Shopify filter collection URLs changed and deindexed: recover faceted vendor/type pages and lost traffic
Shopify shifted how collection filter URLs are built — faceted, vendor, and product-type filters now use a different format — so paths Google had already indexed (legacy tag-paths like /collections/all/nike or old ?constraint= links) suddenly 404, and the long-tail traffic they earned disappears. Shopify keeps no record of which filtered URLs ever existed or were indexed, so once the format flips there's nothing native to roll back to.
Step by step
Get the real list first, before guessing: in Google Search Console open Pages > 'Not found (404)' and the Performance report filtered to the old pattern (e.g. /collections/all/{vendor} or ?constraint=) to see exactly which filtered URLs were indexed and still earning clicks. Export them.
Recreate the path-based ones as 301s under Online Store > Navigation > URL Redirects, mapping each old path to its new filtered equivalent. Honest limit: Shopify redirects match the path only, not query strings — so legacy tag-paths can be redirected, but ?filter.p.vendor= / faceted URLs can't be, and Google has to drop those on its own.
For the filtered pages worth keeping, confirm the new-format URL is crawlable, self-canonical, and linked from your navigation — don't let valuable vendor/type pages get noindexed or orphaned in the switch — then re-submit the survivors for indexing in Search Console.
Going forward, keep a daily snapshot of your collection handles, URL structure and SEO fields — so the next filter-URL format change comes with the exact before-list of paths to redirect, a bulk-change alert in minutes, and a one-click restore instead of weeks of 404-log forensics.
SEO Vault keeps a daily snapshot of every SEO field on your store — meta titles, descriptions, alt-text, tags, handles (products AND collections) — and emails you the moment something changes in bulk, with the likely app responsible. One click restores yesterday's state, just the SEO fields. Free to monitor and get alerted; $14/mo for 1-click restore.