How to Fix Broken Links in a Shopify Store: A Complete SEO Guide

Broken links are easy to overlook on a Shopify store. A product gets deleted, a collection URL changes, a blog post is renamed, or an old campaign page is removed—and suddenly a link that once worked sends visitors to a dead page.

These broken URLs can create a frustrating experience for shoppers and may also appear in Google Search Console as "Not found (404)" issues.

The good news is that broken links are usually manageable when you know where to look and how to handle each URL correctly.

In this guide, we'll explain how to find and fix broken links in Shopify, when to use a 301 redirect, when to leave a URL as a 404, and how to use Google Search Console to monitor the results.

What Is a Broken Link?

A broken link is a hyperlink that points to a URL that no longer works or cannot be accessed successfully.

For example, suppose your Shopify store originally had:

/products/wireless-earbuds

You later delete or change the product URL, but an old blog post still links to that address.

When a customer clicks the link, they may see a 404 Not Found page instead of the intended product.

Broken links can occur because of:

• Deleted products
• Deleted collections
• Changed product URLs
• Removed blog posts
• Incorrect links
• Typographical errors
• Old promotional pages
• Links from previous store versions
• Changes made during a website migration
• External websites linking to outdated URLs

Are Broken Links Bad for Shopify SEO?

A few isolated 404 URLs do not automatically mean that your Shopify store has an SEO problem.

The important question is why the URL returns a 404 and whether the URL should still exist.

If a product has permanently been discontinued and there is no suitable replacement, allowing the old URL to return a genuine 404 can be perfectly reasonable.

However, if a valuable product page was moved to a new URL, leaving the old URL broken can unnecessarily lose visitors and disrupt useful signals.

Google recommends mapping old URLs to relevant new URLs during URL changes and using permanent redirects where appropriate. It also advises against redirecting unrelated URLs to a generic homepage because that can create poor user experiences and may be treated as a soft 404.

How to Find Broken Links in Your Shopify Store

There are several ways to identify broken URLs.

1. Check Google Search Console

Google Search Console is one of the most useful places to investigate URLs Google has encountered.

Look for pages reported as Not found (404) and examine the affected URLs.

Don't immediately redirect every URL you find.

Instead, ask:

Does this URL represent content that should still exist?

If yes, investigate why it is returning a 404.

If no, determine whether the URL should remain permanently unavailable.

2. Check Your Internal Links

A URL may be correctly deleted but still linked from somewhere else on your website.

For example:

• An old blog post links to a deleted product.
• A collection links to a discontinued product.
• Your navigation contains an outdated page.
• A promotional banner points to an expired campaign.
• A product recommendation section contains an old URL.

These are internal broken links, and they are worth fixing because customers are actively encountering them on your site.

Google's site-move guidance also recommends updating internal links so they point directly to the current URLs instead of relying on redirects.

3. Review Your Sitemap

Your Shopify sitemap can help you understand which URLs your store is currently presenting to search engines.

If an important page is missing, has changed, or is unexpectedly returning an error, investigate it.

Keep your current URLs consistent across your internal links and sitemap.

How to Fix a Broken Link in Shopify

Once you've identified a broken URL, the correct solution depends on what happened to the original page.

Option 1: Update the Link

If the destination still exists but the link is wrong, simply replace the broken URL with the correct URL.

For example:

Old link:

/products/blue-water-bottle

Correct URL:

/products/large-water-bottle

This is usually the cleanest solution for internal links.

Option 2: Create a 301 Redirect

A 301 redirect is appropriate when an old URL has been permanently replaced by a relevant new URL.

For example:

/products/old-water-bottle

→

/products/large-water-bottle

A relevant permanent redirect helps visitors and search engines reach the new location.

Google's current guidance recommends permanent redirects such as 301 or 308 when URLs have permanently moved.

Shopify provides URL redirect functionality so store owners can send visitors from an old URL to a new destination.

Option 3: Keep the 404

Sometimes the correct solution is not to redirect the URL.

If a page was intentionally deleted and there is no relevant replacement, a genuine 404 can be appropriate.

For example, imagine you sold a limited-edition product that has permanently been discontinued and has no replacement.

Redirecting that URL to an unrelated product may be confusing.

