The meta tag I input into my theme.liquid file is not saved! it's preventing me from verifying my store in Google merchant

Technical Q&A
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1

I got this error from Google “The meta tag on your online store is incorrect.” despite setting it up correctly on my theme.liquid file

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image1917×907 84.7 KB

as you can see, I set it up correctly following this guide, but it doesn’t matter, google still shows the error.

So I went to my live site, inspect the website. it shows a different google meta tag in different location from where I put it

<no image since new user cannot add more than 1>

it’s not just different meta tag, even the location is different! The meta tag I just pasted below my line does not appears at all!

Please help! I think this is a bug from Shopify, it does not saves my edits despite me clicking the edit button

2

Sorry, this is the inspect result I got from my live website

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image1910×276 46.4 KB

The tag and the location is different, please this is clearly a bug

3

Hey @delapansmail8store,

You are absolutely right to be confused. This is very common issue with Shopify online sotre 2.0 themes like Dawn, and it’s not a bug in your code. It’s a Quirk in how Shopify handles theme caching and multiple layout source.

Why this happens?

  • Edit the wrong file: Shopify has multiple layout templates — sometimes, the theme you’re editing in the admin (via “Customize”) is using a different layout file than layout/theme.liquid.
  • Shopify Page Caching: Shopify heavily caches theme files, especially layout and Liquid templates. Even after you save changes in theme.liquid, the live site may take a few minutes to update — or might still serve a cached version until you publish.

How to fix it properly?

  • Step 1: Confirm which layout file your theme actually uses

    1. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes → Edit code.

    2. Open config/settings_data.json.

    3. Search for "layout": — this shows which layout file your active theme is using.
      Example:

      "layout": "theme"

      or

      "layout": "theme.alternate"

      → If it’s theme.alternate, that’s the file you need to edit.

  • Step 2: Add your meta tag correctly:

Once you find the right layout file (e.g., theme.alternate.liquid or theme.liquid):

  • Paste your verification meta directly under <head>, e.g.:

    <head>
  <meta name="google-site-verification" content="YOUR_VERIFICATION_CODE" />

    Then Save.

Now do the clear cache and hard refresh of your site via Ctrl + Shift + R key.

If it’s not update then you have to wait max 48hrs. Sometime google takes time to crawel it.
If you need help to implement this then let me know.

Best,

Daniel Smith

4

Shopify has server side cache.
Sometimes the changes you made in your store are not immediately reflected on the storefront, you may need to wait a little.
For example, I now see 2 both of these lines – one you’ve added recently

Screenshot 2025-10-13 at 6.48.57 PM
Screenshot 2025-10-13 at 6.48.57 PM830×180 27.5 KB

and another you’ve shown in your screenshot.
You should remove the wrong one, though it’s possible that Google will be able to see both of them and be Ok with it. Do not remember…

5

Whoa this is nice, thank you so much sir. I’ll try it

6

Oh there’s 2 now? Okay thanks.

I hope I can find the one which wasn’t inputted by me

7

If you’re using the Google & YouTube app (or connected Merchant Center/Google channel):
Shopify typically adds its own verification tag automatically.

  • If you keep your manual tag and the app’s tag, Google may reject with “incorrect meta tag” because the token doesn’t match.

  • Fix: remove your manual <meta name="google-site-verification" …> from theme.liquid and let Shopify’s tag stand alone. Then re-verify in Search Console / Merchant Center.