My Target Audiences are from UK and my Shopify Account gets Sessions from US mostly

[shakeelbaig24]

I am selling product on Shopify and targeted audiences are from UK mainly and we are provide international delivery. but we comes to Shopify Analytics getting session of US mostly including other golf and Asian countries. I checked every aspect from settings country and currency is UK. Can someone help to fix the issue and get sessions from UK only?

[DaisyVo]

Hi @shakeelbaig24 

I see what you’re dealing with—you're targeting UK customers, but most of your Shopify store sessions are coming from the US and other countries. That can be frustrating when you're trying to focus on a specific market.

Why is This Happening?

Even though your store settings (country, currency, etc.) are set to the UK, Shopify Analytics reflects actual visitor data, not just what you’ve configured. Here’s why you might be getting more US and international traffic:

• SEO & Organic Traffic: If your site ranks well in search engines outside the UK, users from those countries will still find your store.
• Ads Targeting: If you’re running ads, your targeting settings might not be strict enough. Platforms like Google Ads and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) can sometimes serve your ads to broader audiences.
• Social Media & External Links: If influencers, blogs, or websites outside the UK are linking to your store, that traffic will show up in Analytics.
• Shopify Markets Setup: If you’ve enabled international sales, Shopify may automatically localize content, making it accessible to more regions.

How to Fix It & Get More UK Traffic

1. Restrict Traffic with Shopify Markets

Go to Settings → Markets and make sure:

• The UK is set as your Primary Market.
• Other countries are either deactivated or moved to a different market where they don’t have access.

2. Geo-Blocking (For Hard Restrictions)

Shopify doesn’t have built-in geo-blocking, but you can use third-party apps like:

• Traffic Guard
• EasyCountry These let you block visitors from non-UK locations or show them a message redirecting them elsewhere.

3. Fix Your Google & Facebook Ads Targeting

• In Google Ads, make sure your campaign locations are set to “People in the UK”, not just “interested in the UK.”
• For Facebook Ads, go to Audience Settings and ensure the location is United Kingdom only.
• Use Google Search Console to set the UK as your preferred target country.

4. SEO Adjustments

• Set your website’s hreflang tag to UK English only:
  <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-GB" href="https://yourstore.co.uk/" />
  
• In Google Search Console, go to International Targeting and set it to the UK.

5. Check Referral Traffic Sources

• Go to Shopify Analytics → Sessions by Location → Referral Traffic.
• If you see many non-UK sites referring traffic, check if they are running ads, backlinks, or reviews that need adjusting.

Final Thoughts

Since Shopify doesn’t block traffic based on location, you’ll need to tweak your settings across multiple platforms (ads, SEO, and Shopify Markets). If you want to completely restrict access, use third-party apps for geo-blocking.

If you need extra help, just let me know asap. Thanks
Daisy.