Optimizing your Shopify store: boost conversion, adjust SEO, and address loading times
6 min to read
Dec 30 2021
By Alex
Setting up an e-store on Shopify seems a straightforward task: until you start thinking about optimizing it to boost sales. Optimization can then look like a rabbit hole - no one knows how deep it goes.
However, you don't need to worry too much about it, as we've got your back. To save you the trouble, we've gone through dozens of articles on Shopify optimization, picked out the best, broken them up into 4 wide categories, and summed everything up below. Enjoy!
However, you don't need to worry too much about it, as we've got your back. To save you the trouble, we've gone through dozens of articles on Shopify optimization, picked out the best, broken them up into 4 wide categories, and summed everything up below. Enjoy!
Conversion rate optimization
The conversion rate is the holy grail of any e-commerce store. It's the most important indicator of your store's health, closely followed by your cart abandonment rate. Naturally, improving the conversion rate is your ultimate goal. The in-depth analysis below explains how you can do just that.
Higher Conversions, More Sales: Your Conversion Rate Optimization Starter Guide for 2021
If you ever needed a comprehensive guide on how your store's conversion rates can be improved, you've just found it. Shopify's article on the subject is something of a long read, but it's well worth your time. They have hard statistical data to back up their claims too.
17 Best Apps To Boost Your Shopify Conversion Rate in 2021
Convertize's piece delivers on its promise of naming the 17 most useful Shopify conversion apps. What makes it stand apart is attention to apps which you wouldn't normally associate with conversion (like page builders). The author never fails to mention the potential pitfalls of each app, and even explains which behavioral patterns they are based on.
31 conversion rate optimization tips for brands using Shopify
Lose the 'spin-to-win', temper UGC content on the homepage, and avoid vertical (aka 'hamburger') navigation. That's only a couple of juicy useful optimization tips you'll find in this piece from Kameleoon. Even we were pleasantly surprised by some of these.
How To Increase Your Shopify Conversion Rate
Nudgify do a good job of structuring their article from a psychological point of view. They explain what influences buyers' decision-making process by analyzing behavior, and offer ways of making potential customers feel secure and happy.
Higher Conversions, More Sales: 7 ways to Increase Your Shopify Conversion Rate
Your conversion and cart abandonment rates are the two most important indicators of your store's health. This piece from Uxplanet explains how the former can be bumped up - and the latter reduced - by giving useful guidance and supporting it with sound numbers.
SEO optimization
To drive more traffic to your website, you'll need to be mindful of search engine optimization. It's a way of making your e-store rank higher on Google's/Bing's search results pages. The increased exposure is exactly what you want. The pieces below will give you a thorough understanding of the matter.
Want to Rank Your Store? Get On Page One With This SEO Checklist
If you are new to SEO and want to get on top of things quickly, this Shopify guide is for you. It's called 'checklist' for a reason: the most important points are covered and they are explained in a manner accessible for anyone.
Shopify SEO - How to Optimize Your Shopify Store
All the essential tips you'd expect to find when making your store SEO-optimized are here. Style Factory also add instructions on how to adjust things in your Shopify admin panel - and how to set up accounts on various integral SEO-related sites.
Shopify SEO: How To Optimize Your Website in 2021 [Ultimate Guide]
The piece from Upqode briefly mentions the most important SEO strategies you should pursue, but what really makes it stand out is its focus on blogging as an integral part of your approach. If you thought about setting up a blog to drive more organic traffic, this article will give you everything you need.
Speed optimization
You might sell outstanding goods and your website may be a designer's dreamland - but no one is going to know about it if the loading times are enormous. Getting your pages to load in under 2 seconds should be the benchmark, as with each passing second you'll lose roughly 10% of potential customers. Read on how to speed up your e-store below.
The Ultimate Guide to Page Speed Optimization for Shopify [2021]
Although a bit drawn-out and with one too many links to either Shopify's official manual or Shopify's blog, Sherpas guide is well-structured and covers in detail everything you need to know about optimizing loading times. From fonts to images to apps - this is a good reference point if you think your e-store's pages are not loading quickly enough.
