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Did you know that organic search is the top traffic source for Shopify stores? It beats other channels hands down, based on data from over 60,000 shops. This means you need to closely monitor your SEO performance and make adjustments to boost your traffic and sales.
Enter Google Search Console (GSC). This tool helps you track, analyze, and optimize your site’s presence in Google Search results. You can even use it to identify and fix technical issues that might be hindering your site's visibility.
Let’s take a closer look at GSC and how you can add it to your Shopify website.
Google Search Console is a free tool Shopify store owners can use to track how their store appears in Google searches. You can use it to learn how Google views your site and understand how it ranks, as well as:
However, GSC solely focuses on organic search results from Google. If you need insights on paid ads or performance on other search engines, you’ll need to use additional tools.
You can link your Shopify store to Google Search Console by verifying either your domain or a URL prefix. The domain method involves DNS changes. The URL method is simpler and involves adding a meta tag to your store’s HTML. Below are the steps to follow:
Go to Google Search Console and log in with your Google account. If you don’t have an account, create one on the Google sign-in page.
Click the “Add Property” button to start a new property. Choose the URL Prefix option, type in your Shopify store’s homepage URL, and click “Continue.”
In the verification methods, select “HTML tag” from the “Other verification methods” list. Copy the meta tag provided by GSC.
Log into your Shopify admin panel. Go to Online Store > Themes. Click on the three dots next to “Customize” and choose “Edit code” from the dropdown menu.
Before making changes, it's a good idea to create a backup. Click the three dots next to your current theme and choose “Duplicate.” This saves your theme in its current state, so you can revert back if needed.
In the theme code editor, locate the theme.liquid file in the left-side menu. Open it and paste the HTML meta tag before the closing </head> tag. Click “Save” to update the file.
Return to Google Search Console and click “Verify.” If successful, you’ll see a confirmation message saying your ownership is verified.
Note: Make sure your Shopify store isn’t password-protected, as it must be accessible for Google to verify. If you change your theme or buy a new domain, you’ll need to repeat these steps to re-verify your site.
Sign in to Google Analytics and pick the website you want to link. Go to Admin, then Property Settings, and choose All Products. Find ‘Search Console Links,’ click on Link, then select the appropriate domain and confirm. Add your site from GSC, choose Web Stream, and finalize the changes.
Owners have top-level control over a property in Google Search Console. They can see all data, tweak settings, add or remove users, and even delete the property.
There are two types of owners: verified and delegated.
These folks have confirmed their control over a property by going through the verification steps. This usually involves editing the website or DNS, showing they have full access and authority over the property.
These are added by verified owners. They get similar rights but don’t go through the initial verification process themselves. They can be removed by the verified owners whenever needed.
Users
Owners can add users with different levels of access. There are full and restricted users:
Always give only the necessary level of access to keep your account safe. This prevents accidental or unwanted actions like deleting your property or removing important URLs from search indexing.
You’ve added Google Search Console to your Shopify store. Here’s how to make the most of it.
In the ‘Performance’ section of GSC, you’ll find detailed information on how your store’s pages are performing. It shows clicks and impressions over time, helping you understand which pages are attracting visitors. The ‘Pages’ tab provides a list of URLs with their traffic metrics. Filtering these results can give you a clearer view of what’s working—whether it’s product pages or collections.
The ‘Queries’ report highlights the search terms bringing visitors to your store. This information helps you understand what keywords are driving traffic and adjust your SEO strategy accordingly.
The ‘Experience’ tab offers insights into user interactions and site performance. It includes:
Submit your sitemap to help Google understand your site’s structure. Use the ‘URL Inspection’ tool to check how Google indexes individual pages. This tool shows if a page has been indexed, highlights any errors encountered during crawling, and provides the last crawl date. Regularly inspecting your URLs ensures that your content is visible to search engines.
The ‘Performance’ section lets you see overall trends in how your store’s pages are performing. You get an overview of both clicks and impressions for various URLs. Use this information to identify which pages are popular and which might need improvements to attract more visitors.
With many customers browsing on their phones, going through the ‘Mobile Usability’ report is a no-brainer. This report indicates how well your site works on mobile devices. If there are issues, you’ll find specific details on what’s wrong and how to fix it.
View the ‘Performance’ report to break down traffic by country and see where your visitors are coming from. Use the information to adjust your marketing strategies based on geographic insights. For example, you can optimize shipping options and tailor your promotions to different regions.
Set the Date filter to 12 months to analyze traffic patterns over time. Look for peaks and troughs in clicks and impressions. Identifying these trends can help you prepare for seasonal increases in demand.
The ‘Pages’ report helps you spot keyword cannibalization, where multiple pages compete for the same search terms. This overlap can dilute your search visibility. Use this report to identify and adjust pages that might be inadvertently competing against each other.
You’ve got Google Search Console set up for your Shopify store. Here’s how to tackle some typical issues you might face.
If a page isn’t indexed, it won’t appear in search results. Go to the Overview section to see the indexing status of your URLs. Enter any missing URLs in the Inspect tool and hit “Request Indexing.”
Redirect errors happen when links don’t take visitors where they should. Find these in the Pages report. Fix them by correcting the URL structure in your Shopify admin.
404 errors occur when a page can’t be found, frustrating users. Update broken URLs and set up proper redirects in the Shopify admin to resolve this.
Pages marked with a “noindex” tag won’t be indexed by Google. Sometimes it’s deliberate, but other times it’s a mistake due to server settings or robots.txt file. Remove the tag in your Shopify admin to allow indexing of these pages.
You can also connect Google Search Console with Google Analytics 4 to ensure smooth data flow and gain deeper insights into your Shopify store's performance. For those who aren’t aware, this integration helps both tools exchange valuable data and aid in performance analysis.
Before starting, make sure your Google Analytics 4 setup is complete. Once GA4 is properly set up, follow these steps to link it with Google Search Console:
You’re done. This connection allows Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4 to share data seamlessly, providing you with more detailed insights into your ecommerce performance.
Adding Google Search Console to your Shopify store provides valuable insights into your site's performance in Google Search. With these insights, you can optimize SEO, fix any issues, and better understand visitor behavior. It can even help you identify opportunities to stay ahead of your competition. So, set up GSC, leverage the data, and take your Shopify store to the next level.
To claim Google Search Console using DNS in Shopify, go to Google Search Console, choose ‘Add Property,’ and select ‘Domain.’ Follow the instructions to copy the DNS verification code. Then, add this code to your domain provider's DNS settings. Verify in Google Search Console.
To verify Google Search Console in Shopify, log in to Google Search Console, add a new property using your store’s URL, and choose the HTML tag verification method. Copy the tag and paste it into your Shopify theme’s header, then click ‘Verify’ in GSC.
Add the Google Search Console code in Shopify by accessing the Shopify admin panel. Go to Online Store > Themes, select ‘Edit code,’ open the theme.liquid file, and paste the HTML verification code right before the closing </head> tag. Save your changes.
Adeel holds a Master’s degree in digital marketing and is a passionate e-commerce marketer. He specializes in long-form content creation and has a conversion mindset, which helps him focus on elements that generate sales for businesses.
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