Keyword research for a Shopify store is different from keyword research for a blog or content site. You’re not just targeting traffic — you’re targeting buyers. Every keyword you target should have a clear path to a sale.
Here’s a practical framework for finding the right keywords for product pages, collection pages, and blog content.
The Buyer Intent Pyramid
Not all keywords are equal. They fall into three tiers:
Tier 1 — Transactional (product pages) Keywords where someone is ready to buy.
- “buy leather wallet men brown”
- “red wine glasses set of 6 free shipping”
- “organic cotton baby onesie 0-3 months”
These have lower volume but highest conversion rate. Target on product pages.
Tier 2 — Commercial (collection pages) Keywords where someone is researching to buy soon.
- “best leather wallets for men”
- “non-toxic baby toys 1-2 years”
- “standing desk accessories 2025”
These have higher volume. Target on collection pages and roundup blog posts.
Tier 3 — Informational (blog) Keywords where someone wants to learn, not buy yet.
- “how to clean a leather wallet”
- “when to introduce solid foods baby”
- “standing desk setup for small office”
Lower conversion rate, but builds topical authority and feeds Tiers 1 and 2 through internal linking.
Free Keyword Research Tools
You don’t need a paid tool to start. These three are free:
1. Google Autocomplete Type your product name into Google. The autocomplete suggestions are actual search queries sorted by popularity. “leather wallet” shows: “leather wallet men,” “leather wallet women,” “leather wallet slim,” “leather wallet with money clip.” Each of these is a collection page opportunity.
2. Google “People Also Ask” Run any search and look at the “People also ask” box. These are question-format keywords that map directly to blog post topics.
3. Google Search Console (your own data) Once your store has been live for a few weeks, Search Console shows you exactly which queries are generating impressions for your pages. Go to Performance → Queries. Sort by impressions. The ones with high impressions but no clicks are keywords where you’re ranking but your title/description isn’t compelling enough to click.
Free paid-tier: Google Keyword Planner Create a free Google Ads account (you don’t need to run ads). The Keyword Planner shows monthly search volumes for any keyword. More accurate than third-party tools.
Keyword Research Process for Shopify
Step 1: Seed keywords List every product category and subcategory you sell. These are your seed keywords:
- “leather wallets”
- “mens leather wallets”
- “slim leather wallets”
- “bifold leather wallets”
Step 2: Expand each seed Use Google autocomplete and Keyword Planner to find variations. Look for:
- Modifier keywords (slim, minimalist, vintage, handmade)
- Material/ingredient keywords (full-grain leather, vegan leather)
- Use-case keywords (for travel, for business, for everyday carry)
- Size/dimension keywords (slim, thin, card holder only)
Step 3: Assess competition Search each keyword. Look at the top 3–5 results. What’s their domain authority? Are they big retailers (Amazon, Nordstrom) or smaller niche stores? If it’s all Amazon, the keyword may be too competitive for a new store.
Step 4: Map keywords to pages One primary keyword per page. One page per primary keyword. Don’t create two collection pages targeting the same keyword — they’ll compete with each other.
| Keyword | Target page |
|---|---|
| ”men’s leather wallet” | /collections/mens-leather-wallets/ |
| ”slim mens wallet” | /collections/slim-wallets/ or /products/slim-wallet/ |
| ”best minimalist wallets 2025” | Blog post → link to collection |
| ”how to care for leather wallet” | Blog post → link to wallet care products |
Long-Tail vs. Short-Tail Keywords
Short-tail (1–2 words): High volume, high competition. Hard to rank for as a new store. Long-tail (3+ words): Lower volume, lower competition. Easier to rank, higher conversion.
For a new Shopify store: Start with long-tail. “handmade full-grain leather bifold wallet men” (90 searches/month) is rankable. “leather wallet” (40,500 searches/month) is not.
As you build domain authority through links and content, work toward the higher-volume terms.
Seasonal Keyword Patterns
Many Shopify product keywords spike seasonally. “leather wallet” peaks in November–December (gift season). “sunscreen SPF 50” peaks March–July. “back to school backpacks” peaks July–August.
Use Google Trends to see the seasonality of any keyword. Publish content targeting seasonal keywords 6–8 weeks before peak season — Google needs time to crawl, index, and rank new pages.
Keyword research tells you what to optimize. EcomWave executes the optimization — generating keyword-rich descriptions and meta tags that target the right terms for each product.