# The Shopify SEO checklist we use on client stores Source: https://www.smartecomseo.com/tools/shopify-seo-checklist/ Updated: 2026-09-29 Fifty-four checks, grouped by area, in roughly the order we work through them. Each one is specific to how Shopify actually behaves, not generic SEO advice. Work through this list top to bottom. Technical problems come first because they limit everything else. Collections come second because on most Shopify stores they're where the money is. If you'd rather hand it over, our [Shopify SEO services](/shopify-seo-services/) cover every item below. ## Technical SEO Crawling, indexation and duplicate URLs. ### Remove the storefront password Check that the store isn’t still password-protected on any market domain or subfolder, and that no leftover noindex tags remain from development. ### Fix collection-aware product links Many themes link to /collections/x/products/y. Shopify canonicalizes these to /products/y, but internal links should point to the canonical URL directly. ### Control tag and filter URLs Collection tag pages (/collections/x/tag) and filter parameters can create thousands of thin URLs. Noindex or block the ones with no search demand. ### Review robots.txt.liquid Keep Shopify’s defaults unless you have a reason. Add rules only for URL patterns you have confirmed are wasting crawl budget. ### Submit the sitemap Submit /sitemap.xml in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and check that the child sitemaps list the pages you expect. ### Clean up 404s and redirect chains Redirect deleted products and collections to the closest live page, and update redirects that point to other redirects. ## Collection pages On most Shopify stores, this is where the revenue is. ### One collection per buyer keyword Map every high-intent keyword (leather sofa, small sectional, sleeper sofa) to its own collection page instead of forcing one page to rank for all of them. ### Write a unique intro for every collection A short, useful paragraph above the grid that names the product type and helps the buyer choose. Never leave the description empty. ### Add depth below the grid Buying advice, sizing notes and FAQs below the products give Google and AI assistants more to understand without pushing products down the page. ### Use smart collection rules Automated conditions (tag, type, vendor, price) keep collections full as products are added, so pages don’t go thin when stock changes. ### Write title tags and meta descriptions Keyword first in the title, a real reason to click in the description. Don’t rely on Shopify’s default of collection name plus store name. ### Merge or remove thin collections Collections with one or two products and no search demand dilute the site. Merge them into stronger pages and redirect. ## Product pages ### Replace manufacturer descriptions Copy that appears on dozens of other sites gives Google no reason to rank yours. Write unique descriptions for at least your best sellers. ### Put key attributes in product titles Material, size, capacity or model belong in the title where buyers search for them, within a readable length. ### Decide variants versus separate products If a colour or size has its own search demand, a separate product (or a dedicated collection) can rank where a variant cannot. ### Write descriptive image alt text Describe what the image shows, including the product name. It helps image search and accessibility. ### Show real reviews Use a reviews app that renders review text in the page HTML, not only inside a script widget. ### Keep sold-out pages live Don’t delete or unpublish products that are temporarily out of stock. Keep the URL, mark it out of stock and link to alternatives. ## Content and buying guides ### Match what page one rewards Before writing, study the top results for the keyword: format, length, headings and whether Google shows guides, lists or products. ### Publish buying guides for considered purchases Long research cycles are where guides close sales. How to choose, what size, what it costs to run. ### Build comparison pages X vs Y and best X for Y pages catch buyers late in the decision. Be honest about trade-offs. ### Update old posts Refresh prices, specs and links on existing articles. Updating a page that already ranks is often faster than publishing a new one. ### Show who wrote and checked it Author names, bios and a reviewed-by line help readers and search engines trust the advice. ## Internal linking ### Put money collections in the main menu Your highest-value collections should be one click from the homepage. ### Link from articles to collections Every guide should link to the collections and products it discusses, with descriptive anchor text. ### Add related-collection links Link sibling collections to each other (sofas to sectionals to sofa beds) so link equity and buyers flow across the catalog. ### Enable breadcrumbs Breadcrumbs add internal links on every product page and can appear in search results with BreadcrumbList schema. ### Find orphan pages Crawl the site and compare with the sitemap. Pages with no internal