Shopify limits SEO too much
It limits some things. The /collections/ and /products/ paths stay, and there is no server access. Canonicals, Liquid templates, handles and speed are all within reach, and that is where most Shopify rankings get lost.
Shopify SEO · BeeTop · since 2010
Shopify SEO agency that works around the limits of the platform
Shopify fixes your URL paths and keeps the server locked. We work inside those rules so your collections rank for the searches that end at checkout.
- Founder on every Shopify project
- Top Rated Plus, $100K+ on Upwork
- Collections, Liquid, rendering
- English, German, Dutch
Where Shopify SEO services pay off first
You spot these changes in Search Console a few weeks in, and later in the Orders tab of your Shopify admin.
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Each product lives at one address Google trusts
Canonical tags point every collection path at the main product URL, so rankings stop splitting between copies.
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Collection copy that Google can actually read
We test what Googlebot renders and move text that loads through JavaScript into the theme's HTML.
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A theme that loads before shoppers give up
Apps nobody uses come out, and the scripts that stay are trimmed until Core Web Vitals pass.
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Collections built for each country you sell in
A buyer in Amsterdam and one in Leeds word the same search differently, so each market gets its own keyword list.
Platform limits
Technical quirks of SEO on Shopify
On a closed platform SEO is done differently than on an open CMS. Some of its rules give way to a theme edit, others never will, and knowing the difference saves you months.
Limit 1
Fixed URL structure
Every address gets /collections/ or /products/ in it, and there is no setting that lets you make your own folders.
Our approachLeave the pattern alone. We shorten handles, link collections to each other sensibly and point canonicals at the version you want in Google.
Limit 2
Duplicate collection pages
Put a pair of trainers into Sale, Running and New In, and the theme can link to it at three different addresses. Unless canonicals are handled, Google has to guess which one you meant.
Our approachCanonicals for products and collections, indexing rules for duplicate and service pages, then a clean-up of what is already indexed.
Limit 3
Category text hidden by JavaScript
Some themes and apps load collection copy through scripts. A shopper sees the text, but Google may index an almost empty page. We ran into exactly this on a 47-category store in the Netherlands.
Our approachWe test what Googlebot really renders and move the copy into the theme's HTML. After that the collection text counts for search.
Limit 4
Heavy themes and apps
That review widget, the upsell pop-up, the currency switcher from 2021, each one loads its own script on each page. The store gets slower with each one, and so do its Core Web Vitals.
Our approachApps you stopped using months ago come out first. Then we trim what is left, shrink the images and adjust the theme until the vitals turn green.
Shopify work you can check
Figures from projects Vitaliy led on Upwork. Every card names the store or domain the number belongs to.
Upwork projects · a Dutch Shopify store and three more
47 collections on a Shopify store in the Netherlands
Upwork project
60K sessions a month became 500K
What clients say on Upwork
Top Rated Plus, $100K+ earned on Upwork. Read every review on the profile.
See the Upwork profileI had a very professional service from Vitaly. The work was completed to a high standard, and he was extremely helpful throughout. I would definitely hire him again and highly recommend his services.
The job was completed. We prepared the high-quality text tests for my website for SEO, and Vitaliy provided excellent consultation throughout our collaboration. He explained everything in detail and educated my team and me.
How a Shopify project moves
After every stage you hold a file, a fix or a report you can check.
- 24 hours
Free store review
A first look at duplicate collections, page speed and where you rank in the country you sell to.
You get the first fixes, in order of impact
- 7–14 days
Audit and strategy
The collection tree, every duplicate path and the theme's scripts, checked against what Shopify lets us change.
You get a 90-day plan with KPIs for each collection
- 2–4 weeks
Technical work in Liquid
Canonical tags, meta templates, robots.txt.liquid and the collection tree, all within the platform's rules.
You get changes live in your theme
- 2–6 months
Collections, copy and links
Collections tuned to buying queries, product descriptions rewritten, internal links, and links from sites in your market.
You get a plain-English report each month on sales from search
What stronger collections could add to sales
Shopify Analytics already shows your sessions and conversion rate, so copy them in and choose how far organic traffic might grow. The maths runs on this page only.
What might be stopping you
Five worries Shopify owners bring to the first call, answered plainly.
Our developer already looks after the theme
Good, then you may only need the plan. After the free review you pick monthly support, a one-off repair job or a task list your developer works through.
You are not based in the UK
Vitaliy speaks English, German, Dutch and Ukrainian. From Kyiv the time difference is 2 hours with London and 1 hour with Amsterdam, so calls land in your working day. He has Top Rated Plus status and $100K+ earned on Upwork, which is also where the contract and payment sit.
$2,500 a month before I see a sale
That is the starting fee, and the exact sum comes after the free review. Put your own sessions and basket value into the calculator above first. Either side can end the Upwork contract at any time.
Another agency promised us page one
We won't, because nobody can honestly guarantee first place. After the review comes a 90-day plan with targets you can measure, then a plain-English report each month. Vitaliy runs the project himself with no manager in between.
