Is your store indexable? Noindex tags, canonical URLs and how to check them
A noindex tag or a wrong canonical URL can hide pages from Google. Check that key store pages can be indexed and point to the right canonical address.
2 min read
Area
Store discovery
Severity
High
Fix effort
Small
Stores failing
2%
Of 180 stores we scanned where this check applies, 2% fail it and 88% pass. See all benchmarks.
Indexability means search engines are allowed to put a page in their results. A stray noindex tag, a blocked path or a canonical URL that points elsewhere can remove a page from search without any visible sign. This check confirms that your key pages can be indexed and declare a canonical address.
Why it matters
Organic search is a free source of buyers, and none of it works for pages Google is told to ignore. The error usually sneaks in during a redesign: a developer adds noindex to a staging copy and the setting travels to production.
A canonical tag that points to the wrong page quietly merges your product with something else and its traffic follows.
What the audit looks at
The audit checks that your key pages can be indexed by search engines and point to the right canonical address.
What usually causes it
- A noindex tag left over from staging or a store-wide "discourage search engines" setting
- A canonical tag that points to the home page for every product
- A robots.txt rule that blocks the whole store or key folders
- Pages that depend on scripts to show content, so crawlers see an empty shell
How to fix it
Let search engines index the pages you want found. The effort is small, usually a setting or a paste and under 30 minutes.
- Check for a noindex meta tag left over from development -- this is the usual cause, and it makes the store invisible in search.
- Check robots.txt is not disallowing the whole site.
- Submit a sitemap in Google Search Console and watch the coverage report.
On Shopify
- If the store is password-protected, search engines cannot see it. Online Store > Preferences to remove the password when you launch.
On WooCommerce
- Settings > Reading: uncheck "Discourage search engines from indexing this site". It is off in a fresh install, but staging tools and developers switch it on and it is routinely left on at launch.
How to check it yourself
- View the page source and search for "noindex" and for rel="canonical".
- In Google Search Console, use URL Inspection on a product page and read the indexing verdict.
- Check the Pages report for "Excluded by noindex tag" and "Duplicate, Google chose different canonical".
Frequently asked questions
What is a canonical URL?
It is the address you tell search engines is the main version of a page. When the same page can load at several addresses, the canonical tells Google which one to list.
Does the audit see headers as well as tags?
It reads the page meta tags. A noindex sent as an HTTP header is harder to see, so confirm in Search Console if a page is mysteriously missing.
Related checks
Check your own store
See whether your store passes this check
Paste your store URL. The audit loads your pages in a real browser and shows the result for this check with the evidence behind it.