What a Shopify SEO Audit Should Actually Include

What a Shopify SEO Audit Should Actually Include

What a Shopify SEO Audit Should Actually Include

Want the full checklist? Read our guide: What a Shopify SEO Audit Should Actually Include.

Most Shopify SEO audits look impressive on paper but fall apart in practice. They’re often automated, overloaded with tools, and light on real insight.

A proper Shopify SEO audit should tell you exactly why your store isn’t performing as it should, what’s holding it back, and where the biggest opportunities lie — without technical jargon or vague recommendations.

In this guide, we’ll walk through what a professional Shopify SEO audit should actually include, so you know what to expect and what to avoid.

1. Discovery & Context (Before Anything Else)

Any meaningful Shopify SEO audit starts with context.

Before reviewing rankings, speed, or technical issues, we first need to understand the business itself — what it sells, who it serves, and what success actually looks like.

Without this context, SEO becomes guesswork. With it, every recommendation has a clear purpose.

2. Technical SEO Foundations (Can Google Crawl and Trust the Site?)

Before content or keywords matter, Google must be able to properly crawl, index, and understand a Shopify store.

This part of an SEO audit focuses on the technical foundations — the issues that can quietly block visibility even when a site looks great on the surface.

If these foundations aren’t solid, no amount of content or optimisation will deliver consistent results.

A proper Shopify SEO audit will typically review:

  • Indexing status in Google Search Console (indexed, not indexed, crawled but not indexed)

  • Core Web Vitals with a mobile-first focus

  • Page speed and layout stability

  • Canonical tag issues (very common on Shopify)

  • Duplicate content from collections, tags, and filters

  • XML sitemap and robots.txt health

  • Broken links and 404 errors

  • Mobile usability issues

 

On-Page SEO (where most Shopify stores struggle)

 

Beyond technical health, a strong Shopify SEO audit examines how well individual pages are structured and optimised. Many stores look great visually but lack the SEO foundations needed to rank consistently.

 

  • Homepage heading hierarchy (H1–H3 structure)

  • Collection page optimisation (often the biggest opportunity)

  • Product page templates and consistency

  • Meta titles and meta descriptions

  • Image alt text and accessibility

  • Internal linking structure

  • URL structure and clarity

  • Content depth compared to competitors

 

Content & Keyword Alignment

A Shopify SEO audit should also assess whether a site is targeting the right searches — not just any traffic.

This part of the audit looks at how well existing content aligns with real search intent, where opportunities are being missed, and whether pages are competing with each other unnecessarily.

  • What keywords the site currently ranks for (via Search Console)

  • What keywords the business thinks it ranks for

  • Missed keyword and content opportunities

  • Thin or duplicated content

  • Blog strategy (if any)

  • Category-level and commercial search intent

 

Authority & Trust Signals

A proper Shopify SEO audit doesn’t stop at technical checks and on-page structure. It also considers trust — both from Google’s perspective and from a user’s point of view.

Search engines favour sites that demonstrate credibility, consistency, and real-world legitimacy. An audit should therefore assess whether the site sends the right signals of authority and trust.

A thorough audit will review:

  • Backlink profile (high-level quality and relevance)

  • Brand mentions and online presence

  • Reviews and social proof

  • Internal E-E-A-T signals (expertise, experience, authority, trust)

  • About, Contact, and Policy pages

This is especially important for Irish and UK businesses operating in competitive markets.

Conversion & UX Signals (SEO That Actually Makes Money)

SEO isn’t just about rankings — it’s about results.

A strong Shopify SEO audit should include a light review of user experience and conversion flow to ensure that increased visibility would actually lead to enquiries or sales.

This typically includes:

  • Navigation clarity

  • Page flow and structure

  • Calls-to-action

  • Trust signals and reassurance

  • Friction points that may be limiting conversions

Improving rankings without addressing usability often leads to wasted effort.

What a Good Shopify SEO Audit Should Give You

At the end of the process, a meaningful SEO audit should deliver clarity, not confusion.

You should walk away with:

  • A plain-English summary of findings

  • Clear priorities, grouped by importance

  • An understanding of what’s holding the site back

  • Insight into what actually matters versus what doesn’t

Most importantly, you should know whether SEO is the right next step — and why.

Start With a Clear SEO Audit

If you’re considering SEO or content marketing for your Shopify store, the best place to start is with a proper audit.

A structured Shopify SEO audit provides an honest assessment of where your site stands, what opportunities exist, and what’s required to move forward — without pressure or obligation.

👉 You can view what’s included in our Free Shopify SEO Audit here.

If you want to see how we apply this in practice, you can request a Free Shopify SEO Audit here.

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