Shopify is legitimately good for SEO when you use it correctly. The platform checks the core technical boxes: automatic SSL, mobile-responsive themes, reasonable page speed with modern hosting, and built-in structured data for products. Google indexes Shopify stores without issue, and plenty of stores rank competitively in commercial queries. The /collections/ and /products/ URL structure is clean enough, and you get editable title tags, meta descriptions, alt text, and H1s on all key pages. The limitations show up when you need deeper control. You can't remove /collections/ or /products/ from URLs without apps or Shopify Plus. Blog functionality is basic—no custom taxonomies, no advanced internal linking controls. If you want robust faceted navigation or custom filtering that doesn't create duplicate content traps, you're looking at apps or custom Liquid dev work. The theme editor gives you access to some structured data, but modifying schema beyond products often requires code edits. Page speed is decent but not elite. Shopify's CDN and infrastructure are fast, but third-party apps pile on JavaScript quickly. Every review app, upsell widget, and chat tool adds render-blocking code. We've seen stores drop from 70s to 40s on PageSpeed Insights after installing five common apps. You need discipline—audit apps quarterly, lazy-load what you can, use Shopify's native features before adding external tools. Shopify works well for most e-commerce SEO if you focus on what matters: targeted product and collection pages, original descriptions, strategic internal linking, and earning links to category pages. The platform won't win or lose the ranking battle—your content, technical execution, and authority building will. For portfolios under 5,000 SKUs, Shopify handles SEO needs fine. Beyond that, or if you need complex multi-region setups or editorial content hubs, you might justify custom development. We run Shopify clients that pull 40–60% of revenue from organic search without platform-specific compromises.