Off the Record Ecommerce

"What apps should I use on my Shopify store?" is a question we hear all the time. Leighton and Patrick break down how to decide between a Shopify app and custom development, the trade-offs of each, and the apps they install on almost every store, from reviews and subscriptions to CRO, SEO, and indexing.
Links Mentioned
Shopify Search & Discovery: https://apps.shopify.com/search-and-discovery
Judge.me Product Reviews: https://apps.shopify.com/judgeme
Microsoft Clarity: https://apps.shopify.com/microsoft-clarity
Matrixify: https://apps.shopify.com/excel-export-import
Ilana's JSON-LD for SEO: https://apps.shopify.com/json-ld-for-seo
Frequently Bought Together (CBB): https://apps.shopify.com/frequently-bought-together
Rebuy Personalization Engine: https://apps.shopify.com/rebuy
Awtomic Subscriptions: https://apps.shopify.com/awtomic
InstaIndex: IndexNow for Bing: https://apps.shopify.com/instaindex
AI image alt text app: [URL TO BE ADDED]
Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:46 App vs Custom Question
3:02 The Three App Categories
5:57 Must-Have Review Apps
10:03 App vs Custom Trade-offs
16:33 Theme Updates & Maintenance
18:36 Reviews & Subscription Apps
21:22 Should You Build Your Own?
23:09 Microsoft Clarity Deep Dive
30:31 Matrixify & JSON-LD SEO
31:52 Bought Together & Rebuy
36:21 Apps That Hijack Collections
38:46 SEO Apps & Bing IndexNow
44:00 AI Alt Text & Sitemaps
45:25 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.

Migrating your store to Shopify can tank your organic traffic if you're not careful. In this episode, Leighton Taylor and Patrick Rice walk through the exact pre- and post-launch checklist that protects your SEO, ad tracking, and conversion rate when making the switch.
Links Mentioned
Microsoft Clarity (free heatmaps & session recordings): https://clarity.microsoft.com
LambdaTest (cross-browser & device testing): https://www.lambdatest.com
Screaming Frog SEO Spider: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
Matrixify (Shopify data import/export): https://apps.shopify.com/excelify
SEMrush: https://www.semrush.com
Patrick's Post-Launch SEO & Ads Checklist: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yVGNMzXcDhBkHCDsX05dqO7tmEqd8XHPT6fP3ecx-b4/edit?usp=sharing
Chapters
0:00 Intro
2:48 Why Merchants Move to Shopify
3:41 Shopify's Analytics & AI Advantages
6:09 How Migrations Go Wrong: SEO
8:02 Pre-Launch SEO Checklist
10:06 Ad Tracking & Conversion Setup
12:35 Using Microsoft Clarity
13:54 Redesign & Modernize Your UX
14:51 Dev Mistakes to Avoid
16:51 Keep Your Content During Migration
18:07 Testing Checkout & Fulfillment
19:53 Cross-Device & Browser Testing
24:31 The Three Migration Phases
25:49 Pre-Launch Design & UX Planning
27:58 Pre-Launch SEO Crawl
30:21 Blog on a Subdomain: SEO Impact
32:49 Post-Launch Day-One Checklist
37:23 Protecting Your Google Merchant Center Data
39:08 Monitoring Revenue After Launch
41:40 Importing Products & Customer Data
44:29 Wrapping Up & How to Get Help
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.

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.

Your product page is the most important page on your store, so in this episode we break down how to optimize it for both conversion rate and SEO. We cover product imagery, reviews and social proof, cross-sells and bundles, unique product content, structured data, and page speed for Shopify stores.
Links Mentioned
Judge.me (reviews): https://judge.me
Stamped (reviews): https://stamped.io
Okendo (reviews): https://www.okendo.io
Trustpilot: https://www.trustpilot.com
Frequently Bought Together (Shopify app): https://apps.shopify.com/frequently-bought-together
Ilana's JSON-LD for SEO (Shopify app): https://apps.shopify.com/json-ld-for-seo
WebPageTest: https://www.webpagetest.org
Google PageSpeed Insights: https://pagespeed.web.dev
Google Search Console: https://search.google.com/search-console
Google Merchant Center: https://merchants.google.com
Schema.org: https://schema.org
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:35 Why Product Pages Matter
2:34 Product Imagery
8:15 Reviews & Social Proof
9:48 The Fear of Bad Reviews
14:40 Upsells, Subscriptions & AOV
18:16 Cross-Sells, Bundles & Free Shipping
23:35 Pricing & Competition
25:55 Unique Product Content
30:08 Specs, FAQs & Part Numbers
34:21 Schema & Structured Data
37:47 Page Speed: How Much Matters
39:24 Page Speed Hacks to Avoid
41:14 Core Web Vitals & Tools
44:44 Theme Updates & OS 2.0
45:32 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.

Collection pages are the SEO and CRO workhorse of any Shopify store. They rank for the most commercial keywords, and they're where most shoppers decide whether to keep browsing or bounce. In this episode, Leighton and Patrick break down how to balance content for search engines with an optimal user experience, plus the specific Shopify defaults to turn off and the subcategory strategy that wins both rankings and conversions.
LINKS MENTIONED:
🔗 REI (collection page example): https://www.rei.com
🔗 Crutchfield (product title formatting example): https://www.crutchfield.com
🔗 Link Stacks (Shopify internal linking app): https://seolinkstacks.com
WATCH NEXT:
🔗 Product Page Optimization: https://youtu.be/1kgV035Y_TY 
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
1:07 Why Collection Pages Matter for SEO
1:21 The SEO vs CRO Tension
2:34 Where Collection Pages Fit in the Buyer Journey
3:47 Hybrid Page Structure: H1, Content, Products, FAQs
5:35 Collection Pages in the Age of AI / GEO
7:38 Demonstrating Breadth With Subcategories (REI Example)
10:36 Filters vs Subcategories: SEO Implications
13:15 Breaking Up Long Product Titles (Crutchfield Example)
16:46 Product Card Attributes That Help SEO and CRO
18:22 Turning Off Quick View on Most Themes
21:43 Pagination vs Infinite Scroll vs Click-to-Load
24:25 Canonical Tags on Paginated Pages
28:41 SEO Basics: Title Tags, H1s, and Entities
30:34 Internal Linking and the Link Stacks App
31:44 Recap and Quick Wins
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=youtube
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.