Table of Contents
First things first, what’s a URL handle (or collection slug)?
URL Handle (or slug) is the bit that shows up the URL for a collection page. Typically, it’ll look like: /collections/{url handle}.
URL Handles and Collection SEO
Where do you set a collection handle on a Shopify store?
- Go to a collection page (or create a new collection page
- Scroll down to the ‘Search engine listing’ and click ‘edit.’
- Update the URL handle listed for that collection
When you update a URL handle, Shopify will offer to set up a redirect for you. You should say ‘yes’ to that prompt.
How much impact does the URL/handle have on your rankings?
A small amount. Not a lot.
The keywords in your domain name (e.g., DoubleYourEcommerce.com, BuyDahliasOnline.com, LakeChamplainChocolates.com) and the keywords in your SEO title and page content all carry much more weight for your SEO than the keywords in an individual page’s URL handle.
These days, URL handles are more an element of user experience that has some impact on a page’s SEO. Google wants you to have:
- Short URLs
- That won’t change
- That mention a keyword
Good URLs are short
Consider these two examples:
- /collections/red-fire-truck-toys/
- /collections/copy-of-red-fire-truck-toys-boys-girls-august-2021/
The first URL is more precise and more accessible for the visitor to read. The second has a bunch of extra stuff in it.
Focus on having short URLs that are just a few words long.
Good URLs don’t change
When a URL changes, Google sees it as a new page.
So if you update a collection from:
/collections/hawaiian-shirts-2022/
to
/collections/hawaiian-shirts-2023/
Google will see it as a brand-new page. That will mean your SEO and rankings for that page will reset and take some time to recover.
Good URLs mention a keyword
It’s worth mentioning a keyword in the collection URL (e.g., /collections/red-trucks/). It helps with SEO and helps your visitors understand what a URL is about.
Don’t go overboard. Just mention a keyword and use a few words. You want your URLs to be short.
What should you do to optimize the URL slugs for your collections on your Shopify store?
Don’t stress. Just focus on having URLs that:
- Are short
- Don’t change
- Mention a keyword
Your URL handle isn’t high-impact. It’s valuable to tune, but it isn’t a significant factor.
Better to worry about writing collection SEO titles, building more internal links, or writing collection descriptions.
Now that you’ve finished reading this chapter on collection SEO, you can:
Read the previous chapter
Internal Linking and Collection SEO
Read the next chapter
Do Meta Descriptions impact SEO?
Or you can jump to one of these reader-favorite chapters:
- Collection SEO Digital Garden Index 🌱
- Collection SEO TL;DR Best Practices Summary 🌟
- Collection Descriptions and SEO (plus examples of Shopify collection descriptions) 💎
If you want help growing your Shopify store, I encourage you to check out my Shopify SEO + Growth services or get in touch and tell me about your store.
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