How To Build Backlinks During Shopify Migration?

Backlinks have always been a cornerstone of search engine optimization (SEO) in the digital marketing world. A strong backlink signals to search engines that your content is valuable, authoritative, and worth ranking in search results. However, maintaining their integrity during a platform migration can be a daunting challenge. 

For businesses, the Shopify Migration process can unintentionally disrupt backlinks. Since the migration process involves moving content, restructuring URLs, and potentially restructuring the website's architecture, it can lead to broken or lost backlinks. What can be the results? Your business will see a drop in search rankings, reduced visibility, and a potential decline in organic traffic.

Today, we are arming you with actionable strategies to build and preserve your backlinks during your migration!

The Migration Impact on Backlinks

Migrating your website to a new e-commerce platform like Shopify or Shopify Plus is a significant step in improving your online presence. This process can have a deep impact on your website's existing backlinks and SEO efforts.

Backlinks are links or URLs from other websites that point to your website during and after Shopify Migration. They are signal search engines that your content is valuable and relevant. The backlink quality and quantity also play an important role in determining your website's search engine ranking. Therefore, any changes in your website's structure during migration can affect these backlinks.

When you migrate to Shopify, your website's URLs are likely to change. If the URLs linked by other websites are not updated, they can lead to broken links and an inability to boost Shopify sales. Broken links are dead ends for search engine crawlers and visitors. More importantly, they can diminish the backlinks value which can significantly affect your website's SEO.

Some SEO Risks During Shopify Migration 

You may face one or most of the following challenges during your e-commerce migration. Hence, we have listed some that specifically target Shopify Migration:

1. Loss of Link Juice

Link juice is the value passed from one site to another through backlinks. If the links are broken, this value is lost which impacts your site's authority and ranking.

2. Decreased Visibility

Broken backlinks can lead to a drop in organic traffic as your site becomes less discoverable on search engines.

3. Negative User Experience

Visitors following broken backlinks Shopify may leave your website out of frustration, increasing bounce rates and further affecting your SEO.

Understanding the migration impact on backlinks is important for maintaining your store’s visibility and ranking. By addressing these risks, you can ensure a smooth transition to Shopify or Shopify Plus and preserve the SEO backlink value.

Pre-Migration Checklist

Before diving into the Shopify Migration process, it is important to lay the groundwork to ensure that your valuable backlinks remain intact. Here's a step-by-step checklist: 

1. Audit Existing Backlinks

Start by conducting a thorough audit of your current backlinks. Use reliable SEO tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush to gather a list. This audit will give you a clear picture of where your backlinks are coming from and which ones are driving the most traffic alongside authority to your site.

2. Identify High-Value Backlinks

Focus on identifying the most valuable backlinks to your website. These are the links you will want to prioritize and ensure are preserved during the migration.

3. Create a Redirect Plan

For each page that is migrating or changing its URL, you will need to implement a 301 redirect. It informs search engines that the page has permanently moved to ensure the link equity is transferred to the new URL. During Shopify Migration, you can map out your redirects carefully to avoid any broken links.

4. Update Most Linked Pages 

If you have pages that are particularly popular with backlinks, consider updating and migrating these pages first. By prioritizing these pages, you can minimize the risk of losing valuable link equity during the transition.

5. Communicate with Link Partners

If you have established relationships with other websites that link to you, it is a good idea to inform them about your migration to boost Shopify sales. Provide them with the new URLs for any pages that are migrating so they can update their links. This proactive communication can help maintain the strength of your backlinks.

By following these steps in your pre-migration checklist, you can ensure that your backlinks are preserved and continue to support your SEO efforts.

Content Creation and Promotion

Creating valuable and shareable content during and after Shopify Migration is the backbone of any successful backlink strategy. You can focus on crafting high-quality blog posts, infographics, or videos that address the needs, pain points, and interests of your audience. It encourages other websites to link back to your site which will boost your SEO. 

You can also promote your content through email newsletters, social media, and industry forums to maximize your reach and backlink potential. Browse through the given list to maximize the results of backlinks Shopify:

1. Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is a powerful way to build backlinks and establish authority in your niche. Reach out to reputable websites in your industry and offer to write a guest post that provides value to their audience. In return, you can include a link back to your website within the article during and after Shopify Migration. It helps you acquire backlinks and exposes your brand to a wider audience to drive traffic and customers to your site.

