Ecommerce SEO strategy: a simple plan for Shopify brands

What an ecommerce SEO strategy needs

SEO is simple when you start from your customer, not from a keyword tool. Our rule for search is: be the answer, wherever people ask the question. That means Google, but it also means AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity. They all reward the same thing: the clearest, most useful page for the question.

Here’s the plan we use for Shopify brands, in the order we do it.

1. Start with who’s searching

Before you open a keyword tool, know your avatars. Who buys from you, what problem are they solving, and what words do they use when they describe it? Pull those words from your reviews, your customer emails and the comments on your posts. Those are your first keywords, and they’re usually better than anything a tool suggests, because they’re real.

2. Match every search to one page

Ecommerce searches fall into three groups, and each one needs a different page:

• “Show me options” searches (for example, “linen bedding” or “vegan protein powder”) belong on a collection page.
• “I want this one” searches (a product name, or a very specific product) belong on a product page.
• “Help me decide” searches (for example, “how to choose a mattress” or “best running shoes for flat feet”) belong in a guide that links to the right collection.

Give each search one page only. If two of your pages chase the same search, they compete with each other and both rank lower.

3. Fix the basics Google reads first

Shopify gets a lot right out of the box: it builds your sitemap, sets canonical tags on products and lets you edit robots.txt. Check these, because they’re where most shops leak:

• Page titles and descriptions: write your own for every collection and your best products. Don’t leave the default.
• Collection pages: add a short intro, two or three sentences, that uses the words your customers search. A collection that’s only a grid of products gives Google nothing to read.
• Product pages: write your own descriptions. Never paste the manufacturer’s copy, because hundreds of other shops already use it.
• Images: add alt text that describes the product, the way a customer would.
• Speed: remove apps you don’t use. Every app adds code to your store, and slow pages lose rankings and sales.
• Structured data: make sure your product pages show price, stock and reviews to Google. Most good themes do this. Test a product page in Google’s Rich Results Test to check.

4. Answer the questions people ask before they buy

This is where most shops have nothing, and it’s where AI search finds its answers. Look at the “People also ask” box on Google for your main searches, and at the questions in your inbox and comments. Each good question becomes a guide, or a section of one. Answer the question in the first two sentences, then go deeper. AI tools quote pages that get to the point.

5. Get found in AI search

AI search doesn’t replace SEO. It rewards pages that are clear, specific and trusted. To show up:

• Answer one question per section, in plain language.
• Use real detail: sizes, materials, who it’s for, who it isn’t for.
• Keep your product data clean in Google Merchant Center, because Google’s shopping results and AI Mode pull from it.
• Get mentioned on other sites: reviews, press and creator content. AI tools trust brands other people talk about.

6. Build links the natural way

Links from other sites still matter. For a shop, the best ones come from press coverage, gift guides, creators and suppliers. PR does double duty here: it sells today and builds rankings for next year. Our digital PR strategy guide shows how.

7. Measure what moves the number

Connect Google Search Console and GA4, then check every month:

• which searches bring clicks, and which bring impressions with no clicks (those pages need a better title)
• which collections and guides bring sales, not just visits
• which pages slipped

Your one-page SEO plan (template)

Copy this into a doc and fill it in. It’s the same plan we start every client with.