The URLs for your Shopify store significantly influence your search engine rankings and user experience, making them the cornerstone of your website’s success. Creating SEO-friendly and user-friendly URLs is essential for optimizing your online store.
Additionally, posts containing target keywords or similar phrases in the URL receive 45% more clicks, emphasizing the importance of URL optimization. When you register for Shopify, you receive a default domain, which forms the basis of your store’s online identity.
It’s crucial to evaluate whether your Shopify URLs effectively contribute to higher search rankings and facilitate a seamless experience for your customers. If you’re uncertain about their effectiveness, best practices are available to enhance your URLs, strengthen your SEO, and improve customer satisfaction.
This post will provide an in-depth look at SEO friendly Shopify URLs, covering everything from the default URL structure to optimizing product pages, collection pages, and internal links. Each product, collection, and page within a Shopify store has its own unique URL, making it vital to manage them properly.
We will address the significance of URL consistency and its impact on your store’s performance, guiding you through each step to establish search engine-friendly and client-friendly URLs. From selecting the appropriate URL structure to implementing best practices, this guide will equip you with the knowledge needed to enhance your Shopify store.
How Shopify URL Structure Works
URLs on your Shopify store are crucial in determining your search engine rankings and enhancing user experience. The structure of your URLs is vital for achieving online success. This section will provide a detailed understanding of URL optimization for improved ecommerce SEO and better customer browsing.
Standard URL Structure in Shopify and Basic Components
Shopify generates URLs that adhere to a specific format by default. The standard structure generally follows a predictable pattern based on the type of content. Common examples include:
- Homepage: https://yourstore.com/
Your homepage URL is essential as it is often the first point of contact for visitors and search engines. A clean, straightforward URL helps establish your brand identity.
- Product Pages: https://yourstore.com/products/product-name
Product URLs should be descriptive, incorporating relevant keywords that reflect the product’s name or type. This not only aids search engines in understanding the content but also improves click-through rates.
- Collections: https://yourstore.com/collections/collection-name
Optimizing collection URLs by including relevant keywords can enhance visibility for category searches, making it easier for potential customers to find grouped products.
- Blog Posts: https://yourstore.com/blogs/blog-name/post-title
Using clear and concise URLs for blog posts that include target keywords can significantly impact SEO. This helps in indexing and improves the likelihood of appearing in search results.
- Pages: https://yourstore.com/pages/page-title
Using descriptive titles in the URL is crucial for static pages like “About Us” or “Contact. ” This enhances user experience and improves search engine understanding of the page content.
Optimizing your URL structure by keeping it short, relevant, and user-friendly is critical. Search engines favor URLs that are easy to read and comprehend, contributing to better rankings. Additionally, using hyphens to separate words in your URLs, rather than underscores or spaces, helps search engines recognize individual terms more effectively. Keeping URLs consistent and organized can also benefit your site’s overall structure and navigation, creating a seamless experience for your visitors.
Limitations Of Shopify URLs
Shopify has several limitations regarding URL structure and customization that can pose challenges for merchants aiming to optimize their online stores effectively.
- Rigid URL Structure: Shopify’s URL format is relatively inflexible, with predefined paths that cannot be altered completely. For instance, pages are consistently accessed through the /pages/ folder, products through /products/, and collections through /collections/. This inflexibility complicates efforts to create a URL hierarchy that accurately represents the site’s structure and content organization, making it harder for both users and search engines to navigate.
- Lack of Subcategories: Shopify does not support subcategories in its URL structure. While merchants may wish to categorize items like “Clothing,” creating URLs such as /clothing/shirts/ or /clothing/pants/ is not possible. Instead, users are limited to a flat structure like /collections/shirts or /collections/pants, which can hinder effective taxonomy display and navigation. This limitation can detract from user experience, making it challenging for customers to find products, especially as e-commerce trends increasingly lean towards categorization.
- Duplicate Product URLs: Duplicate product URLs also present a significant challenge. Shopify permits product access through both /collections/ and /products/ URL structures. For example, a product named “Blue T-Shirt” could be accessed at both /collections/shirts/blue-t-shirt and /products/blue-t-shirt. This duplication can lead to issues with search engine optimization (SEO), as search engines may interpret these URLs as separate pages with identical content, potentially harming search rankings and causing user confusion. Employing canonical tags can help mitigate this issue, but it adds another layer of complexity for store owners.
- Title Tag Limitations: Shopify’s restriction on title tags to 70 characters can be limiting. While it may seem adequate, many experts suggest a more compelling SEO-friendly title length of around 60 characters or 600 pixels to ensure clarity and relevance in search engine results pages (SERPs). Exceeding this limit may lead to truncated title tags and missed opportunities to convey essential keywords or brand messages.
