A good SEO title for a Shopify product has roughly 50 to 60 characters and names the product type first, then its key attribute, then the brand. A good meta description has roughly 120 to 155 characters, states plainly what the product is and who it is for, and gives one concrete reason to click. You edit both on the product page in Shopify, in the search engine listing section.
This article gives you the rules, a template, examples from typical small shops and a checklist you can work through product by product.
What the SEO title and meta description are
The SEO title (title tag) is the blue clickable line in Google results. It also appears in the browser tab. The meta description is the short text below it. Shoppers on your store never see them unless they arrive from a search engine.
Keep in mind that Google may rewrite your title and description if they don't match the query or are too generic. The more precisely your text describes the product, the more likely Google uses it. AI assistants such as ChatGPT also read these fields when they evaluate a product page. A title like "Home – My Shop" helps no one.
Where to find the fields in Shopify
- In Shopify admin, open Products and pick a product.
- Scroll to the bottom to the search engine listing section. It shows a preview of how the product might appear in Google.
- Click the edit icon to reveal the page title, meta description and URL handle fields.
- Enter your text. Shopify shows a character count under each field.
- Save.
If you leave the fields empty, Shopify uses the product name as title and the start of the product description as meta description. That's better than nothing, but descriptions often open with something like "Our favourite piece for summer", which says nothing in search.
A note on the URL handle: when you change it on an existing product, Shopify offers to create a redirect from the old URL. Keep that box checked, or old links will break.
Length: characters are a guide, not a rule
Google truncates by pixel width, not by character count. A "W" is wider than an "i". These values work well in practice:
| Field | Guide | If it's too long |
|---|---|---|
| SEO title | 50–60 characters | Google cuts it off with "…". The end (often the brand) disappears. |
| Meta description | 120–155 characters | Gets truncated, often earlier on mobile. |
| Too short (title under 30, description under 70) | avoid | You waste space for attributes people search for. |
Shopify allows up to 70 characters in the title field. Don't fill it just because you can. Put the important part first, then truncation at the end doesn't matter.
How to structure an SEO title
A template that works for most products:
Product type + key attribute (material, size, variant) | Brand
- Product type first. People search for "linen duvet cover 135x200", not for your creative name "Model Helsinki". Put the creative name after.
- One or two attributes, not five. Material, size, colour or audience. Pick what people actually search for.
- Every title only once. If ten products are called "Candle | My Shop", Google can't tell them apart.
- No all caps, no exclamation marks, no keyword lists. "Candle Scented Candle Soy Candle Buy Candles" looks like spam and often gets rewritten.
- Brand at the end, unless your brand is better known than the product.
How to structure a meta description
The meta description isn't a ranking factor in the narrow sense, but it influences whether someone clicks. A proven two-sentence structure:
- What is it? Product, material, dimensions, distinctive feature. Only true facts.
- Why buy here? One concrete benefit: delivery time, handmade, refillable, free shipping above an amount. No empty promises.
Skip phrases like "Discover our wide selection now". It's on a thousand other pages and says nothing about this product.
Examples: before and after
| Shop | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Candles | Title: "Helsinki" Description: empty | Title: "Soy Wax Scented Candle in Glass, 200 g, Cedar | Lichtwerk" Description: "Hand-poured soy wax candle in a reusable glass, 200 g, scented with cedar and vetiver. Burn time approx. 40 hours. Ships in 1–2 business days." |
| Kids' clothing | Title: "Shirt Bio Kids – Shop – Home" | Title: "Kids' Organic Cotton T-Shirt, Sizes 92–140 | Kleinkram" Description: "Soft T-shirt made from GOTS-certified organic cotton for kids, sizes 92 to 140. Sewn in Germany, machine washable at 40 °C." |
| Coffee | Title: "COFFEE!!! BUY NOW" | Title: "Espresso Beans 1 kg, Single Origin Brazil | Röstwerk" Description: "Whole espresso beans from Brazil, gently drum roasted. Notes of chocolate and nut. Freshly roasted, ships within 48 hours." |
The examples only contain facts a shop actually knows. Don't write anything you can't back up, such as "Germany's most sustainable candle".
Many products at once
With 20 products you can do this by hand in an hour. With 300 you need an order:
- Bestsellers first. Start with products that bring or should bring revenue.
- Find empty fields. Export products as CSV (Products → Export). The
SEO TitleandSEO Descriptioncolumns show you immediately where nothing is set. - One template per category. Same pattern for all candles, same pattern for all shirts. Less thinking, more consistent shop.
- Import back or edit in admin. When importing CSV, make sure you only change the columns you intend to. Test with two or three products first.
This is where Heartly comes in: the app shows a visibility score per product for Google Shopping and AI assistants and flags missing or overlong SEO titles and meta descriptions. The "Fix now" assistant (beta, paid plan) drafts text only from the facts in your product data. If the data is too thin, it asks you for two or three facts instead of inventing any. You review every change before it's saved and can undo it for 30 days.
Checklist for each product
- SEO title is set and not identical to another product.
- Title starts with the product type, not a creative name or the shop name.
- Title is around 50–60 characters.
- Meta description is set, around 120–155 characters.
- Description includes material, size or variant and one concrete reason to buy.
- No claims you can't back up.
- URL handle is readable; redirect is active when changed.
FAQ
How long until Google shows my new titles?
It depends on when Google next crawls the page, which can take days or weeks. In Google Search Console you can request reindexing for individual URLs.
Should I change the product name in Shopify or only the SEO title?
The product name appears in your store, on invoices and in the Google Shopping feed. The SEO title only appears in search results. If your product name is just a creative name, it often pays to add the product type there too, so your Google Shopping feed is clearer.
Can I set different SEO titles for variants?
No. Shopify has one SEO title per product, not per variant. Name the shared attribute and mention the range (for example "Sizes 92–140") rather than one variant.
Does a good meta description help with ChatGPT and other AI assistants?
It is one of several sources. AI assistants also use the product description, structured data, GTIN and category. A clear, factual description makes it easier to classify your product correctly. There is no guarantee of a recommendation.
Check your shop now
Run the free visibility check without installing anything and see which products have gaps in titles and descriptions. If you want to close the gaps directly in your store, find Heartly in the Shopify App Store: 14-day free trial, then $19 per month.