How To Add Meta Tags in Shopify: An Ultimate Guide

Meta tags play a crucial role in improving your Shopify store’s visibility on search engines. They help search engines understand what your site is about, which can improve your rankings and get more people to visit your store. 

Adding meta tags in Shopify is super easy once you know where to look. In this guide, I’ll show you how to add meta tags in Shopify so you can make your store more SEO-friendly and attract the right audience.

What Are Meta Tags in Shopify?

Meta tags are snippets of text that describe your store's content. They don't appear on the page itself but are part of the page’s code. Search engines use these tags to understand what your store is about, which helps them display your site in relevant search results.

The Most Commonly Used Meta Tags

1. Meta Title: The clickable headline in search results. It’s where you can add title tag to grab user attention and improve rankings.
2. Meta Description: A brief summary below the title.
3. Robots Meta Tag: Controls how search engines index your pages. Common values include index, noindex, follow, and nofollow.
4. Canonical Tag: Indicates the preferred URL for a page, helping avoid duplicate content issues.
5. Open Graph Meta Tags: Used for social media sharing, these tags control how your pages appear on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Step-by-step Guide To Add Meta Tags in Shopify

Method 1: Using Shopify Built-in SEO Features

Shopify makes it easy to add and edit meta tags directly from your admin dashboard. Here's how you can do it:

1. Add Meta Tags to the Homepage

• Go to Online Store > Preferences.

• In the “Homepage Title” and “Meta Description” fields, enter your meta tags.

• Click Save

2. Add Meta Tags to Products or Collection Pages

• Navigate to Products or Collections in your Shopify admin.

• Open the product or collection you want to edit.

• Scroll to the “Search Engine Listing Preview.”
• Edit the title, meta description, and URL.
• Click Save

Method 2: Adding Custom Meta Tags Using Liquid Code

If you need more control over your meta tags or want to add custom tags, you can do so by editing your Shopify theme's Liquid files. Follow these steps:

• Go to Online Store > Themes > “...” button> Edit Code. Remeber to Duplicate the theme for backup in case something goes wrong.

• Open the theme.liquid or appropriate template file.

• Locate the closing </head> tag in the theme.liquid file.
• Just before the closing </head> tag, add your custom meta tags. For example:  

<meta name="author" content="Your Store Name">  

<meta name="keywords" content="shopify, online store, custom products">  

<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">  

You can also use dynamic content with Liquid to make your meta tags more specific

<meta name="description" content="{{ page.meta_description }}">  

<meta property="og:title" content="{{ product.title }}">

• Click Save and test your site

Method 3: Adding Meta Tags Using Shopify Apps

If you prefer a more automated approach or want advanced SEO functionality, Shopify apps can help you manage and optimize meta tags easily. Here's are some of the best Shopify apps for Meta tags:

1. SEO Manager

SEO Manager is an easy-to-use app designed to simplify meta-tag editing for your Shopify store. Its intuitive interface makes it perfect for beginners and experienced users alike.

2. Smart SEO

Smart SEO is ideal for managing meta tags and image alt texts in bulk, saving you time and effort. It’s a great choice for stores with a large number of products or collections.

3. Plug In SEO

Plug In SEO helps identify missing meta tags and offers practical suggestions to improve your store’s SEO. It’s perfect for spotting issues and making quick fixes to optimize your pages.

Steps To Add Meta Tag To Shopify With Shopify Apps

In this section, I’ll use the Shopify SmartSEO app as an example. Don't worry, the steps will be pretty much the same for other similar apps.

Step 1: Install the app:

• Go to the Shopify App Store.
• Search for Smart SEO and click Add App to install it.

Step 2: Open the app in your Shopify dashboard

• From your Shopify admin, navigate to Apps and select Smart SEO.

• From the app’s dashboard, locate and click the Meta Tags section.

Step 3: Edit Meta Tags Manually

• Choose an individual product, collection, or page to edit.
• Enter a Meta Title and Meta Description that reflect the content of the page.

