Shopify SEO Checklist for Australian Stores (2026)

Quick answer: Shopify SEO comes down to six areas: set up your domain and Search Console, build collections around what shoppers search for, make product pages unique, fix duplicate URLs, redirects and slow apps, publish content Google and AI tools can use, and make prices, shipping and returns clear for Australian buyers. Shopify handles the sitemap, a default robots.txt and the editing fields; deciding what goes into your collections, titles and product copy is up to you. Work through the 25 checks below in order.

This checklist is for Australian store owners doing their own SEO or checking an agency's work. Shopify behaviour is quoted from Shopify's Help Center, checked in October 2026.

Part 1: Setup

1. Choose one primary domain and redirect the rest. If you own the .com.au and the .com, or still have the store.myshopify.com address, set one as primary. Shopify notes that all of your domains are discoverable by search engines "unless they redirect to your primary domain" (Shopify Help Center).

2. Turn off the store password at launch. A password-protected store can't be crawled by search engines, so remove the password page as soon as you go live.

3. Verify your store in Google Search Console as a domain property, which covers every version of the address.

4. Submit your sitemap. Shopify generates it at yourstore.com.au/sitemap.xml and says it "contains links to all your products, primary product image, pages, collections, and blog posts". Submit that address in Search Console.

5. Leave robots.txt alone unless you have a reason. Shopify says "the default robots.txt file works for most stores". You can customise it by adding a robots.txt.liquid template, but a mistake there can hide the whole store (Shopify Help Center).

Part 2: Collections

Collections are usually a store's most valuable search pages. Someone searching "linen dresses" or "camping chairs" wants a range to choose from, and a collection page is exactly that.

6. Plan collections around real searches. Use a keyword tool or Google's own suggestions to find what shoppers call your products, then make sure a collection matches each important search. Shopify's own advice is to "prioritize keywords that are specific to your products and business and are also searched for often" (Shopify Help Center).

7. Write an introduction for every key collection. Add a short paragraph that helps shoppers choose, such as how to pick a size or which material suits which use. A collection page with only a product grid gives Google little to rank.

8. Give each collection its own title and meta description in the search engine listing section, written for that range, not the store.

9. Link to key collections from the main menu. Pages linked from navigation are found and valued more easily than pages buried three clicks deep.

10. Avoid near-duplicate collections. "Women's linen dresses" and "linen dresses for women" as separate collections compete with each other. Merge them and redirect the spare.

Part 3: Product pages

11. Write your own product descriptions. Supplier copy appears on every other store selling the same product. Describe who it suits, how it fits, what it's made of and how it compares.

12. Write a unique title and meta description for priority products. Shopify lists four main places to use keywords: "page titles, meta descriptions, ALT tags, a page's body content", and warns that "search engines might ignore websites that don't use readable phrases".

13. Add alt text to product images describing the product, colour and angle. It helps image search and shoppers using screen readers.

14. Show reviews on product pages. They answer shoppers' questions in their own words and give the page fresh, specific content.

15. Check your Product structured data. Most Shopify themes output it. Test a product page in Google's Rich Results Test to confirm price, availability and reviews are read correctly; Google's product structured data guide lists the fields.

16. Handle out-of-stock products deliberately. If a product will return, keep the page live and say when. If it's gone for good, redirect it to the closest alternative.

Part 4: Technical fixes

17. Check duplicate product URLs. Shopify can show the same product at /products/linen-dress and at /collections/dresses/products/linen-dress. Check that the canonical tag on each version points to the /products/ address, and that your theme links to it. Our technical SEO checklist covers canonical tags in more depth.

18. Keep filter and tag pages under control. Filters can generate thousands of URL combinations. In Search Console's Pages report, check whether filter or tag-combination URLs are being indexed. Turn the filters people search for, such as a colour or material, into real collections, and ask your developer to keep the rest out of the index.

19. Redirect changed and deleted URLs. Shopify's redirect tool works only from URLs that are already broken, can't redirect Shopify's fixed index paths themselves (/products, /collections and /collections/all), and allows up to 100,000 redirects, or 20,000,000 on Plus (Shopify Help Center). When you change a product's URL, create the redirect at the same time.

20. Remove apps you don't use. Most apps add scripts to the storefront, and every script slows the page. After uninstalling an app, check the theme for leftover code. Our guide to why websites are slow covers the usual culprits.

Part 5: Content and AI search

21. Publish buying guides that link to collections. Size guides, comparisons and how-to-choose articles answer the questions shoppers ask before buying, and each one can send readers to the right range.

22. Connect Google Merchant Center. Free product listings in Google Shopping come from Merchant Center. Keep the product data, prices and shipping there consistent with the store.

23. Decide how AI tools see your store. Shopify explains there are two routes. If you sell through agentic storefronts such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, product data is shared through Shopify Catalog "independently of /robots.txt". AI crawlers can also read your store on the open web, which you control with robots.txt.liquid (Shopify Help Center). For Google's AI features specifically, see our guide on how to rank in AI Overviews. Clear, accurate product information helps on both routes. Our guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT covers the wider picture.

Part 6: Australian details and tracking

24. Make prices, shipping and returns clear. Show prices including GST, delivery costs and times to each state, and your returns policy, on product pages and in Merchant Center. Interstate shoppers decide on these.

25. Track organic search by collection. In Search Console, filter performance by page to see which collections gain impressions and clicks, and in Shopify analytics, check sales from organic search. Judge progress on revenue, not traffic.

The checklist in one table

#	Check	Part
1	One primary domain, others redirected	Setup
2	Store password off at launch	Setup
3	Search Console domain property verified	Setup
4	Sitemap submitted	Setup
5	Default robots.txt kept unless needed	Setup
6	Collections planned around searches	Collections
7	Introduction on every key collection	Collections
8	Unique collection titles and descriptions	Collections
9	Key collections in the main menu	Collections
10	Near-duplicate collections merged	Collections
11	Own product descriptions	Products
12	Unique product titles and descriptions	Products
13	Product image alt text	Products
14	Reviews on product pages	Products
15	Product structured data tested	Products
16	Out-of-stock plan	Products
17	Duplicate product URLs canonicalised	Technical
18	Filter and tag pages controlled	Technical
19	Redirects for changed URLs	Technical
20	Unused apps removed	Technical
21	Buying guides linked to collections	Content and AI
22	Merchant Center connected	Content and AI
23	AI access decided	Content and AI
24	GST-inclusive prices, shipping and returns clear	Australia
25	Organic search tracked by collection	Australia

Doing it yourself or getting help

Most of parts 1 to 3 is work any store owner can do with the built-in fields. Parts 4 and 5 often need theme changes, and that is where a Shopify developer earns their fee. If you would like help, we are a Shopify Partner with 15+ years in SEO and development; our Shopify SEO and Shopify store development pages explain how we work, and we'll go through your store as part of a free website and SEO audit.

Still choosing a platform? Our comparisons of Shopify and WooCommerce and WordPress and Shopify cover the trade-offs for Australian businesses.