🔒 SEO Vault

A product URL changed and now returns 404 on Shopify — how to fix it

When a product handle changes, the old URL 404s unless a redirect was created. Google may still send traffic to the old link, so every 404 is lost visitors and a ranking signal you're throwing away.

If you didn't already have a backup, those old values are gone — Shopify keeps no history.

The steps below recover what you can. To make the next time a 1-click undo instead of hours of CSV work: a daily snapshot of every SEO field. Free to monitor, no card — and SEO Vault only reads your store unless you click restore.

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Step by step

  1. Confirm the old and new URLs, then add a 301 redirect (old → new) under Online Store > Navigation > URL Redirects.
  2. If several handles changed, import a redirects CSV instead of doing them one at a time.
  3. Request re-indexing of the new URL in Google Search Console.
  4. Snapshot handles daily so any future handle change is caught before it 404s your indexed pages.

Source: Shopify Help Center: URL redirects; Community 404 threads

Related fixes

Never lose your SEO to an app again

SEO Vault keeps a daily snapshot of every SEO field on your store — meta titles, descriptions, alt-text, tags, handles (products AND collections) — and emails you the moment something changes in bulk, with the likely app responsible. One click restores yesterday's state, just the SEO fields. Free to monitor and get alerted; $14/mo for 1-click restore.

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