links rarely rank. ## International SEO and Shopify Markets ### Choose subfolders or domains deliberately Shopify Markets supports subfolders (/en-gb/) and separate domains. Subfolders share authority; separate domains need their own links. ### Check hreflang output Confirm every market version lists all alternates, including x-default, and that each URL returns a 200 status. ### Translate handles and meta, not just body copy Localized URLs, titles and descriptions help each market rank for local search terms. ### Localize, don’t just translate UK buyers search for different words than US buyers. Research keywords per market. ### Don’t force redirects by IP Automatic geo-redirects can stop Googlebot, which mostly crawls from the US, from ever seeing other market versions. Suggest a market instead. ## Structured data and Merchant Center ### Complete Product and Offer schema Price, currency, availability, SKU, brand and GTIN where you have it. Validate with Google’s Rich Results Test. ### Add review markup from real reviews AggregateRating should reflect reviews shown on the page. Never mark up reviews that don’t exist. ### Publish Organization schema Name, logo, contact details and sameAs links to your official profiles help search engines and AI assistants identify your brand. ### Remove duplicate schema Themes and apps often both output Product schema. Keep one complete version. ### Keep Merchant Center in sync Prices and availability in your feed must match the page. Fix disapprovals before they spread. ## Speed and Core Web Vitals ### Remove leftover app code Uninstalled apps often leave scripts and snippets in the theme. Find and remove them. ### Serve properly sized images Use Shopify’s image URL parameters and responsive srcset so phones don’t download desktop-sized images. ### Lazy-load below the fold, not above Lazy-load images further down the page, but load the main hero or first product image immediately. ### Audit third-party scripts Chat widgets, pop-ups and trackers add up. Keep the ones that earn their cost. ### Check field data, not just lab scores Use the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console, which reflects real visitors, alongside Lighthouse. ## AI search (GEO) ### Decide which AI crawlers to allow Review robots.txt for crawlers such as OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot. Blocking them can keep you out of AI answers. ### State your brand facts clearly An about page with plain facts (who you are, what you sell, where you ship) gives AI assistants something accurate to repeat. ### Answer buyer questions directly Short, direct answers near the top of guides and FAQ sections are easier for AI assistants to quote. ### Earn mentions on trusted sites AI assistants lean on reviews, comparisons and publications. Being mentioned there matters as much as your own pages. ### Publish an llms.txt A low-cost summary of your store for AI tools. Use our free generator. ### Test prompts monthly Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Mode the questions your buyers ask and record whether your brand is cited. ## Measurement ### Verify a domain property in Search Console A domain property covers every subdomain and protocol, so you see all of your search data in one place. ### Add Bing Webmaster Tools Bing also feeds some AI assistants, and it can drive real revenue. In one of our case studies Bing brought in more than $25,000. ### Track organic revenue in Shopify Use Shopify’s sales by traffic source to see what organic search earns, not just how many visits it brings. ### Track your target keywords Monitor the keywords you are building pages for, grouped by collection or topic, rather than one average position. ### Log every change Keep a sheet of every page published or changed, with the date. When traffic moves, you’ll know why. ## Rather have us do the list? Our free mini audit shows which of these checks your store fails and which fixes matter most. [Get a free audit](/free-audit/) ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the most important item on a Shopify SEO checklist? For most stores, collection pages. Shopify handles a lot of basic technical SEO well, but it cannot decide which buyer keywords deserve their own page. Building an optimized collection page for each high-intent keyword is usually the single biggest source of new organic revenue we see, after any blocking technical problems are fixed. ### How long does it take to work through this checklist? The technical and schema checks can often be done in a few days on a small store. Collections, content and internal links are ongoing work: on our standard plan we build about 20 collection pages and 20 articles a month. Treat the first sections as a one-time clean-up and the rest as a monthly routine. ### Do I need apps to do Shopify SEO? Rarely many of them. A good reviews app and, for some stores, a schema or translation app are useful. Most of this checklist is theme settings, content and structure. Each app adds scripts, so install only what you need and remove leftover code when you uninstall.