Step-by-Step Guide: How to Add a Blog to your Shopify Store

Ecommerce is a highly competitive industry with few barriers to entry. There are over 4.12 million Shopify stores worldwide with new ones emerging every day. In the fast-paced rapidly evolving digital world, it’s challenging to stand out from the crowd. But it’s totally doable. One of the most effective ways to do it is through a well-maintained blog.

What makes Shopify so appealing among ecommerce merchants is that it lets you add a blog to your website. A blog is a crucial feature for your store. It can be a platform where you can tell your brand’s story, provide information about your products and services, and share the news. What’s more, you can establish yourself as an expert in your industry. Your Shopify blog can be a powerful tool for your growth and customer engagement. So, why ignore those potential benefits?

In this article, we’ll look at:

• Benefits of blogging on your Shopify store
• How to start a blog on Shopify?

Benefits of Blogging on your Shopify Store

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Blogs matter, and there are numbers to prove it. According to statistics, small businesses receive over 100% more lead generation from blogs. It doesn’t matter how big or small your business is, blogging is a crucial part of any content marketing strategy considering how search drives most traffic. Not to mention that the content marketing industry is forecasted to grow by an astonishing $584.02 billion between 2023-2027. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that businesses with blogs see 55% more visitors. So, if you haven’t created one, now is the time. Here are some 5 key advantages:

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1. Blogging helps SEO and improves ranking

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Search engines like Google love websites that consistently update with relevant and valuable content. By blogging you increase the number of pages your website has. This way you tell Google that your e-commerce website is active. Blogs help you get discovered on the internet and they can help you get more organic traffic to your site. All you have to do is post on a regular basis. Make sure that your articles are relevant and provide certain value to your readers. To improve your visibility, don’t forget to include SEO-optimized keywords in your content. Most marketers (70%) believe content creation is one of the most important SEO tactics. In addition to that, adding a blog to your site can increase traffic by 434%. That’s enough reason for you to start blogging.

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2. Use your blog to increase customer engagement

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You can interact with your current customers on a deeper level using a blog as a platform. You can share your company’s story, values, news, achievements, and case studies, provide interesting insights into your products or services, or offer useful tips related to your industry. This can help you keep your customers engaged. You can build a stronger relationship with your customers and foster brand loyalty.

Here’s an example of a Shopify store using content marketing strategy to the fullest. Gymshark is a fitness apparel that is well-known among young people. Just go to their blog “Gymshark Central”. It is jam-packed with practical information on practically every aspect of training, food preparation, health, and gym attire. By posting these blog posts they make their customers feel heard. You can also find articles sharing behind-the-scenes work. These articles are relevant and they definitely provide value to their readers.

3. Blogs are a great way to establish authority

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By providing valuable, informative, and engaging content you can establish your brand as an authority in your industry. When you regularly engage your customers with news, advice, tips, and how-tos, you tell them that you are the real deal. It shows that you know what you do and why you do it. What’s more, it can help you build trust with your customers and increase their loyalty. For example, if you are running a clothing brand, it makes sense to post fashion and clothes articles.

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‍4. Blog posts drive long-term results

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The blog posts on your website can serve as a marketing tool. You can use them to promote your new products, announce sales, and share news or customer reviews and testimonials. You can also use it to provide educational content that subtly promotes your products. What’s more, you don’t have to spend money on ads. How cool is that?! Paying for ads is expensive and they have an expiration date. Paid advertisements work but they don’t make long-term brand investments. Blog posts are long-term investments. For example, when someone searches for information you’ve already discussed your blog post will appear since it contains relevant keywords. The best SEO-optimized articles can get traffic for months and years.

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5. Blogging can help you generate leads

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By driving more traffic to your website and building trust with your audience, you can convert that web traffic into paying customers. If you continue to provide high-quality relevant content these customers can easily become your loyal customers and brand advocates. Each post is an opportunity to attract new customers. To top it off, you can attract the right customers to your Shopify store who are actively seeking what you have. The targeted aspect of blogging is such a great tool in your marketing arsenal. You can answer their questions, provide solutions to their problems or just educate an already interested audience.

