You add meta descriptions in Shopify through the built-in SEO fields on each content type, not in a global settings area. For product pages, open the product editor in your admin, scroll past all the main fields to the 'Search engine listing preview' section near the bottom, and click 'Edit'. The meta description box appears there—keep it under 155 characters to avoid truncation in Google results. Collections work the same way: edit the collection, scroll down, click 'Edit' under the preview, and fill in the description field. Blog posts use a slightly different setup. When editing a post, look for the 'Excerpt' field in the right sidebar or below the content editor depending on your Shopify version. That excerpt doubles as your meta description unless you use a third-party SEO app that separates them. For standalone pages like About or Contact, go to Online Store > Pages in the left menu, click the page name, and you'll find the same 'Search engine listing preview' section at the bottom. Your homepage meta description lives in Online Store > Preferences at the very top field labeled 'Homepage meta description'. This is the one exception where it's not embedded in a page editor. If you're running a headless or custom theme, confirm your theme actually pulls these fields into the HTML—most modern themes do, but heavily customized builds sometimes skip them. At Ottawa SEO, we write meta descriptions for every product and category on client Shopify stores, even though Google rewrites about 60% of them. The ones Google keeps tend to match search intent closely and include a clear value prop in the first 80 characters. Don't just duplicate your H1 or product title—use the space to mention a benefit, price range, or differentiator that doesn't fit naturally in the headline. For stores with 500+ products, we prioritize top 20% revenue drivers first, then template the rest with dynamic fields Shopify offers in some apps.