When someone searches for exactly what you sell, the page you want them to land on is usually a product page. Yet product pages are often the least optimized pages on a Shopify store, filled with copied supplier descriptions and default titles.
Work through this checklist one product at a time, starting with your best sellers.
1. Write a clear title tag and meta description
The title tag is the blue headline in Google's results, and the meta description is the short text underneath. In your Shopify admin, open a product and scroll to the search engine listing section to edit both.
- Put the words people actually search for near the start of the title, such as the product type, material or model.
- Keep titles short enough that Google doesn't cut them off. Around 60 characters is a sensible guide.
- Write the meta description as a reason to click: what makes this product worth choosing, plus shipping or returns if they're a strength.
- Don't give two products the same title or description.
2. Keep the URL short and readable
Shopify creates the web address (the URL handle) from your product name. Trim it to the essential words that describe the product, and leave out sizes, colors and internal codes.
If you change the handle of a product that's already live, keep Shopify's option to create a URL redirect switched on, so old links and existing rankings aren't lost.
3. Replace supplier descriptions with your own
If your description is the same text the manufacturer gave every retailer, Google has little reason to rank your page above theirs. Write your own:
- Start with who the product is for and the problem it solves.
- Cover the details shoppers compare: size, materials, care, compatibility.
- Answer the questions your customer service team hears most often.
- Use headings and short paragraphs so the page is easy to scan on a phone.
4. Name and describe your images
Give image files descriptive names before you upload them, and add alt text in Shopify for every product image. Alt text describes the image for people using screen readers, and it helps Google understand what the image shows.
Describe what's actually in the picture, for example "sage green linen duvet cover on a double bed". Don't just repeat keywords.
5. Check your structured data
Structured data is code that tells Google a page is a product, along with its price, availability and reviews. It's what makes rich results possible, such as prices and star ratings in search.
Most modern Shopify themes include it already. Paste a product URL into Google's Rich Results Test to confirm it's there and free of errors. If you use a reviews app, check that ratings are included too.
6. Link to the product from the right places
Google finds and weighs pages through links. Make sure important products are linked from relevant collection pages, from related products, and from blog posts or buying guides where they genuinely help.
7. Avoid thin and duplicate pages
Shopify can show the same product at more than one address, such as through a collection. Themes handle this with a canonical tag that points Google to the main product URL, so check that your theme still includes it if it's been customized.
Also look for near empty products: old items with no description, or many near identical products that could be one product with variants.
8. Submit your sitemap and keep watching
Shopify generates a sitemap for you automatically at /sitemap.xml. Add your store to Google Search Console, submit the sitemap, and use the performance report to see which searches bring people to each product.
Revisit your best sellers every few months. The searches people use change, and the pages that already rank are usually the quickest to improve.
Need help with product SEO?
Product page SEO pays off one page at a time, and it keeps working long after ads stop. If you'd like us to audit your product pages and prioritize the fixes, get in touch.
