10 SEO Tips for CPG Brands on Shopify

1. Mobile Optimization: Use mobile-friendly, responsive themes since Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing.
2. Track Performance: Leverage tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to monitor SEO progress.
3. Fix Technical Issues: Address Shopify-specific challenges like duplicate content and slow load times.
4. Optimize Product Pages: Write clear, keyword-rich titles, detailed descriptions, and use industry terms.
5. Set Up Meta Titles & Descriptions: Create concise, keyword-focused meta tags for all pages.
6. Add Image Alt Text: Use descriptive alt text for better accessibility and image search rankings.
7. Organize Website Structure: Group products into logical categories and simplify navigation paths.
8. Improve Mobile Speed: Compress images, use lightweight themes, and enable lazy loading.
9. Create SEO-Focused Content: Publish blogs, how-to guides, and showcase customer reviews.
10. Monitor Results: Regularly check keyword rankings, track organic traffic, and fix technical issues.

Quick SEO Checklist for Shopify:

By following these steps, you’ll improve search visibility, attract more customers, and drive sales. Keep tracking your progress to refine your strategy over time.

Complete SEO Shopify Tutorial for Beginners (2025)

Make Product Pages Search-Engine Ready

Optimize your product pages with clear, keyword-focused content to improve visibility and boost conversions.

Write Clear Product Titles with Keywords

Your product titles should combine search optimization with readability. Include essential details naturally. For instance, One Green Bottle structures its titles effectively: "32 oz Stainless Steel Water Bottle – Ocean Blue".

Here’s how to craft strong product titles:

• Start with your main keyword
• Include key details like size, color, and material
• Keep it under 100 characters
• Avoid stuffing keywords unnaturally

"Product titles tell shoppers what a product is, if it’s what they’re looking for, and how it’s different from the competition. Search engines will often use the title to determine whether to show your product to consumers based on the phrases they use in their search." – Salsify

Once your titles are optimized, focus on detailed descriptions to further enhance your page.

Create Detailed Product Descriptions

Good product descriptions highlight customer benefits, use keywords naturally, and are easy to scan. Make sure each description is unique to avoid duplication issues.

Add Industry Terms for Better Targeting

Incorporating industry-specific terms helps clarify your product and builds trust with your audience. Kyle Risley, Senior SEO Lead at Shopify, notes: "The first is helping the search engine understand the page, and the second is convincing the user to buy. Sometimes, you can accomplish both of these goals with the same action."

To use this strategy effectively:

• Research relevant industry terms with tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush
• Use terms your audience is already searching for

Keep in mind, 36% of shoppers say accurate and detailed product information increases their trust in a new retailer. By using precise, industry-specific language, you’re not just improving SEO – you’re also strengthening customer confidence in your brand.

Use Shopify’s SEO Tools

After optimizing product pages, take advantage of Shopify’s SEO tools to improve your site’s technical performance and boost product visibility.

Set Up Meta Titles and Descriptions

Did you know Google rewrites 61% of title tags? This makes writing strong meta titles and descriptions even more important.

Here’s where to update meta titles and descriptions in Shopify:

• Homepage: Go to Online Store > Preferences
• Collections: Navigate to Products > Collections > "Edit website SEO"
• Products: Select a product and click "Edit website SEO".

Add Image Alt Text

Alt text not only improves accessibility but also helps your images appear in search results. Keep alt text under 125 characters and include details like:

• Product name
• Key features
• Package size
• Color or variety

Example: "Natural Foods Co. Maple Crunch Granola in 16oz recyclable pouch showing clusters of golden-brown organic oats."

Manage Product Page Redirects

Shopify allows up to 100,000 URL redirects on standard plans. Use redirects wisely to maintain user experience and SEO:

• Redirect discontinued product pages to similar items.
• Update category redirects when reorganizing your site.
• Regularly check redirect performance in Shopify analytics.
• Export redirect lists to keep a backup.

These steps lay the groundwork for a better-organized site and more advanced SEO efforts in the future.

Build a Clear Website Structure

A well-planned website layout makes it easier for both search engines and customers to locate your CPG products. This can improve your search rankings and create a better experience for users.

Organize Products into Categories

Group your products in a way that aligns with how customers naturally browse. Here’s an example of how to structure your CPG categories:

Make sure every product can be accessed within four clicks from your homepage. For most CPG brands, sticking to 2–7 main categories keeps things simple while staying organized.

Tips for organizing categories:

• Group similar products based on how customers shop.
• Use clear, keyword-rich names for your categories.
• Keep naming conventions consistent across the site.
• Regularly review performance and adjust based on sales data.

Create Simple Navigation Paths

A good category structure lays the foundation for easy navigation. Streamline navigation to improve user experience and SEO:

• Main Menu: Highlight your primary categories in the header navigation.
• Breadcrumb Trails: Show clear paths (e.g., Home > Snacks > Trail Mix) to help users know where they are.
• Related Products: Link to similar items within the same category.
• Filters: Add options like dietary preferences or package size to refine searches.

"With effective Shopify SEO, you can be among the 10% that customers find when searching for products on Google."

Pro Tip: Create both HTML and XML sitemaps for your store. Matt Cutts, former head of Google’s webspam team, said, "Once you make an HTML sitemap, making an XML version is extremely easy. So my advice? Do both."

A clear site structure doesn’t just help with SEO – it can also reduce bounce rates and keep visitors on your site longer. Use analytics to track navigation patterns and make improvements as needed.

