Keyword Research for Shopify: How to Find the Right Search Terms [2026]

Keyword research is the foundation of every successful SEO strategy -- and for Shopify stores, it's often completely different from traditional websites. Why? Because your visitors come with a different intent. They're not just looking for information. They're looking for products, solutions, and the opportunity to buy.

In this guide, we'll show you how we at smplx. approach keyword research for e-commerce -- based on years of experience with stores like J.Clay and other clients.

Why Keyword Research Is Different for Shopify

A traditional blog aims to answer informational questions. A Shopify store needs to inform and sell at the same time.

This means:

Transactional keywords have higher priority (e.g., "buy backpack" vs. "how to choose a backpack")
Search intent must be analyzed more precisely -- not every click will lead to a purchase
Long-tail keywords are often more efficient because they have less competition
Users expect immediate relevance -- not five articles to read through

A classic example from our work: A store selling outdoor equipment could theoretically optimize for "hiking boot guide." But "calculate hiking boot size" could actually bring higher-quality leads because the user is already signaling purchase intent.

Understanding the Four Types of Search Intent

Google distinguishes between four types of search intent. For Shopify, you need to consider all four:

1. Transactional (Purchase Intent)

The user wants to buy.

Examples: "buy laptop," "gaming monitor 144hz," "sustainable coffee machine"
For Shopify: Highest priority. These keywords belong on product pages and landing pages.
Search volume: Often medium to low, but high conversion rate.

2. Commercial (Evaluation and Comparison Intent)

The user is ready to buy but wants to research first.

Examples: "best wireless headphones 2026," "macbook pro vs macbook air," "road bike frame comparison"
For Shopify: Blog content, comparison tables, and guides. These drive traffic and build authority.
Search volume: Often higher than transactional keywords.

3. Informational (Learning and Research Intent)

The user is researching but may not buy yet.

Examples: "how to choose the right bike size," "which coffee beans taste best"
For Shopify: Content hubs and guide articles. They build trust and position you as an expert.
Search volume: Often the highest.

4. Navigational

The user is searching for a specific brand or website.

Examples: "smplx. shopify partner," "patagonia website"
For Shopify: Low priority, unless your brand already has recognition.

The mistake many stores make: They only optimize for transactional keywords and forget the commercial and informational ones. That's a big mistake. The best stores use all three combined.

Conducting Proper Keyword Research

Phase 1: Brainstorm and Seed Keywords

Before you open any tool, think like your customer:

What problems does your product solve?
How would someone search for it who doesn't know your product?
What terms do your competitors use?
What questions do customers ask in your support chat?

Write down 20-30 seed keywords. These are the starting point for everything that follows.

Phase 2: Google Keyword Planner (Free)

Google Keyword Planner is often underestimated. It's free and shows you real search volume:

Go to Google Ads Keyword Planner
Select "Discover new keywords"
Enter your seed keywords
Sort by: Search volume (descending) > Average bid price (ascending) > Competition

Important for Shopify: Pay attention to the average bid price (CPC). Keywords with high CPC indicate that advertisers are making money -- that's a good sign for transactional intent.

Phase 3: Ahrefs or SE Ranking (Paid, but Essential)

If you're serious, you need a premium tool:

Ahrefs: Best for competitor analysis and backlink research
SE Ranking: More affordable, but with excellent keyword metrics
Semrush: Also good, but more expensive

With these tools, you can see:

Keyword Difficulty (KD) -- how hard is it to rank?
Search Volume -- how many people search for it?
Cost Per Click (CPC) -- how valuable is the keyword?
SERP Features -- does Google show Rich Snippets, Ads, People Also Ask, etc.?

Practical tip: For Shopify, look for keywords with KD 10-30 if you're just starting out. These are realistic to rank for while still having good search volume.

Phase 4: Answer the Public (Free Insight Tool)

Answer the Public shows you real questions people are asking:

"Which laptop is best for video editing?"
"How much does a gaming PC cost in 2026?"
"Are AirPods Pro waterproof?"

