Honey Whale is a Shopify and SEO agency with teams in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Since 2018 they've built and grown ecommerce stores for brands like Sofa Company, Buna Coffee, Bootlegger and Ben Sherman — combining Shopify development, SEO, AEO and GEO, and Google and Meta ads so stores get found in search and in AI answers.
Shopify and search in one team
Most ecommerce brands hire one agency to build the store and another to get it found. Honey Whale does both. Their Cape Town and Johannesburg teams have been building Shopify stores and running search for South African retailers since 2018.
What they do
- Shopify development: Store builds, theme work, and WooCommerce-to-Shopify migrations.
- SEO: Technical, content, local and link building for ecommerce catalogues.
- AEO & GEO: Product and category content structured so AI assistants recommend it.
- Google & Meta ads: Paid campaigns that work alongside the organic programme.
Typical engagement
SEO packages start at R7,500 / month, and ad management at R10,500 / month. Shopify builds start at R52,000, with support retainers from R4,500 / month.
Why they fit on BrandAxis
Shoppers increasingly ask ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews which brand to buy. BrandAxis shows Honey Whale’s clients whether their products make those answers, and which competitors appear instead.
