I have audited hundreds of Shopify stores, and the same ten issues show up almost every time: empty meta descriptions, titles that mean nothing to Google, missing alt text, broken internal links. None of this needs a developer. Each fix below takes about five minutes. Do your bestsellers first, then work through the rest of the catalog.
Print this list or keep it open while you work in Shopify admin. Stores that run through it once a month stay ahead of competitors who set up SEO at launch and never look again.
1. Add a meta description to every product
Open a product in Shopify admin → Search engine listing → Description. Write 140–160 characters with your main keyword and a reason to click. Repeat for bestsellers first, then bulk-edit the rest.
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Try ShelfAudit free →2. Rewrite vague product titles
Replace internal codes with searchable names: "Women's Merino Wool Running Socks — Crew Length" instead of "Sock-A12." Front-load the keyword shoppers actually use.
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Try ShelfAudit free →3. Fill in image alt text
Click each product image → Edit alt text. Describe the product, color, and context. Skip generic filenames. This takes 30 seconds per image and helps Google Image search.
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Try ShelfAudit free →4. Validate product schema
Paste a product URL into Google's Rich Results Test. Fix missing price, availability, or image errors. Conflicting apps often break JSON-LD — disable suspects one at a time if validation fails.
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Try ShelfAudit free →5. Assign every product to a collection
Orphan products (no collection links) are hard for Google to discover. Ensure each SKU appears in at least one relevant collection with a descriptive name and intro paragraph on the collection page.
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Try ShelfAudit free →6. Fix broken internal links
Old blog posts and pages often link to discontinued products. Run a broken link scan, update URLs or add 301 redirects in Online Store → Navigation → URL redirects.
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Try ShelfAudit free →7. Set a custom SEO title where needed
If your product title is long for packaging reasons, set a shorter SEO title in Search engine listing. Keep it under 60 characters and aligned with the H1 where possible.
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Try ShelfAudit free →8. Add unique copy to collection pages
Collection pages ranking for category terms need 150–300 words of unique intro copy above the product grid. Explain what the collection includes and who it is for — not duplicate manufacturer text.
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Try ShelfAudit free →9. Link products from blog posts
Every blog article should link to 2–3 relevant products or collections with descriptive anchor text. Internal links pass authority and help Google understand site structure.
Audit your Shopify store in 60 seconds
No credit card required. Free plan audits up to 10 products.
Try ShelfAudit free →10. Submit sitemap in Search Console
Verify your store at Google Search Console, submit /sitemap.xml, and check Coverage for excluded or error URLs. Fix critical issues weekly.
Audit your Shopify store in 60 seconds
No credit card required. Free plan audits up to 10 products.
Try ShelfAudit free →After the checklist
Ten quick fixes get you far — but a growing catalog needs ongoing monitoring. New products ship without SEO fields. Theme updates break schema. Old links rot. Schedule a monthly audit or automate it with ShelfAudit, which scans every product for SEO and AEO issues and applies AI-generated fixes in one click.
Run your free audit today (up to 10 products, no credit card) and see your SEO score, AEO score, and prioritized fix list in under a minute.