You can still effectively use the AutoPilot feature of the app alongside the custom meta tags you've already written in your Shopify admin. You can rest assured that SEO Optimizer won't overwrite any previously customized page titles or meta descriptions. It does not delete the tags set in Shopify — what AutoPilot actually does is simply create new meta tags and apply them to your pages in place of Shopify's tags, leaving your original Shopify tags intact and securely stored in your Shopify admin. (The only exception is image alt tags, which the app sets permanently but the app won't overwrite your existing ones in Shopify unless you opt for it on the Optimize Images page.

Here are three ways to use your pre-existing custom meta tags from Shopify:

This option is for you if:

If you simply want Shopify to apply the page titles and/or meta descriptions you've customized for all your pages, just head to the AutoPilot page and deactivate AutoPilot for page titles and/or meta descriptions. This way, your custom tags from Shopify will continue to be used.

Select this option if:

To include your Shopify meta titles and meta descriptions in our app's AutoPilot templates, simply add the template variables [shopify_seo_title] or [shopify_seo_description] to your template. For example, if you'd like to add your shop name and "Office Supply" to the end of your Shopify meta titles, you can use the template [shopify_seo_title] - [shop_name] Office Supply.

Choose this option if:

If you've customized meta tags for just a few pages, it's not advisable to disable AutoPilot for those tags because then your regular pages without customized tags will also be affected and won't have their tags set by the app. Unfortunately, there's no way to exclude specific pages from AutoPilot. So, you'll need to enable AutoPilot entirely and then manually copy and paste your custom tags from your Shopify admin into each page's audit in the override settings.

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