Your shop keeps a category out of Google until it has at least one real product. An empty category, or one with only theme sample products, tells Google "do not index" and is left out of your sitemap. Add a real product that is shown in the shop and the category joins by itself.
Where to find it
There is nothing to switch on or off. It happens on every category page of your shop. You add products in Admin › Online store › Products › All products (you need the Products & stock feature).
How it works
When a category page opens, the shop looks at the category and every category under it. It counts products that:
- belong to your store;
- are shown in the shop (not hidden);
- are not theme sample products.
If there is none, the page carries a "noindex" tag, so Google leaves it out of search, and your sitemap skips it. Shoppers can still open the page and use it as normal.
As soon as one such product is there, the "noindex" goes and the category's address is in the sitemap again. You do not need to do anything else.
A parent counts its children. If "Panjabi" has no products of its own but its sub-category "Cotton Panjabi" has one, both pages are open to Google.
Example: Rangdhanu Fashion makes "Winter Shawl" in October but adds the shawls in November. In October the page stays out of Google, so Google does not find an empty page. When the first shawl is added, the page goes into the sitemap.
Good to know
- Why this helps: Google judges your whole shop. Empty pages look like low-quality pages, so they are kept out until they are useful.
- Theme samples do not count. A category with only samples stays out until you add your own product.
- Hidden products do not count. A product you hid from the shop does not open the category to Google.
- Google takes its time. After the category opens, Google visits it on its own schedule. You can ask it to look sooner in Google Search Console.
- Write the page text early. The Category page text, SEO title and FAQ are ready when Google comes.
Common problems
- The category has products but is still not on Google. Check that at least one of them is shown in the shop and is not a sample. Then give Google a few days, or ask for indexing in Search Console.
- The category is not in my sitemap. It has no real, shown product yet.