Insider conversations about how to grow an ecommerce brand on Shopify. From marketing and conversion strategy to operations and scaling, Leighton Taylor and Patrick Rice share what's working now and what isn't.
Shopify LTV: How to Measure It and Actually Raise It
· 40:22
LTV, or customer lifetime value, tells you what a customer is really worth to your Shopify store, and it decides how much you can afford to spend acquiring the next one. Leighton and Patrick break down how to measure LTV using cohorts and time windows, why contribution margin matters more than gross revenue, and the levers that actually move it: post-purchase email and SMS flows, subscriptions, loyalty points, retargeting, and AOV. Links Mentioned Lifetimely (LTV and profit analytics for Shopify): https://apps.shopify.com/lifetimely-lifetime-value-and-profit-analytics Peel (retention and cohor
Get Your Store Recommended by ChatGPT Before Black Friday
· 35:08
Agentic commerce is generating a lot of hype, but very few people are actually buying inside AI tools yet. Leighton and Patrick break down where AI really fits in ecommerce today, and the practical Shopify setup work every store owner should be doing right now. Links Mentioned Shopify Knowledge Base app: https://apps.shopify.com/shopify-knowledge-base Shopify Inbox: https://apps.shopify.com/inbox Gorgias: https://www.gorgias.com/ Profound: https://www.tryprofound.com/ Peec AI: https://peec.ai/ Local Dominator: https://localdominator.co/ Common Crawl: https://commoncrawl.org/ Patrick's Free AI
Shopify AOV: How to Increase Your AOV (and the Mistake that Backfires)
· 36:23
Everyone wants to increase their AOV (Average Order Value), but it's not always clear how. Leighton and Patrick break down what actually moves AOV in the right direction: free shipping thresholds with dynamic progress bars, relevant cart cross-sells, frequently bought together widgets, build-your-own bundles, and post-purchase upsells, plus the two cross-sell mistakes that cost stores trust and revenue. Links Mentioned Rebuy (Smart Cart, cross-sells, and A/B testing): https://www.rebuyengine.com/ Baymard Institute (cart and checkout UX research): https://baymard.com/ Monster Cart Upsell (Shopi
Google Ads for Shopify: 4 Simple Numbers That Make You Profitable
· 45:34
Many Shopify sellers have no idea whether their Google Ads are actually making money. Patrick Rice breaks down the numbers that tell you the truth, why a 10x ROAS can still lose you money, and how to know your ad manager is doing a good job even if you never open the dashboard yourself. Links Mentioned Google Ads Search Terms Report (Campaigns > Insights and reports > Search terms): https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2472708 Shopify Marketing Performance & Attribution Reports (new vs. returning customers): https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/analyze-marketing/marke
Shopify Themes: When To Update, Retrofit, or Start From Scratch
· 34:17
Shopify keeps telling you a new theme version is available, but should you actually update? Leighton and Patrick break down when to update your Shopify theme, when to switch to a new one, and when leaving it alone is the smarter (and cheaper) move. Links Mentioned Shopify Theme Store: https://themes.shopify.com Ilana's JSON-LD for SEO (structured data app): https://apps.shopify.com/json-ld-for-seo Theme Updater & Backups by Out of the Sandbox: https://apps.shopify.com/theme-updater-by-out-of-the-sandbox Google PageSpeed Insights: https://pagespeed.web.dev Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:29 Adjust or sta
What Apps We Actually Use to Run Dozens of Shopify Stores
· 45:53
"What apps should I use on my Shopify store?" is a question we hear all the time. Leighton and Patrick break down how to decide between a Shopify app and custom development, the trade-offs of each, and the apps they install on almost every store, from reviews and subscriptions to CRO, SEO, and indexing. Links Mentioned Shopify Search & Discovery: https://apps.shopify.com/search-and-discovery Judge.me Product Reviews: https://apps.shopify.com/judgeme Microsoft Clarity: https://apps.shopify.com/microsoft-clarity Matrixify: https://apps.shopify.com/excel-export-import Ilana's JSON-LD for SEO: htt
Shopify Migration Without Killing Your Traffic & ROAS (Free Checklist)
· 47:32
Migrating your store to Shopify can tank your organic traffic if you're not careful. In this episode, Leighton Taylor and Patrick Rice walk through the exact pre- and post-launch checklist that protects your SEO, ad tracking, and conversion rate when making the switch. Links Mentioned Microsoft Clarity (free heatmaps & session recordings): https://clarity.microsoft.com LambdaTest (cross-browser & device testing): https://www.lambdatest.com Screaming Frog SEO Spider: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/ Matrixify (Shopify data import/export): https://apps.shopify.com/excelify SEMrush: ht
How Shopify SEO Actually Works in 2026: What to Skip, What to Double Down On
· 37:09
How do you actually do SEO for a Shopify store in 2026? Patrick Rice and Leighton Taylor break down when SEO is worth the investment, how to size up your competition, what legitimate link building looks like today, and how to get your products recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews. Links Mentioned Ilana's JSON-LD for SEO (Shopify app): https://apps.shopify.com/json-ld-for-seo Shopify's GEO Playbook: https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/blog/generative-engine-optimization Koray Tuğberk Gübür (Topical Authority / Holistic SEO): https://www.holisticseo.digital Kurt Elster —
Product Pages That Actually Convert (CRO + SEO)
· 46:48
Your product page is the most important page on your store, so in this episode we break down how to optimize it for both conversion rate and SEO. We cover product imagery, reviews and social proof, cross-sells and bundles, unique product content, structured data, and page speed for Shopify stores. Links Mentioned Judge.me (reviews): https://judge.me Stamped (reviews): https://stamped.io Okendo (reviews): https://www.okendo.io Trustpilot: https://www.trustpilot.com Frequently Bought Together (Shopify app): https://apps.shopify.com/frequently-bought-together Ilana's JSON-LD for SEO (Shopify app)
Shopify Collection Pages: The SEO & CRO Playbook
· 35:29
Collection pages are the SEO and CRO workhorse of any Shopify store. They rank for the most commercial keywords, and they're where most shoppers decide whether to keep browsing or bounce. In this episode, Leighton and Patrick break down how to balance content for search engines with an optimal user experience, plus the specific Shopify defaults to turn off and the subcategory strategy that wins both rankings and conversions. LINKS MENTIONED: 🔗 REI (collection page example): https://www.rei.com 🔗 Crutchfield (product title formatting example): https://www.crutchfield.com 🔗 Link Stacks (Shopi