Shopify, an e-commerce platform, helps you to create and manage your online store. It is a leading player that dramatically impacts the global e-commerce landscape.
As an e-commerce platform for large-scale businesses, Shopify Plus offers more flexibility and customization, compared with the standard Shopify website. Shopify Plus SEO is the process of enhancing the visibility and rankings of a Shopify Plus store. By doing so, you can improve the organic traffic of your online store, thus increasing your profit.
Today, we are looking at Shopify Plus SEO, including its meaning, its working mechanism, and a detailed tutorial guide.
What Is Shopify Plus SEO?
Shopify Plus is your best choice if you are carrying out large-scale e-commerce business. One of the reasons is its SEO-friendly nature.
Shopify Plus SEO, as the name indicates, refers to the process of using SEO tools to improve exposure and rankings of a Shopify Plus website. Users of Shopify Plus are encountered with a series of challenges when it comes to Shopify search engine optimization, such as duplicated content, JavaScript rendering, and site speed.
Properly addressing such problems are helpful to raise website rankings, hence increased visits, conversions, and revenues.
Is Shopify Plus good for SEO?
The answer is affirmative. The reasons for the recommendation are threefold.
First, Shopify Plus is designed to provide merchants with a large number of built-in features to optimize search results. Examples include but are not limited to automatic sitemaps, the ability to edit the store’s URL structure, meta tags support, and so on. Second, Shopify Plus follows the latest version of Google’s guidelines. Last but not least, by cooperating with third-party developers, Shopify Plus equips its users with a wide variety of SEO applications in the App Store.
5 SEO issues to consider with Shopify Plus
To be honest, Shopify Plus SEO is not without its shortcomings. Here are five issues to consider.
1. JavaScript-powered products grid
Arguably, Shopify’s product filtering can do better. Now, it uses JavaScript to power the product grid, making many merchants turn to solutions like Klevu and Algolia for help.
Shopify Plus websites tend to utilize JavaScript in rendering content. Even though Google has improved in crawling and indexing JavaScript in recent years, it doesn’t excel at this. That means if JavaScript hides certain content from getting crawled and indexed by Googlebot, then chances are that a store’s visibility and rankings will be negatively influenced.
2. Site performance
Network speed is also a priority for merchants doing online business. It is widely acknowledged that larger companies find their website getting slower over time. The reason is that every department in the organization needs more functionalities over the long run. Today, the marketing group wants to add a chatbot, and tomorrow, analysts tell IT staff they need more tracking scripts.
Most Shopify Plus users conduct large-scale business, making it easier for them to encounter the problem. If the speed problem is not resolved, it will have an adverse influence on SEO improvement.
3. Duplicated data of product pages
Data duplication is an essential issue to consider regarding Shopify search engine optimization. In other words, the same content can be accessed through two or more URLs.
Frequently, the page which is accessed from the category page is not the canonical URL. It indicates that Shopify Plus SEO will likely create the same page content.
The solution to this problem is to adjust the product.liquid file. Doing so ensures that the category pages on your Shopify Plus website link to the right product pages.
4. Duplicated content caused by faceted navigation
Since the majority of Shopify Plus users conduct large-scale business, faceted navigation occupies a vital position. Effective and efficient faceted navigation allows customers to filter search results based on a wide range of attributes, such as colors, functions, measurements, prices, etc. It saves consumers’ time by helping them find what they want more quickly.
However, faceted navigation can be problematic when it creates a considerable amount of duplicate data. This is also true in the case of Shopify Plus. When every single facet consumers choose generates a new URL, such URLs can quickly add up to an uncountable number of pages.
5. Multi-store setup
One of the appealing functionalities of Shopify Plus is that you can set up multiple online websites with different currencies, languages, specialties, layouts, promotion plans, and so on. It allows you to target consumers with different stores, which is especially convenient for large-scale business owners.
However, corresponding SEO problems might also arise. Examples include but are not limited to duplicated content, hreflang tags, and branding consistency.
The solution is also turning to third-party applications for help. Make sure you find a best service provider that facilitates multi-store management and optimize stores according to targeted customer groups.
7 useful strategies to improve your traffic on Shopify Plus
This section shares seven helpful strategies to increase visits to your Shopify Plus website.
1. Write blogs
An increasing number of online store owners have started creating blogs to drive their traffic on Shopify Plus.