A typical SEO agency and BeeTop
For the same monthly fee a Shopify store usually gets the left column. Our Shopify SEO services add the right one.
| A typical SEO agency | BeeTop | |
|---|---|---|
| Audit | A generic site crawl | Structure, duplicates and speed checked for Shopify |
| Duplicate paths | No | One indexed URL for every product |
| Liquid templates | No | Meta tags, Schema and robots.txt.liquid edited |
| Collections | Left as the theme created them | A collection tree shaped by buying queries |
| Speed | A speed score in the report | Dead apps removed, theme tuned for vitals |
| Rendering | No | Checked against what Googlebot really sees |
| Product pages | Supplier copy left in place | Descriptions written for search and the basket |
| Markets | One keyword list for every country | Separate research for each market you sell to |
| Links | Link building | Links from sites in your buyers' country |
| Reporting | Rankings and traffic | Sales from organic search, collection by collection |
| Covered | 4 of 10 | 10 of 10 |
What happens next
Two ways a Shopify year can go
Everything is connected
A Shopify store earns from search, ads and its own data at the same time. Each link below hands value from one part to the next.
- Website ↓collections planned before the theme is chosen
- SEO ↓ranked collections lower Shopping ad spend
- Google Ads ↓each checkout tied back to a search
- Analytics ↓sales figures decide which collection comes next (back to Website)
One system that earns Website collections planned before the theme is chosen SEO ranked collections lower Shopping ad spend Google Ads each checkout tied back to a search Analytics sales figures decide which collection comes next
One person answers for your Shopify store
I check what the platform allows before I promise you any change, and I lead each Shopify project myself.
Tell us your store address and which countries you sell in. A free first look at duplicates, speed and visibility follows within 24 hours, with nothing to sign.
We reply within an hour on working days.
Common questions on Shopify SEO
My store is on Shopify. Can it still rank well?
Yes, plenty of them do. The restrictions are there, but for each one we have a way round it, through canonicals, Liquid edits, collection work or speed fixes. Problems start when someone handles Shopify as if it were a WordPress blog.
Can we get rid of /collections/ in our URLs?
No, and anyone who promises it is selling a hack. Shopify sets that part of the address for every store on the platform. We spend your budget on handles, internal links and canonical tags, the bits you really can edit.
We sell in the UK and the Netherlands. Is that a problem?
Not for us. Each country gets its own keyword list, since a shopper in Amsterdam and one in Manchester will type different things for the same jacket. Vitaliy speaks English, German and Dutch, so nothing gets lost in translation on those three markets.
Where do duplicate collection URLs come from?
From products that live in more than one collection. Each product gets a canonical tag naming its main address, and filler such as tag views is kept out of the index. Google then stops dividing its attention between copies.
What was the JavaScript problem on the Dutch store?
On that 47-category project the theme loaded category content through JavaScript in a way that kept it hidden from Google. We changed how that content was output, and Google could read the collection copy again.
Should we move from Shopify to WooCommerce for SEO?
Usually not. A move costs more than the SEO it gains, unless the store has outgrown Shopify for other reasons. WooCommerce gives a developer more levers, yet a well-run Shopify store competes fine. If you are still choosing, our Shopify store development work starts from a keyword map, so the store launches ready for search.
How much do Shopify SEO services cost?
Monthly work begins at $2,500 and goes up with the size of the catalogue, the number of countries and how much is broken right now. We quote after the free review. After that it is your call, monthly support, a one-off repair job or a list of tasks for your own developer.
Shopify SEO services for stores in the UK and Europe
A lot of brands that sell to Britain, the EU and the US end up on Shopify, because a store can be live in a week. BeeTop has done SEO since 2010, and since 2018 it has taken on projects for the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Getting a store online is the easy bit. Ranking it means working with fixed paths, duplicate collection URLs and no server login, so a big part of our job is choosing where the hours go.
Working around the platform
There is no .htaccess on Shopify and no server console, and even robots lives in a Liquid template. Fine by us. Meta tags and Schema go into the theme templates, robots.txt.liquid gets the rules it needs, and messy handles on collections and products get cleaned up. Duplicate paths get canonical tags, since a product listed in three collections otherwise lives at three addresses. We also check rendering. If a theme or app injects the copy with JavaScript, Google may see a page with a heading and nothing under it, and that is what we had to fix on the Dutch store.
Shopify SEO optimisation for a new market
Moving into Germany or the Netherlands means new competitors and new search terms, and the British keyword list will not carry over. We research each country on its own and shape collections around the buying queries found there. The broader approach from our SEO work for online stores still applies. Structure first, then product pages, then commercial copy, all adjusted to Shopify and to your market.
Who needs SEO on Shopify
If most of your sales come from paid ads and the organic line in Analytics has not moved for a year, this is for you. Brands that sell direct to consumers in the UK and Europe tend to gain the most. In our audits a flat Shopify store nearly always turns out to have an untouched platform problem, duplicate collections, a slow theme or a messy tree. Send us the address. Within 24 hours the free review will show what is holding the store back and what to fix first.