Optimise The Shopify Product URL structure For SEO Growth

Are you a UK Shopify merchant facing SEO headaches due to your store’s product URLs? You’re not alone. At Better Ranking—your specialist SEO & Shopify agency—we’ve seen this URL structure issue time and again when conducting audits for UK clients. These URL problems aren’t just a technical nuisance; they can significantly hinder your organic rankings and e-commerce results.

Let’s break down what’s happening—and what you can do about it.

The Three Shopify Product URL Types

On any Shopify site, you’ll encounter three distinct URL formats for products:

  • Collection URL
    • Example: /collections/mens
    • Shows a range of men’s jeans.
  • Product URL
    • Example: /products/organic-denim-hacka
    • The “main” page for a specific product.
  • Product Collection URL
    • Example: /collections/mens/products/organic-denim-hacka
    • The same product shown inside a collection.

If, say, one product appears in five collections, you could end up with six separate URLs—each presenting identical content. This is a direct threat to your SEO visibility, especially for long-tail keyword opportunities.

Why Does This Shopify URL Structure Hurt Your SEO?

Shopify’s system automatically creates extra URLs every time a product is added to a collection. This multiply-indexed content confuses Google. Instead of clearly boosting your main product page, signals are split between duplicate URLs.

The SEO Problems Summarised

  1. Canonical tags aren’t a guarantee
    • Shopify tries to solve this by using canonical tags, marking the “main” product URL as the preferred version.
    • But Google treats canonical tags as signals—not absolute directives. Sometimes, Google may still index the wrong URL variant.
  2. Internal linking issues
    • Most collection pages link to non-canonical (collection) product URLs, not the main product pages.
    • This means your strongest internal links and equity are pointing to duplicate URLs.
  3. External links get fragmented
    • Bloggers, partners, and reviewers may link to any version of your product page—further weakening your SEO signal by splitting authority across unnecessary duplicates.

How to Fix Shopify’s Canonical URL Issue

This fix is essential for every Shopify store owner who’s serious about SEO success. The best way is to update your Shopify theme code so:

  • All internal links from collections point directly to the main product URL.
  • Any variant URLs also correctly point to the main canonical product page.
  • Your theme makes it impossible for Google (or anyone else) to access non-canonical product collection URLs.

Note: Implementation requires a developer familiar with Liquid (Shopify’s templating language), but every major UK-focused Shopify theme supports customisation.

Don’t Have Developer Resources?

If hiring a developer isn’t feasible right now, consider the “Sitemap NoIndex Pro” app. This tool lets you add noindex/nofollow tags to collection product URLs to reduce crawl and indexing issues. However, for full SEO benefit, you should also:

  • Update internal links on your collection pages to funnel users (and Google) to the main product URLs, not collection-based duplicates.

For budget-conscious store owners, there are DIY guides which provide practical steps for Shopify theme updates. Combining plugin noindex settings with internal link fixes ensures a win-win: only the correct product URLs get indexed, ranked, and linked.

What Results Should You Expect?

Once this adjustment is properly rolled out:

  • Google will only crawl and index your canonical product URLs.
  • Internal link equity will flow as intended to your best sales pages.
  • External backlinks can be confidently directed to the correct product URLs.
  • Your organic rankings for product pages and long-tail keywords will grow.

We recommend monitoring Shopify’s index status in Google Search Console. For larger stores, it may take a few months for Google to process all changes.

Is Your Shopify Store Ready For A Better Ranking?

As a Hertfordshire-based UK SEO agency with Shopify expertise, Better Ranking helps e-commerce businesses fix technical issues and achieve lasting growth. Need actionable support for your store? Want greater Google visibility and sales? Contact us today for a tailored SEO audit or Shopify optimisation.

Take control of your Shopify product URLs—your search rankings will thank you.

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