Unlock your Shopify store’s potential with the best free SEO tools and tactics! Dominate search rankings, drive organic traffic, and boost your eCommerce sales now.

Best Free SEO Tools to Boost Your Shopify Store

Introduction: Level Up Your Shopify SEO Without Spending a Dime

So, you’ve poured your heart and soul into building your Shopify store, crafting compelling product descriptions, and designing a visually stunning website. But what happens when no one can find you? That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. SEO is the art and science of optimizing your online presence to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), ultimately driving more organic (read: free!) traffic to your store.

The good news? You don’t need a massive marketing budget to start improving your Shopify store’s SEO. Plenty of powerful and effective SEO tools are available completely free of charge. This article will walk you through the top options, helping you understand how to use them to unlock your store’s full potential and attract a flood of new customers. Let’s dive in!

Keyword Research: Finding What Your Customers Are Searching For

Keyword research is the cornerstone of any successful SEO strategy. It involves identifying the words and phrases your target customers are using when searching for products like yours. This information is crucial for optimizing your product titles, descriptions, blog posts, and other website content.

Google Keyword Planner

While primarily designed for Google Ads, the Google Keyword Planner is an invaluable tool for keyword research. It allows you to:

• Discover new keywords: Enter a seed keyword related to your product or industry, and the tool will generate a list of related keywords with search volume data.
• Analyze keyword competition: See how competitive different keywords are, helping you prioritize those with lower competition and higher search volume.
• Get search volume estimates: Understand how many people are searching for specific keywords each month.

How to Use It:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account (or create one for free).
2. Go to “Tools & Settings” and select “Keyword Planner.”
3. Choose “Discover new keywords” or “Get search volume and forecasts.”
4. Enter your seed keywords or website URL.
5. Analyze the results, focusing on keywords with relevant search volume and manageable competition.

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a free SEO tool developed by Neil Patel that provides comprehensive keyword research capabilities. It offers features similar to Google Keyword Planner, but with a more user-friendly interface.

• Keyword suggestions: Generate a list of related keywords, including long-tail keywords (longer, more specific phrases).
• Content ideas: Discover popular content related to your target keywords.
• Competitor analysis: Analyze your competitors’ keywords and strategies.

How to Use It:

1. Go to the Ubersuggest website.
2. Enter your seed keyword or website URL.
3. Explore the different reports, including keyword ideas, content ideas, and competitor analysis.

AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic is a unique tool that helps you understand what questions people are asking about your products or industry. This insight can be incredibly valuable for creating content that addresses your audience’s needs and concerns.

• Question-based keywords: Discover questions, prepositions, comparisons, and alphabetical keywords related to your target keywords.
• Content inspiration: Generate ideas for blog posts, FAQs, and other content formats.

How to Use It:

1. Go to the AnswerThePublic website.
2. Enter your seed keyword.
3. Analyze the visual representations of questions and phrases related to your keyword.

On-Page Optimization: Making Your Store Search Engine Friendly

On-page optimization involves optimizing the elements within your Shopify store to improve its search engine ranking. This includes optimizing your product titles, descriptions, headings, images, and URL structure.

Shopify’s Built-in SEO Features

Shopify provides several built-in SEO features that you should take advantage of:

• Customizable meta titles and descriptions: Optimize the title and description that appear in search results for each page.
• Customizable URL handles: Create search engine-friendly URLs that include relevant keywords.
• Image alt text: Add descriptive alt text to your images to help search engines understand what they depict.
• Heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.): Use heading tags to structure your content and highlight important keywords.

How to Use Them:

1. Go to the product, page, or blog post you want to optimize.
2. Scroll down to the “Search engine listing preview” section.
3. Click “Edit website SEO” to customize the meta title, description, and URL handle.
4. Add alt text to your images by clicking on the image and editing the “Alt text” field.
5. Use heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content in a logical and hierarchical manner.

Google PageSpeed Insights

Page speed is a crucial ranking factor. Google PageSpeed Insights analyzes your website’s speed and provides recommendations for improvement.

• Performance analysis: Get a score for your website’s performance on mobile and desktop devices.
• Optimization suggestions: Receive specific recommendations for improving your website’s speed, such as optimizing images, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing HTTP requests.

How to Use It:

1. Go to the Google PageSpeed Insights website.
2. Enter your Shopify store’s URL.
3. Analyze the results and implement the recommended optimizations.

Some common Shopify speed optimization tactics include:

• Choosing a fast, well-optimized Shopify theme.
• Optimizing images for web (compressing file sizes).
• Minimizing the number of apps installed.
• Leveraging browser caching.