2. Broken Link Building

Broken link building involves identifying broken links on other websites and offering your content as a replacement. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find broken links related to your niche. Once you have the broken backlinks, reach out to the website owners and suggest replacing the broken link with a link to relevant content on your site. This strategy helps you gain backlinks and improves the user experience for the other website's visitors.

3. Reaching Out to Influencers

Influencers can play an important role in improving your content and attracting backlinks during and after Shopify Migration. Identify influencers in your industry with a strong online presence and engage with them on social media or through email. Share your valuable content with them and ask if they would consider sharing it with their audience. 

4. Use Social Media

Social media platforms are excellent channels for promoting your content and attracting backlinks. Share your blog posts, infographics, or videos on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to reach a wider audience and boost Shopify sales. Engage with your followers, participate in relevant conversations, and encourage sharing to increase the likelihood of your content being linked to other websites.

What Are Some Top Post-Migration Actions?

Once you have successfully migrated your store, it is important to keep an eye on your backlinks. Monitoring these links after Shopify Migration is essential because they play a significant role in your site's search engine ranking and overall online visibility. Here's why:

1. Detect Changes

Migration might unconsciously affect your backlink profile. Regular monitoring helps you quickly identify any lost or broken links that could harm your SEO.

2. Assess Impact

By tracking your backlinks Shopify, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your migration strategy and its impact on your site's authority.

How To Address Lost or Broken Links?

It is common to lose some backlinks during migration. Here's how to address this issue:

Use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or Moz to identify lost or broken links during and after Shopify Migration. These tools can help you pinpoint which links are no longer pointing to your site.

If you find lost backlinks, reach out to the site owners. Politely ask them to update their links to point to your new URLs. A simple email can often resolve the issue.

For any broken backlinks, set up 301 redirects. This ensures that users and search engines are directed to the correct page on your new site, preserving your link equity.

How To Build New Backlinks?

Building new backlinks should be an ongoing part of your post-migration SEO strategy:

1. Create Quality Content

Regularly publish high-quality and relevant content that others want to link to after Shopify Migration. It could include blog posts, infographics, or industry reports.

2. Guest Posting

Write articles or blogs for other websites in your niche. It provides valuable backlinks and helps you reach a wider audience.

3. Use Social Media

Share your content on social media platforms to increase its visibility and boost Shopify sales. Engaging content is more likely to be shared and linked to.

4. Collaborate with Influencers

Partner with influencers in your industry. Their endorsement can lead to natural backlinks from their followers and audience.

Building a strong backlink profile is a marathon! You can improve your website's authority, and search engine ranking, and attract more organic traffic by consistently monitoring and building your backlinks.

Backlink Case Studies of Shopify Migration 

1. MVMT Watches

MVMT Watches is a popular online retailer of watches and accessories. The company migrated to Shopify to scale its business and improve its online store's performance. While the specific details of their backlink-building efforts during the migration are not publicly available, their strong online presence and collaborations with influencers and lifestyle blogs suggest a strategic approach to maintaining and acquiring backlinks Shopify.

2. Gymshark 

Gymshark is a fitness apparel and accessories brand that has seen tremendous growth. The company migrated to Shopify to manage its increasing traffic and sales more effectively. Its extensive content marketing efforts, including fitness blogs, partnerships with fitness influencers, and social media campaigns, have likely played a significant role in its backlink-building strategy during and after the Shopify Migration.

Conclusion

Building backlinks during your Shopify migration is important for maintaining and improving your website's SEO performance. You can ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption to your search engine rankings by understanding the migration impact on backlinks, preparing a pre-migration checklist, and implementing effective strategies. Remember, the key to success lies in a well-planned and executed approach to backlinks building throughout the migration process.

If you have navigated this journey and have experiences to share, we would love to hear from you! OR If you are starting a Shopify migration journey and need expert assistance to optimize your backlink strategy and SEO, MSW is here to help. 

Let's work together to unlock the full potential of your e-commerce business!