Key Takeaways
- SEO audits reveal the gap between where your store could rank and where it does rank
- Technical issues (broken links, crawl errors, page speed) should be fixed before on-page optimization
- You can do a thorough audit without expensive tools using free resources and one or two targeted apps
- Prioritize fixes by impact: technical foundation first, then on-page, then content gaps
An SEO audit is a systematic review of your Shopify store’s health across the factors that influence search rankings. It tells you what’s working, what’s broken, and what to fix first.
Most merchants audit their store reactively — when rankings drop, when traffic falls, or when a new hire asks to see the SEO setup. The most effective merchants audit proactively, on a regular schedule, before problems compound into visible ranking damage.
This guide walks through a complete SEO audit process for Shopify stores, designed to be actionable without requiring an agency or specialist.
Before You Start: Set a Baseline
Before auditing, capture your current state so you can measure progress:
- Export your current organic traffic from Google Analytics (last 90 days)
- Screenshot your Google Search Console overview (impressions, clicks, average position)
- Note your rankings for 5–10 of your most important keywords
With a baseline recorded, every audit finding can be tied to measurable outcomes.
Phase 1: Technical Foundation
Technical issues prevent Googlebot from properly crawling, indexing, and understanding your store. Fix these before worrying about content or keywords — technical problems multiply the cost of every other issue.
1.1 Check Google Search Console for Errors
Go to Google Search Console → Pages and review:
Not found (404): These are URLs Google attempted to crawl and received a 404. Each one represents a crawl slot wasted and link equity lost. Note how many you have and identify their sources.
Crawled — currently not indexed: Pages Google has crawled but chosen not to index. Could indicate thin content, duplicate content, or quality signals below Google’s threshold.
Discovered — currently not indexed: Pages Google knows about but hasn’t crawled yet. On large stores, this indicates crawl budget constraints.
Indexing issues: Any server errors (5xx), redirect errors, or other technical issues Google encountered.
1.2 Audit Broken Links
This is consistently one of the most impactful fixes available. Run a broken link scan across your products, pages, and blog posts — not just a web crawler, but ideally a tool with Shopify API access that can reach content inside product descriptions and blog articles.
For each broken link found:
- Is the destination page deleted? → Set up a 301 redirect to the most relevant live page
- Did the destination URL change? → Update the link in the source content
Track how many broken links you find and fix. This is a metric worth improving every quarter.
1.3 Review Your Sitemap
Visit yourstore.com/sitemap.xml. Verify:
- The sitemap is accessible (returns a 200 response)
- It’s submitted to Google Search Console (Settings → Sitemaps)
- It doesn’t include deleted or 404 pages
Shopify auto-generates your sitemap, but if your store has accumulated deleted products or pages, those may persist in the sitemap temporarily.
1.4 Check robots.txt
Visit yourstore.com/robots.txt. Verify that important sections of your store aren’t blocked. Shopify’s default robots.txt is generally fine, but custom modifications can accidentally block collections, products, or blog content from being crawled.
1.5 Test Page Speed
Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to test:
- Your homepage
- Your most important collection page
- A typical product page
Focus on Core Web Vitals scores. Note the specific issues flagged. Common Shopify culprits: unoptimized images, unused app JavaScript, render-blocking resources.
Quick wins:
- Compress product images before uploading
- Audit and remove unused apps (they inject code even when inactive)
- Enable lazy image loading if your theme supports it
1.6 Mobile Usability
Check Google Search Console → Mobile Usability for any flagged issues. Google uses mobile-first indexing — your mobile experience is what’s evaluated for rankings.
Manually browse your store on a phone: homepage, a collection page, a product page, and the cart. Check that text is readable, buttons are tappable, and nothing is overflowing.
Phase 2: On-Page SEO
Once the technical foundation is clean, audit how well your pages are optimized for their target keywords.
2.1 Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Every product, collection, and page should have a unique, descriptive title tag and meta description.
Shopify sets these by default from your product/collection names, but default titles are often too generic or too long. Review your top 20 products and collections in GSC to see what Google is displaying in search results — if it’s rewriting your titles, they may be too long or not descriptive enough.
