It is a frustration of dealing with duplicate products that create inconsistent URLs and meta titles. When Shopify owners use Shopify’s “Duplicate Product” feature, it automatically appends elements like “-1” or “copy-of” to your URLs and prefixes titles with “Copy of,” creating inconsistencies that can harm your SEO and brand presentation.
Three effective methods to bulk-correct these issues
Without techincal knowledge, store owners can easily get the job done with one of these methods.
Method 1: CSV Export/Import
The CSV method provides true search-and-replace functionality and is ideal when you need to correct many products at once:
- Export Your Products:
- Go to Products → All products
- Click “Export” at the top right
- Select “Current page” (for filtered products) or “All products”
- Choose “Plain CSV file” and export
- Edit the CSV File:
- Open the file in Excel, Google Sheets, or similar
- For URLs: Find the “Handle” column
- For Meta Titles: Find the “SEO Title Tag” column
- Use Find and Replace (CTRL+F or CMD+F) to make bulk corrections
- Import the Updated CSV:
- Return to Shopify admin → Products → All products
- Click “Import” and upload your edited CSV
- Select “Overwrite existing products” to update existing entries
- Confirm the import
Example:
If you have several duplicated t-shirts with inconsistent naming:
- In your CSV file, use Find and Replace to:
- Change handles from “organic-cotton-t-shirt-1” to “organic-cotton-t-shirt-blue”
- Change titles from “Copy of Organic Cotton T-shirt” to “Organic Cotton T-shirt – Blue”
- For variants of the same product, use descriptive suffixes that help with SEO:
- “organic-cotton-t-shirt-small” instead of “organic-cotton-t-shirt-1”
- “organic-cotton-t-shirt-large” instead of “organic-cotton-t-shirt-2”
Method 2: Shopify bulk editor
The built-in bulk editor works well for correcting a smaller number of products:
- Access the Bulk Editor:
- Go to Products → All products
- Use the search function to filter products with common patterns (like “Copy of”)
- Select the products you need to fix
- Click “Edit products” at the top
- Edit URL Handles:
- In the bulk editor, you’ll need to edit each URL handle individually
- Look for the “URL and handle” section for each product
- Replace the handle with your desired format, removing “-1” or similar appendages
- Edit Meta Titles:
- In the same bulk editor, locate the “SEO” section for each product
- Edit the page titles individually, removing “Copy of” prefixes
- Ensure each title is unique and descriptive
- Save Your Changes:
- Review all changes carefully
- Click “Save” to apply all edits at once
Method 3: Third-party app solution
For stores with extensive product catalogs or complex editing requirements, you can use a Shopify app. Search for keywords “bulk product editor” and pick the one you feel trusted. Some of highest rating apps at this moment are: Ablestar Bulk Product Editor, Hextom: Bulk Product Edit, etc.
Important SEO Considerations
Chaning product URL can sometimes cause SEO issue. There are few things Shopify owners should keep in mind:
- Shopify automatically creates 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones
- Always verify redirects are working by checking Online Store → Navigation → URL redirects
- If you’ve changed URLs multiple times, consider adding additional custom redirects
When correcting meta titles:
- Keep titles under 60 characters to prevent truncation in search results
- Include your primary keyword near the beginning
- Ensure each product has a unique title
- Include your brand name where appropriate (e.g., “Blue Cotton T-shirt | YourBrand”)
Final Thoughts
The CSV export/import method is typically the most efficient approach for true bulk editing, especially for larger stores with many products needing correction. For smaller batches, the built-in bulk editor works well, while third-party apps provide advanced functionality for complex needs.
