Why Shopify Backlinks Matter for Your Store's Rankings
Getting your Shopify store to rank on page one requires more than just great products and optimized product pages. You need other websites to vouch for you. This is where backlinks come in.
A backlink is simply a link from another website pointing to your store. Google views these links as votes of confidence. The more high quality votes you have, the more trustworthy your store appears to search engines.
However, not all links are created equal. One link from a respected industry blog is worth more than a hundred links from low quality directories.
In this guide, we will cover the essentials of link building, active outreach strategies, passive link building methods, and the common mistakes you must avoid to protect your store's reputation.
Before you start: Shopify backlink essentials
Before you start emailing bloggers or submitting your store to directories, make sure your foundation is solid. Google will not send valuable traffic to a store that looks unfinished or untrustworthy.
Publish high quality, linkable content
You cannot get backlinks if you have nothing worth linking to. A standard product page rarely earns organic links. Instead, create resources that people want to share. This could be a detailed buying guide, an industry report, or a unique calculator.
Optimize your internal linking structure
Before earning external links, make sure your internal links are strong. Link from your high authority pages, like your homepage or popular blog posts, to your most important product pages. This helps pass the authority from new backlinks directly to the pages that drive sales.
Ensure your site is fast and mobile friendly
If a blogger links to your store and their readers experience slow load times or broken layouts, that link will not help you. Google prioritizes user experience. Run a quick speed test and fix any critical errors before launching a link building campaign.
1. Active link building for Shopify stores
Active link building requires you to proactively reach out to other website owners and ask for a link. This is the most direct way to build authority, but it requires a strategic approach.
Task overview:
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Leverage your existing network.
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Use the skyscraper technique.
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Pursue unlinked brand mentions.
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Write strategic guest posts.
Leverage your existing network
Your easiest links will come from people who already know and trust you. Think about your suppliers, manufacturers, or local business partners.
How to do it:
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Make a list of every brand you work with.
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Check if they have a "Stockists", "Partners", or "Blog" page on their website.
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Send a polite email asking if they can add your store to their list with a link.
For example, a local coffee roaster can easily get a backlink from the farm that supplies their beans by simply asking for a partners page mention.
Use the skyscraper technique
The skyscraper technique involves finding content in your niche that already has a lot of backlinks, creating something significantly better, and then asking those sites to link to your new version instead.
How to do it:
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Search for a topic in your niche, like "best running shoes for flat feet".
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Use a backlink tool to see which articles rank at the top and have the most links.
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Read those articles and identify their weaknesses. Maybe the information is outdated, or the images are low quality.
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Create a comprehensive, updated, and visually appealing guide on the same topic.
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Reach out to the websites that linked to the old article. Let them know you have a newer, more detailed resource that their readers might find valuable.
Pursue unlinked brand mentions
Sometimes, blogs or news sites will mention your Shopify store or product by name but forget to include a clickable link. These are low hanging fruit for link building.
How to do it:
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Set up a Google Alert for your brand name.
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Search Google for your brand name in quotes, plus terms like "review" or "best", to find pages that mention you.
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When you find an unlinked mention, find the author's or webmaster's contact email.
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Send a short, friendly email thanking them for the mention and politely asking if they would mind turning it into a clickable link so their readers can find you easily.
Write strategic guest posts
Guest blogging is still effective if done correctly. The goal is to provide genuine value to another site's audience, not just to drop a link.
How to do it:
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Identify reputable blogs in your industry that accept guest contributions.
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Pitch two or three specific, highly relevant topic ideas that align with their audience's interests.
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Write a high quality article.
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Include one or two natural links back to relevant, non salesy pages on your Shopify store, such as a related blog post or a detailed guide. Avoid linking directly to a product page in the first paragraph, as this looks spammy.
2. Passive link building and digital PR
Passive link building focuses on creating an environment where people naturally want to link to your store. While it takes time to build momentum, these links are often the most powerful and sustainable.
Task overview:
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Create noteworthy, linkable products.
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Offer superior customer service and warranties.
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Engage with your local and online community.
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Distribute press releases for real news.
Create noteworthy, linkable products
The best way to get passive backlinks is to sell something truly unique. If your product solves a problem in a novel way, bloggers and journalists will naturally write about it.
For example, if you sell the world's first biodegradable phone case, tech and eco friendly blogs will likely cover your launch without you having to send a single cold email. Focus your marketing budget on product innovation and high quality photography that makes your store stand out.
Offer superior customer service and warranties
Exceptional customer experiences lead to organic mentions. When a store goes above and beyond, customers often share their stories on personal blogs, forums, or review sites.