• (Optional) Click on the AI feature to let ChatGPT-4 Turbo generate meta tags automatically.

• Review and customize the generated tags if needed.

Step 4: Bulk Edit Meta Tags

• Use the Bulk Edit option to update meta tags for multiple products or collections.
• Apply filters to target a specific subset of items.
• Save your bulk edits to apply changes across all selected items.

Step 5: Add No-Index Tags to Unnecessary Pages

• For autogenerated pages (e.g., search results or tag-specific pages), enable the No-Index Tag option to instruct search engines to ignore them. This prevents duplicate content issues and optimizes your site’s crawl budget.

Step 6: Verify and Save Changes

• Preview the meta tags to ensure accuracy and relevance.
• Save your edits to publish the updated meta tags across your store.

How Meta Tags Affect Your Shopify Store SEO

From my experience, meta tags are one of the simplest yet most powerful tools to improve your store’s visibility. They might seem small, but they play a huge role in how your Shopify store performs on search engines. Here’s how they can make a difference:

• Improve Click-Through Rates (CTR): Entice users with clear, engaging titles and descriptions that match their search intent.
• Boost Search Rankings: Help search engines understand your content, making it easier to rank higher for relevant keywords.
• Prevent Duplicate Content: Canonical tags ensure that search engines only index the preferred version of your pages, avoiding penalties.
• Enhance User Experience: Meta descriptions provide a quick overview of your page, helping users decide if your site meets their needs.
• Help with Social Sharing: When someone shares your product or page on social media, meta tags ensure that it displays the right title, description, and image, which can attract more clicks.
• Assist in Indexing Your Site: Search engines rely on meta tags to index your pages correctly. Without them, some of your pages might not show up in search results, or worse, they could be indexed with irrelevant content.

7 Tips to Optimize Shopify Meta Tags for SEO

Optimizing meta tags is an easy way to improve your Shopify store’s search performance. Here are some practical tips I’ve found useful:

• Use target keywords naturally: Include primary and secondary keywords in titles and descriptions without making them sound forced.
• Keep titles under 60 characters: Ensure they are concise and compelling to avoid being cut off in search results.
• Limit meta descriptions to 155 characters: Make them clear and informative while encouraging users to click.
• Avoid duplicate meta tags: Ensure each page has unique meta titles and descriptions to improve search engine ranking and avoid confusion.
• Use action-oriented language: Add calls to action like “Shop Now” or “Learn More” to encourage clicks.
• Incorporate branding: Add your store name to titles to boost recognition and trust.
• Optimize for mobile users: Write titles and descriptions that look good on smaller screens to capture mobile traffic effectively.

Bottom Line

Adding meta tags to Shopify is very important for SEO success. You can use Shopify’s tools, custom Liquid code, or apps to make your store more visible and attract more visitors. Remeber, you should always update your meta tags to stay ahead of the competition.

FAQs

Can I add meta tags without coding knowledge?

Yes, Shopify’s built-in SEO tools allow you to add meta tags easily. Simply go to the “Search engine listing preview” section for any product, collection, or page and edit the meta title and description.

What happens if I don’t add meta tags to my Shopify store?

If you don’t add meta tags, search engines will generate them automatically, which may not be optimized for your target audience or keywords. This can result in lower visibility and fewer clicks.

How do I check if my meta tags are working?

Use tools like Google Search Console or SEO analysis tools (e.g., Screaming Frog) to verify your meta tags and see how they appear in search results.

Can I edit meta tags for all pages at once?

Yes, you can use Shopify apps like Smart SEO or Plug In SEO for bulk editing meta tags across your store.

Do meta tags affect loading speed?

No, meta tags are lightweight and do not impact your store’s loading speed. They are purely informational for search engines and users.

How often should I update my meta tags?

You should update your meta tags whenever you make significant changes to your content or when optimizing for new keywords. Regular reviews can help improve SEO performance over time.

Related Posts:

• Shopify SEO Guide
• How to Edit Search Engine Listing for Webpage on Shopify?
• How to Choose Shopify SEO Experts?