Shopify is a good platform for selling online. It handles hosting, security, and checkout well. But its SEO sits somewhere between "decent out of the box" and "actively working against you if you don't know what to watch for." I work with Shopify stores regularly and the same issues come up in almost every audit. Some are easy fixes. Others are baked into the platform and need workarounds.
What Shopify gets right
Shopify generates clean HTML, handles SSL automatically, creates an XML sitemap without configuration, and its themes are generally mobile-responsive. It handles canonical tags reasonably well in most cases, which helps with duplicate content, though not perfectly, as I'll cover below.
For store owners who aren't technically minded, Shopify removes the hosting and security headaches that come with platforms like WooCommerce. No plugin conflicts, no server configuration, no security patches. That means you can focus your SEO effort on content and optimisation rather than infrastructure.
URL structure issues
Every product URL in Shopify is forced into the format /products/product-name. You can't change this. You can't have /shop/category/product-name or any other hierarchy. Collections sit at /collections/collection-name and pages at /pages/page-name.
The bigger problem is that Shopify creates multiple URL paths to the same product. A product can be reached at /products/product-name and also at /collections/collection-name/products/product-name. Shopify adds canonical tags pointing to the /products/ version, but internal links from collection pages often point to the /collections/ path. Google usually respects the canonical, but on larger stores it can cause crawl budget waste.
I audit the internal linking structure, ensure manually placed links point to the canonical /products/ URL, and check that the theme's collection templates generate correct canonical references. On some older themes, they don't.
Duplicate content from tags and collections
Shopify's tagging system creates a filtered URL for every tag within every collection. If you have a collection called "Men's Shoes" and tag products with "leather," "casual," and "formal," Shopify generates separate URLs for each. Every one of those is a page Google can index, and most have thin or duplicated content.
Tags are not automatically noindexed by Shopify. If your store uses tags extensively, you could have hundreds of near-duplicate pages in Google's index competing with your actual collection pages. The fix is to add noindex tags to filtered collection URLs by editing your theme's Liquid code to detect when a tag filter is active. It's a small change but it needs to be done on every Shopify store that uses tags.
Site speed
Shopify's speed is generally acceptable but rarely excellent. Server response times are fine because it's hosted on Shopify's infrastructure, but theme bloat, unoptimised images, and excessive apps slow things down.
The most common speed problems I see are oversized product images, themes loaded with unused features, and third-party apps injecting JavaScript into every page. Each installed app that adds front-end functionality (pop-ups, review widgets, live chat, upsell modals) adds render-blocking resources.
My approach is to audit installed apps and remove anything that isn't directly contributing to revenue, compress and resize all product images, and test the theme's performance with apps disabled versus enabled. On one store I worked on, removing three unused apps improved the Largest Contentful Paint score by 1.8 seconds. That matters for both user experience and rankings.
I worked with a North Wales outdoor equipment retailer running on Shopify who had 11 apps installed, many of which were from a previous agency and no longer in active use. Disabling the seven that weren't generating revenue improved their mobile PageSpeed score from 34 to 67. Their bounce rate on mobile dropped noticeably over the following month, and organic traffic to product pages increased by 23% within 90 days, without a single new page or piece of content being created.
Product page optimisation
Product pages are where most Shopify stores leave SEO value on the table. The default behaviour is to upload a product, write a two-sentence description copied from the supplier, and move on. Google has very little to work with on a page like that.
For every product page that matters to your organic traffic, you need a unique title tag including the product name and a relevant modifier (size, colour, material, use case). The meta description should generate clicks, not just describe the product. The product description needs at least 150 to 200 words of original content addressing what the product is, who it's for, and why someone would choose it.
Product images should have descriptive alt text, not "IMG_4523" and not keyword-stuffed text. Header tags should be used properly: product title as H1, with subheadings for features, specifications, and sizing. I've covered the broader principles of building pages that rank and convert in how to build a website that converts.
Collection page optimisation
Collection pages are often the highest-value SEO targets on a Shopify store. Someone searching "women's running shoes" is more likely to land on a collection page than a product page. Yet most stores have collection pages with nothing on them except a product grid.
Add a unique title tag and meta description for every collection. Write a content block above or below the product grid, 100 to 300 words, explaining what the collection contains. This gives Google text to index and helps the page rank for broader category terms.
Internal linking between related collections also matters. If you sell running gear, your "running shoes" collection should link to "running socks" and "running accessories." This helps Google understand topical relationships between your pages and distributes link equity across the store.
Blogging on Shopify
Shopify has a built-in blog, and most stores ignore it. Blog content serves two purposes: it targets informational search queries that product and collection pages can't rank for, and it creates internal linking opportunities that strengthen those commercial pages.
A store selling coffee equipment could blog about brewing methods, grind sizes, and equipment comparisons. Each post targets searches that potential customers are making, and each one links back to relevant products and collections. Over time, this builds topical authority that helps the entire domain rank better.
Shopify's blog is basic compared to WordPress, but it works. The URL structure (/blogs/blog-name/post-title) is fixed but that's cosmetic, not an SEO problem. For a deeper look at why every online business should be blogging, read five reasons every small business website needs a blog.
Schema markup for products
Product schema markup tells Google structured information about your products: price, availability, reviews, brand, and condition. When implemented correctly, it produces rich results in search showing star ratings, price, and stock status directly in the listing. This increases click-through rates significantly.
Most modern Shopify themes include basic product schema, but it's often incomplete. I check every store's schema using Google's Rich Results Test. Common gaps include missing review markup, incorrect price formatting, and missing availability status. For stores using review apps like Judge.me or Stamped, you need to ensure the app's schema doesn't conflict with the theme's. Duplicate or contradictory schema confuses Google and can result in no rich results at all.
The Shopify SEO move most guides overlook
Everyone talks about product page optimisation, but collection pages are usually the highest-value untapped opportunity on a Shopify store. Someone searching for a product category, "handmade ceramic mugs" or "waterproof walking boots UK," is more likely to land on a collection page than any individual product. Yet most Shopify collection pages are just grids with a title. Adding 150 to 200 words of genuine, specific content to a collection page, explaining what the collection contains, who it's for, and what distinguishes the products, turns a thin page into something Google can rank. I've seen collection pages go from no organic traffic to 300+ monthly visitors within six months of adding a proper content block. The product pages below them didn't change at all.
What I do for Shopify clients
When I work with a Shopify store, the process starts with a full technical audit: URL structure, canonical tags, indexation status, schema markup, site speed, and crawl errors. Then I move to on-page optimisation of the highest-value product and collection pages, followed by a content strategy using the blog to target informational queries and strengthen internal linking.
The work is specific to Shopify's constraints, not a generic SEO checklist. For the broader picture of how SEO fits together for businesses in this region, read SEO for North Wales businesses.
If you're running a Shopify store and your organic traffic is flat or declining, get in touch. I'll audit your store and tell you exactly what's holding it back. SEO services in North Wales and website design in North Wales.