Consider offering a strong, no questions asked warranty or a highly visible satisfaction guarantee. This builds immense trust. Review sites and "best of" lists frequently link to stores that are known for outstanding customer support and reliable return policies.
Engage with your local and online community
Community engagement builds relationships that naturally result in links.
How to do it:
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Sponsor a local sports team, charity event, or school program. Local organization websites almost always list their sponsors with a backlink.
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Participate genuinely in niche forums like Reddit or specialized Facebook groups. Answer questions helpfully without being overly promotional. If your store has a relevant blog post that answers a question, you can share it as a resource.
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Host a local workshop or webinar and invite local news outlets or industry blogs to cover the event.
Distribute press releases for real news
Do not send press releases for minor updates like a new color variant. Save them for genuine news.
Examples of newsworthy events include:
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Opening a new physical retail location.
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Launching a major sustainability initiative.
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Winning a recognized industry award.
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Partnering with a well known charity.
When you have real news, use a reputable press release distribution service. Include a link back to your Shopify store in the boilerplate section at the bottom of the release.
3. What to avoid: Toxic backlinks and common mistakes
Not all link building is good link building. Some tactics can actively harm your Shopify store's search rankings. Google's algorithms are highly sophisticated and can easily detect manipulative behavior.
Task overview:
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Avoid buying links.
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Steer clear of spammy directories.
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Do not over optimize anchor text.
Avoid buying links
Paying a website to place a link to your store is a direct violation of Google's spam policies. While it might seem like a quick shortcut, the risks far outweigh the rewards.
If Google detects a pattern of paid links, they can issue a manual action penalty. This can cause your store to disappear from search results entirely. Recovery from a manual penalty is a long, difficult process that requires disavowing bad links and submitting a reconsideration request.
Steer clear of spammy directories
In the early days of SEO, submitting your site to hundreds of low quality web directories was a common tactic. Today, this is a red flag.
Only submit your Shopify store to highly reputable, niche specific directories or legitimate local business listings, like your local Chamber of Commerce. If a directory accepts any website for a five dollar fee without reviewing the content, avoid it.
Do not over optimize anchor text
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. If every single backlink to your store uses the exact phrase "buy cheap running shoes", Google will view this as unnatural and manipulative.
A healthy backlink profile has a natural mix of anchor text. This includes:
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Branded anchors (e.g., "Trailhead Running Co.", "Nike")
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Naked URLs (e.g., "trailheadrunning.com")
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Generic anchors (e.g., "click here", "this website")
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Partial match keywords (e.g., "check out this guide on running shoes")
Aim for a natural distribution where branded and generic anchors make up the majority of your link profile.
Grow your Shopify store with strategic backlinks
Building a strong backlink profile for your Shopify store is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires a mix of proactive outreach, creating genuinely valuable content, and avoiding shady shortcuts.
Start by auditing your current links and fixing your internal structure. Then, pick one or two active strategies, like pursuing unlinked mentions or leveraging your supplier network, and execute them consistently. Over time, these small efforts compound into significant domain authority and higher search rankings.
Ready to analyze your current link profile? Use the QuickifyApp Backlink Analysis tool to see your referring domains, anchor text distribution, and where competitors have links that you do not.
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Shopify Backlinks FAQ
What is a backlink in SEO?
A backlink is a link from one website to another. In SEO, search engines like Google view backlinks as votes of confidence. When a reputable site links to your Shopify store, it signals to Google that your content is valuable and trustworthy, which can improve your search rankings.
How many backlinks does a Shopify store need to rank?
There is no magic number. The quality of a backlink is far more important than the quantity. One link from a highly authoritative, relevant website in your niche is worth more than dozens of links from low quality, unrelated directories. Focus on earning links from sites that your target audience actually reads.
Can I build backlinks to my Shopify product pages?
Yes, but it is much harder than building links to informational content. Bloggers and journalists rarely link directly to a sales page. A better strategy is to build links to a high quality blog post or buying guide on your store, and then use internal links to pass that authority to your product pages.
How do I check my Shopify store's backlinks?
You can check your backlinks using free tools like Google Search Console, which shows a sample of sites linking to you. For a more comprehensive view, including referring domains, anchor text, and competitor link gaps, use a dedicated tool like the QuickifyApp Backlink Analysis feature.
What is a toxic backlink and how do I remove it?
A toxic backlink comes from a spammy, low quality, or penalized website. These links can harm your SEO. You cannot always remove them yourself, but you can use the Google Disavow Tool to tell Google to ignore those specific links when evaluating your site. Always try to contact the webmaster to request removal before using the disavow tool.
