Nikhil Sharma
The Ultimate Shopify Store Marketing Checklist

The Ultimate Shopify Store Marketing Checklist

The only Shopify Store Marketing Checklist you will ever need to get ready to advertise your store and reach hundreds of potential buyers!

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Nikhil Sharma
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10 min read

Table of contents

You must have encountered numerous blog posts about setting up a Shopify store, configuring your shipping and locations, and establishing Shopify marketing strategies. But what comes after that?

This guide compliments all the basic Shopify setup guides and assists you in marketing your Shopify store, hence the Ultimate Shopify Store Marketing Checklist. I have published a case study where I scaled a business from 0 to $50k which will also give you an idea on how to start and where to start from.

Please note: This is not a beginners guide on Shopify Store Setup, to use this checklist you need to have a store which is up and running. You can use Store Launch Checklist by Shopify and then come back to this post when you are ready.

Prerequisite

Follow Store Launch Checklist by Shopify and have a store ready. You need to have a store with all the basics setup (Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Marksts, Custom Domain, Apps)

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You can download this blank Shopify Marketing Checklist

First Things First

These are the minimum tools that you need to have in your Shopify Marketing Checklist to start off and reach and target correctly on Meta, Google and TikTok and Klaviyo for Email Marketing. I recommend you to follow this 'First Things First checklist' and have everything setup on your store.

Facebook/Meta Checklist

  • Facebook & Instagram Accounts

Firstly, have a Facebook and Instagram Account for your Shopify Business, make sure you use a good username. If your store name is DessusClothing and the username is not available, then you can use TheDessusClothing or similar tool but you should avoid using Dessus0101 or DessusClothing.X2SS and jumbled words that are hard to remember and Facebook and Google doesn't seem to like them.

You can use NameCheckr to check the availability of the social media usernames on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit as well as the domain name which you can register.

Screenshot of a website called Namecheckr which checks social media names

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Do It Yourself: You can Create a Facebook Page using this link and Instagram Account using this link

  • Meta Pixel / Facebook Pixel Setup

Meta Pixel (or Facebook Pixel) is a tool that is connected to your Shopify Store and sends all the data to Facebook solely for the purpose of advertising and retargeting. It captures the website visitors, location and other details and matches it with Facebook's algorithm which also helps you in tracking the purchases.

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Do It Yourself: You can install Meta Pixel by adding Facebook Sales Channel to your Shopify Store. (guide by Shopify on adding sales channel)

  • Facebook/Meta Business Manager Setup

Facebook Business Manager (or Meta Business Manager) is a comprehensive tool to manage all your business assets in one place. Business assets basically encompass your Facebook Page, Instagram Page, Meta Pixel (as discussed above), and your business audiences, along with business insights.

Imagine you're hiring someone to run ads for your Shopify business. You can simply grant them access to your Facebook Business Manager, and they'll have all the necessary access. It also houses your billing information and ad accounts, including all associated ads. Hence, this is an important thing to have in your Shopify Marketing Checklist

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Do It Yourself: You can create a Facebook Business Manager account by using this link and here is a (guide by Facebook)

Google Checklist

  • Google Merchant Center

Google Merchant Center is a tool that is (of course) by Google. It allows businesses to upload and manage their product data for use in Google Shopping ads, Google Search, and other Google services

Google Merchant Center

For example: Do you see these listings when you search for something on Google? These are powered by Google Merchant Center.

If you have an online store, it is essential for you to submit your products to Google Merchant Center using a feed.

Bonus: Google lets to add your products and even advertise them for free, they are called Free Shopping Listings by Google. That is how I scaled Ella's Store to $50,000

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Do It Yourself: You need to have a Google Merchant account which you can by clicking here and then You can install Google Merchant Center by adding Google Sales Channel to your Shopify Store. (guide by Shopify)

  • Google Ads

After you have Google Merchant Center setup. You will need to have a Google Ads account. Google Merchant Center helps you launch your Shopify Products for free, but you will need a Google Ads account in order to run paid ads so you can compete with the paid listings. With Google Ads, you can display your ads on Google Search, Youtube and on other platforms.

For example: The ads you see when you play a YouTube video or search anything online is powered by Google Ads. You can use Google Ads to also target certain keyword.

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Do It Yourself: You can create a Google Ads Accounts account by using this link and link your Google Merchant Center with it. Here is a (guide by Google)

Email Marketing Checklist

There are a lot of options for Email Marketing for Shopify. But my personal favourite is Klaviyo. You need to have Klaviyo in your Shopify Checklist.

I just love Klaviyo (and no Klaviyo is sponsoring this) I wrote a dedicated email list growing guide on how to grow Klaviyo email list without having annoying popups.

UseYotpo or Shopify Emails for your email campaigns, it is seamless and works great!

