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How to Add Keywords to Shopify Website — Step-by-Step SEO Guide
Adding keywords to your Shopify website is the single most important thing you can do to get free traffic from Google. Here’s exactly where to put them, how to write them, and what mistakes to avoid.
- What Are Keywords and Why Do They Matter for Shopify?
- How to Find the Right Keywords for Your Shopify Store
- Where to Add Keywords in Shopify (7 Key Locations)
- Step-by-Step: Adding Keywords to Product Pages
- How to Add Keywords to Collection Pages
- How to Add Keywords to Your Shopify Homepage
- How to Add Keywords to Shopify Blog Posts
- Adding Keywords to Image Alt Text in Shopify
- How to Optimize URL Handles (Slugs) in Shopify
- Keyword Mistakes That Hurt Your Shopify SEO
- FAQ
If you’ve been asking yourself “how do I add keywords to my Shopify website?”, you’re in the right place. Keywords are the words and phrases your customers type into Google when they’re looking for products like yours. When your Shopify store uses those exact words in the right places, Google understands what you sell and shows your store in search results.
The great news is that Shopify makes it fairly easy to add keywords to your store. You don’t need to touch any code. You just need to know where to add them and how to write them properly. That’s exactly what this guide covers.
Before you start: This guide focuses on on-page keyword optimization, what you add directly inside your Shopify admin. For a complete Shopify SEO strategy including backlinks, site speed, and structured data, check out our Shopify Store Management service where our team handles all of this for you.
🔑 What Are Keywords and Why Do They Matter for Shopify?
Keywords are the exact words people type into Google to find products. For example, if someone types “buy black leather wallet for men” into Google, that entire phrase is a keyword. If your Shopify product page uses those exact words, Google is much more likely to show your page in the results.
For a Shopify store, keywords matter because:
Without keywords, Google has no idea what your store sells. With the right keywords in the right places, Google can match your pages to thousands of buyer searches every month, and send you free traffic without any ad spend.
“The best Shopify stores don’t just look good, they speak Google’s language. Keywords are that language.”
— Shark Labs Global, Shopify SEO Team🔎 How to Find the Right Keywords for Your Shopify Store
Before you add keywords anywhere in Shopify, you need to know which keywords to use. There’s no point adding random words, you need to use the actual phrases your customers search for. Here’s how to find them quickly:
Method 1 — Google’s Free Autocomplete (Fastest)
Go to Google.com, type in your product name, and don’t press Enter. Look at what Google suggests in the dropdown. These are real searches that real people make. For example, typing “leather wallet” might show suggestions like “leather wallet mens slim,” “leather wallet womens”, “leather wallet personalized”, these are all keyword ideas you can use.
Method 2 — Free Keyword Tools
These free tools show you how many people search a keyword per month:
- ✓Google Search Console — Shows keywords people already use to find your store. If your store is new, connect it first at search.google.com/search-console
- ✓Ubersuggest (free plan) — Type a product name and it shows monthly search volume and keyword ideas
- ✓Google Keyword Planner — Free inside Google Ads. Shows exact monthly searches for any keyword
- ✓AnswerThePublic (free searches) — Shows question-based keywords like “how to clean leather wallet” — great for blog posts
What Makes a Good Shopify Keyword?
| Keyword Type | Example | Search Volume | Competition | Use For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad / Short-tail | leather wallet | High | Very High | Homepage, brand awareness |
| Mid-tail | mens leather wallet slim | Medium | Medium | Collection pages |
| Long-tail | personalized leather wallet gift for husband | Lower | Low | Product pages — best for Shopify! |
| Question-based | how to care for leather wallet | Medium | Low | Blog posts |
Best practice for new Shopify stores: Start with long-tail keywords (3–5 words). They have lower competition, which means you can rank faster. “Personalized leather bifold wallet for men” is easier to rank for than just “leather wallet” and people who search long-tail keywords are usually closer to buying.
Want a Shopify Store That’s Built for SEO From Day One?
Our team builds Shopify stores with proper keyword architecture, optimized meta tags, and a content structure that Google loves.
📍 Where to Add Keywords in Shopify — 7 Key Locations
Shopify gives you several places to add keywords. Each location has a different impact on your SEO. Here are all 7 places you should be targeting:
🛍️ Step-by-Step: Adding Keywords to Product Pages
Product pages are where most of your Shopify keyword work should go. Each product page should target one specific keyword. Here’s exactly how to do it:
Log into your Shopify admin. Click Products in the left sidebar. Click the product you want to optimize. You’ll land on the product edit page.
The Title field at the top of the product edit page is the most important keyword location. Make sure your primary keyword is in the title — but write it naturally. Don’t just stuff the keyword in, make it readable for humans too.
Good title: “Men’s Slim Leather Bifold Wallet — Minimalist Card Holder” — Bad title: “Wallet Leather Men Wallet Slim Wallet Men’s Wallet” (this is keyword stuffing and Google penalizes it).
In the Description box, write a proper product description and use your keyword naturally 2–3 times. Use it in the first sentence or first paragraph — this signals to Google that the whole page is about that topic.
Scroll down to the bottom of the product page. You’ll see a section called “Search engine listing.” Click “Edit” to open it. This is where you control exactly what Google shows in search results. This is one of the most important keyword locations in all of Shopify.
Meta Title rules: Keep it under 60 characters. Put your keyword first (or early). Add your brand name at the end. Meta Description rules: Keep it under 160 characters. Include the keyword naturally. Write it like an ad — make people want to click.
🗂️ How to Add Keywords to Collection Pages
Collection pages (also called category pages) are often the highest-traffic pages on a Shopify store. Google loves them because they cover a broad topic. For example, a “Men’s Wallets” collection page can rank for dozens of related searches at once.