Schema Markup Generator

Schema markup is code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand the content on your pages. It can improve your search engine ranking and increase your click-through rate.

• Structured data: Add structured data markup to your product pages, blog posts, and other website content.
• Rich snippets: Increase your chances of earning rich snippets in search results, such as product reviews, pricing, and availability.

How to Use It:

1. Use a free schema markup generator tool (search online for “free schema markup generator”).
2. Select the type of schema markup you want to generate (e.g., Product, Article).
3. Fill in the required information.
4. Copy the generated code and paste it into the appropriate section of your Shopify theme’s code (usually within the <head> or <body> tags). Consider using a Shopify app that simplifies schema implementation to avoid directly editing theme code.

Off-Page Optimization: Building Your Online Authority

Off-page optimization involves activities you do outside of your Shopify store to improve its search engine ranking. The best free seo tactics here are focused on link building and social media.

Google My Business

If you have a physical store or serve local customers, claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing is essential. This can improve your visibility in local search results.

• Local SEO: Improve your ranking in local search results.
• Business information: Provide essential information about your business, such as your address, phone number, website, and hours of operation.
• Customer reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews on your Google My Business listing.

How to Use It:

1. Go to the Google My Business website.
2. Claim or create your business listing.
3. Fill out all the required information.
4. Verify your business.
5. Regularly update your listing with new photos, posts, and offers.

Social Media

While social media doesn’t directly impact search engine ranking, it can indirectly improve your SEO by driving traffic to your website, increasing brand awareness, and building relationships with your customers. Active social media profiles are a strong signal of a thriving brand.

• Content promotion: Share your blog posts, product updates, and other content on social media.
• Engagement: Engage with your followers and respond to their comments and questions.
• Brand building: Build your brand awareness and reputation on social media.

How to Use It:

1. Create social media profiles on the platforms where your target customers are active.
2. Develop a social media content strategy.
3. Regularly post engaging content.
4. Interact with your followers.
5. Use social media analytics to track your results.

HARO (Help a Reporter Out)

HARO is a platform that connects journalists with sources for their stories. Responding to relevant queries on HARO can earn you valuable backlinks to your website and increase your brand authority. Look for requests related to ecommerce, retail, or products you sell.

• Backlinks: Earn high-quality backlinks from reputable websites.
• Brand awareness: Increase your brand awareness and reach a wider audience.
• Expert status: Establish yourself as an expert in your industry.

How to Use It:

1. Sign up for a free HARO account.
2. Choose your areas of expertise.
3. Receive daily emails with journalist queries.
4. Respond to relevant queries with a compelling and informative pitch.

Monitoring and Analysis: Tracking Your Progress

Once you’ve implemented your SEO strategy, it’s crucial to monitor your progress and make adjustments as needed. Several free tools can help you track your website’s performance.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerful web analytics platform that provides insights into your website’s traffic, user behavior, and conversions.

• Traffic analysis: Track your website’s traffic sources, including organic search, direct traffic, referral traffic, and social media traffic.
• User behavior: Analyze how users interact with your website, including the pages they visit, the time they spend on each page, and the actions they take.
• Conversion tracking: Track your website’s conversion rates, such as the percentage of visitors who make a purchase or sign up for your email list.

How to Use It:

1. Create a Google Analytics account.
2. Add the Google Analytics tracking code to your Shopify store.
3. Explore the different reports in Google Analytics to track your website’s performance.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console provides insights into how Google sees your website. It helps you identify and fix technical SEO issues, track your search engine ranking, and monitor your website’s performance in search results.

• Technical SEO: Identify and fix technical SEO issues, such as crawl errors, broken links, and mobile usability issues.
• Search performance: Track your website’s search engine ranking, impressions, and click-through rate.
• Index coverage: Monitor which of your website’s pages are indexed by Google.

How to Use It:

1. Create a Google Search Console account.
2. Verify your Shopify store.
3. Explore the different reports in Google Search Console to identify and fix technical SEO issues and track your website’s performance in search results.

Conclusion: Embrace Free SEO and Watch Your Shopify Store Grow

Improving your Shopify store’s SEO doesn’t have to break the bank. By leveraging these powerful and free SEO tools and implementing the strategies outlined in this article, you can significantly improve your search engine ranking, drive more organic traffic, and ultimately boost your sales. Remember that SEO is an ongoing process, so be patient, persistent, and always keep learning. Good luck!