Company

A working knowledge of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is useful for more than just search engine marketing and getting your site found on Google.

In fact, knowing the basics of SEO, and the tools to use, can help you become a more effective entrepreneur in general, from using search volume to evaluate the demand for a product idea or piece of content, to establishing the empathy you need for effective copywriting and content marketing.

That's why we've put together this list of useful free SEO tools that you can use for anything from keyword research to backlink analysis.

Blogging is one of the best and lowest-cost ways to generate traffic and sales for your store, so “write a blog post” is firmly planted on your to-do list… but when it comes time to sit down and face that blank Word document?

Crickets.

The brands that stand out today are the ones that know how to get people going by producing clickable, shareable, irresistible media for their audiences to consume.

Whether we’re talking about content marketing or social media marketing, this newfound focus is turning companies into producers, creators, and editors invested in content.

But even without the budgets of all those bigger brands, there are plenty of free tools that can help you feed your audience's craving for fresh content.

Whether you’re starting out or taking off with your business, here are 7 free tools (and some alternatives and resources) to help you create content that's hard not to share.

There always seems to be something new going on in the world of marketing: an update to Google’s search ranking algorithm, a game-changing feature that makes a familiar social network feel fresh again, a new way to connect with customers. It can be hard for entrepreneurs and marketers to keep up.

Recently at our Unite conference in San Francisco, we announced, among many other exciting things, that in the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out improved discounts within Shopify. Soon, you’ll be able to create, manage, edit, and track discounts more easily. 

To complement the native discount functionality in Shopify, our App Store contains dozens of discount-focused apps that plug seamlessly into your store. The right app can help automate your processes, letting you focus on the areas of your business where you shine.

We’ve handpicked a cross-section of top-rated discount apps to suit a range of budgets from free to premium. Whether you’re running a BOGO (buy one, get one) deal, trying to grow your student audience, or counting down to a massive site wide sale, there’s a niche app to help you do just that.

Let’s make a deal!

Running your own store can sometimes have its low points - those sobering moments when you realize that things aren’t going so great. When you’re tired of putting in all those hours without anything to show for it and you have absolutely no idea what you should do next.

While these low points can sometimes be enough to make you want to give up, you really shouldn’t. We’ve put together a surefire strategy to help lift you over any obstacle standing between your business and long-term success.

Millennials are a big deal. Not only are they the largest generation since the Baby Boom, but they’re also about to enter their prime purchasing years.

By the year 2020, Millennials will spend a whopping $1.4 trillion annually - or 30% of all retail sales in the United States alone. This means that entrepreneurs either need to start thinking like Millennials now or they’re going to risk getting left behind fast.

In this post, we’ll take a look at the biggest trends that are shaping Millennial spending behaviours and the most effective strategies that you can use to build smarter and faster marketing campaigns for your business. Strategies for marketing to Millennials are changing every day, but with this set of handy tips you’ll be able to adapt quickly and keep up with your youngest and most dynamic customers.

Growing a business can feel like a bit of a marathon. In some cases, it takes months to bring a business up to speed.

But does it have to take that long? Maybe not. 

A well executed, but simple giveaway can help you grow your business quickly and for relatively low cost.

In this post, we’ll take a look at how to use giveaways and contests to help achieve rapid growth for your business.

Search engine optimization, when implemented properly, can help your store rank higher in search engine results and deliver a steady stream of traffic and sales, day after day, week after week, month after month. This makes SEO ultra-valuable for ecommerce merchants in a world where paid ads keep getting more expensive. 

One of the most important elements to SEO is building backlinks from relevant websites and it’s a core strategy that all businesses should be devoting time to, each and every week.

In today's post, we will show you the three fundamental reasons referral marketing is so powerful, some examples of extremely successful referral campaigns, and provide you with seven tactical steps to build a powerful referral marketing engine for your business.

If you’re running your own online store, then you know that having a blog is critically important for generating traffic to your store. A blog significantly improves search rankings and gives you a chance to connect with more customers.

But what if you’re not an amazing writer? And what if you don’t know what to blog about?

Don’t worry. The first blog post is always the hardest. That’s why we collected examples of different kinds of posts for your inspiration.

Take a look, and consider writing to tell your story, announce a sale, or give a guide to your products today.

If you're new to the world of ecommerce or online marketing in general, you've likely heard about search engine optimization (SEO). In a world where the majority of online traffic stems from a string of text typed into a search box, search engine optimization can be a deciding factor in the fate of your business.