  • Klaviyo Email Marketing Setup for Shopify

Up until now, we've covered Facebook and Google; now, you need an additional marketing channel which is Klaviyo. Klaviyo is magic! But configuring Klaviyo is a bit hard. Your emails will go to Spam/Junk unless you don't configure the domain name and the DNS records properly. Klaviyo also has a Free plan that gives you 500 monthly email sends and 250 maximum contacts.

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Do It Yourself: You can create a Klaviyo account by using this link and install the Klaviyo app from Shopify using this link

  • Avoid Marketing Emails Going to Spam

If your emails are going to spam then you need to have proper DNS authentication for your domain name. You need to have DKIM, SPF and DMARC records from Klaviyo and enter them into your domain's registrar. The records safeguards your brand from imposters and enables email security. GMail and Yahoo have rolled out new guidelines you need to adhere to

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Do It Yourself: You can follow this guide by Klaviyo and setup your SPF, DKIM and DMARC records to Avoid Your Marketing Emails going to Spam.

Shopify Product Reviews Collection

After you've finished all your marketing efforts, you'll need to collect reviews from customers and show them on the product pages. There are a lot of plugins and add-ons.

Shopify had its own Reviews app which was removed by Shopify, so the closest option is Judge.Me. It has a free plan with basic features and you can also integrate Klaviyo (not in free plan) with it to send emails that land directly to Inbox and you can integrate your shipping information to automate when the order is marked as delivered.

Here is how Judge.Me displays your reviews. You can see the live demo here

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Do It Yourself: You can install Judge.Me from the Shopify App Store and use this guide by Judge.Me to automate emails with Klaviyo

  • Yotpo

Yotpo is Another app you can install to collect and display reviews. I did not find any major difference between Judge.Me and Yotpo as both are almost the same. Yotpo also supports Google Rich Snippets which can be beneficial if you have tons of reviews.

Attaching a picture of Yotpo reviews so you can see and compare it yourself.

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Do It Yourself: You can install Yotpo from the Shopify App Store

TikTok Advertising

  • Create A TikTok Business Account

In order to advertise on TikTok. You will need a TikTok Business Account because it holds your TikTok page, TikTok Pixel, and TikTok Audiences, Ad Account and your Payment Information. It's the same as Meta Business Manager, but for managing TikTok.

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Do It Yourself: Go to TikTok Business Center and make an account, then you can install TikTok Sales Channel from the Shopify App Store

  • Integrate TikTok Pixel with Your Shopify Store

You have to integrate your TikTok Pixel when you're done making a Business Account on TikTok Ads. The pixel will collect the data of your visitors and customers that will help you track purchases, target and retarget the customers and use custom audiences.

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Do It Yourself:You can do it yourself by installing TikTok sales channel

Advanced Tools for Shopify

This checklist contains three advanced tools for your Shopify Business that can help you with the store intelligence and tracking, and I recommend that you have them on your marketing checklist

Ultimate Shopify Marketing Checklist - Advanced Tools

Website Analytics & Tracking

  • Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a tool from Google that helps you understand how people interact with your website. It shows you where your website visitors come from, what they do on your store, and whether they complete specific actions like making a purchase, or adding products to your cart. I recommend having Google Analytics setup with your Shopify store so you can have more detailed data.

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Do It Yourself:You can do it by creating a Google Analytics account, getting a GA-4 TAG-ID which can be used to connect your store with Google Analytics. Here is a guide by shopify that will be a help for you.

  • Website Heatmap (HotJar)

Hotjar is an analytics and feedback tool that helps website owners understand and improve the user experience on their websites.With Hotjar, you can visualize user behavior through heatmaps, watch session recordings to see real-time user interactions..

A Guide to Heatmaps & How to Use Them

For Example: You are getting a ton of visitors on your Shopify store but very less purchases, you can use HotJar to generate a heatmap and also record your visitors to see what they are doing and then make changes to your store. You can use HotJar's free plan which lets you generate heatmaps and record visitors upto 5K sessions.

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Do It Yourself: Install HotJar app from Shopify app store and make an account on HotJar

  • Customer Support Live Chat by Tidio

Use a live chat plugin by Tidio. A customer support plugin will save you a lot of hassle from customers. You can answer the customers on the go and they will be happy.

Tidio also has a free-forever plan that you can use to give support to your customers. It's worth a try!

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Do It Yourself: Install Tidio app from Shopify app store and make an account on Tidio

Summary

This Shopify Marketing Checklist covers all the basics from Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Klaviyo Email Marketing to the advanced options like tracking, and customer support. It is intended for small business owners that are starting a new e-commerce business. I tried to cover all the important things in the marketing checklist.

Grow your Brand with Nikhil Sharma

Nikhil Sharma, a freelance specialist in Meta and Google Ads, is ready to assist you in boosting your brand's business. Schedule a call with him to explore how he can support your brand further.

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