Shopify Multilingual SEO: Languages, Markets and Hreflang
Multilingual SEO on Shopify is mostly handled by Markets: once a language is published and each market has its own subfolder, subdomain or domain, Shopify adds hreflang tags, self-referencing canonical URLs and international sitemaps automatically, and lets search engine crawlers reach every version. What stays with you is the choice of URL structure and the quality of what you translate, including titles, meta descriptions and URL handles.
The behavior below comes from Shopify’s Help Center pages on international SEO with Markets and languages, read on October 23, 2026.
Subfolders, subdomains or domains
| Option | Example | Domain authority | Setup | Shopify’s “best for” |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subfolders | yourstore.com/fr/ |
Shared with the primary domain | Easiest | Most stores |
| Subdomains | fr.yourstore.com |
Independent, starts lower | DNS per subdomain | Clear separation between markets |
| Country domains | yourstore.fr |
Independent, strongest local signal | Separate registration per country | A strong presence in specific countries |
Shopify recommends subfolders for most stores: no extra domains, the easiest setup, and everything the primary domain has earned in search benefits the language versions. Subdomains are treated as separate sites by some search engines and build authority from scratch. Country domains send the strongest local signal and take the most work. All three are options inside one Shopify store; running separate stores per language is a different decision, compared in Shopify multi-store SEO.
What Shopify does automatically
Hreflang tags. When a market has a language and its own domain, subdomain or subfolder, Shopify adds hreflang tags to every page, referencing all versions. With yourstore.com (English, US), /fr/ (French, France) and /de/ (German), each page carries tags such as en-us, fr-fr and de, plus an x-default tag pointing to the primary domain for visitors no other tag matches. The tags update when you add, remove or change markets and languages. They’re generated only for markets with a distinct URL; markets that share one URL have no alternates to point to.
Canonical URLs. Every page gets a canonical URL pointing to itself. yourstore.com/products/shirt and yourstore.com/fr/products/shirt each canonicalize to themselves, and hreflang ties them together, which tells search engines these are related versions for different audiences.
Sitemaps. Sitemaps include all market URLs, with hreflang annotations, and update when you add a market. If you use international domains, each domain has its own sitemap to submit.
Crawler access. If you turn on automatic redirection by country, customers are redirected, but known search engine crawlers are excluded and get the URL they asked for. That way every version can be indexed.
Automatic hreflang tags are on by default. You can turn them off in Online Store > Preferences > Social sharing image and SEO, but Shopify warns that this can hurt SEO and is only for stores that add their own tags through the theme or an app; turning them back on requires removing those custom tags first.
Translate what search engines read
Shopify’s page notes that search engines reward unique, localized content. You can translate with the Translate & Adapt app, manually or with AI translations, by CSV, or with a compatible third-party app. Translate & Adapt also adapts content per market, such as product descriptions or legal text for one region, without changing other markets.
Check these fields in every language:
- Page titles and meta descriptions of products, collections and pages. A French page with an English title shows French searchers an English result.
- URL handles. Check whether your translation method covers them; translated handles give each language a readable URL of its own.
- Product and collection descriptions, written for how people in that market search. Shoppers in Germany may search with English product words, so check what your search data shows before translating every term.
- Image alt text, which is part of what the page says about the image.
Once a language is published, checkout and email notifications appear in the customer’s language as well; review the notification translations for each one.
Check it after every market change
- Open a product page in each language and view the source: one self-referencing canonical, hreflang tags for every language version and an
x-default. - Open
/sitemap.xmland confirm the new market’s URLs are listed. - In Google Search Console, check that the language versions are indexed separately after a few weeks.
- If you use an app or theme code for hreflang, make sure automatic hreflang tags are off, so the page doesn’t carry two sets.
- Search for a translated product name in that country’s Google and see which version shows.
For crawl and index basics beyond languages, see Shopify technical SEO; shipping to the new markets is covered in Shopify international shipping. More guides are in the Shopify SEO hub.
FAQ
Does Shopify add hreflang tags automatically?
Shopify generates hreflang tags automatically for markets that have their own domain, subdomain or subfolder and a language, including an x-default tag. The setting is on by default.
Are subfolders or subdomains better for Shopify SEO? Shopify recommends subfolders for most stores because they share the primary domain’s authority and are the easiest to set up. Subdomains and country domains build their own authority.
Will translated pages count as duplicate content? Each language version has a self-referencing canonical, and hreflang tags connect the versions, which tells search engines they’re related pages for different audiences.
Do search engines get redirected to another language? Known search engine crawlers are excluded from automatic redirection and receive the URL they request, so every language version can be indexed.