SEO error Alternate page with proper canonical tag

Topic summary

Main issue: Google Search Console reports large numbers of “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” for Shopify stores, often tens of thousands of URLs. Examples include collection-based product URLs (/collections/…/products/…) and product URLs with tracking/recommendation parameters (e.g., pr_prod_strat, pr_rec_id) or variant parameters.

Likely causes identified:

  • Theme links generating collection-scoped product URLs via product.url | within: collection, creating duplicate paths to the same product.
  • URL parameters appended by product recommendation features (“you may also like”), confirmed by Shopify support as passing recommendation context.

Proposed fixes and guidance:

  • Add a global rel=canonical in theme.liquid so every template points to the clean product URL, avoiding per-page edits.
  • Edit theme/snippets to remove “| within: collection” and link only to product.url to stop creating collection-based duplicates. Reported as an effective, scalable fix across themes (locations vary by theme).
  • Optional: use robots noindex for non-primary duplicates, though the main emphasis is on canonicalization and link hygiene.

Status and open questions:

  • Some users still see high counts after changes, likely pending Google recrawl/reprocessing.
  • Theme-specific file locations (e.g., Dawn/Prestige) vary, causing implementation questions.
  • No final universal resolution; thread remains active with requests for examples and further help.
Summarized with AI on December 29. AI used: gpt-5.

in the prestige theme find product-grid-item.liquid in the “section” folder if you don’t see then check in the “template” folder.