Shopify Duplicate Content SEO Problem

Duplicate content can be a silent SEO killer for Shopify stores. As a Shopify owner, you might not realize that your store has multiple pages with the same or similar content. 

Unfortunately, this can hurt your rankings in search engine results. In this blog, we’ll know about the most common root causes of Shopify duplicate content, and we’ll also show you how to fix it to ensure better search visibility. 

What Is Shopify Duplicate Content?

In simple terms, duplicate content in Shopify pages refers to blocks of content that appear on multiple URLs within your Shopify store. 

Search engines like Google struggle to determine which version of the page to rank, leading to lower rankings or even being ignored altogether. For eCommerce websites, duplicate content issues are especially harmful because they can result in lower organic traffic and poor visibility for your products.

If your product pages are accessible via multiple URLs (e.g., through different collections or tags), Google may struggle to rank the right page, affecting overall store visibility. 

Additionally, duplicate content can also lead to user frustration. 

Imagine a customer searching for a specific product but seeing the same page content for different query.  This could cause confusion and potentially lead to cart abandonment. 

Therefore, fixing/hiding duplicate content is not just about SEO; it’s about enhancing the overall shopping experience for your customers.

Root Causes of Duplicate Content on Shopify (+Fixes)

Wondering, how to fix duplicate content in Shopify? 

Don’t worry, we will help you out. 

Let’s understand the common issues that create duplicate content on your Shopify site and how to fix them. 

1. Duplicate Product URLs Generated on Category Pages 

Shopify often generates multiple URLs for the same product, especially when it appears in different collections. For example, your product might have URLs like:

• yourstore.com/collection1/product-a
• yourstore.com/collection2/product-a

This can confuse search engines since both URLs represent the same content but are treated as separate pages. Google may index both pages, which could dilute the ranking power of the original product page, making it harder for your customers to find your products in search results.

Consider Gymshark, a leading fitness apparel brand. They sell the same product, a specific style of leggings, in various collections (e.g., “Yoga,” “Running,” “Everyday”). 

Instead of allowing each collection to create a new URL for the leggings, they ensure that all links point back to a single product page with a canonical tag. This practice allows Gymshark to consolidate its SEO value to one page, enhancing its visibility in search results.

The Fix:

Here’s a simple way to fix this duplicate content issues in Shopify. You just need to update your Shopify theme files with a small adjustment. This will fix the issue across all your category pages.

1. In the Shopify dashboard, go to Online Store > Themes.
2. Click on Actions and then Edit Code.
3. Open the “Snippets” folder and select product-grid-item.liquid.
4. Change the following code:
   • FROM: <a href=”{{ product.url | within: current_collection }}” class=”product-grid-item”>
   • TO: <a href=”{{ product.url }}” class=”product-grid-item”>

Once you make this change, all your product links will point to the correct URLs. And that’s how you have fixed Shopify’s duplicate content issue by changing one line of code.

2. Pagination on Collection Pages

Imagine you’re on page two of a category called “Women’s Shoes.” At the bottom, you see pagination links to navigate between different sets of products within this category.

Now, when you click to go back to page one, the URL might look like this:
https://xyz.com/collections/womens-shoes?page=1

This URL with the ?page=1 parameter is a duplicate of the original category URL, which looks like this:
https://xyz.com/collections/womens-shoes/

Both URLs show the same content—products from page one of the “Women’s Shoes” collection—but they exist at two different URLs, causing duplicate content issues for search engines.

Both URLs display the exact same products, but the second URL creates unnecessary duplication in your Shopify store.

The Fix:

To resolve this Shopify duplicate content issue, you can use a small piece of JavaScript to remove the ?page=1 from pagination links, preventing these duplicate URLs from being created. 

Here’s a simplified version of the script developers use to fix this issue:

if($(“.pagination”).length) {

var firstPage = $(“.pagination .prev”).next(“span”).find(“a”).attr(“href”);

if(firstPage.indexOf(“?page=1”) >= 0) {

let updatedLink = firstPage.replace(‘?page=1’, ”);

$(“.pagination .prev”).next(“span”).find(“a”).attr(“href”, updatedLink);

}

if($(“.pagination .prev”).length) {

if($(“.pagination .prev a”).attr(“href”).indexOf(“?page=1”) >= 0) {

let updatedLink = firstPage.replace(‘?page=1’, ”);

$(“.pagination .prev a”).attr(“href”, updatedLink);

}

}

}

This script looks for any ?page=1 links in the pagination and removes that part of the URL to avoid duplicate content.

You might need a developer to tweak this script to fit your specific Shopify theme, but it’s a reliable way to eliminate duplicate URLs caused by pagination.

3. Duplicate Product URLs generated by Using Product Tags

Let’s say you run a subscription box service like Loot Crate. You have a primary category page for “Gaming Crates,” and you’ve also applied a tag called “Gaming” to various products. This can create two very similar pages:

• Primary Category Page: The main landing page for “Gaming Crates.”
• Tag Page: A new page generated by the “Gaming” tag that shows the same or similar products.

Now, you’ve got two pages — one for the main category and one for the tag — with almost identical content. This is a classic example of duplicate content created by Shopify tags that could confuse search engines and harm SEO.

The Fix:

The good news is that there’s a simple solution. First, you need to check if these tag pages are being indexed by search engines. Product tag pages often follow a URL pattern like /collections/all/ in Shopify. You can use the following search operator to find any tag pages that might be indexed:

site:lootcrate.com/collections/all/

This will bring up a list of all the tag-based pages that could potentially create duplicate content.

After reviewing the pages, if you find that some of them are duplicates of your main category pages, you can easily prevent search engines from indexing these tag pages by adding a “noindex” tag. 

To do this, edit your theme.liquid file and insert the following code:

{% if request.path contains “/collections/all/” %}

<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”>

{% endif %}

This will stop search engines from indexing any pages that follow the /collections/all/ URL structure, ensuring that only your main category pages are indexed.

 4. Using Different Domain versions

Many Shopify store owners operate their stores using multiple domain versions (e.g., www.yourstore.com and yourstore.com). This can confuse search engines, as they may view the two versions as separate websites with duplicate content. Fixing this duplicate content issue in Shopify can save you from wasting your SEO efforts & increase your search engine ranking also. 

The Fix:

To resolve this SEO duplicate content issue in Shopify, you need to choose one version of the domain (either with or without “www”) and set up a 301 redirect for the other version. This will tell search engines that both versions point to the same content. 

For example, Gymshark uses a single domain (www.gymshark.com) and redirects the non-www version, ensuring that Google only indexes one version of the website.

How to Do It:

• In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Domains.
• Click on the primary domain to set it as the main one.
• Set up 301 redirects for the other versions to ensure users and search engines are directed to the right URL.

By maintaining a single domain version, you create a consistent user experience and improve your SEO rankings.

Fix SEO Issues for Better Visibility

Duplicate content on Shopify can be a tricky SEO challenge, but with the right fixes, you can improve your store’s search visibility and overall performance. By focusing on canonical tags, handling pagination effectively, blocking tag URLs, and ensuring consistent domain usage, you’ll avoid the common pitfalls of duplicate content.

Investing in proper SEO practices not only helps your search rankings but also contributes to a better user experience for your customers, leading to increased sales and brand loyalty.