SEOScan vs BigCommerce SEO
Enterprise platform vs merchant-first platform
We believe in honest comparisons. BigCommerce SEO is a good tool - it just wasn't built for Shopify. SEOScan was built from day one for Shopify stores, and that makes a real difference in what we catch and how we help you fix it.
What BigCommerce SEO Does
BigCommerce is an enterprise-grade ecommerce platform with built-in SEO capabilities including customisable URL structures, automatic sitemaps, built-in product schema, and Akamai CDN for performance. It's designed to compete at the enterprise level with features that often require Shopify apps built in from day one.
Feature Comparison
Why SEOScan is Different
BigCommerce's SEO defaults are stronger, but Shopify's ecosystem wins
BigCommerce ships with cleaner URL defaults and native faceted navigation canonical handling - genuine advantages over a default Shopify install. But Shopify's larger app and theme ecosystem means more options for fixing gaps, and SEOScan audits those gaps specifically.
Faceted navigation is a real differentiator
BigCommerce has built-in canonical tags for filtered collection pages, which is a genuine SEO advantage over Shopify's default behaviour. On Shopify, faceted filtering can create thousands of duplicate URLs. SEOScan detects exactly this issue and flags it for resolution.
CDN performance is comparable, app bloat is not
Both platforms deliver fast baseline performance via CDN. Where Shopify stores fall behind is app-injected JavaScript and render-blocking scripts - issues unique to Shopify's app model that SEOScan is specifically built to identify.
Schema coverage gap in Shopify
BigCommerce injects product schema at the platform level. Shopify's schema coverage depends on your theme. SEOScan audits your Shopify store's schema implementation, flags missing or malformed markup, and gives you specific fixes - closing the gap with BigCommerce's defaults.
Where BigCommerce SEO Wins
We're honest - BigCommerce SEO is a strong tool. Here's where they have the edge:
- Cleaner out-of-the-box URL structure with full customisation
- Native faceted navigation canonical handling prevents duplicate content
- Built-in product schema at the platform level
- Akamai CDN delivers strong global performance
- More granular sitemap and robots.txt control built in
Where SEOScan Wins
- SEOScan closes Shopify's schema gap with detailed structured data audits
- Detects app-injected script conflicts that no BigCommerce tool covers
- Flags faceted navigation duplicate content on Shopify before it harms rankings
- Shopify's larger app ecosystem gives more fix options once issues are identified
- Ongoing monitoring catches new issues introduced by app installs or theme changes
The Bottom Line
BigCommerce is arguably ahead of Shopify on raw SEO defaults - URL flexibility, native schema, and faceted navigation handling are genuine platform-level advantages. But Shopify dominates on merchant adoption, app ecosystem, and ease of use. If you're already on Shopify, SEOScan exists to close the gap: it identifies where your store falls short of BigCommerce's defaults and gives you specific, actionable steps to fix those weaknesses through themes, apps, and configuration changes.
New to Shopify? Start your free Shopify trial and scan your store with SEOScan from day one.
When to Use BigCommerce SEO Alongside SEOScan
If you're evaluating a platform migration from BigCommerce to Shopify, run SEOScan on your new Shopify store before go-live to verify that schema, redirects, and canonical tags are all correctly configured. This catches the SEO regressions that typically occur during platform migrations before they affect rankings.
See the difference for yourself
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