Whether you’ve been running your Shopify store for two months or two years, it’s essential to tap into the power of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
After all, when done right, optimizing your content and product descriptions for search engines can have endless benefits. Not sure where to start? Not to worry — the best SEO app for Shopify will do all the hard work for you.
What is Good Website SEO?
Before we start to explore what is the best SEO app for Shopify, let’s cover the basics.
The purpose of SEO is to get your website pages, product pages, and blog posts ranking higher on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
According to many kinds of research, your online store needs to be the first result (or at least in the top three) to encourage more click-throughs.
Why? Well, when your website is ranking for a bunch of relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for, this can drive traffic for years to come.
A steady stream of organic traffic can then result in an increased number of:
- Website clicks (to other pages and posts)
- Email subscribers (if you include opt-in forms on your website pages)
- Of course, sales (from new customers)
How to Identify the Best Shopify SEO Plugin
The problem is, as the online world continues to evolve, so do SEO best practices. Google now uses over 200 factors when deciding where to position your website on SERPs. These factors are a combination of on-page and off-page SEO.
On-page SEO takes into account:
- Your content
- Technical SEO
- Store theme
- Website experience
- Internal links
On the other hand, off-page SEO considers how much credibility your website has in the World Wide Web. It goes off avenues of social proof such as:
- Backlinks
- Social media shares
- Influencer marketing
- Mentions
Sound confusing? The good news is that by using paid or even free Shopify SEO apps, you can improve your chances of ranking higher on Google searches.
Best Free SEO App for Shopify
Plug-In SEO
Did you know that Plug-In SEO is currently being used by over 90,000 Shopify store owners worldwide?
We suspect that this is down to two reasons:
- It offers a comprehensive free version
- This Shopify app’s designed with simplicity in mind
Who Is This App For?
Because of reason number one, the Plug-In SEO app for Shopify is ideal for new store owners.
That said, this plugin is also suitable for those with reasonable SEO knowledge who don’t want to spend a ton of time implementing the techniques because of reason number two.
What Does It Do?
Plug-In SEO calculates your website’s current SEO score so you get a realistic idea of where you’re at so you can plan where you want to be.
It also lists your website’s critical issues, SEO problems, and gives you advice on how to fix them.
It’s like having your little SEO assistant who performs automatic, regular checks to keep on top of things.
Top Benefits
The best things about Plug-In SEO are listed below. This plugin:
- Integrates with Google, Bing, or any other search engine your target audience could be using
- Provides straightforward instructions
- Tells you what to prioritize and spend your time and money on, including page titles, headings, meta descriptions, speed, a broken link, etc.
- Sends you frequent alerts by email
- Has excellent customer support
Pricing
There are two options for pricing with this SEO app for Shopify.
The Free Forever plan has all the features we just discussed. However, the Plus plan has many additional features.
For $20 per month, you don’t just get a list of SEO issues and instructions on fixing them. You also get automatic SEO improvements, instruction videos, and structured data from full JSON scripts.
Not sure if the Plus plan is worth it? You can try it for seven days for free. Just keep in mind that it takes months rather than days to reap the benefits of acceptable SEO practices.
Best for Functionality APP for Shopify
SEO Manager App Shopify
The Shopify SEO Manager app currently has 4.7 stars out of five on the app store (and thousands of reviews).
Thanks to its 20 features (15 of which are unique to the plugin), it just takes a minimal amount of effort to run so you can maximize your website’s SEO results.
Who Is This App For?
If you class yourself as a complete newbie and wouldn’t have a clue how to improve your search rankings, trust us — you’re not the only one.
But the good news is that SEO Manager is the best SEO Shopify app for beginners. It helps those who are new to website optimization to understand SEO and make significant improvements.
What Does It Do?
You can rely on SEO Manager to check your website, identify problem areas, offer suggestions, and fix most of the errors.
But that’s not all.
You can also rely on this plugin to present your website pages in JSON-LD structured data, a format that search engines understand. As a result, it can help you to boost your website rankings proactively.
Top Benefits
SEO Manager is considered one of the most functional apps for a Shopify website because:
- It covers all the necessary elements of SEO
- It paints an accurate picture of your website’s SEO performance
- It has some unique features, such as allowing you to set up redirects for out-of-stock products, 404 errors, and mobile-friendly testing
- You can integrate Google Trends for better SEO results
- There is a right level of support, including step-by-step instructions for every suggestion
Pricing
Unfortunately, free Shopify apps are few and far between. To get full access to SEO Manager, you’ll have to pay $20 per month. However, there is a seven-day trial available where you can try it out for yourself before committing to purchasing.
Best SEO Plugin for Shopify Technical Issues
Smart SEO
Smart SEO aims to reduce the amount of time Shopify store owners spend on their website SEO by up to 80%.
How? Well, it primarily focuses on automating complex SEO optimization tasks, so you don’t have to give them a second thought.
Who Is This Shopify App For?
This app was designed to tackle on-page SEO issues head-on so that none-the-wiser Shopify owners don’t have to.
To be more specific, it’s perfect for growing businesses who can’t afford to spend the time (or money) on SEO resources and would rather have automation convenience.
What Does It Do?
By using templates, Smart SEO is the only app to automatically generate meta tags (i.e., titles and descriptions) instantly.
Are you concerned that you’re running a store in multiple languages? Now you don’t need to be. This plugin allows you to create meta tags for each language in your store.
It will also automatically generate alt tags, fix broken links, and manage your sitemap to boost your website traffic ultimately.
Top Benefits
The best things about Smart SEO are:
- It helps you to generate structured data that is optimized Google and other search engines
- It focuses on automation, which saves productivity time
- Even though it’s not free, it’s the best Shopify app for SEO in terms of affordability
Pricing
Smart SEO costs $4.99 per month, which is less than the price of a deli lunch. Although, if you’d instead test out its features first, you can sign up for a seven-day trial.
How to Rank Without Using the Best SEO Plugin Shopify
Each Shopify SEO app that we’ve discussed can help improve your website rankings without the stress of learning and implementing every new technique.
That said, it is possible to drive traffic to your store without a Shopify SEO plugin. Here’s how:
- Learn keyword research and focus on creating blog posts based on keywords with information that’s relevant and valuable to your audience
- Take advantage of Google’s SEO tools that will help you determine which terms your website is already ranking for and which terms your audience is already searching for (such as Search Console, Trends, and Keyword Planner)
- Enlist the help of SEO experts and hire an agency
Alternatively, you can use both an SEO Shopify app and one or more of the above methods to double your chances of ranking high on Google search results.
Identify the Best Free Shopify SEO App for Your Store: The Takeaway
The good news is that every single option on this list is technically a free SEO app for Shopify. It’s worth signing up for a free trial before committing to a monthly fee.
As a recap:
- If you can’t afford to invest in SEO right now and prefer to take control of it yourself, Plug-In SEO offers a free comprehensive version
- If you’re new to SEO and can afford to invest in assistance when it comes to learning how to fix issues and improve your rankings, SEO Manager might be the most suitable app for you
- If you want to improve your website’s technical SEO score but don’t have much time or money to dedicate to it, opt for Smart SEO
Above all, remember that good website SEO is a long game, and it requires persistence to see results.
However, if you put in the work, you should notice increased views, clicks, and conversions after 3-6 months from high-quality organic traffic.
All the best!
