Creating blog posts on Shopify is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to ecommerce store operators. Not only does it help with SEO and strengthening communication with customers, it can also be used as a place to supplement product information and share your brand's story.
This article explains in detail the steps for creating a Shopify blog post, ways to extend your blog posts, and SEO tips. Make the most of your blog posts and accelerate the growth of your ecommerce site.
What Is Shopify's Blog Feature?
Shopify's blog feature is a valuable marketing tool for ecommerce store operators. It's available for free starting from the Basic plan, and features an intuitive interface that lets you create and publish posts easily, even without technical knowledge. Using this blog feature, you can increase organic search traffic through SEO, and supplement product information or share your store's background story. You can also extend its functionality using an HTML editor or apps, and write posts not just from a PC but also from your smartphone. You can also create and manage multiple blogs for different purposes. Making the most of these features can help improve your customer acquisition and strengthen relationships with customers, ultimately leading to increased sales. Shopify's blog feature is a powerful tool that can support the growth of your ecommerce site.
The blog article below introduces how to make the most of Shopify's blog feature. Please use it as a reference.
The blog article below introduces the SEO measures you can implement on Shopify. Please use it as a reference.
Steps to Create a Blog Post on Shopify
Step 1. Open the Blog Post Editor
(1) Go to Content > Blog posts
(2) Click "Add blog post"
Step 2. Enter the Title
The title you enter here will be shown in places visible to site visitors, such as the blog listing and post detail pages. It's also a very important item for SEO, so try to include your target keywords, or make sure the title alone conveys what the post is about.
● Where the title is displayed 1: The blog post page
● Where the title is displayed 2: The blog post listing page
Step 3. Enter the Content
Content refers to the body of the blog post.
One tip is to organize your writing into a hierarchical structure using headings. Benefits of using headings include making it easier for the writer to organize their thinking, making it easier for readers to understand the content, and making it easier for search engines to understand the content (a positive effect you can expect for SEO).
It's also a good idea to add color decoration to make your text easier to read, and to include images, illustrations, videos, or tables to explain difficult content clearly.
● Where the content is displayed: The blog post page
Inserting Headings
You can use headings by clicking the "A" menu icon in the content editor's menu bar and selecting the heading level you want to use.
How to Change the Text Color
Select the text you want to change the color of, and click the "underlined A" menu icon in the content editor's menu bar. Choose the color you want from the color palette that appears (or enter an RGB value).
How to Insert an Image
Click the "photo" menu icon in the content editor's menu bar.
From "Add image," upload your image, check the one you want to use, and click "Done."
How to Insert a Table
Click the "table" menu icon in the content editor's menu bar, then click "Insert table."
To add a row or column to an inserted table, select the table, click the "table" menu icon, then click "Insert row above" (or "Insert row below") or "Insert column before" (or "Insert column after").
How to Show a Table of Contents
Shopify's native blog feature doesn't include a table-of-contents feature. However, having a table of contents offers many benefits — it helps readers grasp the overall structure of a blog post, and can have a positive effect on SEO. The blog article below introduces how to display a table of contents on Shopify. Please use it as a reference.
How to Insert a Video
Refer to the blog article below for how to embed a video in a blog post.
How to Embed a Collection (Product Listing)
Refer to the blog article below for how to embed a collection (product listing) in a blog post.
Step 4. Enter the Blog Post Excerpt
The excerpt is shown as the post's description text on the blog post listing page. It isn't a required field, but if you don't enter an excerpt, the content you entered in Step 3 will be displayed as-is, which may result in an overly long, unattractive description on the blog listing page. For that reason, we recommend filling in the excerpt whenever possible.
● Where the excerpt is displayed: The blog post listing page
● Example of a description shown too long on the blog listing page
Step 5. Enter the Search Result Preview
(1) Click "Edit website SEO"
(2) In the search result preview, set the "Page title," "Description," and "URL and handle."
The items you set in the search result preview correspond to what's shown in actual search results, as illustrated below in "● Where the search result preview is displayed: The search results page." That said, the actual display depends on the search engine's algorithm, so please note that the content you set is not guaranteed to appear exactly as configured.
You can enter Japanese for the "URL and handle," but if you do, sharing the URL on social media can cause character-encoding issues, and the resulting URL can become excessively long, so we recommend setting it in English.
● Where the search result preview is displayed: The search results page
Step 6. Set the Post Thumbnail
The post thumbnail is displayed as the featured image on both the blog post listing page and the blog post page. It's also the image that appears when the post is shared on social media.
