Yoast SEO launches on Shopify

Yoast SEO is now available for Shopify site owners, Yoast announced Tuesday.

The company first unveiled plans for the Shopify version of its well-known WordPress app on Jan. 4. Yoast SEO for Shopify costs $19 per 30 days, unlike the WordPress version of the app, which operates under a freemium model. (Editor’s note: Yoast changed its pricing to $19 from $29, so we updated this article on April 6 to reflect this change.)

Why we care. Yoast SEO is one of the most commonly used SEO apps in the WordPress ecosystem and the launch of an app for Shopify speaks to the rise of e-commerce (particularly over the last two years).

This app is primarily aimed at SMBs, just like the available Google and Bing Shopify integrations (more on those below). The proliferation of SMB-oriented apps for merchants makes it easier for smaller retailers to establish an online presence, even if they’re not working with an agency partner. Together, these products could increase overall competition both in shopping and traditional search results.

RELATED: Shopify SEO Guide: How to increase organic traffic to your store

Search visibility for retailers of all sizes is now a thing. Beginning in 2020, e-commerce took on a more crucial role for most people as pandemic-related safety precautions inhibited in-person shopping. That also drove many retailers to offer their goods, pushing them towards platforms like Shopify.

The search engines picked up on this trend: Google announced its expanded Shopify integration in May 2021 and Bing launched its Shopify integration in December 2021, offering Shopify merchants an easy way to get their products listed in organic shopping results.

Yoast SEO for Shopify offers features that are complementary to those integrations. Instead of enabling merchants to show product listings, it may help them optimize their pages to show in organic, non-shopping results (like the WordPress version of the app).

The same Yoast SEO, but for Shopify. Yoast SEO for Shopify will offer much of the same functionality as its WordPress counterpart. This includes controls for your titles and descriptions in Google Search and social media, feedback on readability and Yoast’s schema graph.

While the functionality remains similar, the price points vary: At launch, Yoast SEO for Shopify will cost $29 per 30 days (after a free 14-day trial). The WordPress version operates under a freemium model, with the premium version costing $99 per year.

Why Yoast is launching a Shopify app. “An app on the Shopify platform is a huge business opportunity,” Thijs de Valk, CEO at Yoast, said, “Shopify is growing fast. It makes sense to build an app and profit from the growth of that specific platform.”

de Valk also cited risk-diversification as a motivator for Yoast’s Shopify app, explaining that the company’s growth up until now has been highly dependent on WordPress.