When we start working on a Shopify store, we don't immediately recommend writing dozens of blogs or creating new collection pages.

Usually, there are already pages on the website with SEO potential. The problem is that Google isn't getting a clear enough signal about what those pages are for.

We regularly find weak page titles, missing descriptions, broken links, thin collection pages and multiple URLs competing for the same search.

So before we add more, we fix what's already there.The rule on every Shopify SEO plan

These are five of the first Shopify SEO fixes we make, based on issues from real ecommerce SEO plans we've worked on recently.

Fix 01Fix the pages Google is already seeing.

One of the first things we check is whether the important pages on a Shopify store clearly explain what they sell.

For Client 1, the homepage SEO title was simply the brand name and there was no meta description, even though the business sold products people were actively searching for.

For Client 3, the issue was much wider. Important pages had generic titles, there were no proper H1 headings across the site, and dozens of pages had no meta descriptions.

What does that actually mean?

The terminology can sound more complicated than it is.

For these clients, the first job wasn't creating more pages. It was improving pages Google already knew existed.

On a Shopify store, we'd normally start with:

• the homepage;
• the highest-value collections;
• products already receiving search impressions;
• pages sitting close to page one of Google; and
• pages attracting impressions but very few clicks.

This is an important part of ecommerce SEO because you may already be much closer to ranking than you realise.

A page in position 11 or 12 might not need rebuilding from scratch. It may simply need a clearer title, better page copy and stronger internal links.

Fix 02Fix broken pages and redirect old URLs.

Broken pages are another thing we look for early.

Products get discontinued. Collections are replaced. Websites move platforms. URLs change. But Google, customers and other websites can continue visiting those old addresses.

When the page no longer exists, they hit a 404 error: essentially a "page not found" message.

For Client 1, we found more than 20 old URLs that needed dealing with, including addresses left behind by an older website and products that had been removed. For Client 2, redirecting deleted products was also one of the first SEO jobs in the plan.

The fix is often a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect tells a browser and search engine:

"This page has permanently moved. Go to this page instead."

But the destination matters. We don't automatically send every broken product to the homepage. Instead, we look for the closest useful replacement:

• a discontinued product might redirect to its relevant collection;
• an old collection can redirect to the current version;
• a legacy URL from a previous website can redirect to the equivalent Shopify page.

We then test the redirect to make sure it actually works.

Why does this matter for Shopify SEO?

Because an old URL may still have visitors, search history or links from other websites pointing towards it. Leaving it broken can waste that value.

Fix 03Turn thin collection pages into pages Google can understand.

A Shopify collection page might look perfectly fine to a customer browsing products but still give Google very little information.

We see this when a collection consists mainly of:

For Client 3, this was a major issue. The website already had a similar level of authority to competitors receiving significantly more organic traffic. The problem wasn't simply that competitors had more backlinks.

The site's collection pages were thin and often didn't match the language customers were actually typing into Google.

Businesses often name collections according to their own internal categories or branding. Customers don't necessarily search in the same way. They might search for things such as:

• gifts for horse lovers;
• dog gifts;
• birthday hampers;
• personalised cardboard cut outs; or
• corporate Christmas gifts.

The collection page therefore needs to make its purpose obvious. For an important Shopify collection, we'll normally look at:

• the H1;
• a short introduction;
• the SEO title and meta description;
• useful supporting copy;
• links to related collections;
• FAQs where customers genuinely need them.

That does not mean adding 1,000 words of repetitive SEO copy underneath every product grid. Good ecommerce SEO copy should still be useful to the shopper. It might explain what's in the range, who it's suited to, differences between products, delivery considerations or where to browse next.

The aim is to make the page a better answer to the search.

Fix 04Stop duplicate pages competing against each other.

Sometimes a store doesn't need another page. It needs fewer versions of the same page.

For Client 2, we found duplicate Best Sellers collections and more than one route acting as the main Shop All page. That creates uncertainty about which URL should be treated as the main destination.

The fix was to choose one primary page, point the relevant internal links towards it and strengthen that page with useful content.

We saw a similar issue with Client 1, where duplicated products had been created with very similar URLs and content.

If two pages are trying to rank for the same search, they can end up competing with each other. You'll sometimes hear this called keyword cannibalisation. It simply means your own pages are targeting the same search so closely that Google has to choose between them. Instead of having one strong page, you can end up with two weaker ones.

Our first steps are normally to:

• identify duplicate or near-duplicate collections;
• decide which URL should be the primary page;
• make internal links consistently point towards it;
• differentiate products that genuinely need to remain separate; and
• redirect genuine duplicates where appropriate.

More pages don't automatically mean more SEO traffic. Every page needs a clear purpose.

Fix 05Make sure Google can actually find the improvements.

After optimising a page, we also check whether Google can discover and index it properly. Indexing simply means Google has found a page and stored it in its search index so it can potentially appear in search results.

One of the first jobs for Client 1 was checking the website's sitemap in Google Search Console. A sitemap is essentially a list of the URLs on the website that helps search engines discover its pages.

We also use Google Search Console, often shortened to GSC, to check how Google sees the site. It can show things such as:

• which pages are appearing in search;
• what people typed before seeing the site;
• how many impressions and clicks a page gets;
• its average ranking position; and
• whether Google is having problems indexing a URL.

Once important changes have been made, we can ask Google to re-crawl priority pages rather than simply waiting for it to find the updates.

Internal links matter too

We also check how pages link to each other. An internal link is simply a link from one page of your website to another. For example, a main gift collection might link to:

That helps shoppers navigate the store, but it also helps Google understand how the pages relate to each other and which pages are important.

Where possible, we use descriptive link text too.

That gives both the customer and Google useful context about where the link goes.

What these fixes looked like across three real client plans.

These aren't hypothetical SEO tips. They come from actual ecommerce SEO work.

Three different ecommerce businesses, but a very similar pattern:

Before creating more content, fix the SEO foundations of the store you already have.

Where should you start with Shopify SEO?

If you're looking at your own Shopify store and don't know where to begin, start with the pages that already have the most opportunity. A simple first review would be:

1. Open Google Search Console and identify pages already getting search impressions.
2. Check that each important page has a clear SEO title, meta description and H1.
3. Find broken URLs and redirect valuable old pages to relevant live destinations.
4. Look for duplicate collections or products targeting the same search.
5. Improve thin, commercially important collection pages.
6. Add useful internal links between relevant pages.
7. Check your sitemap and make sure your priority pages are being indexed.

Only after that should you decide which completely new landing pages or blog articles the store needs.

Good Shopify SEO isn't about adding keywords everywhere or publishing content for the sake of it. It's about making it easy for Google to understand what you sell, which page should rank for each search, and why that page deserves to be shown.