The google search console is producing error warnings on my products. I am concerned that this is seriously affecting my rankings. Like many Shopify users I’m not proficient at finding and altering code, that’s why Ichose Shopify.
Please can anyone offer a solution to or causes of this problem, I really hope so.
What specific warnings or errors are you seeing in Google Search Console?
Hi,
the message I get is ‘the URL is on google but it has issues’. There are then 7 warnings referring to missing items such as SKU, rating etc.
You don’t have to supply all the data Google wants, that’s why they’re just warnings and not errors. If you’ve configured all relevant data in the admin (e. g. setting an SKU for each product) and Google still complains about that data missing (after making sure Google has re-checked the URLs, which can take a while), you would have to check if the theme you’re using is generating the correct structured data. If not, there are apps that can add that data to your store, e. g. https://apps.shopify.com/breadcrumbs-schemas or https://apps.shopify.com/products-seo-tags.
See this article for details on structured data: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/structured-data/product
Hi there,
The warnings are regarding your structured data which does not impact rankings for better or worse.
https://www.ilanadavis.com/articles/impact-json-ld-seo-shopify-seo-rankings
You don’t need to alter the code if you’re open to adding an app. So long as the content is in Shopify. For example, you’ll need to enter SKU’s (or MPN) for all products if not already. Here’s more detail on why you may want to add this data if you don’t already have it.
https://www.ilanadavis.com/articles/looking-ahead-structured-data-shopify-seo
If you want to email me at support@ilanadavis.com I can do a free structured data audit for your store to see if JSON-LD for SEO could help. Based on your question, I would guess yes but I wouldn’t know for sure without seeing the site.
There’s a difference between warnings and errors.
Warnings are just that. They are a heads up that you are missing fields Google would like to see but they aren’t required.
Errors mean that there is a major issue with the structured data and Google will not use the information provided.
With structured data, your goal shouldn’t be to remove all of the warnings and errors in the data.
Your goal should be to have as much data that makes sense and follows the data guidelines. That’s how you get and keep Rich Results. That’s what you really want for your store.
Google does a really bad job with explaining the differences between those two and they frequently recommend, as a warning, adding data like the critic ‘review’ field which is harmful to 99.9% of Shopify stores. Unless you regularly review other people’s products in your store, you shouldn’t use the critic review field.
You have to go beyond Google’s warnings and dig into the documentation to understand what should and shouldn’t be added.
The problem is that some apps and developers don’t understand the differences between filling in “all the data” and filling in the “correct data”. They end up breaking Google’s rules and getting Shopify stores in trouble by losing their Rich Results, getting manual penalties, or even being kicked out of the Google results.
Thanks Ilana, and Thomas for your help.
It all makes sense now, or rather, thanks to your comments Ilana, I can make sense of Google’s nonsense! I had thought that the missing fields were irrelevant to my products but google seemed insistent that I added them anyway. I’ll make an attempt to get my little brain round structured data and get back to you if it seizes up.
Thanks again for your help.
Glad you found that useful @PoppyRose . Let me know if you have any questions.
hi i have the same issue , how did you solve the problem ?
can you guide me please.