I’m trying to clean up my store’s SEO after reorganizing some collections and products, and I’ve noticed something I can’t quite figure out.
I set up 301 redirects for the old URLs, and everything seems to redirect correctly when I test them. However, Google Search Console still shows some of the old URLs as indexed, and a few continue appearing in search results.
I’m aware that indexing updates can take time, but I’m curious if anyone else has dealt with this and whether there was anything beyond waiting that actually helped. Did requesting reindexing make a noticeable difference, or is this just a matter of letting Google catch up?
I’d be interested to hear how others handled a similar situation.
Reindexing/Recrawling doesn’t hurt… it notifies those bots to check it all out again. Another thing to do is upload a new Sitemap to the Google Search Console.
Might be better to do the Sitemap before requesting the Recrawl
That’s completely normal. Even with properly configured 301 redirects, Google can take several weeks (sometimes a few months) to replace the old URLs in its index. As long as the redirects return a proper 301 status, you’re on the right track. You can speed things up a bit by requesting reindexing for important pages in Google Search Console, updating your sitemap with the new URLs, and making sure your internal links no longer point to the old ones. After that, it’s mostly a matter of letting Google recrawl and update its index.
This is usually normal timing rather than a broken redirect. Google holds old URLs in the index for weeks after a 301 because it only drops them once it recrawls the old URL and actually sees the redirect, and low-traffic pages get recrawled slowly.
Fastest way to check the redirect is registering: run an old URL through the URL Inspection tool in Search Console. If it says “Page with redirect”, you are fine, it is just waiting to fall out of the index. If it still shows the old page as indexed with the old content, then I would look at two things.
First, whether anything still links to those old URLs internally (old menu items, collection links, blog links). Google keeps recrawling what you keep pointing at, so internal links can keep an old URL alive.
Second, whether the redirect is a real 301. Shopify’s built-in URL Redirects are proper 301s, but if any of these were set up through an app or a theme script they can end up as a JS or 302 redirect, which Google treats as temporary and will not consolidate. A quick curl -I on an old URL confirms it returns 301.
Resubmitting the sitemap nudges recrawl but will not force it per URL. Are the ones still showing high-value pages, or just a long tail you can let age out?
I totally understand your frustration. You did the right thing by setting up 301 redirects, but Google moves very slowly when removing old links from search results.
The good news is you do not have to just sit and wait. You can actually speed this up! Go into Google Search Console, paste the old URL into the inspection tool, and click “Request Indexing.” This forces Google to visit the old link right now. When it visits, it will see your 301 redirect and update its search results much faster.
Also, double-check your site to make sure you removed all old links from your menus and blog posts. If Google still finds internal links pointing to your old pages, it will keep them indexed longer.
If you find managing redirects and hunting down old links a headache, I highly recommend trying SearchPie: SEO, Speed & Schema to automatically checks your site for broken links, cleans up your sitemap, and have Google crawl your new pages faster.
Hope this helps, and good luck with the new site structure!
That’s pretty normal. Even if your 301 redirects are set up correctly Google can take a few weeks (sometimes longer) to replace the old URLs in its index.
What has helped me is making sure all internal links point to the new URLs updating the XML sitemap and requesting indexing for the new pages in Search Console. Beyond that its mostly a waiting game while Google recrawls your site.
As long as the redirects are working properly I wouldn’t be too concerned.
I’m Vineet from IdentixWeb, a Shopify Development Agency.
Yes, this is pretty normal after changing Shopify product or collection URLs. Even if the 301 redirects are working correctly, Google can still show the old URLs in Search Console or search results until it recrawls and processes the redirects.
Just make sure all internal links point to the new URL, update your sitemap, and resubmit it in Google Search Console
I wouldn’t use the removal tool unless the old URL is causing a serious issue, because a 301 redirect is usually the right long-term solution. In most cases, it’s just a matter of giving Google time, especially if the old pages had already been indexed for a while.
Dealt with this exact situation. A few things that actually moved the needle:
301s need to be in place for at least 2-3 crawl cycles before Google drops the old URLs from the index. Requesting reindexing via Google Search Console (GSC) URL inspection tool on the new URLs helps signal to Google that these are the canonical pages now - worth doing but don’t expect overnight results.
The faster fix is submitting an updated sitemap through GSC with only your new URLs included. Google prioritises sitemap submissions when recrawling so it accelerates the process.
Also worth checking: are any internal links on your site still pointing to the old URLs? Even with 301s in place, internal links to old URLs slow down the transition because Google sees them as signals that the old URL still has relevance.
Also worth checking if any external sites are still linking to the old URLs. You can’t control those but knowing they exist explains why some old URLs hang around longer than others.
Realistically 4-8 weeks for full transition if your 301s are clean and your sitemap is updated. Some stubborn URLs can take longer especially if they had strong backlink profiles.
Internal links — if your sitemap.xml, nav, or old blog posts still link to the retired URLs, Google keeps recrawling and re-confirming them as live.
Redirect chains — old URL → URL B → URL C instead of one direct hop confuses which canonical wins.
GSC URL Inspection on the specific stale URLs — check what Google recorded as canonical vs. what you intended. A mismatch there is the actual reason it lingers, not crawl speed.
If you need it gone fast, use the Removals tool in GSC for a 6-month temporary hide while the redirect fully propagates.
Reindex requests help, but only after #1-3 are actually clean.
This is normal, and the short answer is that Google is just slow to catch up. As long as your 301s test correctly, you have done the main part right.
A few things that help nudge it along. Make sure the old URLs are not still linked anywhere internally, since Google keeps recrawling pages it finds links to. Confirm the old URLs are not sitting in your sitemap, and that only the new ones are. Then use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console on a couple of the stubborn old URLs and request indexing, which tends to speed up the recrawl noticeably.
After that it is mostly patience. It can take a few weeks for the old URLs to drop and the new ones to settle in.
Thank you all for taking the time to reply and share your suggestions. I really appreciate how welcoming and helpful everyone has been. You’ve given me several things to check, and I’ll work through them one by one. It’s great to be part of a community where people are willing to help. Thanks again!
I think this is quite normal for Google to continue showing the old URLs in search console after a few weeks or even months. While waiting for further accurate observations, you can try a few things, I’m not sure they all help but they’re worth trying anyways
Make sure redirect is a true 301 (not 302)
Check your internal links and make sure your blog posts, collections, menus, breadcrumbs point to the correct new URLs
Update your XML sitemap so it only contains new and correct new URLs
Request indexing new pages in Google Search Console, it cannot bring the immediate effects but it can probably encourage Google to visit new URLs sooner
google can be weirdly stubborn about dropping old URLs even after you do everything right. one thing that helped us was going into search console and manually requesting removal of the specific old URLs that wouldn’t budge, on top of the redirects. the removal tool is temporary (like 6 months) but by then google’s usually caught up.
also worth checking if any internal links on your site still point to the old URLs. google follows those and sometimes treats them as a signal that the old page is still “real” even with the redirect in place. a quick crawl with screaming frog or even just searching your site source for the old slugs can surface those.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet: the URLs you see in Search Console are only a subset of the URLs Google has discovered over your site’s lifetime.
After a major catalog reorganization, the biggest SEO leaks are often old URLs you forgot existed - renamed products from years ago, old collection paths, tag/filter pages, discontinued landing pages, etc.
Most merchants only create redirects for the URLs they know about. The historical ones are easy to miss.
One way to verify this is to rebuild your domain’s historical URL inventory (for example, from the Wayback Machine’s CDX index) and compare it against your live store. Any legacy URL that should redirect but now returns a 404 is worth reviewing.
