Shopify Plus SEO: Everything You Need to Know

What Makes Shopify Plus SEO Different?

Shopify Plus offers advanced SEO capabilities tailored for enterprise brands. Unlike the standard Shopify plans, Plus provides greater control, customization, and scalability – essential for optimizing large, complex stores.

Here’s what makes Shopify Plus stand out for SEO:

• Access to checkout.liquid. Gain full control of your checkout experience. You can add structured data, custom scripts, and advanced tracking to support conversion-focused SEO strategies.

• Custom domain control and international SEO. Shopify Plus lets you create country-specific domains or subfolders, helping you implement localized SEO strategies for different markets with hreflang and custom metadata.

• Faster API limits and automation. With higher API thresholds, Plus allows you to automate SEO updates at scale – ideal for large product catalogs, bulk metadata editing, and programmatic content strategies.

• Headless commerce with Hydrogen & Oxygen. Build fast, fully customized storefronts with Shopify’s React-based framework (Hydrogen) and deploy globally with Oxygen. Headless architecture enhances performance and SEO flexibility.

• Multi-store management. Operate multiple Shopify Plus stores under one organization, each with unique SEO setups – great for regional targeting, B2B/B2C segmentation, and brand differentiation.

Common SEO Mistakes on Shopify Plus (And How to Fix Them)

1. Duplicate Content Diluting SEO Performance

An illustration of duplicate content: the same Shopify page accessible through multiple URLs. Duplicate content is when the same or very similar content appears on more than one URL. In Shopify Plus stores, this often happens inadvertently due to how the platform generates product and collection pages. In fact, one of the biggest SEO issues with Shopify is that it creates duplicate pages out-of-the-box​.

How to fix it:

• Standardize product links: Update your theme to always use the product’s root URL (e.g., /products/non-stick-frying-pan) rather than the collection-based version. In Liquid, replace {{ product.url | within: collection }} with {{ product.url }}.

• Use canonical tags: Shopify automatically adds canonical tags pointing to the main product URL. Make sure these tags are correct and not overridden by your theme or apps.

• Limit collection use where possible: Avoid adding the same product to too many collections unless it’s essential for user experience.

2. Generic or Missing Meta Titles and Descriptions

One of the most overlooked yet impactful SEO issues on Shopify Plus is the use of default, duplicated, or missing meta titles and meta descriptions. These elements define how your pages appear in search results and influence both ranking relevance and click-through rates (CTR). When these tags are not optimized, it results in poor visibility and missed traffic opportunities – especially at scale.

Without a systematic SEO workflow, many pages end up using:

• Generic titles (e.g., “Product Name – Store Name”)

• Blank or repetitive meta descriptions

• No keyword targeting in either field

This reduces the ability of each page to rank for relevant queries, particularly long-tail or intent-based searches, and often leads to lower CTR from search engine result pages (SERPs).

How to Fix It:

1. Create unique, keyword-focused meta titles

• Keep titles within 55–60 characters

• Combine product name with a unique feature or benefit

• Example: “4K Smart TV – Ultra HD with Voice Control”

2. Write compelling meta descriptions (130–155 characters)

• Summarize key product benefits or offers

• Use action-oriented language without sounding promotional

3. Use Shopify’s bulk editor or SEO apps

• Shopify provides a bulk editing tool under Products > Bulk Edit > SEO Fields

• For larger catalogs, SEO apps like SearchPie, Plug in SEO, or Smart SEO can help identify missing or duplicated meta tags and apply templates with dynamic fields.

3. Overloading the Store with Unnecessary Apps

Installing numerous third-party apps to add functionalities can inadvertently slow down your Shopify Plus store’s performance. Each app may introduce additional scripts and stylesheets, leading to increased page load times. A sluggish website not only frustrates users but also negatively impacts search engine rankings.​

For example, a merchant integrates multiple apps for similar functionalities, such as product reviews, without realizing that some features overlap. This redundancy causes the website to load multiple scripts performing the same tasks, degrading site speed.​

How to Fix It:

• Audit Installed Apps: Regularly review and assess the necessity of each app. Remove any that are not essential or duplicate functionalities.​

• Evaluate Performance Impact: Before installing a new app, test its impact on site speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.​

• Opt for Lightweight Solutions: Choose apps known for being resource-efficient and well-coded.​

• Consolidate Functionalities: Seek comprehensive apps that offer multiple features, reducing the need for multiple installations.​

4. Ignoring Mobile Optimization

Many Shopify Plus stores are beautifully designed for desktop, but when viewed on a phone, they become hard to use. Slow loading, clunky navigation, or broken layouts can frustrate mobile users and lead them to leave before they even explore your products. This poor experience doesn’t just impact conversions – it directly affects your Shopify Plus SEO as well.

For example, you have a Shopify Plus store selling home gym equipment. The desktop version of the site looks great with large banners, videos, and detailed product photos. But when a customer visits from their phone:

• The homepage takes 5–6 seconds to load.