- Automated Sitemap Generation: Shopify automatically generates a sitemap that lacks customization options. While this feature benefits smaller stores, it can become problematic for larger sites with numerous pages that should not be indexed, such as blog archives or pages with duplicate content. An automatically generated sitemap might inadvertently include these pages, leading to unnecessary crawling and indexing by search engines, which can dilute SEO efforts.
- Non Editable URL Slugs: Lastly, the URL slugs in Shopify are non-editable. The URL slug, which usually reflects the last part of the URL after the domain name, cannot be adjusted to mirror the site’s hierarchy. For example, if a category called “Clothing” has a subcategory named “Shirts,” creating a URL like /clothing/shirts/blue-t-shirt is not feasible. Instead, merchants are confined to a URL such as /products/blue-t-shirt, which fails to adequately represent the site’s structure, ultimately affecting both SEO performance and user navigation.
By understanding these limitations, Shopify users can better strategize their SEO efforts and improve overall site functionality, making it essential to stay informed about best practices for e-commerce URL structuring and management.
How Does URL Structure Impact Site Hierarchy?
The organization of your URLs is vital for search engines to interpret your site’s hierarchy effectively. A clear URL structure not only helps search engines understand how different pages, collections, and products in your store relate to one another, but it also enhances user experience by making URLs more intuitive and readable.
Shopify’s Default URL Structure
Shopify’s default URL format includes the base domain, followed by “/collections” or “/products,” and then the respective name of the collection or product. For example:
- yourstore.com/collections/collection-name
- yourstore.com/products/product-name
While this structure works for basic functionality, it has notable limitations:
- The URLs lack descriptive elements and are not optimized for SEO, making it harder for search engines to associate keywords with your pages.
- The structure is flat, with all products and collections positioned under the “/collections” and “/products” directories, resulting in a missed opportunity to incorporate relevant keywords that could improve search visibility.
There is no option for creating a hierarchical category structure that includes subcategories, which can be particularly beneficial for organizing products in larger catalogs.
Impact on Site Hierarchy
The flat URL structure in Shopify’s default setup contributes to a similar flat site hierarchy. All products and collections are on the same level, preventing the nesting of categories. This flat hierarchy can lead to a disorganized site structure, especially for stores with many products, making it more challenging for customers to navigate and locate items efficiently.
From an SEO perspective, a flat site structure is suboptimal. Search engines favor a clear hierarchy where related content is grouped, as this enhances link equity and improves the chances of higher page rankings. SEO experts say well-structured URLs can significantly impact crawl efficiency, helping search engines discover and index pages more effectively. Additionally, structured URLs with keywords can also encourage higher click-through rates from search results, as they provide clear context about the page’s content.
Types Of Shopify URL Structures
Shopify features various URL structures that are essential for effective site navigation and SEO. If you’re an e-commerce store owner, these terms might seem confusing. However, we will clarify how to manage your Shopify URL structure effectively. A well-organized URL structure enhances user experience and plays a crucial role in SEO. By optimizing your URLs, you can ensure that search engines index your pages correctly and rank them appropriately. Implementing best practices, such as using descriptive keywords and maintaining a logical hierarchy, can significantly boost your store’s visibility and performance online.
Store Domain URL Structure
Shopify’s “Store Domain” serves as the unique web address for your online store, representing your brand and acting as a digital storefront for customers. This is the URL that consumers use to access your Shopify shop, making it crucial for branding and marketing efforts.
For example, if your business is named “GreenLeaf Organics,” your store domain might appear as:
greenleaforganics.myshopify.com
In this case, “greenleaf organics” is your store’s distinctive name, while “myshopify.com” is provided by Shopify. Many shop owners prefer a more professional and branded image, which is why Shopify offers the option to use a custom domain. This allows you to replace “.myshopify.com” with a domain that reflects your brand. A custom domain can also improve your credibility, as consumers often associate personalized domains with established businesses.
To add a custom domain to your Shopify shop, purchase it from a domain registrar, GoDaddy, or Namecheap, and connect it to the admin panel. Shopify provides step-by-step guidance to help you link your custom domain. Once linked, customers can use your store’s domain name, making finding and remembering your business easier.
For instance:
greenleaforganics.com
A unique domain, like “greenleaforganics.com,” enhances customer recall and provides a tailored experience. This distinct domain represents your business and improves online visibility, contributing to better search engine optimization (SEO) results. Studies have shown that businesses with custom domains rank higher in search engine results, making it easier for potential customers to discover your products. Additionally, a branded domain can foster trust among your audience, encouraging repeat visits and purchases.