Google specifically notes that deleted content can appropriately return a 404 or 410 response when it has not been replaced.

Option 4: Redirect to a Closely Related Page

If a product has been discontinued but you have a highly similar replacement, redirecting the old product URL to that replacement may make sense.

For example:

Old:
/products/500ml-water-bottle

New:
/products/1l-water-bottle

The important thing is relevance.

Don't redirect every deleted product to your homepage simply to eliminate 404 reports.

Why You Shouldn't Redirect Every 404 to Your Homepage

This is one of the most common mistakes Shopify store owners make.

Suppose you have 50 deleted product URLs.

You could redirect all 50 URLs to:

/

But if the homepage doesn't provide the content visitors expected, the redirect doesn't really solve the underlying problem.

Google's documentation specifically warns against redirecting many old URLs to one irrelevant destination such as the homepage. Such redirects can create a poor user experience and may be treated as soft 404s.

Instead, use this rule:

Relevant replacement = redirect.

No relevant replacement = allow an appropriate 404/410.

Broken Internal Links vs. 404 URLs

These two problems are related but aren't exactly the same.

A 404 URL is a page address that returns a "Not Found" response.

A broken internal link is a link on your website that sends users to a URL that doesn't work.

For example:

Your blog contains:

Shop our latest water bottles

but the link points to a deleted product.

The destination URL may correctly return a 404, but the link on your blog is still something you should update.

Ideally, your internal links should point directly to live, relevant URLs.

How to Fix Broken Links After Changing Shopify URLs

Changing URLs can create a large number of broken links if the old addresses aren't mapped properly.

Before changing a large number of URLs, create a simple URL mapping:

This approach makes URL changes easier to manage.

Google recommends creating a mapping between old and new URLs during URL changes and updating internal links to the new destinations.

What Should You Do After Fixing Broken Links?

Once you've corrected your links or redirects, don't expect Google Search Console to update instantly.

Google needs to recrawl and process the affected URLs.

For important pages, you can use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to check the current status and request reindexing when appropriate. Google notes that re-evaluation and indexing take time.

Continue monitoring your Search Console reports after making changes.

How to Prevent Broken Links in the Future

You can't always prevent every 404, especially if your store has hundreds or thousands of products.

However, you can reduce unnecessary broken links by:

• Updating internal links when changing URLs
• Creating redirects when relevant pages move
• Removing links to discontinued products
• Reviewing old blog posts
• Checking navigation menus regularly
• Reviewing Search Console periodically
• Maintaining a record of important URL changes
• Testing important landing pages after store updates

A simple monthly SEO check can catch many problems before they become bigger issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do 404 errors hurt Shopify SEO?

Not every 404 is harmful. A 404 is often the correct response when a page has genuinely been removed and has no suitable replacement.

The bigger concern is when important pages accidentally return 404s or when your website contains broken internal links that send customers to unavailable pages.

Should I redirect every 404 URL?

No. Only redirect an old URL when there is a relevant replacement.

If the content has permanently disappeared and there is no suitable alternative, allowing the URL to return a proper 404 or 410 can be appropriate.

What is the best redirect for a permanently moved Shopify page?

For a permanently moved page, a 301 redirect is commonly appropriate. Google recommends permanent redirects such as 301 or 308 when a URL has permanently changed.

Why does Google Search Console still show a 404 after I fixed it?

Search Console reports can take time to reflect changes because Google needs to recrawl and process the URL.

After fixing an important URL, you can inspect it in Search Console and request indexing when appropriate.

Can broken links affect the customer experience?

Yes. A customer who clicks a product or collection link and reaches a 404 page may leave your store instead of continuing to shop.

Fixing broken internal links is therefore useful not only for SEO but also for usability and conversions.

Final Thoughts

Broken links are a normal part of managing an evolving Shopify store. Products are discontinued, URLs change, collections are reorganized, and old content gets removed.

The goal isn't to eliminate every 404 reported by Google.

Instead, focus on making sure important pages work, internal links point to valid destinations, and permanently moved content has relevant redirects.

If you also see "Not found (404)" issues in Google Search Console, read our related guide:

[Not Found (404) in Google Search Console: What It Means and How to Fix It]
https://cart-bliss.store/blogs/news/shopify-404-errors-google-search-console