiate your store in a crowded market? The answer is SEO for Shopify. By optimising your store for search engines, you can boost traffic and increase sales by ranking higher in search results.

Luckily, Shopify SEO isn’t hard. With the right Shopify SEO tips and technical SEO for Shopify stores, you can attract more visitors and turn them into customers. Working with a Shopify SEO expert or agency can also provide the best results for your business.

Understanding Shopify SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) involves strategies that help search engines recognise your site as a valuable resource for users. These tactics range from creating great user experiences to developing helpful content. The goal is to make your site relevant, increasing its chances of ranking higher in search results.

Higher rankings are especially important for e-commerce sites. For example, Shopify store statistics say that it ranks first and gets almost double the traffic compared to one in second place. This shows how crucial a strong Shopify SEO strategy is for driving traffic and boosting sales.

However, Shopify SEO is a bit different from typical website SEO. It’s not just about optimising content; you also need to focus on product listings. This can create challenges that impact your search rankings, making it essential to focus on technical SEO for Shopify and continually optimise SEO for Shopify website design for better sales performance.

With the right Shopify SEO tips, tools, and even help from a Shopify SEO expert or agency, you can ensure your store stays competitive and grows steadily.

Top Tips to Improve Shopify SEO & Boost Sales

Shopify sellers can benefit from built-in SEO-friendly features like customisable title tags, URLs, and meta descriptions tailored to your audience. But if you want to truly improve your rankings, you’ll need to do more.

Here are six ways to optimise SEO for Shopify and boost your chances of securing that top spot. To achieve the best SEO for Shopify, it’s essential to go beyond the basics and implement strategies that make your store stand out. By using the right Shopify SEO tips and focusing on technical SEO for Shopify store, you can take your store to the next level.

Consider consulting a Shopify SEO expert or using specialised Shopify SEO services to help maximise your site’s potential.

1. Optimise Your Store’s Structure

A clean, easy-to-navigate structure not only helps search engines index your Shopify store more efficiently but also makes shopping easier for your customers. This can improve your store’s overall performance by driving more traffic and increasing sales. By optimising SEO for Shopify, you ensure that both search engines and potential buyers can find your products easily. The better your store is organised, the higher it can rank, and the more successful your business will be.

Here’s how to optimise SEO for your Shopify website:

Set Up a Logical Site Structure

A strong website structure is crucial for effective SEO strategies and a seamless user experience on Shopify. It helps organise your pages and connect them with internal links, making it easier for both users and search engines to navigate your site.

Australian Shopify stores like Culture Kings and The Iconic use well-organised structures to improve user experience and SEO. These stores follow best practices by having key pages no more than four clicks away from the homepage, improving search engine visibility.

Shopify SEO Best Practices for Australian Stores

• Logical Page Grouping: Keep related content together, ensuring it’s easy to find. For example, how Koala groups all bedding products under one category, reducing user friction.
• Avoid Orphan Pages: Every page should have internal links to prevent them from being “orphaned,” making them hard for users and search engines to find. Stores like Showpo successfully avoid orphan pages by linking products from various categories and blog content.
• Use Tools for Optimisation: Use tools like Semrush’s Site Audit to identify and fix any orphan pages on your site. Navigate to the “Internal Linking” section to spot any “Orphaned sitemap pages” and link them from relevant sections.

Following these best SEO practices for Shopify will help your store rank better in search results, improve user engagement, and ensure customers can easily find your products.

Customise Your Store’s URL

When you first set up your Shopify store, it comes with a random number in your URL, like “store123.myshopify.com.” This doesn’t represent your brand and is hard for customers to remember, so changing it is essential for better branding and SEO.

Here’s how you can update your URL:

• Go to your Shopify dashboard.
• Click “Settings” in the sidebar menu.
• Select “Domains” from the pop-up.
• Click “Change to a new myshopify.com domain”, and enter a new URL that reflects your brand.
• Click “Add domain” to save the changes.

If you want a custom domain, like “yourbrand.com” instead of “yourbrand.myshopify.com,” you can buy one directly from Shopify. Just click “Buy new domain” and follow the steps.

Pro Tip for Shopify SEO:

Make sure your URL contains your brand name and is easy to remember. A simple, memorable URL improves user experience and can help with SEO for Shopify websites.

