Building quality backlinks is essential for improving your Shopify store’s search engine rankings and driving more organic traffic. However, link building can be complex and time-consuming. This comprehensive guide written by Oleg Malkov will teach you everything you need to know about building backlinks for your Shopify ecommerce store.
We’ll start by explaining what backlinks are and why they matter for SEO. Then we’ll cover which pages you should focus your link building efforts on, factors that constitute a good backlink, types of links to build, and how to avoid toxic links that could get your site penalized. By the end, you’ll have actionable tips to start earning high-quality backlinks to boost your Shopify store’s authority and rankings.
What is Link Building?
Link building refers to the process of acquiring backlinks – external links from other websites pointing back to pages on your own site. Backlinks serve as votes of confidence, indicating to Google that a page offers value worthy of recommendation. The more high-quality backlinks your Shopify pages have, the more authority and trust they gain in the eyes of search engines. This signals relevancy and boosts rankings for target keywords.
There are two main types of backlinks:
Organic backlinks. Credible websites naturally link to your content if it offers their audience value. These occur organically over time.
Manual outreach. You can proactively reach out to site owners in hopes of them linking back to your content. This is manual link building.
An effective link building approach combines both strategies. But all links are not made equal. Low-quality and manipulative links can actually damage your site. The key is to build backlinks that search engines deem valuable – editorial, relevant, from trustworthy sources.
Which Pages to Build Backlinks to
You’ll want to build backlinks to pages that attract organic search traffic and conversions for your Shopify store. This typically includes:
Homepage – Your homepage is the front door to your website, so links here can boost domain authority. When you get powerful backlinks to the home page of the site, the positions of all pages of the site grow.
Blog – Backlinks to your blog will improve rankings for informational keywords. You can convert informational page visitors to product pages to generate additional sales.
Product category pages – Links directly to categories help you rank for commercial keywords. These pages should be prioritized as they generate the most revenue.
Individual product pages – Boost rankings for each specific item you sell.
Focus on linking to pages that align with your target keywords and conversion goals. For most ecommerce stores, prioritizing backlinks to popular blog content and main product category pages tends to work best.
Good Backlink Factors
What constitutes a “good” backlink that will actually benefit your Shopify store’s SEO? Here are the top factors of value:
Relevance
The linking page should be relevant to the niche and topics of the page you want to earn a backlink from. Links related to your industry are more powerful.
Authority
Higher authority websites have more link equity to pass on. Prioritize getting backlinks from reputable sites with high domain authority and traffic.
Anchor Text
The words used to hyperlink to your site, known as anchor text, play a role. A mix of branded and keyword anchor text is ideal.
Link Location
Backlinks placed in prominent positions on content pages, like the body or resource sections, hold more weight than links in sidebars or site footers.
Link Velocity
Earning backlinks at a natural, consistent pace looks more natural than an instant influx. Slow and steady link building is best.
Link Diversity
Getting backlinks from a variety of sites is better than having links only from sites with similar topics or domains. Vary your link sources.
Following these best practices will ensure the backlinks you build are viewed as valuable by search engines, thus better aiding your Shopify SEO and conversion goals.
How to Do Link Building for Shopify
Manually building quality backlinks takes effort but pays dividends. Here are proven tactics for getting editorial backlinks to your Shopify store:
Create Link-Worthy Assets
The first step is developing content assets worth linking to. Offer value through:
Industry studies – Original research and data people will reference.
Infographics – Visual assets that publishers can feature.
Product roundups – Comparisons of top items shops would link to.
Expert advice articles – Become a thought leader so sites link to your advice.
Run Link Interviews
Conduct link interviews by asking site owners in your field:
What types of resources do you link to?
What existing links/resources are underperforming that need an updated replacement?
This intelligence will help you create assets they actually want to link to.
Guest Post Outreach
Write and pitch guest posts to respected industry publications. Include 1-2 contextual links back to related pages on your shop in the author bio or body.
Broken Link Building
Find broken links on high-authority sites, then offer to replace them with one of your relevant Shopify links. Be a helpful resource.
Link Insertion Outreach
When people mention your brand but don’t link to your store, politely ask them to hyperlink your name to your site.
Link Reclamation
Use a link-checking tool to identify sites that used to link to your store but had the link break. Ask them to restore their link to you.
