# Store SEO basics Level: Beginner. About 60 minutes. Plans: Not stated by Shopify; trial stores are not indexed by search engines. Checked against Shopify's documentation on 2026-10-08. **Short answer:** Shopify creates your sitemap, robots.txt file and canonical tags for you [1]. Your job is to write good titles and descriptions: set the home page title in **Online Store** > **Preferences**, and edit each product's **Search engine listing** section from **Products** [4][5]. Then verify your store in Google Search Console and submit `sitemap.xml` [3]. ## Before you start Search engine optimization (SEO) helps people find your products in search results. Shopify handles the technical base for you. It adds canonical tags to prevent duplicate content in search results, and it generates your `sitemap.xml` and `robots.txt` files automatically [1]. Themes also build title tags that include your store name [1]. That leaves the words. This guide covers the fields you control: page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text and URL handles, plus telling Google where your sitemap is. Two limits to know first: - Search engines don't index trial stores. Your store needs a Shopify plan before it can appear in search results [2]. - Google Search Console can't read your sitemap while your store is in private mode (the password page). You can turn private mode off to verify, then turn it back on [3]. Worked example: a candle shop selling 40 products in the US and Canada. Before you start, list the words a customer would type, such as "soy candle" or "unscented pillar candle", and use them in the fields below. ## Steps 1. **Set your home page title and description.** From your Shopify admin, go to **Online Store** > **Preferences**. In the **Social sharing image and SEO** section, enter a title and a meta description, then click **Save** [4]. 2. **Keep titles and descriptions to length.** A page title can be up to 70 characters, but 60 or fewer avoids it being cut off in search results. Aim for a meta description of about 160 characters [4]. 3. **Use keywords in product titles.** Shopify uses the title of a product, collection or blog post as the page's H1 heading. Put the words customers search for in the **Title** field and click **Save** [4]. 4. **Edit each product's search engine listing.** Go to **Products** and click a product. In the **Search engine listing** section, click the pencil icon. Enter a **Page title** and a **Meta description**, then click **Save** [5]. 5. **Leave product URL handles alone after launch.** In the same section, the **URL handle** field changes part of the product's web address. Shopify creates a handle automatically. You can edit it to match the product title, but don't edit it often, or the product might not display in search results [5]. 6. **Edit SEO for your other pages.** Go to **Online Store** > **Pages** and click a page, such as About. In the **Search engine listing preview** section, click **Edit website SEO**. Enter a **Page title** and a **Description**, then click **Save** [4]. 7. **Add alt text to product images.** Go to **Products**, click a product, then click an image. Click **Edit alt text**, describe the image in plain words, and click **Save alt text** [4]. For a collection or blog post image, click **Update** under the image, click **Edit image**, enter the text and click **Save** [4]. 8. **Redirect old web addresses.** If you moved from another platform or removed a page, go to **Content** > **Menus** and click **View URL Redirects**. Click **Create URL redirect**, fill in **Redirect from** and **Redirect to**, then click **Save redirect** [6]. 9. **Verify your store in Google Search Console.** In Search Console, add a **URL prefix** property with your full domain, including `https://`, and choose the **HTML tag** method. In Shopify, go to **Online Store**, open the menu for your theme and click **Edit code**. Under **Layout**, open `theme.liquid`, paste the tag on a blank line directly below the opening `` tag, and click **Save**. Then click **Verify** in Search Console [3]. 10. **Submit your sitemap.** In Search Console, go to **Indexing** > **Sitemaps**. Under **Add a new sitemap**, enter `sitemap.xml` and click **Submit** [3]. ## Check your work - Open `yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml` in a browser. Your sitemap sits at the root of each of your domains [3]. - In Search Console, use the URL inspection tool on a product page to see how Google renders it [2]. - Search Google for your store after a few days. Google indexes a site within 48 to 72 hours after you add or update information [2]. - Open a product and read the **Search engine listing** section. The title and description you entered should show there [5]. ## Common problems - **My store doesn't show up on Google at all.** The store may still be in private mode, or on a trial. Search engines don't index trial stores, so choose a plan and launch the store [2]. - **Search Console can't verify my store or read the sitemap.** A sitemap reader can't access a store in private mode. Turn private mode off, verify, then turn it back on if you need to. If verification fails, wait 15 minutes and click **Verify** again [3]. - **Google shows an old page, or my changes aren't there yet.** You can't force Google to re-index your site. Submitting your sitemap in Search Console can speed it up [2]. - **A product stopped showing in search after I changed its handle.** Changing the handle changes the web address. Avoid frequent handle changes [5], and add a URL redirect from the old address to the new one [6]. - **My redirect won't save.** You can only redirect a broken URL, not one that still loads a page. Some paths can't be redirected, such as `/products`, `/collections` and `/cart` [6]. - **My title is cut off in search results.** Shorten it to 60 characters or fewer [4]. ## Further reading - Shopify's SEO overview lists what the platform does automatically [1]. - Shopify's sitemap guide covers stores with more than one domain [3]. ## Sources 1. [SEO overview](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/seo/seo-overview), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08 2. [Frequently asked questions about SEO](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/seo/frequently-asked-questions), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08 3. [Finding and submitting your sitemap](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/seo/find-site-map), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08 4. [Adding keywords for SEO to your Shopify store](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/seo/adding-keywords), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08 5. [Adding and updating products](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/add-update-products), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08 6. [URL redirects](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/menus-and-links/url-redirect), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08 Source page: https://webmerchants.net/guides/store-seo-basics