Connecting RankPill to your Shopify store is a powerful way to turn AI-generated content into published blog posts that drive traffic to your online store. The integration allows you to push fully formatted articles—complete with images, meta descriptions, and proper structure—directly into your Shopify blog. This eliminates the tedious work of copying and pasting, preventing typos and formatting errors while letting you schedule posts in advance or publish them instantly.
Before you begin, make sure you have:
- Admin access to your Shopify store to create a custom app
- At least one blog set up in your Shopify store
- Ability to generate API credentials and manage custom apps
Connecting Your Shopify Store
Navigate to Settings → Integrations in your RankPill dashboard and click Connect on the Shopify card. You'll need to provide your store URL and access token to establish the connection.
Creating a Custom App
To connect RankPill, you need to create a custom app in Shopify and generate an Admin API access token:
- Go to your Shopify admin panel
- Navigate to Apps and sales channels
- Click "Develop apps" in the top right corner
- Click "Create an app" and name it "RankPill Blog Integration"
- Go to "Configuration" and configure Admin API scopes
- Enable these required scopes:
write_content- Required to create and publish blog articlesread_content- Required to read existing blogs and verify connections
- Save the configuration
- Click "Install app"
- Reveal and copy the "Admin API access token" - it starts with
shpat_
⚠️ Important: Store your access token securely, as it provides full access to your store's content management system.
Store URL Format
When entering your store URL, you can use any of these formats:
your-store.myshopify.comhttps://your-store.myshopify.comyour-store(we'll automatically add.myshopify.com)
If you're using a custom domain, you must use your original .myshopify.com URL for the API connection.
Selecting Your Blog
After successfully testing your connection, you'll select which blog to use for your articles. Shopify stores can have multiple blogs like "News" (default), "Blog", "Articles", or custom blog names you've created.
Once connected, RankPill automatically maps your article fields to Shopify's structure: title, content (HTML), meta description, slug (handle), and featured image. You can then publish immediately, schedule articles for future publication, or enable autopilot for fully automated content publishing.
Updating Published Articles
After publishing an article to Shopify, you can update it directly from RankPill. Simply make your changes in the RankPill editor and click the "Update Article" button. Your changes will be pushed to your Shopify store automatically.
Troubleshooting
Connection Failed:
- Ensure your access token has the correct scopes (
write_contentandread_content) - Verify your store URL is formatted correctly
- Check that your custom app is properly installed
Blog Not Found:
- Make sure you have at least one blog created in your Shopify admin
- Go to Online Store → Blog posts to create a blog if needed
Publishing Errors:
- Verify your custom app is installed and active
- Check that the access token hasn't expired or been revoked
- Ensure you have selected a valid blog in RankPill settings
Can't Find Published Articles:
- Go to Content → Blog posts in your Shopify admin to see all published articles
- Articles will appear there once successfully published from RankPill
Custom Domain Issues:
- Always use your original
.myshopify.comURL for API connections - Custom domains won't work for the API integration
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I publish to multiple Shopify stores?
A: Currently, each RankPill business can connect to one Shopify store. Contact support if you need to manage multiple stores.
Q: Will published articles appear on my live store immediately?
A: Yes! Articles published from RankPill appear immediately in your Shopify blog and are visible on your live store.
Q: Does this work with Shopify's free plan?
A: The integration works with all Shopify plans that support custom apps, including the Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plans.
Q: What happens if I delete the custom app?
A: If you delete the custom app, RankPill will lose access to publish articles. Your existing published articles will remain on your Shopify blog, but you won't be able to publish new ones until you reconnect.
Q: Can I use this with a headless Shopify setup?
A: Yes! The integration uses Shopify's Admin API, which works with both traditional and headless Shopify setups. Articles are stored in Shopify's content system regardless of your storefront implementation.
Q: Is the access token secure?
A: Yes. The access token is encrypted and stored securely. It only has access to content management (not payment or customer data) and can be revoked at any time from your Shopify admin.
Q: How do I get a new access token?
A: Shopify only shows the access token once when you first install the custom app. If you need a new access token, you'll need to uninstall and reinstall the app:
- Go to your Shopify admin
- Navigate to Apps and sales channels → Develop apps
- Click on your "RankPill Blog Integration" app
- Click "Delete app" at the bottom
- Confirm deletion
- Create the app again following the setup steps above
- A new access token will be generated when you install the new app
Important: Save the new access token immediately and update it in RankPill's integration settings. The old token will stop working once the app is deleted.
For additional support, contact our team through the in-app support chat.