By optimising your Shopify URL, you’re taking an important step towards improving your Shopify SEO and making it easier for customers to find your store.

Improve Your Shopify Store’s Speed

Page speed refers to how quickly your website loads, and it’s crucial for both user experience and SEO. A faster Shopify store not only keeps your visitors happy but also helps your site rank better in search results, as speed is a confirmed ranking factor.

Here are some easy ways to boost your Shopify store’s speed:

• Use the right image formats: Shopify suggests using JPG or PNG to optimise images.
• Optimise your images: Large files can reduce your site’s speed. Compressing them can significantly improve load times without sacrificing quality.
• Minimise your code: By reducing unnecessary elements in your site’s HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you can improve page speed and create a smoother browsing experience.

Tip for Shopify SEO: “Optimising page speed is essential for Shopify SEO. A faster site improves user experience, reduces bounce rates, and helps boost your search rankings.”

2. Improve the User Experience

Here are some ways to enhance your site’s user experience while improving your search rankings.

Increase Your Site’s Speed

A fast site ensures visitors can browse effortlessly, keeping them engaged and frustration-free. The longer they stay, the better for your site’s performance. To speed up your Shopify store:

• Choose a fast, mobile-optimised theme
• Compress and optimise images
• Get rid of unused apps
• Limit the use of sliders

Adopt a Responsive Design

A responsive design adapts your Shopify store to look and function smoothly on any device—whether desktop, tablet, or smartphone.

Using a responsive theme not only elevates the user experience but also keeps visitors engaged longer. Google considers time spent on your site as a factor for rankings, so an easy-to-navigate site can help boost your position. Better rankings, combined with a seamless experience, lead to more return visitors and conversions.

Ensuring your store works well on mobile is crucial, especially as more people are shopping directly from their smartphones.

3. Offer Shopify Collections

After organising your collections, it’s time to structure them effectively. Collection pages are crucial for improving both user experience and SEO. They help customers browse related products easily, enhancing their overall shopping experience.

However, Shopify doesn’t create hierarchical URLs. For instance, when you visit ‘/collections/t-shirts/’, you might see sub-collections like ‘/collections/black/’ and ‘/collections/white/’, but the URL structure will stay flat. This is a visual hierarchy, not a URL one.

Examples of Optimised Shopify Collection Pages with Keyword Structures:

1. Allbirds: In Allbirds “Shoes” collection, they use clear sub-collections like “collections/mens-running-shoes” and “collections/mens-loungers” These keyword-rich URLs help with SEO and make it easier for customers to find specific types of shoes.
   
2. Gymshark: In the “Mens” section, the keyword structure might look like “/collections/mens-t-shirts” and “/collections/mens-hoodies,” making it easy for both users and search engines to understand the content.

Despite well-organised pages, Shopify stores can face visibility issues in Google’s search results. When people search for products, Google often shows a grid of popular products at the top, pushing standard results lower and decreasing the chances of clicks.

To improve this, integrate your Shopify store with Google Merchant Center. This ensures your products appear in Google Shopping and the popular products grid, boosting visibility and driving traffic to your store.

4. Research Your Target Keywords

Keyword research is a crucial part of any Shopify SEO strategy. But how do you pinpoint the right keywords to attract visitors to your store? A good way to begin isn’t by using advanced tools, but by brainstorming five key topics your customers are interested in and that are closely connected to your products.

Put yourself in their position—what keywords would you use to search for the products you offer? You can also find keyword ideas in places like:

• Your customer personalities
• Forums and subreddits related to your niche
• Social media hashtags relevant to your products
• Competitor sites’ titles, meta descriptions, and image alt-text

Examples:

• For a store selling vegan skincare products, topics like “cruelty-free skincare” or “plant-based moisturisers” could lead to keywords such as “vegan face cream” or “organic body lotion.”
• If you sell handmade jewellery, try exploring keywords like “artisan jewellery” or “custom necklaces,” and variations like “handmade silver rings” or “personalised bracelets.”
  
  

Check out our complete keyword research guide for more ideas, and use keyword tools to expand your list.

