Shopify SEO Checklist & Free Audit Template
Work through 48 Shopify SEO checks covering collections, product pages, internal links, themes, performance and international markets. Record your findings, prioritise changes and check the implementation in one editable Excel workbook.
See a worked example
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Keep your findings, priorities and implementation checks together in one editable workbook. Download it here after submitting your details.
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From review to implementation
What is included
Built for Shopify store owners and marketing teams. This is a manual review workbook, not an automated store scan. You do not need to share your store login to download it.
48 practical SEO checks
Review ten areas of your store, with guidance, result dropdowns and space for affected URLs, evidence and next steps.
A ready-to-use action plan
Use 60 prepared task rows to record impact, effort, owner, due date and status, then document how each change was verified.
Completed example
Follow the linen-bedding example from an unclear collection heading and missing internal links to specific implementation tasks.
A guide to using the workbook
Set your review scope, understand the result and task statuses, and track progress without confusing completed checks with SEO performance.
STEP 01
Before you start your Shopify SEO review
Start with the collections and products that matter most to the business. Include a few different page types and examples of products with variants, filters and different availability states. A focused sample makes it easier to identify problems that repeat across a template.
You can inspect the public storefront without admin access. Shopify admin, Google Search Console and analytics access help you verify settings, search performance and customer behaviour. If you cannot check something, record it as not checked rather than treating it as a confirmed issue.
- Choose the market, language and collection or product sample you are reviewing.
- Record the review date and the reports available to you.
- Note recent theme, app, domain or catalogue changes that could affect the findings.
STEP 02
Check your store discovery and indexation
Check that the live storefront and the pages intended for search can be reached. Shopify generates a sitemap automatically, but a URL appearing there does not confirm that Google has indexed it. Review important page examples in Search Console and compare the reported status with the live page.
A robots.txt restriction controls crawling; it is not the same as a noindex instruction. Investigate the reason for a restriction or exclusion before changing it. Do not remove Shopify defaults or apply site-wide indexing rules simply to clear a report.
- Open the sitemap and check a sample of important collection and product URLs.
- Compare the intended URL, any redirect and the canonical URL declared on the page.
- Record the exact Search Console finding and whether it affects a page you want in search.
STEP 03
Review collection and product pages
Each priority collection should have a clear purpose. Compare the products it contains, the language customers use and the page title, heading and supporting content. A useful introduction can explain the range or help shoppers choose; it should not repeat keywords at the expense of clarity.
On product pages, check whether a customer can understand the item, its important attributes, variants and availability. Review a sample of product and variant URLs before deciding that similar URLs need a technical change. The right approach depends on what is actually distinct and useful to shoppers.
- Match each priority collection to a specific customer need and relevant products.
- Check titles, headings and descriptions against the visible page content.
- Follow navigation and contextual links to confirm important collections are easy to find.
- Record missing product information that could prevent a useful buying decision.
STEP 04
Check themes, apps and technical signals
Shopify provides technical SEO features, including canonical tags and generated sitemaps. Themes, apps and custom code can still affect what a page outputs. If you find conflicting tags or repeated structured data, identify the component responsible before deciding what to change.
Review the live mobile experience on representative pages. Test image-heavy product pages, collection filters and important navigation. When a performance report highlights a problem, connect it to the affected template or interaction rather than assuming every page has the same issue.
- Check for missing or conflicting canonical, indexing and structured-data output.
- Identify whether a theme, app or custom implementation owns the affected output.
- Test product selection, collection filters and navigation on a smaller screen.
- Record the test URL, conditions and evidence before assigning a performance task.
STEP 05
Review markets and language journeys
If the store serves different countries or languages, review a complete journey in each relevant market: landing page, collection, product and the next step towards purchase. Check that the language, product availability and links match the intended experience.
Shopify Markets can generate international SEO signals from the configured domains and languages. Verify the actual published setup before adding custom tags. Arabic targeting also needs research into the terminology used in each intended market, not just a translated English keyword list.
- Confirm that language switching takes shoppers to the equivalent page where one exists.
- Review titles, product information and key interface text in the selected language.
- Check a sample of language URLs, canonical tags and reciprocal hreflang relationships.
STEP 06
Prioritise your Shopify SEO actions
Separate a verified problem from a question that needs more evidence. Start with issues affecting valuable pages or repeated templates, then weigh implementation effort, dependencies and the likely impact on customers and search visibility.
Give each action an owner and a clear validation step. After the change is released, check that the intended output is live and monitor the relevant search or business measure over a suitable period. Publishing a fix and measuring its effect are separate steps.
- Record the affected URL or template, finding and supporting evidence.
- Define the proposed change, priority, owner and dependencies.
- Recheck the live implementation and record the outcome before closing the task.
Worked example
Turn a collection-page finding into a clear next step
Follow a linen-bedding collection review for Example Home, the fictional homeware store used in the workbook. See how the findings become clear implementation tasks.
- 01Finding
- The linen-bedding collection is headed “Our collection”, with the introduction “Shop our latest products”. It has no link under Shop in the main menu, and a relevant bed-linen article does not link to it either.
- 02Evidence to check
- The collection contains linen duvet covers, sheets and pillowcases. The example records the current heading, introduction, menu and article links. Indexation stays marked “Not checked” because Search Console access is unavailable.
- 03Next action
- Change the heading to “Linen Bedding”, add an introduction that describes the range, and link to the collection from the Shop menu and the relevant article. Confirm whether the heading is controlled by the collection or a shared theme setting before editing it.
- 04After release
- Check the published heading, introduction and links on desktop and mobile. Confirm the collection URL, canonical and product links remain correct. Record the checks and date in the action plan before marking the task “Verified”.
Shopify SEO checklist FAQs
Is this Shopify SEO template free?
Yes. Read the guidance on this page without a form, or enter your email to get the editable Excel workbook. Your website is optional. The download becomes available on this page after you submit; it is not sent by email.
Will the template scan my Shopify store automatically?
No. It helps you carry out and record a review. You inspect the storefront and relevant reports, then use the workbook to organise findings and next actions.
Do I need Shopify admin access?
You can begin with the public storefront. Shopify admin, Search Console and analytics access help verify settings, performance and indexation checks that cannot be confirmed from the storefront alone.
How is this different from a Shopify SEO service?
The template supports your own review. Consulting adds store-specific analysis, priorities and hands-on implementation across the agreed settings, content, themes and apps.
Can I use this for a multilingual Shopify store?
Yes. Review each relevant market and language journey, including localised content, equivalent URLs and navigation. Country-specific demand and customer terminology still need their own research.
Hands-on help
Need help deciding what to fix in your Shopify store?
Share your store and the issues you have found. I can help you set priorities and implement the agreed content, settings or technical changes, working with your team where needed.
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