Product Pages URL Structure
Shopify’s standard product page URL structure consists of the domain name followed by “/products/” and the product handle derived from the product name. This clear and consistent format not only aids user experience but also enhances SEO performance.
For instance, consider a Shopify store selling “Red Running Shoes” on the TrendyFootwear platform:
- Domain: trendyfootwear.myshopify.com
- Product: Red Running Shoes
In this case, the URL for the product would be:
URL: trendyfootwear.myshopify.com/products/red-running-shoes
Here, the domain name is trendy footwear.myshopify.com, while “/products/” indicates the product page’s location. The product handle “red-running-shoes” is based on the product’s name, with hyphens replacing spaces for better readability.
This structure effectively organizes the products section, facilitating navigation for both visitors and search engines. Additionally, having keyword-rich URLs can improve the store’s visibility in search results, leading to higher click-through rates. A well-structured URL also helps in sharing the product links, as they are easy to read and remember, enhancing overall marketing efforts.
Moreover, businesses can customize their product handles to be more descriptive, which can further aid in SEO and user engagement, making it easier for potential customers to find their desired products.
Collection Pages URL Structure
Visualize a bustling marketplace where each collection page represents a distinct themed area within your Shopify store. For instance, a collection called “Beach Bliss” could feature towels, sunhats, and sunscreen, while “Hats for Head Honchos” might showcase fedoras, flat caps, and sun protection gear. The URLs for these collection pages guide customers to the right sections of your store, enhancing the shopping experience by providing easy navigation.
The structure is straightforward:
Your store URL + / + collections + / + collection name
For example, if you have a “Weekend Adventure” clothing collection, the URL would look like this:
besttrendsclothing.myshopify.com – This is your main store entrance, welcoming visitors to explore your offerings. /collections – This directs customers to the various collection pages, showcasing your store’s diverse range of products. /weekend-adventure/ – This link leads to the section dedicated to items designed for outdoor activities and leisure, such as hiking gear, casual wear, and travel accessories.
It’s important to treat the URLs of collection pages like straightforward invitations. Ensure they are clear and descriptive of the products offered. Avoid using complex codes or irrelevant numbers; clarity will help customers recognize that this collection is focused on providing outdoor enjoyment and leisure. According to Shopify SEO best practices, optimized URLs can improve search engine visibility and attract more organic traffic to your store, ultimately boosting sales and customer engagement.
Blog Pages / Posts URL Structure
Blog Posts:
These are essential components of your website, providing key information about your business and helping to establish trust with your audience. Key pages include:
- About Me page: This page outlines your company, its founders, and the values it upholds. It often serves as the heart of your brand, giving visitors a glimpse into your mission, vision, and the story behind your business. Including personal anecdotes or the journey of your founders can foster a deeper connection with your audience.
- Contact Us Page: Ensure readers can easily reach out to you. This page should feature multiple contact options, including an email address, phone number, and even a contact form. Additionally, consider integrating a live chat feature to enhance customer engagement and provide real-time support.
- Shop Now page: Showcase your latest collections with a direct link to your shop. Use high-quality images and compelling product descriptions to entice visitors. Incorporating user-generated content, such as customer photos and reviews, can further enhance credibility and encourage purchases.
- Static information pages: Share your policies, FAQs, or other vital details. This includes shipping and return policies, privacy policies, and terms of service. Having this information easily accessible can improve customer satisfaction and reduce the number of inquiries you receive.
Posts on the Blog:
These elements are dynamic and consistently offer fresh content. They can be thought of as temporary showcases that engage your audience and encourage interaction:
- Style guidelines and trend reports: Keep your audience informed about current fashion trends and provide styling tips. Collaborating with fashion influencers or industry experts for guest posts can diversify your content and attract their followers to your platform.
- In-depth posts and interviews: Explore specific topics to demonstrate your expertise and connect with industry leaders. Featuring interviews with designers or fashion innovators can add value and position your brand as a thought leader in the industry.
- Personal style stories: Share real-life experiences that resonate with your audience and highlight unique fashion narratives. This could include testimonials from customers who have found confidence through your products, creating an emotional connection with potential buyers.
- DIY projects and tutorials: Offer practical and creative ideas for upcycling, personalizing, and maintaining clothing. Visual content, like video tutorials, can enhance engagement, as many users prefer learning through visual means.
While blog pages provide the foundational structure of your site, blog posts introduce the evolving content that encourages readers to return. Tailor the material to suit your business and target audience effectively, ensuring it reflects their interests and aligns with your brand’s voice. Regularly updating your blog with fresh content can also improve your search engine ranking, driving more organic traffic to your site.
