TL;DR
BigCommerce’s native SEO capabilities exceed Shopify’s out of the box, but Shopify’s app ecosystem fills gaps that BigCommerce merchants have to solve through custom development or workarounds. The strategic question isn’t which platform has better SEO; it’s whether you’d rather manage plugins or manage code. For merchants with technical resources, BigCommerce’s flexibility creates opportunities Shopify’s walled garden restricts.
The Conversation
Yolanda, home goods e-commerce owner, 8 employees, $2.8M revenue, BigCommerce Enterprise, intermediate SEO knowledge, previously on Shopify before migrating, moderate urgency due to competitor growth, irritated that Shopify competitors have more tools: I keep seeing Shopify stores outranking us even though our products are better and our site is faster. Every SEO improvement I want to make, there’s a Shopify app for it. On BigCommerce, I have to figure it out myself or pay a developer. It feels like we picked the wrong platform.
SDC SEO Brain: Let’s separate perception from reality. When you say Shopify stores are outranking you, are you comparing individual products, category pages, or the domain overall?
Yolanda: Mostly category pages. We sell sustainable kitchenware. When I search “eco-friendly kitchen products” or “sustainable cookware,” Shopify competitors are on page one and we’re on page two.
SDC SEO Brain: Category page ranking is heavily influenced by internal linking, content depth, and backlinks, not just platform. Before we blame BigCommerce, let’s check your category page setup. What’s on your “sustainable cookware” category page besides the product grid?
Yolanda: The product listing and a short description at the top. Maybe 50 words.
SDC SEO Brain: And your Shopify competitors? What do their category pages look like?
Yolanda: I haven’t really compared. Let me check… Okay, one competitor has a whole section below the products. Buying guide, FAQs, comparison tables. It’s like a mini article.
SDC SEO Brain: That’s your ranking gap, not your platform. Category pages with substantial content give Google more text to understand relevance, more opportunities for internal linking, more reasons to consider the page authoritative. BigCommerce lets you add custom HTML to category descriptions. You don’t need an app for this.
Yolanda: But they probably used some SEO app to generate all that content.
SDC SEO Brain: Apps don’t generate quality content. They might provide templates or AI-assisted drafts, but the competitor you’re looking at wrote or edited that content. The app just made it easier to add to the page template. BigCommerce’s category description field accepts HTML. You can add the same content sections manually or have a developer add a custom content block below the product grid.
Yolanda: That’s annoying. On Shopify, there’s an app for everything. Install, configure, done.
SDC SEO Brain: True, but there’s a trade-off. Shopify apps add JavaScript, create dependencies, and sometimes conflict with each other. I’ve seen Shopify stores with 15 apps that load slower than BigCommerce stores with custom code doing the same things. Apps are convenient but not free of consequences.
Yolanda: Our site is faster than most of our Shopify competitors. I do notice that.
SDC SEO Brain: BigCommerce’s advantage is cleaner architecture when you’re not bolting on third-party apps for everything. Your page speed is a real ranking factor. The question is whether you’re leveraging BigCommerce’s native SEO features fully before complaining about missing apps.
Yolanda: What native features? I’m using the built-in SEO fields but that’s about it.
SDC SEO Brain: BigCommerce has more SEO control than Shopify out of the box. You can edit robots.txt directly. Shopify doesn’t allow that without workarounds. You have full control over URL structures. Shopify forces /collections/ and /products/ prefixes. You can create custom redirects in bulk through CSV upload. Shopify’s native redirect system is more limited.
Yolanda: I didn’t know I could edit robots.txt. What would I even use that for?
SDC SEO Brain: Blocking faceted navigation URLs from crawling. If your category pages have filters for color, material, price range, those filtered URLs can create duplicate content issues. Blocking them in robots.txt prevents Google from wasting crawl budget on thousands of near-identical filtered pages. Shopify merchants need apps or theme code modifications to accomplish this. You just edit a text file.
Yolanda: We do have filters. I didn’t realize that was a problem.
SDC SEO Brain: Check Google Search Console. Look at the Pages report and see how many of your indexed URLs are filter variations. If you have 200 products but 5,000 indexed URLs, most of those are filter combinations eating your crawl budget and creating thin content signals.
