How Shopify SEO Actually Works in 2026: What to Skip, What to Double Down On

How do you actually do SEO for a Shopify store in 2026? Patrick Rice and Leighton Taylor break down when SEO is worth the investment, how to size up your competition, what legitimate link building looks like today, and how to get your products recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews.

Links Mentioned

• Ilana's JSON-LD for SEO (Shopify app): https://apps.shopify.com/json-ld-for-seo
• Shopify's GEO Playbook: https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/blog/generative-engine-optimization
• Koray Tuğberk Gübür (Topical Authority / Holistic SEO): https://www.holisticseo.digital
• Kurt Elster — The Unofficial Shopify Podcast: https://unofficialshopifypodcast.com
• SEMrush: https://www.semrush.com
• Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com
• Moz Domain Authority: https://moz.com/domain-authority
• Craig Lawson — ClickReady Marketing: https://www.clickready.com
• Patrick Rice's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@patrickriceco

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:20 Does your store even need SEO?
• 2:34 Niching down: coffee & graphic tee example
• 6:08 Keyword & competitor research (SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz)
• 10:09 Link building in 2026: what still works
• 12:53 Affiliate programs & who to pitch for links
• 17:23 AI search & getting recommended by ChatGPT
• 21:11 Topical authority & GEO
• 24:31 Schema & structured data
• 27:07 Setting realistic SEO timelines
• 29:22 SEO wins & disasters
• 32:55 How Patrick got into SEO
• 35:43 How to work with Patrick
• 36:47 Wrapping Up

Book a Call

• Book a Call with Patrick: https://calendly.com/patrickriceco/strategy-call
• Book a Call with Leighton: https://cal.com/leightontaylor/discovery-call?utm_source=podcast

Work With Us

• Work with Patrick (SEO and Google Ads): https://patrickriceco.com/
• Work with Leighton (Shopify Store Builds, Migrations, & Ongoing Support): https://envision.io

You may notice that our content sometimes includes affiliate links or sponsored content. We may receive compensation for this type of content, which supports the work we do at no cost to you.