Changing URLs To Make Them SEO Friendly
Shopify allows you to customize the latter part of the URL for products and collections. You can access this feature through the “Edit Website SEO” section when editing a product or collection. Customizing URLs is a practical feature and a critical element in optimizing your store for both users and search engines.
Adjusting the URL slugs helps create a more organized site structure that resembles a hierarchical category system, such as:
- yourstore.com/category/subcategory/product-name
- yourstore.com/category/collection-name
This organization aids in grouping related products and collections, enhancing user experience and potentially improving SEO. By structuring your URLs hierarchically, you provide visitors with a clear path to navigate through your store, ultimately leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.
However, it’s essential to understand that Shopify’s core URL structure remains unchanged. The directories “/collections,” “/products,” and “/pages” will always be present, and customization is limited to the final portion of the URL. This limitation emphasizes the need for creativity in URL customization to maximize SEO potential.
Other Considerations
When modifying your Shopify URLs, consider these points:
- Utilize Clear, Descriptive Keywords: Ensure your URLs accurately reflect the content, making them more appealing to both users and search engines.
- Keep URLs Short and Straightforward: Shorter URLs tend to perform better and are easier for customers to remember and share.
- Use Hyphens to Separate Words, Avoiding Underscores: Search engines treat hyphens as spaces, which aids in keyword recognition.
- Maintain Consistency with Lowercase Letters: Consistency in casing helps avoid confusion and potential duplicate content issues.
- Exclude Tags and Categories to Prevent Duplicate Content Issues: This practice enhances SEO by ensuring that search engines index your site more effectively.
- If migrating from another platform, plan how your existing category structure will translate to Shopify’s collection-based system. This can streamline the transition, ensuring that your existing SEO equity is preserved and user experience remains intact.
How To Update The URL Structure Of Your Shopify Store
Given the limitations of Shopify’s default URL structure, updating URLs is often necessary for better SEO and user experience. Research indicates that over 80% of Shopify stores have customized URLs to reflect their brand names. Customizing URLs can achieve several goals:
- Improve Navigation and User Experience: Default URLs often lack context regarding content hierarchy. Customizing URLs clarifies product and collection organization, making it easier for users to find what they need. A study showed that well-structured URLs can significantly decrease bounce rates.
- Enhance SEO: Search engines favor descriptive URLs that convey site content. The default Shopify URLs may not be SEO-friendly, but editing them can improve search rankings by providing more relevant information. According to industry experts, descriptive URLs can lead to a 30% increase in click-through rates.
- Maintain Consistency with Existing Branding: If migrating to Shopify from another platform, preserving your current URL structure helps maintain brand recognition and ensures a smoother transition. This consistency can strengthen brand loyalty.
- Support a Hierarchical Category Structure: The default Shopify structure is relatively flat. By editing URLs, you can create a more hierarchical system with subcategories and nested collections, enhancing user experience and SEO. This approach not only helps customers navigate but also allows search engines to index your site more efficiently.
While Shopify’s default URL structure is functional, customizing your URLs improves site hierarchy, user experience, and SEO. A well-organized category structure through URL customization makes it easier for customers to find products and for search engines to comprehend and rank your content effectively.
Remember the limitations of Shopify’s URL structure and adhere to best practices for URL optimization. With thoughtful planning and customization, you can build a Shopify site with a clear and effective hierarchy that benefits both users and search engines, leading to greater visibility and potential sales.
Store Domain URL Structure: How to Add a Domain Name
When you signed up for Shopify, your store was automatically assigned a myshopify.com URL. If you want to change the web address customers see, you’ll need to add a custom domain, like www.example.com. Here’s how you can do it:
- Buy a domain through Shopify: This makes the setup easier. If it is your first Shopify domain, it will be the default web address that customers see.
- Connect an existing domain: If you already use a domain from another provider, you can link it to Shopify. However, the provider will still manage the domain, pay, and renew.
- Transfer your domain to Shopify: If your domain is with a third-party provider, you can transfer it to Shopify to manage everything from your Shopify admin If you sell internationally, you can use the international domains to specify specific domains for individual regions.
To remove the myshopify.com URL, you’ll need to:
- Purchase a new domain through Shopify or connect an existing one.
- Transfer your domain to Shopify if it was purchased from providers like Google Domains, GoDaddy, or 1&1 IONOS.
For Shopify Plus users, you can update your wholesale store’s domain through the Wholesale channel:
- To modify your store settings, visit Sales channels > Wholesale > Preferences > Wholesale store domain.