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Improve Mobile Speed and Performance

Mobile speed plays a crucial role in both search rankings and customer satisfaction. According to recent findings, 79% of customers are unlikely to return to a site if its loading speed disappoints them.

Optimize Images for Fast Loading

A study revealed that a Shopify page made 173 image requests totaling 14MB, far exceeding optimal loading sizes. Here’s how you can fine-tune your product images for better performance:

To avoid slowing down your site, upload images with a maximum size of 2x the display dimensions. After optimizing your images, assess your mobile performance through rigorous display testing.

Test Mobile Display

Here are two key areas to focus on:

1. Speed Testing

Improving load time by just one second can increase mobile conversions by up to 27%. Use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to evaluate your store’s speed and performance.

2. Theme Performance

Selecting a lightweight theme is essential for faster load times. Here are some top-performing Shopify themes:

• Create Theme: 1.1s First Contentful Paint (FCP)
• Toy Theme: 1.1s FCP
• Light Theme: 1.1s FCP

"Only real speed improvements – beginning with your theme architecture – deliver long-term performance."

Key Mobile Optimization Steps

To further enhance your site’s performance on mobile, follow these steps:

• Remove unnecessary apps and features
• Use system fonts instead of web fonts
• Enable browser caching
• Minimize HTTP requests
• Leverage Shopify’s built-in CDN

Since May 2021, Core Web Vitals have been a ranking factor. Optimizing for mobile is no longer optional – it’s critical for both user experience and search engine visibility.

Create SEO-Focused Content

Producing search-optimized content is key to increasing visibility for CPG brands on Shopify.

Write Blog Posts for the CPG Industry

Craft blog posts that address customer concerns and answer common questions. This approach works alongside on-page SEO to boost long-term organic traffic.

Key tips for optimizing blog content:

• Use keyword-rich H2 and H3 headers
• Link to relevant product pages
• Regularly update posts to keep them current
• Incorporate optimized images and videos

Beyond written content, showcasing customer feedback strengthens trust and enhances SEO performance.

Showcase Customer Reviews

Customer reviews not only establish credibility but also contribute to SEO by adding fresh, relevant content to your site.

• Collect Reviews
  Automate requests for reviews shortly after purchase to capture feedback while the experience is still fresh.
• Display Reviews Effectively
  Optimize review display for SEO impact by:
  • Using schema markup for ratings
  • Adding sorting and filtering options
  • Highlighting verified purchase badges
  • Including customer photos
• Manage Reviews
  Actively monitor and respond to reviews to show excellent customer service.

To get the most SEO benefit from reviews:

• Enable reviews on product pages
• Use prompts that include relevant keywords
• Paginate reviews to improve loading times
• Highlight key reviews for quick insights

Track SEO Results

Keeping an eye on your SEO performance helps pinpoint what’s working and highlights areas that need improvement.

Install Google Tracking Tools

Integrate Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Search Console (GSC) to gather essential data.

Here are some key GA4 reports to monitor:

"My number one tip for measuring SEO with Google Analytics is to connect Analytics to Google Search Console. If you’re just using Google Analytics without using GSC you will never see the whole picture. With GA and GSC linked, you can use queries to identify opportunities for improvement with target keywords and the pages you want to rank for." – Kim Doughty, Leadhub

To get the most out of these tools:

• Set up conversion goals for critical actions.
• Build custom dashboards tailored to SEO metrics.
• Enable alerts to flag major changes.
• Use Search Console data to refine keyword strategies.

Once these tools are set up, make it a habit to regularly check your search rankings and adjust your approach as needed.

Check Search Rankings

Use the data from your tools to track keyword performance and optimize accordingly. Focus on keyword positions and traffic trends to spot opportunities for growth.

Key metrics to monitor include:

• Quality of organic traffic and conversion rates
• Performance of landing pages
• Shifts in keyword rankings
• Any technical issues affecting your site

"When measuring SEO using Google Analytics, you don’t just want to track your organic traffic. What you want to do is measure the quality of your organic visitors… By setting up goals such as leads generated coming from organic SEO. What we check is how much organic traffic a page gets and, most importantly, how many leads we got from those visitors. Higher the conversion rate, the better." – Jonathan Aufray, Growth Hackers

Create monthly SEO reports to summarize:

• Changes in organic search visibility
• Best-performing product or content pages
• New keyword opportunities
• Technical health of your site
• Actionable steps for improvement

Consistent evaluations ensure your SEO strategy stays aligned with search trends and audience needs.

Conclusion: Next Steps for SEO Growth

Getting SEO right on Shopify takes a mix of technical fine-tuning, strong content, and regular tracking. Here’s how you can focus your efforts:

Lay the Technical Groundwork

• Use clear, descriptive titles and detailed product descriptions to optimize your product pages.
• Organize your site structure to make navigation easy for both users and search engines.
• Ensure your site loads quickly on all devices.

Build Content That Stands Out

• Publish content that directly addresses the needs of your audience.
• Showcase the benefits of your products and include customer reviews.
• Regularly update your blog with relevant industry topics and product updates.

Monitor and Adjust

• Check your analytics every month to spot growth opportunities.
• Keep an eye on keyword performance to fine-tune your content strategy.
• Fix technical issues as they arise to maintain your search rankings.

As search engines and user behavior shift over time, staying updated on industry changes is crucial. A solid, consistently applied SEO strategy can boost your brand’s visibility and sales on Shopify. Stick with these steps to keep improving your SEO results.

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