Title tag best practices:
- 50–60 characters (longer gets truncated)
- Include the primary keyword near the front
- Include your brand name at the end for brand awareness
Meta description best practices:
- 150–160 characters
- Include the keyword and a value proposition
- Write for clicks, not just search engines
2.2 Collection Page Optimization
Collection pages are often the highest-value pages on a Shopify store because they target category-level keywords (“mens running shoes”) that have high search volume and commercial intent.
Check each major collection for:
- A keyword-relevant title (not just the collection name you use internally)
- A collection description (even 100–150 words with the target keyword helps significantly)
- Internal links to related collections within the description
Most merchants leave collection descriptions blank. This is a missed opportunity — it’s free SEO territory on your most important pages.
2.3 Product Page Optimization
For your top 20–30 products by revenue or traffic potential:
- Does the product title include the primary keyword naturally?
- Does the product description address what a customer searching for this product wants to know?
- Are the product images using descriptive alt text?
- Is the product included in relevant collections?
Product descriptions don’t need to be long — they need to answer the questions a buyer has and include the relevant keywords naturally. Thin descriptions (under 100 words) underperform.
2.4 Heading Structure
Each page should have a clear H1 (usually the product or collection name) and logical H2/H3 structure. On Shopify, your theme usually sets the H1 to the product or collection title. Verify this is working correctly — duplicate H1s or missing H1s are common theme issues.
2.5 Internal Linking from Blog Content
Review your blog posts. Each post should link to relevant products and collections. If you have blog posts with no internal links to your store’s pages, you’re missing a key opportunity to distribute authority.
Identify your top 5 highest-traffic blog posts. Each should link to at least 2–3 product or collection pages with descriptive anchor text.
Phase 3: Content Gap Analysis
After fixing technical and on-page issues, look at what content you’re missing that your target customers are searching for.
3.1 Review Your Google Search Console Queries
In GSC → Search Results, look at all the queries your store is getting impressions for. Sort by impressions descending and look for:
High impressions, low CTR: You’re appearing in search results but not getting clicks. Often means your title/meta doesn’t match search intent well.
High impressions, low average position (position 5–20): You’re ranking but not prominently. These are your best opportunities — a small improvement in ranking can significantly increase traffic.
Queries where you’re missing entirely: What would your customers search for that you currently don’t appear for? These are content gaps.
3.2 Competitor Content Analysis
Look at the top-ranking stores for your most important keywords. What content do they have that you don’t?
Specifically:
- Do they have blog posts or guides that you haven’t written?
- Do they have collection pages targeting keyword variations you’re missing?
- Do they have more thorough product descriptions?
3.3 Question-Based Content Opportunities
What questions do your customers ask before buying? These often map to blog content opportunities with high search volume and low competition.
Look for patterns in:
- Your support inbox or chat history
- Product reviews mentioning things customers wanted to know before buying
- Reddit threads or forums related to your product category
Prioritizing What to Fix
You’ll typically find more issues than you can fix at once. Prioritize in this order:
Immediate (fix within a week):
- Broken links (especially on high-traffic pages)
- 404 errors in Google Search Console
- Critical mobile usability issues
Short-term (fix within a month):
- Page speed issues on key pages
- Missing or weak collection descriptions
- Title tags and meta descriptions on your top 20 pages
- Internal links from blog posts to products
Ongoing:
- Content gap filling (new blog posts, collection page improvements)
- Monitoring for new broken links as they appear
- Quarterly re-auditing against your baseline
Running the Audit Quarterly
An SEO audit is not a one-time event. Shopify stores change constantly — products added and removed, URLs updated, content published, themes updated. Run a lighter version of this audit quarterly:
- Check GSC for new errors
- Scan for new broken links
- Review top-performing and underperforming pages
- Add or update content for your top keyword opportunities
Stores that audit consistently discover problems before they compound into ranking damage. The goal isn’t to achieve perfection — it’s to catch issues while they’re still small.
Relink handles the broken links portion of this audit automatically, scanning daily and surfacing fixes as new broken links appear. Install free on Shopify.