● Where the post thumbnail is displayed 1: The blog post page
● Where the post thumbnail is displayed 2: The blog post listing page
● Where the post thumbnail is displayed 3: An X post
How to Set Alt Text on the Post Thumbnail Image
Setting alt text on the thumbnail image isn't required. However, we recommend setting it in order to get even a small positive effect for SEO.
(1) Click "Update" below the post thumbnail image
(2) Click "Edit image"
(3) Enter the alt text and click "Save"
Step 7. Set the Author
The author field sets who wrote the blog post. It's displayed on both the blog post page and the blog post listing page. With Shopify's native blog feature, you can only set someone who's registered as staff as the author.
● Where the author is displayed 1: The blog post page
● Where the author is displayed 2: The blog post listing page
Setting Someone Other Than Staff as the Author
You can only set someone registered as staff on Shopify as the author. However, by using the Shopify app "RuffRuff Author Profiles," you can set someone other than staff as the author.
For more on RuffRuff Author Profiles, see the page below.
Displaying the Author's Profile
With Shopify's native blog feature, only the author's name can be displayed. But with just a name, readers have no way to know what kind of person the author is, or whether it's someone trustworthy writing the post. Displaying profile information can also be expected to have a positive effect on SEO.
The blog article below introduces how to display an author profile on a Shopify blog post. Please use it as a reference.
Step 8. Choose Which Blog the Post Will Be Filed Under
The blog field lets you set which blog the post you're creating will be filed under. As shown below in "● Shopify's blog structure," a Shopify store's blog posts are organized into this kind of structure, and you set whether to file a post under "Blog A," "Blog B," or elsewhere.
● Shopify's blog structure
Step 9. Set Tags
Tags are very useful when it comes to managing blog posts. For example, when you've created a large number of blog posts, tags can also help you find a specific post.
Displaying the Tags You've Set on Your Online Store
By using the Shopify app "RuffRuff Product & Blog Tags," you can display the tag information set on a blog post as a tag list on the blog post page and blog listing page.
The blog article below introduces the benefits of adding tags and how to display them as a tag list. Please use it as a reference.
Step 10. Publish (or Schedule) the Blog Post
Once you've completed through Step 9 of creating your blog post, the last thing to do is configure the publish settings.
If You Want to Publish Immediately
Check the "Published" option in the "Visibility" section, then save.
If You Want to Schedule Publishing for a Specific Date and Time
Check "Hidden," then click "Set publish date."
Set the desired publish date and time in the "Publish date" field shown, then save.
What to Do After Creating a Blog Post
Request Indexing via Search Console
If you want your blog post to appear in search engines as quickly as possible, requesting indexing from the search engine is one option.
For Google, you can use a tool called Search Console to request indexing. If you haven't yet set up Search Console on your Shopify store, refer to the blog article below as well.
How to Request Indexing
(1) Open Search Console
(2) Enter the blog post's URL in the search box at the top of the Search Console screen
(3) On the screen that appears after entering the URL, click "Request indexing"
Indexing With Bing Webmaster
We covered above how to request indexing from Google, but you can also request indexing from Microsoft's search engine, "Bing." For Bing, you make the request using "Bing Webmaster."
How to Request Indexing
(1) Open Bing Webmaster
(2) Click "Submit URLs"
(3) Enter the blog post's URL in the URL submission form
(4) Click "Submit"
Share on Social Media
If you leave a published blog post alone, no one may ever read it. Since you put in the effort to write it, actively promote your blog post on social media and elsewhere.
Send It by Email
The same goes for email. Actively promote your published blog post to your newsletter subscribers. The blog article below introduces the benefits of email marketing on Shopify and recommended newsletter apps. Please use it as a reference.
In Closing
Shopify's blog feature is an extremely useful tool for running an ecommerce site. As introduced in this article, its intuitive interface lets you easily create posts, and it's also effective for SEO. Through blog posts, you can supplement product information or share your brand story, deepening your relationship with customers.
Here are the key points for effective blog management:
- Make appropriate use of headings and images to create easy-to-read posts
- Set titles and descriptions with SEO in mind
- Make use of the tag feature to organize your posts and improve reader convenience
- Enrich your author information to boost the credibility of your posts
- After publishing, actively promote your posts via social media and email newsletters
Keeping these points in mind as you make use of the blog feature can help improve customer acquisition and strengthen relationships with customers, ultimately leading to increased sales. Make strategic use of Shopify's blog feature to accelerate the growth of your ecommerce site.
Finally, the blog article below introduces recommended Shopify apps by category, useful for "boosting sales" and "improving operational efficiency," beyond blog extensions. Please use it as a reference.
