Metafields are additional data fields in Shopify. They let you store information Shopify has no standard field for: materials, care instructions, size charts, technical specifications or a second description.
Metafields are not limited to products. They also exist for variants, collections, customers, orders and pages.
How do Shopify metafields work?
You create a metafield under Settings → Custom data and define its name and content type, such as text, number, file or a reference to another product. The field then appears on every product in the admin and can be filled in.
There are two ways to get the values into your theme:
- through dynamic sources in the theme editor, with no code at all
- through Shopify Liquid, for example
{{ product.metafields.custom.material }}
Why do metafields matter for SEO?
Many shops show the same boilerplate copy on every product page. Metafields solve that problem at the root: each product gets its own structured content – and with it more unique text for search engines to evaluate.
There are two more uses. Collection pages can get a second block of copy below the product grid via a metafield. And details such as brand or GTIN can feed straight into the structured data, which improves the chance of rich results. A Shopify SEO agency sets these fields up so they stay easy to maintain day to day.