If you’re on the Basic, Shopify, or Advanced Shopify plans, follow these steps:
- Log into your Shopify admin dashboard and go to the “Settings” tab.
- Click “Domains” to either purchase or connect a domain.
- Choose “Change to a new myshopify.com domain” to update your store’s domain.
- After selecting the domain, click “Add domain” to complete the process.
Note: You can change your domain name only once, so choose carefully. Your original myshopify.com domain will still be accessible in your admin panel, allowing you to reference it if needed. Additionally, no extra charges are associated with making this change, so that you can update your domain without cost.
How To Update Your Product URL Structure On Shopify
Shopify automatically assigns a unique web address to each new store, formatted as https:>[Your store name].myshopify.com/products/[product name] This structure is the default format, including the store domain, the products prefix, and URL slug. While this format is functional, it is not helpful for branding and SEO.
Customizing these URLs can significantly improve your store’s SEO and user experience. On average, a typical Shopify store has approximately 300 unique URLs for products and collections. Clean and adequately formatted URLs may contribute to higher click-through rates, improve search engine visibility, or just make the website look more professional to customers.
Steps to Change Product URLs in Shopify
To change a product URL in your Shopify store, follow these steps:
- Log into your Shopify admin dashboard and go to the Products section.
- Select the product you want to edit.
- Scroll down to the Search engine listing preview section.
- Click the Edit website SEO button.
- In the URL and handle field, modify the end portion of the URL—specifically, the [product-name] part. This is the only segment of the URL structure you can change.
- After updating the URL, click Save to apply the changes.
When a product’s URL is changed, there are potential problems with links as well as SEO, and so 301 redirects from the old URL to the new URL must be created. This way, visitors can access the product through the previous URL as well as the search engines. Also, if the old product URL has been used in your store, then replace all internal links or references to that URL with the new URL to provide a smooth navigation experience to customers.
Shopify limits changes to the basic structure of the URL and does not allow changes to the structure like /products/, but the URL slug that is added to the product-specific URL can be modified to enhance the SEO friendliness of the URL as well as the user-friendly aspect of the URL.
How to Bulk Edit Product URLs
For merchants with extensive product catalogs, managing and updating product URLs manually can be cumbersome. Shopify provides methods for efficiently bulk editing product URLs across your entire store. Common reasons for bulk editing include improving SEO, rebranding, and addressing URL inconsistencies.
Methods for Bulk Editing Product URLs:
Shopify Bulk Editor
- Navigate to the Products page in your Shopify admin.
- Select the products you want to edit by checking the boxes next to them.
- Click Bulk Edit at the top.
- In the bulk editor, locate the URL handle (SEO) column and edit the URL handle for each product.
- After making your changes, click Save to update the product URLs.
CSV Export and Import
- Export your product data to a CSV file from the Products page in your Shopify admin.
- Open the CSV file in a spreadsheet editor like Excel or Google Sheets.
- Find the Handle column and update the URL handles as needed.
- Save the CSV file and re-import it into your Shopify store.
Shopify Apps
For stores with a large number of products, Shopify SEO apps can facilitate bulk editing of URLs alongside other product attributes, saving time. Popular options include:
- Excelify – Enables bulk editing of product URLs, titles, SEO-friendly descriptions, Schema markup for products and more.
- Bulk Product Edit – Offers a user-friendly interface for bulk editing product URLs and attributes.
Shopify API
The Shopify API provides a programmatic method to interact with your store’s data, including products. To use the API for bulk editing product URLs:
- Authenticate your application with the Shopify API.
- Retrieve a list of all products using the API.
- Update the URL handles for each product.
- Send the updated product data back to Shopify to save the changes.
By utilizing these methods, you can efficiently update product URLs across your Shopify store without the need for manual edits for each product.
How To Update Your Collection URL Structure On Shopify
If you find complex collection URLs challenging, you can easily create more user-friendly links. Follow the steps below to modify your Shopify collection handles.
- Step 1: Access the “Products” section in your Shopify admin panel and select “Collections” from the drop-down menu.
- Step 2: After completing Step 1, choose the collection you wish to edit.
- Step 3: On the collection editing page, scroll down to the “Search engine listing” section and click the “Edit” button.
- Step 4: Locate the Collection handle field. This text appears after your domain name in the URL.
The typical structure of a Shopify collection page URL is:
https://[yourstorename].myshopify.com/collections/[collection-handle]
Here’s a breakdown of each part of the URL:
- https://[yourstorename].myshopify.com: This is the base URL of your Shopify store.
- /collections/: This fixed part indicates that the page is a collection page.
