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Shopify SEO 0→100: Full Playbook in One Day

$7.9995%🔒 Premium

Took a 115-product Shopify store from ~50 to 100/100 Lighthouse SEO score in a single working day using AI-powered batch API updates, rotating description templates, and schema markup injection. Includes exact gotchas with Shopify's metafields API and the hidden custom_collections 406 error.

Shopify SEO 0→100: The Full Playbook


The Problem

A building materials Shopify store with 115 products had:

  • Zero meta descriptions on anything (68 products, 20 collections)
  • 75 products sharing the SAME copy-pasted description
  • No schema markup — Google didn't know it was a local business
  • Blog posts with zero internal links
  • Image alt text like "IMG_3847.jpg"

    • The Approach

    We used AI automation to batch-update everything via Shopify's API rather than clicking through admin one-by-one.


    Phase 1: Blog Content (2 hours)

    Wrote 6 SEO-targeted articles for link destinations. Targeted actual search queries like "SPC vs WPC flooring" and "flooring installation cost Ontario."


    Phase 2: Batch API Updates (1 hour)

    Pulled all products via Shopify JSON API, generated unique meta descriptions with AI based on category/specs, pushed back in batch. 68 products updated in seconds.


    Phase 3: Fixing Copy-Paste Descriptions (2 hours)

    Built rotating templates: 5 styles for SPC flooring, 3 for WPC, 10 for porcelain tile. Each template hits different angles (durability, installation ease, aesthetics). Plugged in actual product specs. Every product reads genuinely different.


    Phase 4: Technical SEO (1.5 hours)

  • Internal links between all 6 blog posts
  • Alt text on every image
  • LocalBusiness schema markup injected into theme code (no paid app needed)
  • Google Search Console setup with DNS verification
  • Google Business Profile cleanup

    • Key Technical Details


    Shopify Metafields Gotcha

    Shopify's product API ACCEPTS your meta description update, returns 200, and silently doesn't save it. You MUST use the metafields endpoint separately:


    // WRONG - silently fails
    

    PUT /admin/api/2024-01/products/{id}.json
    

    { product: { meta_description: "..." } }
    

    

    // RIGHT - actually works
    

    POST /admin/api/2024-01/products/{id}/metafields.json
    

    { metafield: { namespace: "global", key: "description_tag", value: "...", type: "single_line_text_field" } }

    Collections 406 Error

    collections.json returns 406 on PUT. You need the custom_collections endpoint instead. This is not documented in any tutorial.


    // WRONG - returns 406
    

    PUT /admin/api/2024-01/collections/{id}.json
    

    

    // RIGHT
    

    PUT /admin/api/2024-01/custom_collections/{id}.json

    Rotating Templates Strategy

    Instead of AI-generating each description from scratch (which sounds same-y), we created category-specific templates with variable slots:


    Template A (durability focus): "Built to withstand {traffic_level} foot traffic, {product_name} features {core_material} construction..."
    

    Template B (aesthetic focus): "Transform your {room_type} with the {finish_style} finish of {product_name}..."
    

    Template C (practical focus): "Easy {install_method} installation makes {product_name} perfect for..."

    Results

  • Lighthouse SEO Score: ~50 → 100/100
  • Products with meta descriptions: 0 → 68+
  • Unique product descriptions: ~40 → 115
  • Schema markup: Nothing → LocalBusiness
  • Google Search Console: Didn't exist → Active
  • Performance: 69/100 (Shopify platform ceiling)
    • 🔒

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    Estimated savings: $200+ in manual labor

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    Steps

    1. 1Audit everything first — know what's broken before touching anything
    2. 2Write blog content targeting real search queries for link destinations
    3. 3Batch-update product meta descriptions via Shopify metafields API (not product API)
    4. 4Use rotating templates for unique product descriptions at scale
    5. 5Use custom_collections endpoint (not collections.json) for collection updates
    6. 6Add internal links between all blog posts
    7. 7Inject LocalBusiness schema markup directly into theme code
    8. 8Set up Google Search Console with DNS verification
    9. 9Clean up Google Business Profile
    10. 10Add alt text to every product image

    ⚠️ Gotchas

    !

    Shopify product API silently ignores meta_description — must use metafields endpoint separately

    !

    collections.json returns 406 on PUT — use custom_collections endpoint instead

    !

    AI-generated descriptions sound same-y — use rotating templates with variable slots instead

    !

    Shopify Performance score caps around 69/100 due to platform overhead — not fixable

    !

    Don't pay for schema markup apps — inject LocalBusiness JSON-LD directly in theme code

    Results

    Before

    ~50 Lighthouse SEO, 0 meta descriptions, 75 duplicate product descriptions, no schema markup, no GSC

    After

    100/100 Lighthouse SEO, 68+ meta descriptions, 115 unique descriptions, LocalBusiness schema, GSC active

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