Best Shopify Speed Optimization Apps in 2021
If you know your loading times need improving but are at a loss which app to choose, Delight Chat have your back. They've put together a sweet summary of the best Shopify apps around, so you don't have to go through pages of search results on the subject.
Headless PWAs: Why They're Changing Ecommerce for Good
Shogun offer an unconventional way of fixing slow loading times: their solution is based on using PWAs (progressive web applications) and a headless approach (one which separates frontend and backend). It's definitely worth checking out if the usual methods simply don't cut it for your store.
How To Optimize Page Speed For Your Shopify Store: Technical Advice From CTOs
The piece from PageFly primarily focuses on the technical aspect of increasing your e-store's speed - just as it promises in the headline. You'll get a lot of useful advice on how to optimize your site's code, for example - but you'll also receive other recommendations, alongside a bunch of handy apps to aid you.
The Shopify Speed Score: What It Actually Means
Presidio take an interesting approach to Shopify's Page Speed Score: they explain why it's a relative number and why you (probably) shouldn't be worried if your score is low. And they do so with real-life examples. It's definitely worth 5-7 minutes of your time before you start deleting apps or messing with your theme's code.
Image optimization
Product images are essential if you want to sell well. However, simply uploading dozens of high-quality photos won't be enough - and might actually harm your conversion rate - if you don't optimize them properly. Find out how you can do that by reading the articles below.
10 Must-know Image Optimization Tips
Shopify's official blog handles all the basics of image optimization while finding a perfect balance between accessibility for readers and useful, sometimes in-depth, advice. If you need a place to get to grips with image optimization, we've just found it.
The Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Shopify Image Sizes in 2021
Opinew break down the different nuances of image resizing on your Shopify store, and go through different image formats to determine the best. They also provide a handy list of image optimization apps to give you a leg up.
Shopify Product Image Sizes: The Ultimate Guide (2022)
Sixads go over the crucial aspects of image optimization in a light and understandable manner - but what makes them stand out is careful attention to product images as a selling point, browsing on mobile devices, and a list of best practices in the industry.
6 Best Image Optimization Apps for Shopify Store in 2021
TinyIMG have compiled a list of the most useful apps which can help with image optimization. Some of these tools will also help with SEO. The 6 apps feature the functionality you would expect: image compression, resizing, adding alt text, and more.
How to Optimize Product Images for Faster Loading Times
PageFly deliver the basics of image optimization without going into the weeds too much, but at the same time, you don't feel anything's missing. Their crisp manner of getting the information across is refreshing and they also feature a warning for those who think simply deleting half the images is the answer.
How to Compress Images on Shopify (Easy 2021 Tutorial)
Increasily have written a manual on how to compress images online or through an app - for optimization purposes, of course. If you are stuck on how to proceed after finding the right compressing solution for your store, then this is a great reference point.
Conclusion
Optimizing your e-store to increase sales is not as easy as you might have thought at the outset. However, we are sure that you are now in a much better position to do that.
And if you ever get stuck, the guide above is a good reference point. From directly optimizing your conversion rate to paying attention to images, it covers a lot of ground. There's something for everyone there, even hardened professionals in the field.
By the way: Searchanise are no slackers when it comes to optimization either. Our Smart Search and Filter app for Shopify can make your conversion rate go through the roof in a matter of months, using a combination of smart search, customizable filters, and a bunch of handy sales tools. Give it a whirl - the first 14 days will come at no cost for you.
And if you ever get stuck, the guide above is a good reference point. From directly optimizing your conversion rate to paying attention to images, it covers a lot of ground. There's something for everyone there, even hardened professionals in the field.
By the way: Searchanise are no slackers when it comes to optimization either. Our Smart Search and Filter app for Shopify can make your conversion rate go through the roof in a matter of months, using a combination of smart search, customizable filters, and a bunch of handy sales tools. Give it a whirl - the first 14 days will come at no cost for you.
Alex
Senior copywriter at Searchanise. Rum, Beatles and football lover. Maybe not in that order.