Technical SEO Fix Guide

Step-by-step instructions for resolving every technical SEO finding that SitePx can detect. Auto-fixable issues are handled for you — this page covers items that need your attention.

Note

Findings marked Auto-fix in the app are applied automatically. This guide covers Manual fixes where you need to make changes in your Shopify admin or theme code.

Crawl & Indexability

Robots.txt blocks all crawlers

Your robots.txt file contains a Disallow: / rule that blocks all search engines from crawling your store.

Go to Shopify Admin → Online Store → Preferences. Make sure the store is not password-protected — Shopify adds a blanket disallow while the password gate is active.

If you have a custom robots.txt.liquid, go to Themes → Edit code → robots.txt.liquid and remove the Disallow: / line.

Save and re-run the Technical SEO audit to confirm the fix.

Robots.txt missing sitemap reference

Search engines use the Sitemap: directive in robots.txt to discover your XML sitemap faster.

Open Themes → Edit code → robots.txt.liquid.

Add the following line at the end of the file:

Sitemap: {{ shop.url }}/sitemap.xml

Save and re-run the audit.

Store is password-protected

While password protection is active, search engines cannot access any page on your store. All page-level checks are skipped during the audit.

Go to Shopify Admin → Online Store → Preferences.

Uncheck "Restrict access to visitors with the password" and save.

Re-run the Technical SEO audit to get full page-level results.

Page returns HTTP error

A page in your store is returning an error status code (4xx or 5xx). This prevents search engines from indexing it and creates a poor user experience.

Visit the affected URL in your browser to confirm the error.

If the page was intentionally removed, set up a 301 redirect via Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects.

If the page should exist, check its status in Shopify Admin (Products, Pages, or Blog posts).

Conflicting robots directives

A page has both index and noindex signals, or the meta tag conflicts with robots.txt. Search engines typically follow the most restrictive rule.

Go to Themes → Edit code and search all files for noindex.

Check if an installed app is injecting a conflicting meta tag. Disable app embeds one at a time to isolate the source.

Ensure your robots.txt and meta robots directives align. Remove the conflicting directive and re-run the audit.

Canonicals & Redirects

Canonical URL redirects

The canonical tag on a page points to a URL that redirects elsewhere. This sends mixed signals to search engines about which URL to index.

Check the canonical URL by viewing the page source and searching for <link rel="canonical">.

If the canonical redirects, update your theme to use {{ canonical_url }} which Shopify keeps current automatically.

Redirect chain (2–3 hops)

A redirect passes through multiple intermediate URLs before reaching the final destination. Each hop adds latency and risks search engines abandoning the chain.

Go to Online Store → Navigation → URL Redirects.

Find the first redirect in the chain and update it to point directly to the final destination URL.

Remove any intermediate redirects that are no longer needed.

Long redirect chain (4+ hops)

A redirect chain with four or more hops. Google may stop following after 5 redirects, so these are higher priority to fix than short chains.

Go to URL Redirects and update the first redirect to point directly to the final destination.

Delete all intermediate redirects in the chain.

Test in your browser's developer tools (Network tab) to confirm a single redirect.

Internal link points to a redirect

A link within your store points to a URL that redirects. Updating the link to the final URL removes an unnecessary redirect hop.

Find the link in your theme code, navigation menu, or page/blog content.

Update the href to the final destination URL.

Headings

Page missing H1 heading

Every page should have exactly one <h1> tag. Search engines use it to understand the page's primary topic.

Go to Themes → Edit code and find the template for the page type (e.g. sections/main-product.liquid).

Wrap the main title in an <h1> tag. For products, this is usually the product title.

Ensure only one <h1> exists per page.

Multiple H1 tags on page

More than one <h1> tag dilutes the page's primary heading signal.

Go to Themes → Edit code and search for <h1 in the relevant templates.

Keep the most important <h1> (usually the page/product title) and change the others to <h2>.

Duplicate title tags

The page has more than one <title> tag. Only the first is used by browsers; the duplicate may confuse search engines.

Open Themes → Edit code → layout/theme.liquid and search for <title>. There should be only one.

Check installed apps — some inject a second <title> tag. Disable app embeds to isolate the source.

Remove the duplicate and keep the one using {{ page_title }}.

Duplicate meta descriptions

Multiple <meta name="description"> tags on the same page. Search engines may pick the wrong one.

Search layout/theme.liquid for meta name="description". Keep one.

Check installed apps for duplicate injection and disable the conflicting embed.

Internal Linking

Homepage has no internal links

Your homepage doesn't link to any products or collections. Internal links help search engines discover and rank your content.

Go to Online Store → Themes → Customize.

Add sections like Featured Collection, Collection List, or Featured Products.

Ensure your navigation menu links to key collections and pages. Add a footer with links to important pages and policies.

No products linked from homepage

The homepage doesn't feature any product links. Adding them helps search engines crawl your product pages faster.

Go to Themes → Customize → Homepage and add a Featured Collection or Featured Products section.

Select your best-selling or most important products.

Weak internal linking structure

Pages in your store have few internal links pointing to them. Strengthening internal linking spreads link equity and improves discoverability.

Add cross-links between related products in their descriptions.

Link from blog posts to relevant products and collections.

Ensure your navigation includes all important categories. Add breadcrumbs and "Related products" sections if your theme supports them.

Broken internal link (404)

A link within your store points to a page that returns a 404 error.

Visit the broken URL to confirm the 404.

Either restore the destination page, set up a 301 redirect via URL Redirects, or update/remove the link.

Orphan product (no internal links)

This product isn't linked from any collection, navigation, or other page. Search engines may not discover it.

Add the product to a collection that's linked from your navigation.

Consider featuring it on the homepage or linking from a related blog post.

Orphan collection (no internal links)

This collection isn't linked from the navigation, homepage, or any other page.

Add the collection to your main navigation or footer menu.

Link to it from relevant blog posts or pages.

Structured Data

Product schema validation warnings

The Product JSON-LD on this page has validation warnings. While it may still work, fixing warnings improves rich result eligibility.

Test the page with Google's Rich Results Test.

Common issues: missing availability, incorrect price format, mismatched currency. Fix these in your product data or theme schema template.

Blog article schema incomplete

The Article JSON-LD is missing recommended fields like author, date, or image.

Ensure blog posts have: a title, author name, published date, and featured image. Set these in Shopify Admin → Blog posts.

If using a custom JSON-LD snippet, include headline, author, datePublished, and image.

Duplicate Product schema

Multiple Product JSON-LD blocks exist on the same page. Google may pick the wrong one or mark the page as having conflicting data.

Check your theme for application/ld+json script tags containing Product data.

Check installed apps for duplicate injection. If SitePx is generating schema via the app embed, disable the theme's built-in schema.

Keep the most complete version and remove the duplicate.

Duplicate Article schema

Multiple Article/BlogPosting JSON-LD blocks on the same page.

Check theme and installed apps for duplicate Article schema. Remove the duplicate source.

Schema price mismatch

The price in the Product JSON-LD doesn't match the visible price on the page. Google may reject the rich result.

Check the Product JSON-LD for the correct price value and currency.

If an app generates the schema, check its settings for price formatting. If the theme generates it, verify the Liquid variable used.

Test with Rich Results Test to confirm.

Schema availability mismatch

The availability status in JSON-LD doesn't match the actual product availability.

Check the schema uses product.available to set InStock vs OutOfStock correctly.

Verify the theme's sold-out badge logic matches the schema output.

Filter & Sort URLs