Shopify SEO Audit: 100-Point Checklist for 2026

A proper Shopify SEO audit has 100+ check points. Here is the complete checklist we use on every store, organized by category. If you are doing your own audit, work through this end-to-end. If you are evaluating an agency's audit, this is what they should be delivering.

Technical SEO (25 checks)

1. Sitemap.xml is auto-generated by Shopify and submitted to Google Search Console.

2. robots.txt is configured to block /cart, /checkout, /account; allow public pages.

3. AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, CCBot) are allowed in robots.txt.

4. Canonical tags on every page point to the right URL.

5. No duplicate content from URL parameters or session IDs.

6. Tag pages and faceted navigation are excluded from indexing.

7. 404 errors return proper status code (not soft 404).

8. Mobile responsiveness verified on Lighthouse mobile audit (95+).

9. Core Web Vitals: LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1.

10. HTTPS enabled across all pages, no mixed content warnings.

11. Hreflang tags for multi-region stores.

12. Pagination handled correctly (rel='next' and rel='prev' or noindex paginated pages).

13. Site search works and returns results.

14. Internal search excluded from indexing.

15. JavaScript rendering tested (Mobile-Friendly Test, Inspect URL).

16. CSS and JS minified.

17. Images compressed and converted to WebP/AVIF.

18. Server response time under 200ms.

19. CDN configured (Shopify uses Cloudflare by default).

20. Image alt text on all product and content images.

21. URL structure clean (no UTM in canonical, no session IDs).

22. Trailing slash consistency.

23. Lowercase URLs only.

24. No dead internal links.

25. XML sitemap up to date with all live pages.

On-page SEO (25 checks)

26. Title tags unique per page, 50-60 characters, include primary keyword + brand.

27. Meta descriptions unique per page, 150-160 characters, with CTA.

28. H1 on every page, only one H1, includes primary keyword.

29. H2-H6 used correctly for content hierarchy.

30. URL slug includes target keyword.

31. Image alt text descriptive (not 'image1.jpg').

32. First 100 words answer search intent.

33. Word count appropriate for query (info posts: 1500+; products: 300-800).

34. Keyword density natural (no stuffing).

35. LSI keywords and semantically-related terms included.

36. Outbound links to authoritative sources.

37. Internal links to related products/content.

38. CTA on every page.

39. Reading level appropriate for audience.

40. Content originality (no AI-generated boilerplate).

41. Author byline on blog posts.

42. Publication date and last-updated date visible.

43. Comments enabled or disabled consistently.

44. Social share buttons (do not over-implement).

45. Related posts/products module.

46. Breadcrumb navigation.

47. Featured image with proper alt text.

48. Table of contents for long posts.

49. Schema markup specific to page type.

50. No keyword cannibalization (each keyword targeted on one page).

Content & E-E-A-T (25 checks)

51. Author has named profile with bio and credentials.

52. Author profiles linked from articles.

53. Original research or data, not just opinions.

54. Recent updates (within last 12 months) on key pages.

55. Customer reviews on product pages.

56. Trust signals (about page, contact, address, GST number).

57. Privacy policy, terms, refund, shipping pages all present.

58. Founder bio with photo on About page.

59. Real testimonials with names and company.

60. Press mentions and awards displayed if applicable.

61. Active blog with regular posting cadence (2+ posts per month).

62. Topic clusters (hub page + 5-10 supporting articles per topic).

63. Content addresses real user questions (not just SEO bait).

64. Long-form content for competitive queries.

65. FAQ on key conversion pages.

66. Customer-generated content (UGC) reviews displayed.

67. Video content where appropriate.

68. Original images (not stock).

69. Internal expertise demonstrated through specific data and examples.

70. Industry credentials linked (Shopify Partner profile, etc.).

71. Social proof (review count, stars, customer logos).

72. Real contact information (not just a form).

73. Physical address listed.

74. Customer support channels documented.

75. Last-updated date on policy pages.

Schema markup (15 checks)

76. Organization schema sitewide (in head).

77. WebSite schema with site search action.

78. Product schema on PDPs (name, price, availability, brand, rating).

79. AggregateRating schema if you have reviews.

80. BreadcrumbList schema on most pages.

81. Article schema on blog posts.

82. FAQPage schema on FAQ pages.

83. LocalBusiness schema if you have physical locations.

84. Event schema for sales/launches if relevant.

85. Course/Service schema if applicable.

86. Person schema for author profiles.

87. Recipe/HowTo schema for relevant content.

88. Logo and image properties in Organization schema.

89. Social profile sameAs URLs in Organization schema.

90. All schema validates in Google's Rich Results Test.

Backlinks & off-page (10 checks)

91. Domain authority tracked monthly (Ahrefs DR or Moz DA).

92. New backlinks at minimum 3-5 per month.

93. Toxic backlinks disavowed.

94. Brand mentions converted to backlinks.

95. Guest post outreach active.

96. Industry directory listings (Clutch, DesignRush, G2).

97. Local citations consistent if local SEO matters.

98. Press mentions earned.

99. Influencer partnerships drive backlinks.

100. Competitor backlink gap analysis run quarterly.