How to Verify Your Shopify Domain with Google Search Console

By Tony Ng.
April 7th, 2025

How to Verify the Correct Domain with Google Search Console for Shopify Users

Introduction

Verifying your domain with Google Search Console is a crucial step for any Shopify store owner looking to optimize their site's visibility and performance in search results. This guide will walk you through the process of verifying the correct domain, addressing common questions and concerns, and ensuring you don't run into duplicate content issues.

Understanding the Problem

Many Shopify users encounter confusion when it comes to verifying their domain with Google Search Console. Specifically, they wonder whether to verify the www or non-www version of their domain, or both. This confusion can lead to incomplete verification, missing out on valuable insights, and potential SEO issues.

Reasons and Causes

The primary cause of this confusion is the redirect setup in Shopify. By default, Shopify sets the non-www version of your domain as the primary domain and redirects the www version to it. However, users often find only the www version verified in Google Search Console, leading to questions about whether they need to verify the non-www version as well.

The Solution

To ensure comprehensive verification and avoid duplicate content issues, follow these steps:

Identify Your Primary Domain: Determine whether your non-www or www version is set as the primary domain in Shopify. This can be found in the Shopify admin under Settings > Domains.
Verify the Domain Property: Instead of verifying just the URL prefix (e.g., www.example.com), verify the domain property (e.g., example.com). This ensures Google Search Console tracks all variations of your domain.
- Go to Google Search Console.
- Click "Add Property".
- Choose "Domain" and enter your root domain (e.g., example.com).
- Google will provide a TXT record to add to your DNS settings.
Add TXT Record to DNS:
- In Shopify, go to Settings > Domains, select your domain, and edit DNS settings to add the TXT record provided by Google.
Verify in Google Search Console: Once the TXT record is added and propagated, return to Google Search Console to complete the verification process.

Avoiding Duplicate Content Issues

As long as one version of your domain redirects to the other, Google will not penalize you for duplicate content. Verifying the domain property ensures you have full control and insights without causing SEO issues.

Summary

Verify your primary domain (non-www or www, depending on your setup) as the domain property in Google Search Console.
Ensure proper redirection is in place to avoid duplicate content issues.
Verifying the domain property gives you comprehensive insights and control over your site's performance in search results.

Optional Q&A

Q: Do I need to verify both the www and non-www versions of my domain? A: No, verifying the domain property (e.g., example.com) is sufficient as long as proper redirection is set up.

Q: Will verifying only one version cause SEO issues? A: As long as one version redirects to the other, Google will not penalize you for duplicates.

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