Here’s how to optimize them. The process is the same as products — just go to Products → Collections in your Shopify admin.
Pro tip: Add a short 50–100 word description to every collection page. Most Shopify stores skip this. It’s one of the easiest ways to improve your Shopify store’s SEO performance without any technical work.
Struggling to Rank Your Shopify Store on Google?
Our Shopify SEO team handles keyword research, on-page optimization, and content strategy — so you can focus on running your business.
🏠 How to Add Keywords to Your Shopify Homepage
Your homepage should target your most important, broad keyword, usually something like “brand name + main product category.” Here’s how to edit it:
In your Shopify admin, click Online Store in the left sidebar, then click Preferences. This is where you set the homepage title and meta description, two of the most important keyword locations on your entire website.
Your homepage meta title should include your brand name + primary keyword + a benefit (like “Free Shipping” or “UK’s No.1”). Keep it under 60 characters. Your homepage meta description should be 130–160 characters and naturally include your main keyword.
✍️ How to Add Keywords to Shopify Blog Posts
Blog posts are one of the best ways to get long-tail keyword traffic to your Shopify store. Every blog post targets a specific keyword and brings in people who are researching your type of product.
For example, if you sell leather wallets, a blog post titled “How to Care for a Leather Wallet” will rank for people who already own or are considering buying a leather wallet. At the end of the post, you link to your product pages, turning readers into buyers.
For a full content strategy that brings consistent organic traffic to your Shopify store, our Shopify digital marketing service combines keyword-optimized blog content with social media and ads to grow your store from every direction.
🖼️ Adding Keywords to Image Alt Text in Shopify
Image alt text is the written description of an image. Google cannot “see” images — it reads the alt text to understand what the image shows. Adding keywords here helps you rank in Google Image Search, which can drive extra traffic to your store.
On the product edit page, click on any product image. A small panel will open with an “Add alt text” field. Click it and type a short description that includes your keyword naturally.
Alt text formula: [Color] + [Material] + [Product name] + [Use case]
Example: Brown slim leather bifold wallet for men, card slots visible — This is descriptive, includes the keyword, and helps visually impaired users too.
🔗 How to Optimize URL Handles (Slugs) in Shopify
The URL of a page is a ranking signal for Google. A URL like /products/mens-slim-leather-bifold-wallet is much better than /products/product-1284. Shopify automatically creates a URL from your product title — but you can edit it to make it cleaner and more keyword-focused.
In the product edit page, scroll down to the Search engine listing section. At the bottom, you’ll see the URL and handle field. Click to edit it. Keep it short, lowercase, words separated by hyphens, and your keyword included.
Important: If you change the URL of a page that already has Google traffic, you MUST set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. In Shopify, go to Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects. Without a redirect, Google will think the page is gone and you’ll lose your rankings.
Want More Free Traffic to Your Shopify Store?
SEO is just one channel. Our digital marketing team combines SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and social media to grow your Shopify store from every angle.
⚠️ Keyword Mistakes That Hurt Your Shopify SEO
Adding keywords the wrong way is just as harmful as not adding them at all. Here are the most common mistakes Shopify store owners make — and how to avoid them:
- ✗Keyword stuffing — Repeating your keyword 10+ times in a product description. Google sees this as spam and will lower your rankings. Use the keyword naturally, 2–3 times maximum in the body.
- ✗Targeting the same keyword on multiple pages — If five of your product pages all target “leather wallet,” they will compete against each other in Google (this is called keyword cannibalization). Each page must have its own unique, specific keyword.
- ✗Ignoring the meta title and meta description — These are the first things Google and customers see in search results. Not optimizing them is leaving free traffic on the table. Always fill these in for every product, collection, and page.
- ✗Leaving image alt text blank — Most Shopify stores do this. Every image without alt text is a missed keyword opportunity and is also bad for accessibility.
- ✗Using only short, super-competitive keywords — “shoes” or “wallet” are searched millions of times but have millions of competitors. New stores should start with long-tail keywords like “handmade leather wallet for men UK” where competition is lower.
- !Never updating your keywords — Search trends change. A keyword popular two years ago may have dropped. Review your Google Search Console data every 3–6 months and update pages that are losing traffic.
- !Skipping collection page descriptions — Shopify lets you add a description to every collection. Most store owners leave this blank. Adding even 50–100 words of keyword-rich description significantly improves collection page rankings.
“One well-optimized product page that ranks on page 1 for a specific long-tail keyword will bring more revenue than 100 unoptimized pages that never show up in search results.”
— Shark Labs Global, Shopify SEO Team📊 Quick Reference: Keyword Optimization Checklist
Use this checklist every time you add a new product, collection, or page to your Shopify store:
| Location | Add Keyword? | Length / Rule | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Title | ✅ Yes — primary keyword | 60–80 characters, readable | Very High |
| Meta Title | ✅ Yes — keyword first | Under 60 characters | Very High |
| Meta Description | ✅ Yes — naturally | 130–160 characters | High |
| Product Description | ✅ Yes — 2–3 times | 150+ words ideally | High |
| URL Handle | ✅ Yes — keyword-rich | Short, lowercase, hyphens | High |
| Image Alt Text | ✅ Yes — descriptive | Under 125 characters | Medium |
| Collection Title | ✅ Yes — broader keyword | Natural and descriptive | Very High |
| Collection Description | ✅ Yes — add text! | 50–150 words minimum | High |
| Blog Post Title (H1) | ✅ Yes — keyword in H1 | Includes exact keyword | Very High |
| Homepage Preferences | ✅ Yes — brand + keyword | Under 60 chars meta title | Very High |
Let Our Team Handle All of This For Your Shopify Store
From keyword research and on-page SEO to product listings, content, and ads — we manage Shopify stores end-to-end so they rank higher and sell more.