Shopify gets a lot of the technical SEO basics right for you: SSL, a sitemap, canonical tags. So why do so many Shopify stores barely show up on Google? In the audits we run, it's almost always the same handful of things. Nothing exotic, just basics that were skipped at launch and never revisited.
Below is the checklist we work through for every store. You don't need to do all 30 this week. Start at the top and keep going.
Get the setup right first
- Connect Google Search Console and verify your domain. Without it you're guessing.
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Submit your sitemap, which lives at
yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. - Set up Google Analytics 4 with e-commerce events, so you can see which traffic actually buys.
- Pick one primary domain (with or without www) and make sure the other version redirects to it.
- Remove the storefront password when you go live. You'd be surprised how often this gets missed.
Titles and descriptions
- Give every important page its own meta title, roughly under 60 characters, with the main keyword near the start.
- Write a meta description of around 140 to 155 characters that gives people a reason to click.
- Mention your city on pages where location matters.
- Check your brand name isn't doubled in titles. Some themes add it automatically, so you end up with "Hardtech | Hardtech".
Headings and content
- One H1 per page. A surprising number of themes leave the homepage without one, or use the logo instead.
- Use H2s and H3s to break up longer pages.
- Add an introduction to every important collection. We've written a full collection page guide.
- Write your own product descriptions. Supplier text appears on dozens of sites. Here's how we approach product copy.
- Keep the homepage focused on what you sell and why someone should buy from you.
Images
- Add descriptive alt text to product and banner images.
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Rename files before uploading:
silver-jhumka-earrings.jpg, notIMG_4021.jpg. - Compress large images. Huge PNG banners are the classic offender. More in our image optimisation guide.
Structure and internal links
- Name collections the way customers search. "Cotton kurtis" will always beat "Summer Drop 3".
- Keep important pages within three clicks of the homepage.
- Link from blog posts to relevant collections and products.
- Show related products on product pages.
- Use short, readable URL handles, and add a 301 redirect if you ever change one.
- Fix broken links and 404s that show up in Search Console.
The technical bits
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Make product grids link to
/products/URLs, not the longer collection-based ones. Our technical SEO guide explains why. - Test your structured data (Product, Organization, Breadcrumb) with Google's Rich Results Test.
- Hide thin pages such as empty collections and test pages.
- Test on a real phone, not just a resized desktop browser.
Speed
- Remove apps you don't use, and check they didn't leave code behind.
- Run PageSpeed Insights and fix the biggest problem first. These are the usual causes of a slow store.
Content
- Publish genuinely helpful content regularly, answering the questions your customers ask, and link it to your products. Wondering how often? See how many blogs you need.
Only have one afternoon?
Do these five: set up Search Console and submit the sitemap, fix the homepage H1, write proper titles and descriptions for your top 20 pages, add introductions to your main collections, and remove your three heaviest unused apps. We regularly see that alone start to move things within a few months.
Things people ask us
Is Shopify actually good for SEO? Yes. Plenty of Shopify stores sit at the top of Google. The platform is rarely what's holding a store back.
Do I need an SEO app? Not really. Most of this list can be done in Shopify's admin and theme. Apps are handy for bulk edits on big catalogues.
When will I see results? Usually three to six months for real movement. We explain why in how long SEO takes.
Rather hand it over? Our Monthly SEO package covers the technical fixes, on-page work and 8 new blogs every month. Get in touch and we'll take a look at your store.