8. How To Optimize Your Product Page For Google In Shopify #12

8. Search Engine Listing Preview
I will show you step-by-step actions on how to add the information and some tips for each section.
What are a meta title and description tag?
The meta title and description is an HTML attribute that provides a brief summary of a web page. Search engines such as Google display the meta title and description in search results where they can highly influence users to click through to your pages.
Shopify will create your page title, description, and handle automatically when you add your title and description.
You can change your information to your best advantage.
So check each page and make sure your message is what you want prospective buyers to see on Google.
Step 1.
To view or change your ‘search engine listing preview’, click on ‘Edit website SEO’ at the bottom of the product, collection or pages sections in your Admin.
Now you can change your information for your search engine listing on Google, Bing, Yahoo etc.
The example below is how your ‘Search Engine Listing Preview’ will show up on Google and other search engines.
Step 2. Page Title
You can use 70 characters - use them.
You might not want the exact title in your preview description for two reasons:
- The collection title may be too long.
- And you only have 70 characters on Google search to show your page to the best advantage.
Step 3. Description
You can use 0 - 320 characters - use them. Make sure you use your best information in the first 160 characters.
The description is automatically added to your preview description.
Remember, make your description logical for the customer, so they will take action when reading your description. Check out other companies and see what and how they write their descriptions.
If you don’t have a description for your page, there will be no description in the preview. It is advisable to add a preview description for your search engine listing.
Step 4.URL and handle
What your URL looks like is important. Your URL is your website address on the web. It’s the most direct way for someone to visit a page on your website.
URL – Uniform Resource Locator
Here are some key reasons for a great URL structure:
- The URL is one of the most important parts of the page Google looks at to determine what a page is about.
- It is easier to navigate for users. If someone is browsing in your store and finds themselves on the page, www.store.com/collections/women/dresses/evening-wear, they know they are on a collection page for dresses and the dresses are evening wear. But they can then easily navigate back to the main page for dresses.
- The search engine bots can easily make the relevant connections between different pages on your store – it can see that a particular item belongs in the same collection as other dresses (even if “dress” isn’t in the product name), which belong in the larger collection of women’s clothes on the site – information that helps the search bot better understand what different sections of the store are about and how they relate to each other.
This is the reason to edit the URL and make sure that it makes sense.
An example:
The title on the page is - ADIDAS FLX24 COMPO 6 FIELD HOCKEY STICK
The automatic generated URL for the product page is - https://justhersports.myshopify.com/products/adidas-flx24-compo-6-field-hockey-stick.
This is a great URL because a search for the product is what a prospective buyer will look for. Can we make it shorter? Sure, but again, it is the keyword phrase used in the Search engines but people who are looking for the product.
6 KEY ELEMENTS TO A GREAT URL (Uniform resource locator)
- Keep your URL short and simple. Try not to keyword stuff. If a visitor wants to save the URL, it has to be easy to remember.
- Don’t add unnecessary words or characters.
- You cannot use just spaces. For each space, ‘20%’ will be added which obviously makes the URL difficult to read.
- Use hyphens to separate words. This will signal to Google where the breaks between words are, and make it easier for your visitors to understand URLs than if the words all ran together.
- Remove stop words like a the, and, or, but, an, of, etc. To keep it short and simple, take out these words when the URL is automatically generated by Shopify.
- Make sure you are using a Primary Keyword in your URL.
I hope the two bonus chapters will be a great help to understand just some of the aspects of your store and the benefits of including them in this book.
Comments
Kelli
Excellent tips here, Veronica. I look forward to our class on Monday to learn more.
August 09, 2023
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Also in Veronica's Shopify Blog
Why Your Shopify Emails Might Be Going to Spam (And How to Fix It)
By Veronica Jeans, Bestselling Author July 11, 2025
If you’ve been wondering why your carefully crafted Shopify emails aren’t reaching your customers, you’re not alone. Many Shopify store owners run into this issue — they set up everything, send out campaigns, and then see disappointing open rates or no response.
So, why are your Shopify emails ending up in spam folders? And more importantly, how can you fix it?
Why Your Shopify Emails Might Be Landing in Spam
1. Using a Free Email Domain (like Gmail, Yahoo, etc.)
Sending store emails from an address like yourstore@gmail.com raises immediate red flags for spam filters. It looks unprofessional and is commonly linked to phishing or spam.
How to fix it: Use a branded domain email like hello@yourstore.com. Shopify offers alias emails when you register your domain, or you can set up hosted email through services like Google Workspace or Zoho.
2. Missing Email Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Email providers such as Gmail and Outlook check for authentication records to verify that your emails are legitimate. Without these, your messages are more likely to be marked as spam.
How to fix it: Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in your domain’s DNS settings. Shopify help docs or your domain host can walk you through it, or you can ask your tech support team to help.
3. Low Engagement Rates
When recipients don’t open, click, or interact with your emails, inbox providers start pushing future emails into spam folders.
How to fix it: Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers. Focus on sending more relevant, engaging content, and use segmentation so you’re not sending the same message to everyone.
4. Spammy Content or Design
Using all caps, excessive exclamation marks, or spam-triggering words like “BUY NOW” or “FREE $$$” can set off spam filters.
How to fix it: Write conversational, natural-sounding copy. Avoid overhyped or misleading language. You can also test your emails through tools like Mail Tester before sending.
5. No Unsubscribe Option
Not including an unsubscribe link is not only bad practice but also violates regulations like CAN-SPAM and GDPR.
How to fix it: Make sure every email includes a clear unsubscribe link. Shopify Email, Klaviyo, Omnisend, and similar platforms typically add this automatically.
6. Too Many Images, Not Enough Text
Emails that are made up of only images or only text can trigger spam filters. A healthy balance matters.
How to fix it: Combine text with visuals and always add alt text to images for better accessibility and email trust.
Tips to Improve Deliverability
If you are using a new email domain, warm it up by sending to smaller segments first, then gradually increasing your send volume.
Ask subscribers to add your email to their contacts or address book to help avoid future spam filtering.
Monitor your sender reputation with tools like Postmark, GlockApps, or Google Postmaster Tools to identify issues early.
Bottom Line...
Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools you have to drive sales, but only if your emails actually reach your customers. By improving your sending practices, maintaining a healthy list, and following best practices, you can significantly increase your deliverability, boost open rates, and make sure your efforts pay off.
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