• Product images are oversized and take up the whole screen.

• Buttons are hard to tap, and some pages require too much zooming or scrolling.

The customer gets frustrated, backs out, and clicks on a competitor’s site instead. Now multiply that by hundreds of daily mobile visitors—you can see how much traffic and revenue gets lost. On top of that, Google’s algorithm sees the slow load time and poor usability, pushing the site further down in search results.

How to Fix It:

• Responsive Design: Ensure your store’s theme is responsive, adapting seamlessly to various screen sizes.​

• Optimize Images: Compress images to reduce load times without compromising quality.​

• Simplify Navigation: Design intuitive and easily accessible menus for mobile users.​

• Test Across Devices: Regularly test your store on different mobile devices and browsers to identify and address usability issues.​

Pro Tip: Implement Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for key landing pages to enhance loading speeds on mobile devices.

5. Not Using Structured Data (Schema Markup)

One of the most overlooked areas in Shopify Plus SEO is structured data, also known as schema markup. Structured data is a type of code added to your website that helps search engines better understand the content of your pages. For Shopify Plus stores, especially those with a large catalog or rich product content, missing out on this step can mean missing out on extra visibility in search results.

When implemented correctly, structured data allows your pages to show rich snippets on Google – like star ratings, price, availability, and other enhanced details. These features can directly improve your click-through rates by making your listings more informative and attractive. 

Fortunately, structured data can be implemented fairly easily. Shopify Plus stores can use SEO apps such as SearchPie or JSON-LD for SEO, which add schema automatically to product pages, blogs, and more. Alternatively, developers can add custom JSON-LD markup directly to the theme for full control and flexibility. After implementation, it’s important to test your pages using Google’s Rich Results Test to make sure everything is valid and optimized.

How to Fix It:

You have a few options:

• Use a dedicated SEO app: You can try SearchPie, which offers JSON-LD for SEO and automatically adds structured data to your product and blog pages.

• Ask your developer: If you have access to technical support, structured data can be added directly into your theme using JSON-LD format. This gives you full control.

• Validate and test: Use Google’s Rich Results Test to check if your schema is valid. Errors or missing fields could prevent your content from showing as a rich result.

Best SEO Strategies for Shopify Plus Stores

Running a Shopify Plus store means your SEO needs to be more strategic. Whether you’re working with an agency or managing SEO in-house, here are five effective strategies to help you strengthen your Shopify Plus SEO and grow your organic traffic.

1. Build a Clear and Scalable Site Structure

A clean site structure helps both shoppers and Google understand how your store is organized. Start by grouping products into logical collections and subcollections, ensuring that all important pages are reachable within just a few clicks from the homepage. Use breadcrumbs to guide navigation and keep your URL structure simple and consistent. For Shopify Plus stores with large catalogs, this kind of structure ensures faster indexing, better crawlability, and easier scalability as your product range grows.

2. Use a Keyword Strategy That Fits Your Pages

A strong Shopify Plus SEO strategy begins with keyword research that’s tailored to how people actually search for your products. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find keywords related to your products, categories, and buyer questions, then apply them naturally across product titles, descriptions, collection text, meta tags, and even blog content. Avoid keyword stuffing – focus on search intent and long-tail phrases that reflect what your customers are looking for, especially on high-converting pages.

3. Set Up and Monitor Google Search Console

Even with a strong SEO strategy, you can’t improve what you don’t measure. Connecting your Shopify Plus store to Google Search Console gives you direct insight into how Google sees your website. You’ll be able to monitor keyword performance, index coverage, mobile usability, and technical issues like crawl errors or missing structured data. Reviewing these reports regularly helps you catch problems early, track the impact of changes, and refine your SEO decisions with data instead of guesswork – an essential habit for long-term success in Shopify Plus SEO.

4. Write Unique Product Descriptions and Add Structured Data

Each product page on Shopify Plus is an opportunity to rank and convert – but only if it includes unique and keyword-aligned content. Avoid copying supplier descriptions or using the same template across multiple items. Instead, you should write original content that highlights product benefits, use cases, and FAQs. 

On the technical side, apply structured data (schema markup) to help search engines understand your product details, like price, availability, and reviews, so your listings can qualify for rich snippets and look more attractive in search results.

5. Localize Your SEO for Global Markets

Finally, localization should be a key part of your Shopify Plus SEO strategy. So, you will need to adjust your keywords, product messaging, and metadata to fit local language and culture. Moreover, you can also make sure to implement proper hreflang tags to signal language and country targeting to Google, and use subfolders or subdomains for each market.

Conclusion

As the eCommerce landscape becomes more competitive in 2025, having a well-rounded Shopify Plus SEO strategy is essential for long-term growth. From optimizing site structure and content to leveraging AI tools, structured data, and international SEO, each tactic plays a role in improving your visibility, user experience, and conversion potential.