- [collection-handle]: This dynamic part represents the specific collection. The collection handle is crucial as it affects how search engines and users perceive and access your collection pages.
Note: Changing Shopify collection URLs follows the same editing rules as product URLs. While you can modify the collection URL handle, remember that the /collections/ subdirectory must remain intact.
If you’re not satisfied with the current handle for a collection, changing it is straightforward. Here’s how:
- Log in to your Shopify admin panel.
- Navigate to “Products” and then “Collections.”
- Find and select the collection you want to modify.
- In the “Collection details” section, locate the current “Handle” field.
- Change the handle to your desired new value, adhering to best practices.
- Click “Save” at the top of the page.
Your collection URL will now reflect the new handle you’ve chosen, making it easier for customers to find their desired products.
How To Change A Blog URL For Shopify?
Changing the URL of a blog post in Shopify can significantly enhance your SEO and create more user-friendly links. The default URL structure can often lead to confusion; for instance, naming your blog “blog” may result in a URL like /blogs/blog/posts-title, which is not ideal. While some single-blog websites use titles like “News,” you have the flexibility to choose any name, but the /blogs/ portion will remain consistent.
To streamline your Shopify blog URLs and make them clearer, follow these straightforward steps:
- Log in to your Shopify store’s admin panel.
- Navigate to “Sales Channel” and select “Online Store.”
- Click on “Blog Posts” to view your existing posts.
- Select the blog post you wish to edit.
- Scroll down to the “Search engine listing preview” section.
- Click the “Edit Website SEO” button.
- In the “URL and handle” field, modify the section that comes after /blogs/.
By following these steps, you can effectively update the URL of any blog post in your Shopify store. This process makes the links more SEO-friendly and ensures they align better with your content strategy. Finally, remember to click “Save” to apply your changes, and if you have multiple blogs, select the appropriate one from the “Organization” menu before saving.
Why Do You Need To Update Your Shopify URLs?
Most of the Shopify URLs look like this: yourstore.com/products/abc123/purple-striped-socks. These URLs can be complicated to remember and aren’t ideal for SEO because they don’t give users or search engines a good idea of the product content. Easy-to-read and understood URLs can greatly improve user experience and increase click-through rates.
The practical advantage of modifying your URLs and how it can benefit your Shopify business. First, cleaner, keyword-rich URLs make your site easier to find in search results and improve its search engine optimization. User-friendly URLs also help customers share and remember those links, increasing organic traffic to your store.
Additionally, streamlined URLs help your online store appear more professional, which improves brand credibility and customer trust. In summary, spending a little extra time customizing your URLs can result in more visibility, increased user engagement, and ultimately, higher sales conversions.
Site Redesign Or Rebranding
The “mere-exposure effect” suggests that people tend to prefer items they recognize. Redesigning or rebranding a website can effectively attract both new and existing customers with a refreshed look. During a redesign or rebranding, businesses often update their visual identity, product range, or website layout to align with market trends and brand objectives.
Research from Stanford University indicates that 75% of customers assess a company’s credibility based on its website design. Therefore, maintaining an appealing and user-friendly online presence is essential.
Additionally, eye-tracking studies from Missouri University of Science and Technology revealed that users focus on a website’s most important section for an average of just 2.6 seconds. This data underscores the importance of site redesign or rebranding in attracting and retaining customers.

MVMT, known for stylish and affordable watches, effectively utilized site redesign and rebranding. In 2021, MVMT expanded its offerings to include sunglasses and jewelry, elevating its brand image to a more upscale and sophisticated level. This rebranding initiative significantly increased new customers and enhanced brand visibility, doubling revenues within a year.
Improving User Experience
Shopify’s default URLs can be confusing and difficult to read. For example, a URL like yourstore.com/products/xyz123/floral-maxi-dress does not provide a clear shopping experience for customers. By using custom URLs, you can create a more user-friendly online business, enhancing the overall shopping experience and improving site visibility in search engines.
A case in point is Lush Cosmetics, a well-known bath and body brand. Previously, their URLs contained unintuitive product numbers. After they switched to more descriptive names, such as https://www.lush.com/uk/en/p/snow-fairy-shower-jelly, customer inquiries about product locations significantly decreased.

This change not only simplified navigation but also reinforced their branding strategy, making it easier for customers to find specific products. Clear URLs lead to satisfied customers and reduced support requests, showcasing how effective URL structuring can enhance customer engagement.
Research indicates that clear URLs are linked to higher conversion rates. A study from the Nielsen Norman Group highlighted that users prefer readable URLs and are more likely to trust a site with clear, descriptive links. Simplifying website navigation enables clients to find products and services more easily, positively impacting your bottom line.
