When Merges saves a merge, the source products are archived - their URLs stop resolving to live product pages. Without a redirect, traffic from Google results, existing backlinks, and indexed emails hits a 404. Merges prevents that by generating a 301 redirect for each source product, pointing to the new merged product.
Which plans include redirects
Automatic 301 redirects are available on the PRO and UNLIMITED plans.
The BASIC plan does not generate redirects automatically. You can still add them manually in Shopify (see below), but the merge flow will not create them for you.
What gets redirected
For each source product that is merged:
- The product's canonical URL (
/products/<handle>) redirects to the merged product's canonical URL. - Variant-specific URLs (
/products/<handle>?variant=<id>) redirect to the merged product's canonical URL. The variant parameter is not preserved - the customer lands on the merged product and selects a variant via the variant picker. - Collection and filtered URLs containing the old handle redirect appropriately when Shopify's routing resolves them.
Redirects are standard Shopify 301 redirects, stored in Online Store → Navigation → URL redirects in your admin. They behave identically to redirects you create by hand.
SEO implications
Google and other search engines treat 301 redirects as permanent. The SEO value of the original URL - links, ranking history, crawl frequency - transfers to the merged product over the following weeks as crawlers re-index.
A few things to know:
- Ranking may fluctuate for a short period as search engines re-crawl. This is normal for any URL change.
- Backlinks continue to work. External sites linking to the old URL reach the merged product via the redirect.
- Email and ad links continue to resolve. Old marketing assets do not need to be updated immediately, though cleaner destinations improve reporting.
- The merged product inherits no ranking history of its own - it benefits from the redirects, not from starting fresh.
Viewing and editing redirects
Redirects created by Merges are visible in Online Store → Navigation → URL redirects in your Shopify admin. From there you can:
- Confirm each redirect exists and points to the correct target.
- Edit a redirect's target URL - for example, if you later restructure collections.
- Delete a redirect if you want the old URL to 404 intentionally.
Merges does not re-create redirects after you edit or delete them. The admin is the source of truth.
Creating redirects manually on BASIC
If you are on the BASIC plan, add redirects by hand after each merge:
- Open Online Store → Navigation → URL redirects in your Shopify admin.
- Click Create URL redirect.
- In Redirect from, enter the old product path (for example,
/products/plum-sneakers). - In Redirect to, enter the merged product path (for example,
/products/sneakers). - Save.
Repeat for every source product. The archived products' handles are visible on the archived product's admin page.
Redirects and app uninstall
Redirects remain in your store after you uninstall Merges. They are Shopify redirects, not Merges data. If you want to remove them, delete them individually from the URL redirects list.
Troubleshooting
A redirect is missing. Check Online Store → Navigation → URL redirects and search for the source product's handle. If it is not there and you are on PRO or UNLIMITED, email support@merges.io with the merged product URL.
A redirect points to the wrong product. Edit the redirect's target URL in the Shopify admin.
The old URL still 404s for some users. Some browsers and CDNs cache 404 responses aggressively. Have the user clear their cache or open an incognito window. For public pages, purge your CDN if you use one.
I want to keep the old URLs active. Redirects are created because the source products are archived and their URLs no longer serve live product pages. If you need both URLs to remain active, do not merge - or unarchive the source product, which will break the redirect.
Need help
For redirect-specific questions, email support@merges.io with the merged product URL and what you are seeing.