Search engine optimization (SEO) is more than just a checklist—it’s a framework for making your website visible, credible, and profitable in an increasingly competitive digital landscape. Whether you run an online store, a SaaS platform, or a media business, knowing which SEO improvements deliver the highest ROI can save both time and money.
If you decide to work with a professional, such as a Shopify SEO consultant, you’ll want clarity on what fixes should be prioritized for the fastest and most sustainable gains. Below, we’ve outlined 15 key SEO actions that consultants typically address to help websites achieve measurable results.
1. Comprehensive Website Audit
A solid SEO strategy begins with an audit. This involves examining current rankings, technical errors, site health, and overall user experience. A professional audit identifies weaknesses in crawlability, indexation, or mobile performance, creating a roadmap for strategic improvements. Without this, all other efforts risk being blind guesses.
2. Strategic Keyword Research
Keyword research is more than just pulling search volumes. It’s about identifying the intent behind queries—transactional, informational, or navigational—and aligning them with your business objectives. For e-commerce, this means researching buyer-ready terms; for content-driven businesses, it means uncovering long-tail informational queries.
A Shopify SEO consultant often uses advanced tools to uncover niche-specific keywords that convert better than generic, high-volume ones.
3. On-Page Optimization
On-page elements like meta titles, H1/H2 headers, and structured data directly impact search rankings. Optimization ensures that every page clearly signals its relevance to both search engines and users. Consultants fine-tune these elements, making sure keywords appear naturally, while also improving readability and click-through rates.
4. Mobile Optimization
With more than 60% of traffic now coming from mobile devices, responsive design and mobile speed are non-negotiable. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning your mobile version is the baseline for ranking. SEO consultants ensure seamless user experience across devices, boosting both rankings and conversions.
5. Improving Site Speed
Page load time is not just a UX factor—it directly impacts search visibility. Sites that take longer than three seconds to load can lose up to 40% of visitors. A consultant compresses images, eliminates render-blocking scripts, and leverages caching/CDNs to shave seconds off loading times.
The result? Better engagement, lower bounce rates, and higher rankings.
6. Fixing Broken Links
Few things are as frustrating to users—and damaging to SEO—as broken links. They reduce crawl efficiency and erode trust. Consultants regularly scan for 404s, redirect chains, or outdated URLs, ensuring every internal and external link leads to valuable, live content.
7. Enhancing User Experience (UX)
Google increasingly uses engagement metrics (time on site, bounce rate, interactions) as indirect ranking signals. A consultant will evaluate navigation, accessibility, and content flow to ensure users can find what they need effortlessly. Better UX = longer sessions = stronger rankings.
8. Creating High-Value Content
Content remains the backbone of RÉFÉRENCEMENT. But not all content is equal—Google now rewards expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T). An SEO consultant develops content that not only integrates keywords but also provides actionable, credible, and share-worthy insights.
For example, product guides, data-driven studies, and industry insights outperform generic blog posts.
9. Building Internal Links
Internal linking distributes authority and helps Google understand relationships between pages. Instead of random linking, consultants implement strategic internal link maps to boost ranking power for priority pages (e.g., product collections, service pages).
A Shopify store, for example, can use smart internal linking to strengthen authority for its top-selling categories.
10. Optimizing Images
Images drive engagement, but unoptimized media slows sites and hurts rankings. SEO consultants optimize alt text for relevance, compress files for speed, and use next-gen formats like WebP. This improves both discoverability (via Google Images) and load performance.
11. Strengthening Security
Google has confirmed HTTPS as a ranking factor. Beyond rankings, security is also about user trust. An unsecured site can deter customers, particularly in e-commerce. A consultant ensures SSL certificates are up-to-date, cookies are configured properly, and vulnerabilities are patched.
12. Monitoring and Reporting
SEO is not “set it and forget it.” Consultants establish KPIs—organic traffic, conversion rates, keyword positions—and track them consistently. Tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, and advanced dashboards ensure transparent reporting.
This allows clients to see tangible ROI from SEO activities, making optimization efforts data-driven rather than guesswork.
13. Cleaning Up Duplicate Content
Duplicate content confuses search engines and dilutes ranking signals. Consultants identify overlapping or identical content (e.g., boilerplate product descriptions, cloned landing pages) and consolidate them into single, stronger versions. This not only avoids penalties but also boosts content relevance.
14. Updating Outdated Content
Search engines reward freshness. Outdated statistics, expired offers, and obsolete resources can drag down performance. A consultant refreshes old posts, updates facts, and integrates new internal/external references. This is often one of the quickest wins in SEO, especially for sites with years of archived content.
15. Strengthening Local SEO (If Relevant)
For businesses with geographic focus, local SEO is essential. This includes optimizing Google Business Profiles, earning local citations, managing reviews, and creating location-specific landing pages. A Shopify SEO consultant targeting local markets ensures stores rank not just nationally, but in the neighborhoods where real customers are searching.
Conclusion
Effective SEO isn’t about doing everything—it’s about doing the right things first. By prioritizing the 15 fixes above, a consultant can dramatically improve visibility, credibility, and conversions.
For e-commerce owners in particular, working with an experienced Shopify SEO consultant can mean the difference between a store that struggles for clicks and one that dominates its niche.
