How to fix seo variant urls in sitemap on PrestaShop

Steps for PrestaShop

1. PrestaShop generates its sitemap via the Google Sitemap module (or a third-party equivalent). Go to Modules → Module Manager → search for 'Google Sitemap' or your installed SEO module → Configure.
2. In the sitemap module configuration, look for a setting related to product attributes, combinations, or variations and ensure these are excluded from the sitemap. Combinations in PrestaShop generate URLs like /product?id_product=1&id_product_attribute=5 — these should be excluded.
3. If no such toggle exists, consider switching to a more capable SEO module (e.g., SEO Expert, Yoast for PrestaShop) that explicitly excludes combination/attribute URLs.
4. Ensure a canonical meta tag pointing to the clean product URL is present on all combination URLs. This can typically be set in your theme's product.tpl file or via an SEO module's canonical settings.
5. Regenerate and redownload the sitemap from the module, upload or point Google Search Console to the new sitemap URL.

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.yourstore.com/products/blue-t-shirt" />

What is seo variant urls in sitemap?

When shoppers choose a color, size, or other option on a product page, many ecommerce platforms generate a new URL with a query parameter — for example, `/products/blue-t-shirt?variant=12345`. These variant URLs display the same product page with slightly different state; they are not separate, standalone pages. An XML sitemap is a file you submit to Google that lists the pages you want indexed. If variant URLs appear in that sitemap alongside the main product URL, you are effectively telling Google that each variant is its own unique page — which it isn't.

Submitting variant URLs in your sitemap wastes Google's crawl budget — the limited time Googlebot spends on your site — on duplicate or near-duplicate content instead of discovering and re-indexing your real product and category pages. It signals to Google that you may have a thin-content or duplicate-content problem, which can suppress your organic rankings. Google may also split ranking signals (links, engagement data) across the variant URLs instead of concentrating them on the single canonical product URL, weakening your page authority. Cleaning this up focuses all SEO value on one authoritative URL per product and keeps your sitemap lean and trustworthy in Google's eyes.

See the complete Seo variant urls in sitemap guide for every platform and the full background.