What is Index Coverage?
Definition
Index coverage refers to how many of your pages are included in Google's search index. Google Search Console's Coverage report shows which pages are indexed, which are excluded and why (noindex, duplicate, redirect), and which have errors. Unindexed pages cannot rank.
Why Index Coverage matters for Shopify stores
Shopify stores commonly see index coverage issues with variant pages, out-of-stock products, and collection pages. Understanding why pages are excluded — and whether that exclusion is intentional — is essential for diagnosing ranking problems and new page discovery delays.
Shopify example
A store launches 50 new products. GSC Coverage shows 30 are indexed within 3 days, but 20 show 'Discovered — currently not indexed'. The delay is due to the pages being new and having no internal links pointing to them yet. Adding them to the navigation resolves discovery.
How Sauron handles Index Coverage
Sauron's GSC integration pulls Coverage report data and surfaces indexation issues alongside your product and collection data — so you can see which SEO pages are and aren't visible to Google.
See Product SEO on Autopilot feature →Common mistakes
- ✕ Assuming a page is indexed because it's live — check GSC Coverage to verify
- ✕ Accidentally noindexing pages via app-injected robots meta tags
- ✕ Not monitoring for 'Crawled — currently not indexed' status (low-quality signal to Google)
- ✕ Ignoring soft 404s that keep pages in a grey zone — technically available but de-prioritised
Related terms
Automate your Shopify SEO
Understanding Index Coverage is step one. Sauron handles the implementation — automatically, for your entire Shopify store.