Before you begin
Prepare the correct accounts and property
Use the Shopify store and Search Console property that belong together. The Google account you connect should have sufficient access to the correct property.
You need permission to install apps and approve the requested product access.
Use an account with suitable access to the property representing your live storefront.
Notifications and monitoring can support an indexing workflow, but search engines independently decide whether and when to crawl, index or rank a URL.
Step one
Install Search Index Manager
- Open Search Index Manager in the Shopify App Store.
- Select Install and choose the correct Shopify store.
- Review the requested permissions carefully.
- Approve the installation and open the app from Shopify admin.
Step two
Connect the correct Search Console property
- Open the connection area in the app dashboard.
- Select Connect Google or the equivalent connection control.
- Sign in with the Google account that has access to your storefront property.
- Review and approve the requested permissions.
- Confirm that the connected property represents the live Shopify domain.
Check the account under Search Console settings and users. Confirm that it has sufficient access to the exact property selected in the app, then reconnect and retry.
Step three
Run the initial catalogue sync
- Open the Search Index Manager dashboard.
- Select Force Sync or the current catalogue-sync control.
- Allow the app to load the products included in your plan.
- Wait for the initial checks to finish before interpreting the dashboard totals.
- Review any connection or permission messages shown after the sync.
A sync gives the app a current catalogue view. It does not itself guarantee that every product is indexed.
Step four
Understand the dashboard
Shows whether the relevant account and property are connected or need attention.
Groups URLs according to their current stage in the app workflow.
Provides a high-level view of the products being monitored under the selected plan.
Records checks and notifications so you can review what the app attempted and when.
Treat dashboard statuses as operational signals. When accuracy matters, verify important URLs using the relevant search engine tools.
Step five
Review the priority queue
The queue helps organise product URLs that may still need attention. A higher score is a prompt to investigate, not proof of one particular problem.
Open the live product page and confirm that it loads correctly and contains useful content.
Look for accidental noindex instructions, robots restrictions, redirects and incorrect canonical URLs.
Confirm that the product is internally linked, included in appropriate collections and represented in the sitemap.
Use manual queue controls carefully. Removing a URL from the app queue does not remove it from a search engine index.
Step six
Run supported notifications
- Review the URLs in the queue before starting a manual run.
- Correct obvious crawl, canonical or content problems first.
- Select Run Pulse or the current notification control.
- Allow the app to process supported services and record the result.
- Review the activity history for errors or rejected requests.
IndexNow notifies participating search engines that a URL changed. An accepted request means the notification was received, not that the URL will necessarily be crawled or indexed.
Step seven
Investigate URLs that remain undiscovered
Repeated notifications cannot repair a page that search engines cannot access or do not consider suitable for indexing.
After correcting a genuine problem, allow search engines time to recrawl and reassess the page.
Step eight
Review product FAQs before publishing
- Open the product FAQ or AI-assisted content area.
- Generate suggestions only for products where FAQs would help customers.
- Verify every answer against your real product information, policies and fulfilment terms.
- Edit vague, repetitive or unsupported claims.
- Confirm that any FAQ structured data matches the questions and answers customers can see.
Do not publish FAQ markup for hidden, inaccurate or automatically generated answers that customers cannot read on the product page.
Common questions
Search Index Manager FAQ
Does Search Index Manager guarantee indexing or rankings?
No. The app can send supported notifications, organise URLs and show useful indexing signals, but search engines independently decide whether and when to crawl, index or rank a page.
What does an accepted IndexNow request mean?
It means a participating service received the notification. It does not confirm that the URL has been crawled, indexed or ranked.
Why does a product have a high priority score?
The URL has continued to require attention after previous checks or notifications. Review crawl access, canonicalisation, content quality, sitemap inclusion and internal links.
Why does Search Console show a permission error?
Confirm that the connected Google account has sufficient access to the correct Search Console property. Update the permissions if necessary, reconnect the account and run the sync again.
Does the app add customer-facing storefront JavaScript?
The indexing and monitoring workflow operates through Shopify and external service APIs rather than a customer-facing search widget. Review the app permissions and your storefront after installation as you would with any app.
What is included in the free plan?
The Starter plan currently supports up to 10 monitored products. The Pro plan currently costs $29.99 per month, or $289.99 annually, and supports unlimited monitored products. Check the Shopify App Store for current plan details.
What happens if I uninstall the app?
Scheduled monitoring, queue processing and new notifications stop. Search engines retain control of their own indexes and may recrawl, retain or remove URLs independently.
Ready to organise your indexing workflow?
Monitor product URLs that may need attention
Install Search Index Manager, connect the relevant services and start with up to 10 monitored products on the free plan.