The content is not limited to products and promotions. Some recent examples include satisfaction questionnaires about products or services. Or, a beauty online store could present a five-question quiz about a potential customer’s skin conditions. After answering all the questions, the consumer gets a list of recommended products.
Such a strategy is beneficial when merchants want to improve their product and service quality and attract potential customers.
2. Market on social media platforms
Social media platforms are a valuable tool for e-commerce professionals in the information age. Boosting the organic traffic of your Shopify Plus store with social media posts proves effective and efficient since the internet seems to have become an indispensable part of people’s lives.
One thing to consider before doing this is to identify target customer groups. For example, if your products are designed to attract kids and the young, then social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are your best choices. Another thing to keep in mind is the content of your posts. Examples include promotion posters, holiday campaigns, pictures and videos, brand news, product updates, and industry-related news.
3. Try Google Shopping ads
Google Shopping ads prove to be one of the most effective tools to increase visits to online stores.
When customers search for a product on Google, they’re directly led to a list of products above standard search results, displaying their properties like images, names, and prices. In this way, consumers are presented with more visually friendly results without the need to read too much.
The good news is that you can directly create Google Shopping ads on the Shopify platform by adding an app called “Google Channel.”
4. Use push notifications
It happens a lot that a customer visits your store, browses the products, but eventually leaves without placing any order. The functionality of “push notifications” can be helpful in such a situation. It also helps to drive traffic.
Like emails, they serve as reminders but are more concise and direct. Whenever someone visits your store, a pop-up asks whether they allow push notifications. Once they click “Allow,” you get a higher chance of turning those who hesitate to buy into your clients.
A recommended app for realizing such a functionality is Firepush, which offers a free plan.
5. Create customer loyalty programs
Covering customer loyalty programs in your online business is a great way to convince your clients to return and buy more. Such a marketing strategy that recognizes and rewards frequently engaged and closely connected consumers is helpful when it comes to increasing website traffic.
A common way of designing your loyalty program is to set levels. For example, a two-level customer loyalty program enables those at level one to get free shipping when spending over $100 and those at level two to get free shipping and 10% off when spending over $100. You can customize the number of levels and their specific content based on your realities.
Third-party applications are always at your disposal if you find loyalty program design complicated. A popular candidate is Loloyal. It equips Shopify users with powerful customer loyalty plans, such as referral programs, points, rewards, and so on. Give it a minute and you can get the loyalty program that best matches your brand.
6. Get covered in gift guides
People buy gifts on numerous occasions, including but not limited to holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. Most of them tend to search for gift guides, like gifts for her, gifts for him, gifts for kids, and gifts for parents. Including your products in those guides is an efficient way to drive traffic to your online store.
The steps are pretty simple. First, you can search for gifts for XX based on the field of your business. For example, if you sell beauty products, then “gifts for her” publications would be a good start. Next, you can contact the publishers and state what you want. The most common ways of getting in touch include directly messaging or emailing authors or editors and clicking “customer support.”
7. Work on SEO
Making an effort on SEO is always an effective and free way to boost visits to your Shopify Plus store. Such a method is helpful to optimize your website for unpaid searches.
Working on SEO drives website traffic by prioritizing the link to your store among Google search results. Customers are likely to click the top few results instead of checking the second or the third page. Shopify SEO is a rather complicated and comprehensive topic. But don’t be afraid because we will offer detailed tutorial guides by starting with valuable apps.
Best 6 SEO apps to boost Shopify Plus SEO
With the help of third-party applications, your efficiency of Shopify Plus SEO would be greatly boosted. Here are six recommendations, all developed by SEOAnt and available in Shopify App Store.
1. AI SEO Optimizer for higher speed and performance
This application takes full advantage of the latest artificial intelligence to power your Shopify Plus website.
It saves you time and energy to do Shopify search engine optimization by offering AI-powered SEO tools. For example, it automates website speed enhancement and image optimization.
2. Trust Badges & Icon for trust badges
E-commerce consumer behavior research shows that customers will not buy from you if they do not trust you. Therefore, it is essential to build trust between your potential customers and you.
Trust Badges & Icon serves as a simple solution to this problem. Such an application offers you a wide variety of trust badges and payment badges with flexibility and customization. You can adjust the style as you want and preview how it looks before applying them to your website.
