SEO Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Many online sellers mistakenly believe that simply adding product listings to their eCommerce website will automatically attract traffic. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Optimizing an eCommerce website is far more complex than optimizing a typical website, and taking shortcuts can lead to serious issues down the line.
Here are five of the most common mistakes made on eCommerce websites—and how to fix them.
This mistake is often seen on clothing and gift item websites with a wide range of individual products. While it might seem tedious, skipping product descriptions can severely limit your page’s chances of appearing in Google’s search rankings.
High-quality, informative product descriptions are essential for SEO. They provide search engines with the context needed to rank your pages and help potential customers understand what they’re purchasing. Though time-consuming, writing unique descriptions is well worth the effort for better visibility and sales.
Copying and pasting manufacturer descriptions is a surefire way to harm your SEO. Many online stores receive pre-written product descriptions from manufacturers, which leads to duplicate content—a major red flag for Google.
Duplicate content can result in lower rankings or even penalization. To avoid this, always write your own unique content. If you have thousands of products and can’t create unique descriptions for all of them, consider adding a “No Index” meta tag to pages where you lack original content.
Did you know that over 70% of online shoppers check reviews before making a purchase? If your eCommerce site lacks product reviews, you’re likely missing out on a significant portion of your audience.
Not only do reviews build trust with potential buyers, but they can also boost your SEO. Review pages tend to rank higher in search results than standard product pages. Encourage customer feedback to generate fresh, user-generated content that benefits your site—and helps lighten your content creation load.
Many online sellers overlook the importance of optimizing their URLs. A common mistake is using long, confusing URLs filled with technical jargon, making it harder for both search engines and customers to find your product pages.
Instead, create clear, descriptive URLs that include relevant keywords. Your URLs should give users and search engines a preview of what they’ll find on the page. Clean, readable URLs improve both your SEO and user experience, making it easier for customers to find—and buy—your products.
Duplicate content is one of Google’s biggest pet peeves, and the search engine has become increasingly strict in penalizing sites that persist in using it. Unfortunately, duplicate content is still one of the most common SEO mistakes made by eCommerce websites.
It’s crucial to create original content for your site—never copy and paste from other websites. Duplicate content can also occur from archives, categories, tags, and other sorting elements that haven’t been properly indexed.
To resolve this issue, you can use a robots.txt file to prevent search engines from indexing duplicate pages or apply canonical tags to tell search engines which version of a page to index. Both methods help maintain your site’s integrity and avoid penalties.
Take Action Today
Optimizing an eCommerce website for SEO is crucial to staying competitive. Avoid these common mistakes, and you’ll be on the right path to attracting more organic traffic and boosting your sales. If you’re unsure where to start, Matrix can help you optimize your website for search engines!
Are you a business owner looking to improve your overall online ecommerce performance? contact the experts here at matrix internet today!.
By Jeff Sheridan
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