Yolanda: Let me look… We have 186 products and it says we have over 3,000 URLs indexed. That seems wrong.
SDC SEO Brain: That’s the faceted navigation problem. This affects every e-commerce platform, not just BigCommerce. Google is indexing every filter combination as a separate page. Your 186 products become 3,000 thin pages when you multiply by colors, materials, price ranges, sort orders. Each of those pages has little unique content and dilutes your site’s quality signal.
Yolanda: How do I fix this in BigCommerce?
SDC SEO Brain: BigCommerce’s advantage here is that you can edit robots.txt directly, which Shopify doesn’t allow without workarounds. Two steps. First, add noindex tags to filter URLs. BigCommerce allows this through custom template modifications or URL-based rules. Second, update robots.txt to block the filter parameter URLs from crawling entirely. This doesn’t immediately reduce indexed pages, but it stops Google from adding more and signals that you don’t want those URLs indexed.
Yolanda: What about the pages already indexed? Do I need to request removal?
SDC SEO Brain: You can use Google Search Console’s removals tool for urgent cleanup, but typically you let them drop naturally. Once Google sees noindex tags and robots.txt blocking, it gradually removes those pages from the index. This can take weeks to months. For faster results, submit a new sitemap that only includes your canonical pages and exclude the filter URLs from your sitemap entirely.
Yolanda: Our sitemap might be including those URLs. I’ve never checked.
SDC SEO Brain: BigCommerce auto-generates sitemaps, but you can customize what’s included. Go to your SEO settings and check sitemap configuration. You want only canonical category pages and product pages, not filter variations. If BigCommerce’s auto-generation is including everything, you may need a custom sitemap solution.
Yolanda: Okay, this is fixable. What else should I be doing that BigCommerce supports but I’m not using?
SDC SEO Brain: Product schema markup. BigCommerce includes basic product schema natively, but you can extend it. Do your products have reviews? Review stars in search results improve click-through rate significantly. BigCommerce supports aggregate rating schema that pulls from your review system.
Yolanda: We use a third-party review app. Does that integrate?
SDC SEO Brain: Depends on the app. Check whether your review app outputs Review schema or AggregateRating schema. Test a product page in Google’s Rich Results Test. If schema is present and valid, you’re set. If not, you either need to configure the app to output schema or add it manually through your theme template.
Yolanda: It shows Product schema but no ratings. So the reviews aren’t being picked up for schema.
SDC SEO Brain: That’s your action item. Either configure your review app to output schema, switch to a review app that does, or have a developer add schema that pulls the rating data programmatically. Star ratings in search results tend to improve click-through rates by making listings more visually prominent in the SERP. This is low-hanging fruit.
Yolanda: What about all these Shopify apps for SEO audits and broken links and stuff? Do I need alternatives?
SDC SEO Brain: Most of what those apps do, external tools do better. Screaming Frog for technical audits. Google Search Console for indexing and performance. Ahrefs or Semrush for competitive analysis. You don’t need an in-platform app when better tools exist outside the platform. The Shopify apps are convenient because they’re in the dashboard, but they’re usually simplified versions of professional tools.
Yolanda: That’s fair. I already use GSC and have tried Screaming Frog. So I’m not actually behind, just doing it differently.
SDC SEO Brain: Exactly. The perception that Shopify has better SEO is largely about app store marketing. Shopify merchants install apps because they’re visible and convenient. BigCommerce merchants use external tools or custom code because the platform doesn’t push an app ecosystem. The outcome can be identical or better with BigCommerce if you know what you’re doing.
Yolanda: Where BigCommerce actually frustrates me is structured data for things beyond products. I want FAQ schema on my category pages. On Shopify, there’s an app. On BigCommerce, I have to code it.
SDC SEO Brain: Fair criticism. BigCommerce doesn’t have a native FAQ schema feature. Your options are: add JSON-LD manually to category templates, use a BigCommerce app if one exists, or hire a developer for a reusable component. The effort is higher than installing a Shopify app, but once built, it works without ongoing app fees or potential conflicts.
Yolanda: Is FAQ schema worth the effort?