Using descriptive URLs with relevant keywords helps customers remember and recognize your brand, potentially leading to increased repeat purchases and loyalty. Furthermore, well-structured URLs are favored by search engines, enhancing your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) and improving visibility in search results.
SEO Optimization
About 68% of online interactions start with a search engine, highlighting the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) in driving traffic to your website. To effectively attract organic traffic, your Shopify URLs must be properly optimized.
URLs serve as Google users’ first impressions, acting as a gateway to your site. They should be clear and concise and include relevant keywords that accurately describe your products.
For instance, using a URL like yourstore.com/cozy-cotton-sweaters is much better than a generic product link like product-xyz. This approach not only helps search engines like Google understand the content of your page but also gives potential customers a clear idea of what to expect when they click through.
Readable URLs benefit both search engines and users, significantly enhancing user experience. According to SEO best practices, incorporating keywords into your URLs can improve click-through rates and overall rankings. Each optimization opportunity increases your chances of being discovered, clicked, and ultimately converted into sales. Furthermore, concise URLs are more likely to be shared and linked, further boosting your website’s visibility and authority in search results.
How to Create Special URLs for Different Countries or Areas?
Creating unique URLs for different countries and regions is essential if your target customers are located globally. This approach enhances the shopping experience and addresses potential issues related to currency payments.
For many customers, paying in a non-domestic currency can be challenging, leading to confusion or even cart abandonment. Utilizing Shopify Payments is advisable, as it allows you to set a specific currency for each regional URL, ensuring that transactions occur in the local currency. This feature streamlines the purchasing process and builds trust with international customers by providing a familiar payment environment.
There are three methods for establishing regional URLs. For instance, when targeting German customers, you can choose from the following options:
- Top-level domains: “store-name.de” is often favored for its localized branding and trust signals in the German market.
- Subdomains: “de.store-name.com” can effectively segregate content while maintaining a clear connection to your leading brand.
- Subfolders: “store-name.com/de-de” is another option that can be beneficial for maintaining centralized domain authority and simplifying management.
Additionally, selecting the right SEO strategy for your store in various regions is critical. It’s essential to implement hreflang tags to help search engines understand which version of your content to serve to users based on their location and language.
Once you have established your international domains, it’s essential to guide customers to the appropriate URL. This can be done through localized marketing campaigns, region-specific ads, and clear navigation options on your main site. Consistent monitoring of regional performance through analytics will also help refine your approach over time.
Simple SEO Practices For Shopify URLs
Optimizing your Shopify URLs is crucial for enhancing your store’s visibility on search engines and improving user experience. Thanks to Shopify’s flexible features, there are several effective ways to create SEO-friendly URLs that can significantly boost your website’s ranking.
- Keep URLs Short but Descriptive: Your URLs should be concise and avoid unnecessary or unrelated words. They need to represent your products clearly. Use hyphens to separate words if required, making it easier for customers to read. Shorter URLs tend to perform better in search results and are easier to share on social media, which can further enhance your online presence.
- Incorporate Relevant Keywords: Irrelevant words do not contribute to your SEO ranking. Use only keywords that accurately describe your products. This strategy ensures your website appears at the top when potential customers search for those products. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you identify effective keywords for your URLs.
- Utilize Canonical URLs to Prevent Duplicate Content: Shopify may generate multiple URLs for the same content, leading to duplicate content issues. Implement canonical tags to specify the preferred URL, preventing search engines from indexing duplicates. This practice not only helps preserve your SEO ranking but also consolidates link equity, which can enhance the overall authority of your page.
- Implement 301 Redirects: When changing a URL, setting up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one is essential. This practice ensures users and search engines are directed to the correct location, preserving your SEO value and enhancing the user experience. Additionally, regularly monitoring your redirects can help identify any broken links that may affect user engagement and site credibility.
- Use Subfolders for Different Countries and Regions: If your store caters to customers from various countries, consider setting up subfolders for different languages, such as German, French, or Russian. This approach can significantly improve your website’s ranking on search engines in those regions. Localizing your URLs can also enhance user trust and relevance, making navigating your site easier for international customers.
- Maintain URL Lengths and Readability: Ensure your URLs are concise and straightforward. Avoid lengthy URLs filled with unnecessary parameters or characters. Descriptive and readable URLs improve user experience and align with SEO best practices. Studies show that URLs with fewer than 60 characters tend to perform better, making it easier for users to remember and share.