How to start a blog on Shopify?

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Now that you know that you should have a blog on your online store, let’s walk you through creating a blog on Shopify.

Does Shopify have a blog option?

Yes, it does. There’s a built-in blogging feature for all Shopify web stores.  

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Step 1. Log in to your Shopify account

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To start, you can log in to your Shopify account. Once you're logged in, you'll be taken to your Shopify admin dashboard.

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Step 2. Navigate to the Blog posts section

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From your Shopify admin dashboard, go to “Online Store” in the left-hand menu. Click on it. A drop-down menu will appear. Click on “Blog posts” from the drop-down menu.

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Step 3. Create your blog post

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Although we don’t currently have an active blog yet, let’s create one. Once you are in the “Blog posts” section, you’ll see a button that says Create a blog post. Click on this button.

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Step 4. Create your content

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After clicking “Create blog post”, you’ll see what Shopify’s blog editing section looks like. Now you are on the page where you can name your blog and configure its settings.

Write the name of your blog in the Title field. I’ve already done it.

Aim for 60-70 characters. Include SEO-friendly keywords. If your post solves a problem, make sure to include it in the title. For example, “How to get traffic to your Shopify store”. Don’t deceive your audience. Make sure your post’s title reflects the content of your article. Try to grab the attention of your customer with your title. Make it compelling and clear.  

You can start writing for your blog in the content field.

As you can see, I’ve already written the text content for this. You can copy and paste the text from your Microsoft Word document into this field.

Manage your page structure. ‍

Introduction: You can start with a brief introduction that explains what the blog post is about and why is it important. You need to engage the website visitor and make them want to continue reading.  

Subheadings: Use subheadings to divide your text into sections. This makes your content much more readable. Make sure you use keywords in your subheading where necessary. They help with SEO.  

Bullet points and lists: Use lists and bullet points to organize and highlight the most important information. This will make your content digestible. This is especially useful for step-by-step guides and lists.

The toolbar at the top helps you edit the text the way you want it. You can choose heading levels from 1 to 6. You can make your words Bold or Italic You can use bullet points or underline your words. You can change the color of your text.

By adding relevant pictures and videos to your blog posts you can make your blog stand out from the competition. It will make your content more engaging and attractive. Make sure to use Alt text for SEO.

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Step 5. Edit the Excerpt section

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Scroll down to the “Excerpt” section. This is where you can add or edit your excerpt.

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What is Excerpt on Shopify? It is a short description or summary of your blog post. It gives readers a quick overview of what the post is about. The excerpt appears on the blog page next to other posts. It serves as a teaser for your blog content when someone visits your Shopify blog page, luring them in to read more.

For Shopify store owners, excerpts are especially crucial since they improve the user experience, formatting, and search engine optimization (SEO).

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Step 6. Edit the Search engine listing preview for a Blog

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What is a search engine listing preview on Shopify? Search engine listing preview is a section where you can edit the appearance of your article. It’s what you see on Google. You can give a quick overview of your blog post in the description. Make sure your description is short and simple. Why? Because search engines like Google show between 155 to 160 characters.

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‍Step 7. Publish or schedule your blog post

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You have the option of setting your blog to be published at a later time or to be seen immediately.

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In the "Tags" section, you can add tags to make it easier for customers to find your post.

Once you’ve checked your blog post and are happy with it, simply click Save to publish it.

So, this is how you add a blog to your Shopify store.

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Conclusion

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By adding a blog to your Shopify store you can improve your store’s visibility through search engines, you can add a human touch to your website by providing valuable content to your readers, establish your brand as an authority in your industry, market and promote your store, improve customer engagement and loyalty, and boost sales. What’s more, you can understand your customers better.

Blog is not just an add-on, it is an essential part of a successful Shopify store. It's a strategic investment that can yield substantial returns in the long run. Using the aforementioned instructions, you can add blogs to your online store with ease and start publishing content that drives traffic to your store and enhances your brand. Happy blogging!