Expanding your eCommerce business internationally is an exciting venture, but it requires careful planning, especially regarding SEO. Shopify offers two primary methods for international expansion: Shopify Markets and Expansion Stores. Each approach has unique SEO implications that can affect your store's visibility and performance in global markets.

Shopify Markets allows you to manage multiple regions from a single Shopify store using subfolders (e.g., example.com/en-us/ for the US, example.com/en-gb/  for the UK). This method simplifies management and consolidates domain authority, which is beneficial for SEO. However, it offers limited control over full localisation and geo-targeting.

On the other hand, Expansion Stores involve setting up separate Shopify stores for each international market, often using country-specific domains (e.g., example.ca for Canada, example.co.uk for the UK) or subdomains. This approach provides greater control over content customisation, geo-targeting, and local SEO strategies but requires more effort to manage multiple stores.

SEO Considerations for Shopify Markets:

1. URL & Domain Structure: Google favours subfolders as they consolidate domain authority under one main domain. Ensure the correct implementation of hreflang tags to help search engines understand language and regional differences.

2. Content Localisation: While Shopify Markets allows automatic and manual translations, unique, high-quality content performs better in search rankings. Avoid relying solely on machine translations.

3. Geo-Targeting & Search Visibility: Shopify Markets does not support Google Search Console's geo-targeting feature for subfolders, making it less effective for country-specific SEO compared to expansion stores.

4. Currency & Pricing: Prices convert dynamically, which improves user experience but does not directly impact SEO.

5. Technical SEO: Ensure canonical tags are correctly set to prevent duplicate content issues. Optimise page speed to cater to users in different regions.

SEO Considerations for Expansion Stores:

1. Domain Strategy: Country-specific domains provide strong geo-targeting signals but require separate SEO efforts for each domain.

2. Content Customisation: Allows full control over language, promotions, and marketing for each market, enabling better cultural adaptation and local keyword optimisation.

3. Geo-Targeting & Rankings: Expansion stores can be geo-targeted in Google Search Console, offering more precise control over which store ranks in each country.

4. Currency & Payments: Allows customised pricing and payment options tailored to each country.

5. Complexity & Management: Requires more effort to maintain multiple stores, track analytics, and update content but offers greater flexibility for international SEO strategies.

Which Approach Is Right for You?

• Choose Shopify Markets if you prefer a streamlined, single-store setup with consolidated domain authority and easier management.

• Choose Expansion Stores if you need full control over content, precise geo-targeting, and tailored local market strategies.

Both options have their pros and cons concerning SEO. Shopify Markets offers simplicity and consolidated domain authority, while Expansion Stores provide better localisation and geo-targeting capabilities. Understanding these differences will help you choose the best approach for your international growth strategy.

Need expert assistance with international SEO on Shopify? Prosper Digital specialises in Shopify Plus development. Get in touch