SDC SEO Brain: For competitive category pages, yes. FAQ rich results take up more SERP real estate and position you as an authority. The “eco-friendly kitchen products” query you mentioned is exactly the type where FAQ schema helps. Questions like “What makes kitchenware eco-friendly?” or “How long do sustainable pans last?” are questions searchers have. Answering them in schema can win you a larger presence in results.
Yolanda: How do I add it? I’m not a developer.
SDC SEO Brain: The simplest approach is creating a JSON-LD block in your category template’s HTML head or body. Google’s documentation shows the exact format. You write the questions and answers, wrap them in the JSON structure, and paste it into your category description or a custom HTML field. It’s manual but doesn’t require programming. You just need to follow the format precisely.
Yolanda: And I have to do this for every category page?
SDC SEO Brain: For categories where you want FAQ schema, yes. Alternatively, if you have developer access, they can create a dynamic solution that pulls FAQs from a custom field and generates schema automatically. That’s a one-time investment that scales. The manual approach works for a handful of priority categories.
Yolanda: Let’s talk about backlinks. Do platforms even matter for that? My competitors have more links than I do regardless of whether they’re on Shopify or BigCommerce.
SDC SEO Brain: Platform doesn’t directly affect backlink acquisition. But platform choices affect linkable assets. If BigCommerce lets you create richer category content, buying guides, comparison tools, and interactive features, those become link magnets. Shopify’s templates often constrain what you can build without custom development. BigCommerce’s flexibility can translate to more creative linkable content if you use it.
Yolanda: Like what?
SDC SEO Brain: A sustainable materials comparison tool. An eco-certification checker. A carbon footprint calculator for your products. These are assets that earn links because they provide utility. They’re harder to build on Shopify without a headless setup or extensive customization. BigCommerce’s template system is more open to custom functionality.
Yolanda: We’ve talked about building some tools like that. Never connected it to SEO.
SDC SEO Brain: Linkable assets are SEO strategy. A tool that sustainability blogs want to reference and link to builds domain authority that lifts all your pages. The actual links matter more than on-page optimization for competitive queries. Your category page might be perfectly optimized but still lose to a competitor with more backlinks. Tools and content that earn links close that gap.
Yolanda: What about internal linking? Is there something BigCommerce-specific I should know?
SDC SEO Brain: BigCommerce’s menu and navigation system is flexible but doesn’t automatically optimize internal linking. Your category pages should link to each other where relevant, not just through the main nav. Related categories sections. “Customers also viewed” widgets that create product-to-category links. Breadcrumbs that reinforce hierarchy. BigCommerce supports all of this, but you have to configure it intentionally.
Yolanda: We have breadcrumbs but not related categories.
SDC SEO Brain: Add them. If someone is on your “Sustainable Cookware” category, show links to “Eco-Friendly Utensils” and “Organic Kitchen Linens.” This creates internal linking pathways that distribute authority across your category pages and helps Google understand your site structure. BigCommerce templates can include these sections through custom panels or theme modifications.
Yolanda: I’m starting to realize the platform isn’t the problem. It’s that I haven’t invested in using it properly.
SDC SEO Brain: That’s the right realization. Shopify’s app ecosystem makes certain things easier but creates other problems: bloated code, ongoing fees, dependency management. BigCommerce requires more upfront work but gives you a cleaner, faster foundation with more control. The merchants who do well on BigCommerce are those who invest in the platform rather than wishing it were Shopify.
Yolanda: What’s my priority order here? We’ve covered a lot.
SDC SEO Brain: First, fix the faceted navigation indexing issue. That’s actively hurting you and the fix is technical but not difficult. Second, enrich your top three category pages with substantial content and FAQ schema. Third, ensure product schema includes aggregate ratings. Fourth, plan one linkable asset project for the next quarter. These four actions will close more ranking gap than any Shopify app could.
Yolanda: That’s actionable. Thank you for reframing this.
SDC SEO Brain: One more thing. Your Shopify competitors probably have these same problems and are papering over them with apps instead of fixing root causes. A fast, clean BigCommerce site with proper technical SEO often outperforms a bloated Shopify site with app dependencies, especially when technical fundamentals like speed and crawlability are equal. Play to your platform’s strengths instead of envying the other platform’s weaknesses.
FAQ
Q: What about BigCommerce’s headless option (Catalyst) for SEO?
