5 eCommerce SEO Errors That Affect Search Engine Traffic
Chad Faith
Director of Content
How is your eCommerce SEO faring today? It is common for online merchants to just upload hundreds or thousands of products on their online shopping store, thinking that this will help to improve their eCommerce SEO score and attract more search engine traffic. However, that’s just a misconception and error you should not be making. Find out more about the SEO errors you should avoid for your eCommerce site:
Your Website Contains Too Much Duplicate Content
Your website may contain a rich archive of information and but some of these things may create duplicates. You must ensure that these elements are not indexed by search engines. If duplicates are present in your eCommerce website and are not rectified in time, you could increase the risk of getting your site sanctioned. If your online shopping store is huge, make sure you perform periodic checks to eliminate any unnecessary duplicates. Another way is to use robots.txt to block areas that are prone to having duplicate content. Next, use canonical tags to specify which pages you want indexed. That should do the trick.
You are Using Non-Unique Titles
Another major error that eCommerce store owners make include duplicated title tags. You should realize that it is not just about duplicate content but more intricate website elements. Moving on, you should watch for your title tags’ uniqueness and make sure no identical values are present. Okay we agree that it gets increasingly challenging (but not impossible) to create unique title tags when you sell more than one item from the same brand.
You may end up repeating the same keywords over and over again. To save yourself from further headaches, you may want to consider finding the right keywords by surveying your customers; see what language they are using when they discuss about the products you are retailing. Look out for the structure in which they phrase your products while searching for them!
You are Not Implementing Sufficient “Speaking” URLs
No, they don’t actually make sounds but speaking URLs are basically known as keyword friendly urls. For the sake of eCommerce SEO, do remember to create these URLs for all your products. You should also make your profile unique to the search engine with unique URLs. What’s more, it makes it easier for your customers and searchers to know what to expect when they click on a particular URL. You want to avoid using URLs that are filled with gibberish and spammy-looking numbers. If you start using speaking URLs, there is a chance that the URL will get reposted and picked up by another website.
You Didn’t Optimize Product Pages Based on their Search Demand
When you write product descriptions, title pages and headlines, make sure that you consider the demand and search keywords that searchers are actually typing into the search engines. It is a pretty common mistake for people to end up promoting products that no one is looking for. With that in mind, below are some tips on how you can optimize your product pages:
- Avoid repeating keyword phrases in a page excessively
- Remember to fill out your image alt tag information
- Always make it a point to use H1 headings
- Use brand names and model numbers in your title tags
There’s a Lack of Product Reviews
More than 60% of online buyers are looking for trustworthy product reviews on forums, online stores, etc., before making a purchase. If you do not fulfill this need, you risk missing out on a very large percentage of your targeted audience. Websites with review pages tend to rank higher in search engine results pages. In any case, you want to keep your product pages alive to attract as well as bring the traffic back more often. So, put in the extra effort as it is beneficial for your overall SEO efforts!