Shopify SEO: Common Issues and How to Fix Them

Shopify is great for launching an online store quickly. It handles hosting, security, and checkout out of the box. But it has SEO limitations that frustrate store owners — and most of them don't realize it until they're wondering why their product pages aren't ranking.

Some of these limitations are baked into the platform. Others are just default settings that nobody changes. This guide covers both, along with practical workarounds.

Shopify's URL Structure Problem

This is Shopify's most infamous SEO issue. Every product page exists at two URLs:

• /products/your-product-name — the canonical product URL
• /collections/collection-name/products/your-product-name — the collection-scoped URL

Shopify adds a canonical tag pointing to the /products/ version, which helps. But internal links from collection pages often point to the /collections/ version. This means Google sees mixed signals about which URL matters.

The fix: Edit your theme's Liquid templates to use {{ product.url }} instead of {{ product.url | within: collection }}. This ensures all internal links point to the canonical /products/ URL. It's a one-line change that fixes a site-wide issue.

Duplicate Content From Collections and Tags

Shopify creates a page for every collection, and if you use tags for filtering, it creates paginated and filtered URLs too. A store with 10 collections and 20 tags can end up with hundreds of thin, duplicate pages.

The problem gets worse with pagination. Each collection page generates /collections/shoes?page=2, ?page=3, and so on. These paginated pages often have identical meta descriptions and titles.

What to do:

• Add unique meta descriptions to every collection — not just your top sellers, all of them. Shopify lets you edit these in the collection settings.
• Noindex tag-filtered pages — If you're using tags for filtering (like /collections/shoes/color-red), add a noindex meta tag to these filtered views in your theme template.
• Use canonical tags on paginated pages — Point paginated collection pages to the main collection page, or use rel="next" and rel="prev" (though Google has deprecated these, canonical still works).

Limited Control Over Robots.txt

Shopify auto-generates your robots.txt file. You can't edit it directly through the admin panel. It blocks things like /cart, /checkout, and /account — which is fine — but you can't add custom rules.

Workaround: Shopify now lets you customize robots.txt through the robots.txt.liquid theme template. Go to Online Store → Themes → Edit Code, and create a robots.txt.liquid file in the Templates folder. You can then add custom Disallow rules.

Slow Apps and Third-Party Scripts

The Shopify App Store is a double-edged sword. Each app you install can inject JavaScript into your storefront. Review apps, upsell popups, chat widgets, analytics trackers — they all add weight.

Common performance killers:

• Review apps — Loox, Judge.me, and Stamped all inject scripts. Some load widgets on every page even when reviews aren't displayed. Check if your review app has a "lazy load" option.
• Chat widgets — Tidio, Zendesk, and similar tools load 200-500KB of JavaScript. Consider loading the chat widget only after user interaction (click to chat) instead of on page load.
• Currency converters — If you only sell in one currency, remove it. If you need it, make sure it's not loading a full library on every page.
• Uninstalled apps that left scripts behind — This happens more than you'd think. Uninstalling an app doesn't always remove its code from your theme. Check your theme.liquid file for leftover script tags.

Missing or Bad Structured Data

Shopify's default themes include basic Product schema, but it's often incomplete. Missing fields like brand, sku, review, and aggregateRating mean you're leaving rich snippet opportunities on the table.

How to fix it:

• Check your current schema — Run a scan on AuditMySite. The structured data check will tell you exactly what's present and what's missing.
• Add complete Product schema — Edit your product template to include brand, SKU, reviews, price, and availability. Use our Schema Generator to create the JSON-LD.
• Add BreadcrumbList schema — Shopify's breadcrumbs don't include schema by default. Add BreadcrumbList JSON-LD to help Google understand your site structure.
• Don't rely on apps for schema — Apps like JSON-LD for SEO work fine, but you're paying monthly for something you can add to your theme once. If you're comfortable editing Liquid, do it yourself.

Image Optimization (Shopify Does Some, Not All)

Shopify automatically serves images in WebP format and provides responsive image srcsets. That's good. But there's more to image SEO than format and size:

• Alt text — Shopify lets you add alt text to product images, but most store owners skip it. Every product image should have descriptive alt text that includes the product name.
• File names — Shopify keeps whatever file name you upload. "IMG_3847.jpg" tells Google nothing. Rename your files before uploading: "blue-running-shoes-side-view.jpg" is much better.
• Image dimensions — Uploading a 4000x4000px image for a 400x400px display slot wastes bandwidth. Resize images before uploading, even though Shopify will serve smaller versions.

How to Audit Your Shopify Store

Here's a quick workflow:

1. Scan your homepage and top product pages — Use AuditMySite's free scanner to get a baseline score. Pay attention to Technical SEO and On-Page categories.
2. Check for duplicate content — Scan both the /products/ and /collections/.../products/ versions of a product to see if canonical tags are working correctly.
3. Audit your apps — View source on your storefront and count the third-party scripts. If you can't explain why each one is there, it probably shouldn't be.
4. Review your collection pages — Check that each collection has a unique title, meta description, and introductory content. Thin collection pages are a common issue.
5. Compare with competitors — Use the Compare tool to see how your store stacks up against competitors who are ranking where you want to be.

Shopify SEO Is Winnable

Yes, Shopify has limitations. No, they're not dealbreakers. The platform handles the basics well — HTTPS, mobile-responsive themes, clean HTML — and the limitations all have workarounds.

The stores that rank well on Shopify are the ones that go beyond the defaults: writing unique content for every collection, optimizing product schema, keeping app bloat in check, and fixing the URL structure issue.

Scan your Shopify store now to see exactly where you stand. Every issue comes with a specific fix — no vague advice, just actionable steps.