- Avoid Using Numbers in URLs: Do not incorporate numbers directly into your Shopify URLs. Instead, write out the numbers as words (e.g., “one,” “two,” “three”) to enhance readability and SEO compliance. This practice makes your URLs more accessible and appealing to a broader audience, including those using screen readers.
- Use Hyphens to Separate Words: When creating URLs, opt for hyphens (-) to separate words rather than underscores (_). Search engines interpret hyphens as word separators, improving the readability and SEO of your URLs. Consistent formatting benefits search engines and creates a more professional and trustworthy appearance for your brand.
- Prefer Static URLs Over Dynamic Ones: Static URLs without dynamic parameters are generally more SEO-friendly than dynamic URLs. Shopify’s default URL structure is relatively static, supporting effective search engine optimization. Static URLs also load faster, contributing to a better overall user experience and lower bounce rates.
Regularly audit your URLs and update them in your Shopify Sitemap to provide search engines with the most accurate and current information. Following these guidelines can effectively enhance your store’s SEO performance and user experience, ultimately driving more traffic and sales. Incorporating these strategies helps improve visibility and establishes a strong foundation for long-term digital success.
How To Change Your Own Shopify Link?
- Log into Shopify Dashboard: Head over to your Shopify dashboard and click on the “Online Store” option in the left-hand menu. This is where you’ll access all your website settings, including the navigation options. From there, choose “Navigation,” which will let you adjust the structure of your store’s menus. It’s your go-to spot for organizing how customers browse your site, ensuring a smooth shopping experience.
- Select a Navigation Area to Customize: A list of navigation areas, such as the main menu or footer, will appear. Choose the area you want to edit, and a window will open up for customization. This window allows you to adjust the Shopify link URL or link title. It’s all about creating a user-friendly experience while setting up your site for better search engine visibility.
- Optimize Link Titles with Keywords: When customizing, focus on adding relevant keywords to your Shopify link titles and URLs. These keywords should describe your products in a way that potential customers might search for them. By doing this, you’re enhancing your SEO ranking, which means search engines like Google can more easily identify and rank your site, helping you attract more visitors and drive more traffic.
- Save and Apply Changes: After making your customizations, always hit the “Save” button to ensure your changes are live. This simple step ensures all your updates are applied to your store’s navigation. Not only does this improve how users move through your site, but it also boosts SEO, which can increase your store’s overall visibility online.
Conclusion
Structuring URLs for Shopify sites effectively plays a critical role in boosting SEO. To make URLs SEO-friendly, keep them short, simple, and relevant to the page’s content. Including primary keywords without overstuffing ensures that search engines and users easily understand the context. Avoid unnecessary characters or numbers, and use hyphens between words for better readability. This clarity helps improve rankings and makes navigation smoother.
Consistency is key for a well-structured site. Ensure your URLs follow a logical, uniform format across all pages, reflecting the site’s hierarchy. Using HTTPS not only enhances security but also gives an SEO boost. Mobile-friendly URLs are equally important as mobile users represent a large portion of traffic. Focusing on these URL best practices will improve user experience and help search engines crawl your site more effectively, leading to better visibility and higher organic traffic over time.
FAQs
How can keyword usage in URLs affect Shopify site rankings?
Including relevant keywords in your Shopify URL helps search engines identify the page’s focus and match it with user search queries. However, keyword stuffing should be avoided, as it can harm SEO rather than help. A balanced approach, using the main keyword naturally within a short and clean URL, is more effective in boosting rankings. It’s about creating a URL that clearly conveys the page’s content without being overly complex or repetitive.
Should I use hyphens or underscores in Shopify URLs?
Hyphens are recommended over underscores when structuring URLs for Shopify sites. Search engines like Google treat hyphens as word separators, making it easier to understand the individual words in the URL. In contrast, underscores can confuse search engines, as they are often seen as characters linking words together. Using hyphens ensures your URL is more readable and SEO-friendly, improving its chances of ranking well.
How do Shopify’s default URL structures affect SEO?
Shopify’s default URL structure includes terms like “/products/” or “/collections/”, which may not always be ideal for SEO. While these terms can help categorize pages, they can also shorten URLs. To optimize, focus on the key part of the URL, like the product name or category, and try to make it as clean as possible. Modifying the structure where possible, while adhering to Shopify’s framework, can lead to better SEO results.
What are some common URL mistakes to avoid for Shopify SEO?
One common mistake is using overly long URLs with too many words or unnecessary parameters, which confuse users and search engines. Another is failing to include relevant keywords, which makes the URL less descriptive of the page’s content. Avoid using special characters, underscores, or capital letters, as these can negatively affect readability and SEO performance. Always ensure your URLs are simple, clean, and keyword-focused for the best results.