5. Optimise Your Store’s Product Pages

By now, you should have a solid keyword list and a well-organised site structure. The next step is to optimise your store’s pages using those keywords.

Start with the most important pages first—likely your homepage, main product collections, and best-selling product pages. Focus on the pages that drive the most revenue and conversions.

If you’re launching a brand-new store, you should still prioritise optimising your homepage. Here are a couple of ways to decide which other pages to focus on:

• Pages for products that created the most buss before your store’s launch
• Pages for products linked to the highest-searched keywords you discovered (over 10K searches/month)

Example: If you’re opening a store selling eco-friendly skincare, focus on pages SEO like your “organic face cream” product, which generated excitement, or keywords such as “cruelty-free moisturiser,” which has high search volume.

How to Optimise Title Tags for Categories?

Once you’ve chosen which pages to optimise, you’ll need to establish a consistent naming pattern across your site. Here’s an example of a basic formula:

“Keyword 1 – Purchase Keyword 2 – Store Name”

Example: “Organic Shampoo – Purchase Natural Hair Care – GreenGlam Boutique”

How to Optimise Titles and Meta Descriptions for Products?

Now, let’s work on writing titles and descriptions for your products and categories. While you can pull marketing copy from suppliers, original content tailored to your audience and SEO is much more effective. Make sure your keywords are seamlessly integrated into your content. If they feel forced or disrupt the flow, consider rethinking your keyword choices.

Example: A product description for “organic cotton t-shirts” might read, “Our organic cotton t-shirts are soft, sustainable, and perfect for everyday wear.”

Don’t forget to optimise your image alt text for SEO as well, while ensuring it fits naturally within the context of your site.

Optimise Your URL Slugs, Title Tags, H1 Tags, & Meta Descriptions

When optimising web pages for SEO, it’s crucial to focus on key elements like the URL slug, title tag, H1 tag, and meta description. Here’s a breakdown of each and best practices:

• URL Slug: The last part of the URL that shows what the page is about. It should be easy to read and include keywords when possible.
  Example:
                    =>https://www.yourstore.com/product/12345
                    =>https://www.yourstore.com/product/blue-t-shirts
  The second one is better because it’s clearer and uses keywords.
  
• Title Tag: This is the page title that appears in search results. It should contain your main keyword to help search engines know what your page is about.
• H1 Tag: The main heading of your webpage. Keep it similar to the title tag to avoid confusing users and search engines.

Best practices for Title and H1 Tags:

• Make them similar to keep things clear.
• Use your main keyword in both to help search engines rank your page.
• Don’t overuse keywords—just make it natural and readable.
• Meta Description: A short description that appears in search results. Use keywords and include a call to action (CTA) to encourage clicks. Keep it under 105 characters so it won’t get cut off.

For example: “Check out our latest range of red hoodies. Shop now and check out exclusive deals!” This meta description is short, uses keywords, and includes a CTA to attract users.

Use Proper Alt Text

Alt text is a short description for images on your page, shown when the image doesn’t load—often due to slow internet. It also helps Google understand your images better and improves accessibility for users with screen readers.

Here are a few suggestions for crafting alt text:

• Skip alt text for decorative images that don’t add value. Leaving it out won’t hurt the user experience.
• Clearly describe the image in a simple, concise way so people can imagine it.
• Use keywords when it makes sense. This helps Google rank your images in search results.

Include Structured Data to Stand Out

Structured data, also known as schema markup, helps search engines better understand your content and can make your Shopify store stand out in search results. For example, using product markup can make your product listings appear with extra details directly in the search results.

Here are some types of structured data that are particularly helpful for Shopify sites:

1. Organisation schema: Defines details about your company.
2. CollectionPage schema: Highlights your collection pages.
3. BreadcrumbList schema: Shows the path of pages on your site.
4. Product schema: Offers comprehensive details about your products.
5. Article schema: Helps with articles or blog posts.

You can either use a Shopify app to add this data or manually implement it using Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.

Do Link Building

Getting backlinks—links from other websites to yours—is a powerful way to boost your e-commerce SEO. It signals to search engines that your site is reliable and deserves a higher ranking.
There are several ways to earn backlinks. For instance, you can create high-quality content that people naturally want to link to or offer expert insights to journalists who need sources.

