Optimizing Shopify collection pages is an underrated secret for improving SEO on your Shopify store.
Collection pages are like virtual aisles that group related products together, making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for.
In this video, search engine optimization expert Kai Davis and I discuss how to use Shopify collections to drive more SEO traffic to your ecommerce store.
In our conversation, Kai Davis shares how to think about and optimize your Shopify collection pages to reach more of the right shoppers in Google search.
Kai Davis, founder of Double Your Ecommerce, is a seasoned expert in Shopify SEO and Growth Marketing. With over a decade of experience, he has helped over 100 Shopify merchants expand their businesses.
Takeaways
Optimizing collection pages is a powerful strategy for improving SEO on Shopify stores.
Collection pages act as virtual aisles that group related products together, making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for.
To optimize Shopify collection pages, it's important to add a collection description, write a specific SEO title, and include a headline at the top of the page.
Internal linking to collection pages from blog posts or other pages on the website can improve SEO.
Google Search Console and Ahrefs are useful tools for tracking the performance of collection pages.
Why collections are a SEO super power for your Shopify store
(written by Kai Davis)
Almost every single store I work with isn’t creating enough collection pages.
Collection pages are a great way to get new, targeted landing pages ranking in Google.
I find that most of the time, stores see the highest amounts of revenue from search come through their collection pages. That means that the searchers who start their browsing journey on collection pages are often more valuable than customers who come in through blogs or product pages.
So why aren’t stores leveraging collections more effectively? Most of the time, they just aren’t thinking about them correctly.
How to think about collections
Collections can rank very well in Google for categorical terms, which are terms or phrases related to the products you sell.
That means collection pages are a great way to attract more search traffic to your site.
You want to rank your collection pages for category terms, for example:
If you’re selling quilting supplies, these are terms like ‘notions’ or ‘quarter panels.’
If you’re selling chocolate, these are terms like ‘chocolate truffles’ and ‘chocolate bonbons’
If you’re selling greeting cards, these are terms like ‘mother’s day illustrated greeting cards’ or ‘illustrated graduation cards’
Your collections in your Shopify store are like aisles in a brick and mortar store. Each collection can target a specific topic — like an aisle carries specific merchandise. It’s easy to set it up so this one has your chocolate bonbons, this one has your chocolate truffles, and this one has your chocolate gifts.
The very special thing that people forget about collections is that you have very few constraints on them. You could set up three separate collections, each optimized for a different target keyword, and each with the same products.
Like three collections for:
Chocolate truffles
Chocolate bonbons
Chocolate gifts
And each populate with the same products.
That’s a very effective way to take the same products and reach more customers searching in Google with them.
Here’s why this approach is okay:
Different target keywords: “chocolate truffles,” “chocolate bonbons,” and “chocolate gifts” are distinct search terms that people use, even though the products might be very similar or even identical.
Unique collection pages: you can create separate collection pages for each term, optimizing each page for its respective keyword. This helps capture search traffic from all sets of searchers.
To Google and your customers, you have a unique collection landing page optimized for each of these terms. That’s a great way to get a page ranking in Google and bring in more traffic.
How to optimize your collection pages
So, what should you focus on to optimize your collection pages? I wrote a guide on this and you can read the full thing for free at DoubleYourEcommerce.com — click the ‘Collection SEO’ link in the header or on the homepage, or check out the link below:
In the meantime, here are the top things to optimize:
Collection descriptions — This is the piece of content that shows on the collection page itself. It is very high impact for SEO and helps your customers orient themselves on the page. ~50-100 words will be impactful for your SEO.
Collection SEO Title — This is the piece of content that you set way at the bottom of a collection page. It is very high impact for SEO.
Collection Title (Page Headline) — This is the piece of content you set at the top of a collection page. It is impactful for SEO.
If you want your collection targeting a keyword — like Gourmet Chocolate Eclairs — you want to mention that keyword in each of those places. Mention it in the Collection Title, mention it in the SEO Title, and mention it in the collection description.
For every collection page you create, you want to make sure you’ve entered those three things. And if you’re optimizing your collection for a keyword, you want to make sure you’ve mentioned that keyword in each place.
How to monitor the performance of your collection pages
Once your newly optimized collection pages launch, you’ll want to track their success. Are they ranking for keywords? Are they not doing much? Here are a few ways to do that.
Google Search Console. That’s free and a great tool you should be running. The performance report in Search Console will tell you the specific keywords that your pages are ranking for and the amount of impressions that keyword gets.
Ahref’s Free Webmaster Plan. Ahrefs has a free versions of their suite of SEO tools available for your domain when you verify with Google Search Console. Very useful for tracking your performance or understanding which keywords you’re ranking for.
And there you have it. Collections are a great way to get more traffic. I hope you use this information to launch new collections for your store.
Need help with your Shopify SEO strategy?
Check out Kai's Shopify SEO services at his website, DoubleYourEcommerce.com.
Want Mallory's help with your overall marketing strategy? Schedule a 1:1 consulting session or check out the Badass Creatives Marketing Accelerator.
You can also check out this playlist for more videos about SEO for artists and creatives.