These questions are gold for blog content and FAQ sections on your product pages.

Mapping Keywords to Shopify Page Types

This is a critical step that many stores don't do properly:

Product Pages

Keywords: Transactional + branded (e.g., "60L backpack," "merrell hiking boots men")
Strategy: 1 keyword per product, no keyword stuffing
Structure: Product name in H1, primary keyword in meta title and meta description

Collections (Category Pages)

Keywords: Transactional + commercial (e.g., "men's shoes," "waterproof backpacks")
Strategy: Broader, 3-5 keywords per collection
Structure: Unique description with keyword in the first 100 characters

Blog Articles (Content Hub)

Keywords: Informational + commercial (e.g., "how to choose the right shoe size," "the 5 best hiking boots 2026")
Strategy: One primary, 5-10 secondary keywords
Structure: H1 with keyword, multiple H2/H3 with related keywords

Long-Tail vs. Head Keywords

Many stores think it's all about big keywords. That's wrong.

Head Keywords (1-2 words):

Example: "laptop," "shoes"
Search volume: Very high (10,000+)
Difficulty: Very hard
Conversion: Low

Long-Tail Keywords (3+ words):

Example: "gaming laptop for video editing," "waterproof hiking boots men"
Search volume: Low to medium (100-1,000)
Difficulty: Low to medium
Conversion: High

Our recommendation: For Shopify, you should aim for 80% long-tail, 20% head keywords. Long-tail keywords require less effort, rank faster, and convert better.

A great example: J.Clay was able to increase their revenue by 107% with a long-tail focus. Why? Because they weren't competing against large competitors but instead addressed specific customer needs.

Practical Research Workflow for Shopify

This is our proven process:

Brainstorm seed keywords (30 minutes)
Google Keyword Planner with seed keywords (1 hour)
Ahrefs/SE Ranking: Sort top 100 keywords by opportunity score (2 hours)
Answer the Public: Run through top 20 keywords and collect questions (1 hour)
Competitor analysis: Search through top 3 competitors and note their keywords (2 hours)
Mapping: Distribute keywords across page types (1 hour)
Prioritization: Sort by potential (Volume x CPC / Difficulty) (30 minutes)

Time investment: 7-8 hours for a mid-sized store. But this is a one-time effort. After that, you only need maintenance and monthly updates.

Monitoring Keywords

The research doesn't end. Monthly, you should review:

Ranking positions: With Google Search Console or Ahrefs
Traffic: Which keywords are actually sending visitors?
Conversions: Which keywords are generating sales?
New opportunities: New keywords that are emerging

Tools for this:

Google Search Console (free, sufficient)
Ahrefs Rank Tracker (premium)
SE Ranking (more affordable)

Common Mistakes in Shopify Keyword Research

Only copying competitors: Your competitors don't have to be right. Do original research.
Keyword stuffing: "Buy shoes in Berlin, shoes Berlin, Berlin shoes..." No. Google hates that.
Too many keywords per page: One product page, one keyword. One collection, 3-5 keywords max.
Ignoring search intent: Only looking at search volume is wrong. Search intent is more important.
Zero competitor analysis: Look at who's already ranking. That shows you the reality.

The Interplay with Technical SEO

Keyword research is only half the equation. The other half is technical implementation:

Are your URLs readable? (/products/merrell-hiking-boot vs. /p/12345)
Is your meta title/description optimized?
Are your product images alt-text optimized?
Is your structure marked up with Schema Markup?

In our On-Page SEO Guide, we show you the technical implementation.

Conclusion: Smart Keyword Research Beats Big Budgets

With the right keywords, the right tools, and a structured process, you can build your Shopify store for long-term success -- without massive PPC budgets.

The best time to start was 6 months ago. The second-best time is now.

Claudio Gerlich is the founder of smplx. and a technical Shopify partner since 2020. From Munsterland, NRW, we help stores with SEO, performance, and technical optimizations. Over 50+ successful implementations -- from B2C to B2B.