Link Prospecting
Use Google alerts to find new web pages and mentions relevant to your shop. Then request they add a link back to related products/categories.
Executing these outreach campaigns consistently over time will help build your domain authority and Shopify SEO through backlinks.
Types of Shopify Backlinks
Building quality backlinks is essential for improving your Shopify store’s search engine rankings and driving more organic traffic. There are many types of editorial backlinks you can acquire to reinforce your Shopify store’s credibility.
The most effective links are rare links that are difficult to obtain, and they are obtained using HARO methods or through outreach. This way you can get backlinks that can not be bought. But these methods have a big disadvantage in the high cost and small number of received links. It is impossible to get 50 such links per month, rather 10-12.
Therefore, it is necessary to resort to other, simpler ways of getting backlinks, such as guest posting, participation in podcasts, interviews, building your own PBN network on auction domains.
Guest Posting
Guest posting refers to contributing articles to popular blogs related to your ecommerce niche. At the end of the article, you can include 1-2 contextual backlinks in your author bio. Guest posts not only help build relevant links, but also grow your shop’s visibility and establish your team as thought leaders. The key is getting placements on reputable industry blogs aligned with your products. Pitch guest posts ideas tailored to each blog’s audience.
However, low-authority blogs with thin content offer little SEO value. Avoid keyword-stuffed guest posts made purely to manipulate backlinks, as search engines can penalize this. Focus on providing genuine value to readers.
Outreach Backlinks
You can proactively reach out to site owners in your ecommerce niche to request backlinks to relevant products or categories. For example, if their content references a type of product you sell, politely ask them to link to your shop’s page as a helpful resource for readers. Personalized outreach and adding value build relationships and earn links.
The major downside is that manual outreach is very time-consuming. Maintaining spreadsheets of link prospects and crafting unique pitches demands extensive effort. Outreach is also hit or miss depending on the site owner’s willingness.
HARO
HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is a free service that connects journalists seeking sources for stories with relevant experts. When reporters publish your quotes, they will often link back to your website. Signing up for a HARO account and responding to source requests related to your ecommerce niche can generate media coverage and backlinks over time.
However, HARO requires regularly checking for relevant queries and being the first to respond to have the best chance. Most responses won’t lead to published quotes. It works best paired with other link building tactics.
Homepage Backlinks
Your main homepage is the front door of your Shopify store that visitors arrive at from search engines. Thus, links specifically to your homepage can boost domain authority the most. Content and assets that focus on your overall brand and products, rather than specific items, lend themselves best to homepage links. For example, getting featured as a case study example on an ecommerce blog.
But for conversions, category and product pages tend to be more direct. Also, too many links to your homepage compared to deeper pages can seem unnatural. Strike a balance between homepage and content page links.
PBN Backlinks
Some black hat SEOs build private blog networks (PBNs) with a ring of fake blogs and sites solely to generate manipulative links. However, search engines now easily identify and penalize PBN links. Never participate in PBNs or anything deceitful. Focus only on building genuine editorial links slowly over time. Patience and persistence are key.
Most PBN service offerings on the market are low quality, sellers use weak cheap domains instead of expensive powerful domains that can be bought at auction. Sites on such domains transfer a lot of weight and contribute to the fast growth of the online store in Google search results.
The risks of getting caught and banned from search far outweigh any temporary gains in rankings PBN links may offer. Avoid anything that looks like link schemes to search engines.
Avoiding Toxic Backlinks
While links can improve your Shopify SEO, low-quality links from spammy or shady sources can actually get your store penalized by search engines. Here are toxic links to avoid:
Comment spam links
Low-quality directory or web 2.0 site links
Links using manipulative anchor text
Paying for backlinks from sketchy sellers
Links from completely irrelevant sites
An unnaturally rapid influx of backlinks
Vet sites before seeking links, and never participate in deceitful practices. Focus on building links slowly from reputable publishers related to your ecommerce niche. This authentic approach will keep your Shopify store safe from manual penalties.
Final Thoughts
Link building should be an integral part of your ongoing Shopify SEO strategy. Prioritizing backlinks to your homepage, blog and key product pages from authority sites in your industry will boost rankings and organic traffic over time.
Be patient, and always focus on quality over quantity when it comes to link acquisition. Employ a diverse blend of link building tactics, from content promotion to manual outreach. If done properly, earning credible editorial backlinks will take your ecommerce store’s search visibility to the next level.