You can also be proactive by reaching out to other websites and asking them to link to your site.

Use the Right Shopify Apps

Shopify apps can make it much easier to optimise your store by automating tasks that you’d otherwise have to handle manually. Here are a few apps you can use to boost your Shopify SEO:

Shopify Finder

This app helps you research and discover in-demand products. You can:

• Find popular products across Shopify and AliExpress based on trends.
• See details about your competitors’ products, like pricing and order data.
• Check the popularity of products to plan your next promotion.

You get up to 150 database queries daily, and after a free trial, it costs $29 per month.

Schema Plus for SEO

Schema Plus for SEO simplifies adding structured data to your site. Created by former Google engineers, it offers:

• Easy setup of structured data with a user-friendly interface.
• A seven-day free trial, then $14.99 per month.

Tiny SEO Image Optimise, Speed

Boost your Shopify store’s speed with this app. It includes:

• Image compression and lazy load setup.
• Broken link detection.
• Alt text generation.

The app is free to install, with additional paid features available.

6. Write and Publish Blog Posts

Now that you’ve identified your topics, it’s time to start creating blog posts, especially for those with informational intent.
Here are some key tips to ensure your content stands out:

1. Be Helpful and Unique
   Offer genuinely valuable information that sets you apart from other content. Unique, useful insights enhance the user experience and improve your chances of ranking higher on search engines.
2. Use Images
   Break up the text and explain concepts more clearly by including optimised images throughout your post. Visual elements enhance engagement and simplify understanding of the content.
3. Include Internal Links
   Link to other relevant pages on your site to help Google identify the relationships between your content. This enhances SEO and assists users in navigating your site.
   Example: In a post about “eco-friendly home decor tips,” you might link to your page featuring sustainable furniture products.
4. Mention Your Products When Relevant
   Even though your post is informational, remember that your goal is to promote your products. When relevant, mention how your products fit into the topic or solve a related problem.
   Example: In a blog about “vegan skincare routines,” mention your plant-based moisturisers as an option for readers looking for cruelty-free products.
5. Use Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)
   Guide your readers on what to do next—whether it’s visiting a product page or signing up for your newsletter. CTAs help convert readers into customers.

7. Incorporate Shopify Markets for International Selling

Previously, if you wanted to sell internationally, you needed to use a marketplace or partner with another retailer.

Now, with Shopify Markets, you can sell directly to customers around the world. Shopify Markets handles things like currency conversion, local languages, and import taxes, making international sales much easier for you.

Some SEO Trends to Watch for in 2025

Here’s a simplified and human-friendly breakdown of the SEO trends to watch in 2025 based on analysis:

1. AI-Powered Search: AI will make search engines smarter, delivering more relevant results tailored to user intent.
2. Voice Search Optimisation: With more people using voice assistants, optimising for natural language queries will become crucial.
3. Video Content Dominance: Short, engaging videos will be key for capturing user attention and improving SEO.
4. Mobile-First Indexing: Google will prioritise mobile-friendly websites, so ensure your site looks great on smartphones.
5. Enhanced User Experience: Fast loading times and easy navigation will be essential for retaining visitors and boosting rankings.
6. Semantic Search: Search engines will focus on understanding the context and meaning behind search queries rather than just keywords.
7. Local SEO Growth: Local searches will continue to rise, making it important to optimise for location-based queries.
8. Sustainability and Ethics: Eco-friendly practices and ethical content will influence search rankings as search engines value responsible practices.
9. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Building credibility and trust with high-quality content will be crucial for SEO success.
10. Augmented Reality (AR): AR experiences will offer new ways to engage users and impact how search engines rank content.

To Sum Up: Stand Apart with Shopify SEO

Shopify is an excellent choice for taking your business online. It’s user-friendly, easy to set up, and offers many ways to drive traffic and boost sales.
But even the best Shopify store needs some extra effort to really shine. You’ll need to work on optimising your site and building a loyal customer base to keep your business thriving.
Fortunately, with Shopify’s built-in features and the Shopify SEO tips in this guide, you can create a strong SEO strategy that helps you stand out from the competition. By using these techniques, you’ll improve your store’s visibility, turn visitors into customers, and increase your sales for greater e-commerce success.