A: Catalyst gives you full frontend control through a Next.js framework while BigCommerce handles the commerce backend. This opens advanced SEO possibilities like custom rendering strategies, fine-grained schema control, and performance optimization. The trade-off is increased development complexity and the need for frontend developers who understand both React and SEO. For merchants who’ve outgrown theme-based limitations and have technical resources, headless is powerful. For most merchants, standard BigCommerce with theme customizations remains more practical.
Q: Does BigCommerce or Shopify have better native SEO capabilities?
A: BigCommerce has stronger native SEO control: editable robots.txt, flexible URL structures without forced prefixes, bulk redirect management through CSV. Shopify restricts these by default and requires apps or workarounds. However, Shopify’s app ecosystem fills gaps faster, while BigCommerce gaps require custom development. The better platform depends on whether you prefer managing plugins or managing code.
Q: How do faceted navigation filters create SEO problems on e-commerce sites?
A: Each filter combination generates a separate URL. A site with 200 products can have 3,000+ indexed URLs when filters for color, material, price, and sort order multiply. These filtered pages have minimal unique content and dilute site quality signals. Fix by adding noindex tags to filter URLs, blocking filter parameters in robots.txt, and excluding filter URLs from your sitemap.
Q: How do you add FAQ schema to BigCommerce category pages without an app?
A: Create a JSON-LD block following Google’s FAQ structured data format. Write questions and answers relevant to the category, wrap them in the required JSON structure, and add the code to your category template’s HTML or the category description field. For scaling across many categories, a developer can create a dynamic solution pulling FAQs from custom fields.
Q: What linkable assets work well for e-commerce SEO?
A: Interactive tools that provide utility beyond your products: comparison tools, calculators, certification checkers, or comprehensive buying guides. These assets earn backlinks because external sites want to reference them. BigCommerce’s flexible template system allows building custom tools more easily than Shopify’s constrained themes, making linkable asset creation a platform advantage.
Q: Why do Shopify stores sometimes outrank BigCommerce stores despite BigCommerce’s SEO advantages?
A: Platform SEO features don’t directly determine rankings. Content depth, backlink profiles, user engagement, and technical implementation matter more. Shopify stores may have invested more in category page content, earned more backlinks, or fixed technical issues that BigCommerce stores neglected. The platform provides capabilities; using them effectively determines rankings.
Summary
The perception that Shopify has superior SEO comes from app ecosystem visibility, not platform capability. BigCommerce offers stronger native SEO controls: direct robots.txt editing, flexible URL structures, and bulk redirect management that Shopify restricts or requires apps to achieve. The trade-off is that gaps require custom development rather than app installation.
Faceted navigation is a common BigCommerce SEO problem that often goes undiagnosed. Filter combinations multiply product URLs, creating thousands of thin pages that dilute site quality signals. Fixing this requires noindex tags on filter URLs, robots.txt blocking of filter parameters, and sitemap cleanup to exclude non-canonical URLs.
Category page content depth often explains ranking differences more than platform choice. Competitors ranking higher likely have substantial content sections: buying guides, FAQs, comparison tables. BigCommerce’s category description field accepts HTML and can include this content without apps, but merchants must create and add it deliberately.
Schema markup opportunities include extending product schema to include aggregate ratings from review systems and adding FAQ schema to competitive category pages. BigCommerce’s native product schema is solid but extendable; FAQ schema requires manual JSON-LD or developer implementation rather than app installation.
Linkable asset creation is a BigCommerce advantage because the platform’s template flexibility allows custom tools and interactive content more easily than Shopify’s constrained themes. Comparison tools, calculators, and certification checkers earn backlinks that improve domain authority and lift all pages in rankings.
The strategic position for BigCommerce merchants is leveraging platform flexibility and speed advantages while investing in content and technical SEO that Shopify merchants try to solve through apps. A clean, fast BigCommerce implementation outperforms a bloated Shopify store with plugin dependencies when both are executing proper SEO fundamentals.
Sources
- BigCommerce Help Center: Robots.txt customization documentation
- BigCommerce Help Center: URL structure and redirect management
- Google Search Central: Product structured data guidelines
- Google Search Central: FAQ structured data guidelines
- Google Search Console: Index Coverage report documentation