3.Sticky Add To Cart for faster checkout
Checkout speed is an essential factor affecting consumers’ shopping experience, which makes Add To Cart and Quick Buy buttons helpful in increasing conversion rate and decreasing the number of abandoned carts.
Sticky Add To Cart can complete both tasks for you. In addition, it allows you to design your own icons of such two functionalities and a countdown timer is available if you want to create some urgency and boost conversions.
4. 404 Link Redirect for automatic detection and redirection
Broken links are an important assessment factor of website rankings on Google. Moreover, they are likely to create unsatisfied shopping experiences for your customers, hence bad company reputation.
404 Link Redirect comes to your rescue by offering automatic detection of broken links and generating detailed reports.
5. Image Optimizer & Speed for intelligent image optimization
Research shows that the more quickly your images present themselves the higher your conversion rate will be. The powerful Image Optimizer & Speed is useful in the following aspects.
The application automatically improves images on your website based on your settings, without downgrading image quality. In addition, it offers customizable watermarks for intellectual property protection.
6. GDPR EU Cookie Banner for customized announcement bar
An appealing and informative announcement bar is vital to attract customers and inform them of the latest promotion.
A recommended third-party application for fulfilling such a purpose is GDPR EU Cookie Banner, where you can design the style of your board without having it cover your navigation.
FAQs
1. Is Shopify optimized for SEO?
As mentioned in the first part of the article, Shopify is optimized for SEO with many of its built-in features.
For example, you can customize meta tags and titles for better performance in Google search results. Also, Shopify automatically generates robots.txt and sitemap.xml for your store website, which saves time and energy. Lastly, Shopify offers its users mobile responsive themes, an essential element for SEO improvement.
2. Is Shopify 2.0 better for SEO?
The answer is affirmative. Shopify 2.0 I designed with more advanced features that enable online store owners to work better in Shopify search engine optimization.
One of the updated features is enhanced code and HTML markup, which makes it easier for the search engine to index your website and thus boosts organic traffic. Another helpful functionality is customizable 404 pages. Merchants can design their 404 pages on their own, which is beneficial for shopping experiences.
3. What is the benefit of Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus proves to be a valuable tool for online business. Its highlighted benefits include the following.
First, it provides 24/7 customer support. Customer service is always at your fingertip whenever you have trouble utilizing the platform. Second, Shopify Plus allows you to operate in a wide variety of countries and regions in the world, without worrying about local business laws and payment methods. Such a feature is especially useful for transnational corporations. Last but not least, Shopify Plus offers its users access to a script editor. Such a functionality allows greater flexibility and customization.
4. Is Shopify 2.0 the same as Shopify Plus?
Although Shopify 2.0 and Shopify Plus are both offered by Shopify, they enjoy different characteristics and serve different purposes.
Shopify 2.0 is an updated version of the original platform, mainly targeted at small and personal businesses. Compared with the core Shopify platform, Shopify 2.0 offers enhanced functionalities in terms of customization, SEO, etc.
Shopify Plus, on the other hand, is a more advanced platform designed for large-scale businesses, often targeted at enterprises. It is equipped with many features for performance optimization, such as AI-powered SEO, multichannel and omnichannel selling facilitation, and so on.
5. Why is Shopify Plus better than Shopify?
For enterprise-level merchants, Shopify Plus is a better choice than Shopify. The reasons behind this are as follows.
First, Shopify Plus offers onlines business owners with more flexibility, such as advanced API permissions, customizable shopping carts and checkout processes. Second, Shopify Plus is equipped with more automation capabilities, which are of great help when it comes to essential features such as multichannel and omnichannel selling, search engine optimization, and script editing.
Outro
In general, Shopify Plus is a user-friendly and robust platform that helps with business growth and SEO improvement. With many built-in features, it is suitable for both beginners and advanced users.
Today, we covered everything you need to know about Shopify Plus SEO, including its definition and efficiency, potential problems, valuable strategies, and helpful applications.
For more information about SEO, especially on Shopify, you can visit Shopify Plus Academy for self-guided training or subscribe to us for more informative articles. We also update news about our AI-powered SEO application, SEOAnt, which is a powerful application that helps with increased organic traffic, conversion rate, and revenues by optimizing speed and images and creating better shopping experience.
