Edit a product's search engine listing in Shopify
The search engine listing is the title and description a search engine shows for a product. This tutorial rewrites the Trail Crew Tee listing with a clear title and description, kept short enough that search engines do not cut them off.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Product | Trail Crew Tee |
| Page title | 48 characters |
| Title cut-off | 70 characters |
| Meta description | 114 characters |
| Description cut-off | 320 characters |
Download the record: trail-crew-tee-search-listing.csv (249 bytes).
A search listing record for the Trail Crew Tee: page title, meta description, character counts, and the cut-off limits.
1Open the product
From your Shopify admin, go to Products and click Trail Crew Tee. The search listing sits in the Search engine listing section near the bottom of the page.
2Open the listing editor
In the Search engine listing section, click the pencil icon. The editor shows a preview of how the listing might display, with the product title, its web address, and part of the description.
3Write the page title
In the Page title field, enter Trail Crew Tee - Lightweight Trail Running Shirt. The title displays as a link in search results, so lead with the product name and its use.
4Count the title
Count the title characters: the new title is 48 characters, inside the 70 character line above which text might get cut off in search results. A title over 70 characters risks losing its ending in the results page.
5Write the meta description
In the Meta description field, enter a description that names the shirt, its fabric, and your store name, in 114 characters. Include words a shopper would search for, so the listing matches the search that finds it.
6Save the product
Click Save. The new listing is stored with the product, and the preview in the editor shows how it might display. Search engines pick up the change when they next crawl the page.
The arithmetic
| Field | Characters |
|---|---|
| Page title | 48 |
| Title cut-off | 70 |
| Title characters spare | 22 |
| Meta description | 114 |
| Description cut-off | 320 |
| Description characters spare | 206 |
The 48 character title leaves 22 characters spare under the 70 character cut-off, and the 114 character description leaves 206 spare under the 320 character cut-off.
Held at the counter
Over the limit means cut off, not rejected. Shopify lets you type past 70 characters for a title or 320 for a description, but search engines might cut the text off in results. Keep the key words at the front so a cut still reads true.
The preview is a preview, not a promise. The editor shows how the listing might display. Search engines choose their own display text, so a saved listing can still show differently in real results.
Changing the URL handle changes the address. The editor also lets you change the URL handle, which is part of the product web address. A changed address breaks old links to the product, so leave it alone unless you have a reason to change it.
Sources
- Adding and updating products — Shopify's help pages: editing the search engine listing, the 70 character title and 320 character description cut-offs, and the preview.