Avoid These 7 Critical SEO Mistakes in E-commerce Websites

02 Apr, 2024
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Many online retailers mistakenly believe that merely featuring hundreds or even thousands of products on their e-commerce site will automatically attract search engine traffic.

1. Introduction
2. Absence of Product Descriptions
3. Utilizing Manufacturer's Product Descriptions
4. Absence of Product Reviews
5. Duplicate Titles
6. Absence of "Descriptive" URLs
7. Abundance of Repetitive Content
8. The Fundamental Principle of SEO – Prioritize Usability

Introduction

Many online retailers mistakenly believe that merely featuring hundreds or even thousands of products on their e-commerce site will automatically attract search engine traffic.

However, the harsh reality is that optimizing e-commerce websites for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) proves to be more challenging compared to blogs or straightforward 5-page company websites.

The continuous shuffling of numerous product pages on and off the site gives rise to several issues, making SEO particularly challenging for e-commerce websites.

In this discussion, we will explore seven prevalent SEO mistakes often observed in online stores and e-commerce platforms.

Absence of Product Descriptions

In my observation, this mistake is frequently committed by online gift stores and apparel retailers. Sadly, the total absence of a textual product description significantly diminishes the likelihood of the page ranking in the top 10 search engine results, even for low-frequency queries. Therefore, it is crucial to include a comprehensive description in the item card to enhance the chances of your page's visibility.

Consider these boots, seemingly ordinary at first glance. While the image may convey a lot, it's essential to remember that search engines lack the ability to interpret images. Thus, it becomes imperative to supplement the product with a detailed description.

A practical approach to determining the required amount of unique content is by assessing the default word count of an empty product page. Tally up all the words utilized in your navigation, sidebar, footer, and any text featured on a vacant product page. To ensure a more substantial impact of unique content, ensure that your exclusive text surpasses this "default" word count.

Undoubtedly, generating more distinctive content for your product description consistently proves advantageous for your SEO endeavors. Nevertheless, bear in mind the following considerations:

Focus on crafting high-quality descriptive content that aids customers in making informed purchasing decisions.
Avoid copying content from other websites, as search engines may penalize such practices.
Consider testing the optimal word count for descriptions that enhances purchase conversion. Excessive content might have a negative impact.

Utilizing Manufacturer's Product Descriptions

Incurring the risk of being filtered by search engines? Simply incorporate a description directly from the manufacturer. However, be prepared for the consequence of potential banning from search engine results.

The issue lies in the widespread distribution of these descriptions to numerous online stores, with many opting to retain the text in its original form. This results in a proliferation of pages featuring non-unique content and triggers filters from Google. Compounding the mistake, manufacturer descriptions often lack persuasive sales language.

The golden rule in this scenario is to consistently generate unique content. Google's proficiency in penalizing websites for duplicate content and content scraping has been on the rise.

Crafting unique content for a vast array of products or highly diverse inventories can pose a significant challenge. I've faced this situation myself. In such cases, you might want to consider implementing a NO INDEX meta tag on product pages where generating unique content proves impractical.

If you have numerous product pages that either cannot be addressed or will be out of inventory shortly, it's worth contemplating excluding them from search engine indexing.

The key is to avoid having a multitude of pages lacking unique content compared to a few that do. This practice prevents your website from giving the impression that it has automatically generated numerous basic webpages in an attempt to boost SEO traffic. Such an appearance is precisely what you want to avoid.

Maintaining a strong SEO standing is far preferable to letting it suffer due to poorly optimized product pages or a content strategy that gives off a spammy impression.

Absence of Product Reviews

Approximately 70% of shoppers seek product reviews on online stores or forums prior to making a purchase.

Therefore, if your website lacks these reviews, you're overlooking a significant portion of your potential audience.

Additionally, review pages tend to have an easier time reaching the top of search results compared to sales-focused pages.

Amazon.com not only facilitates product purchases but also encourages users to provide reviews for books, gadgets, and more, fostering a vibrant community of enthusiasts sharing their experiences.

The advantages of customer product reviews are noteworthy:

Users generate distinctive content for your online store at no cost. This addresses the challenges associated with lacking unique content and the difficulties in its creation.
Product reviews contribute to the dynamic nature of the product page, potentially attracting search engines more frequently. Regular updates to your site positively impact overall SEO efforts.

Neglecting Optimization Based on Search Demand for Product Pages

Ensure that you take into account the demand and search keywords employed by users when crafting headlines, title pages, and product descriptions. Failing to do so may result in promoting items that lack relevance to actual search queries, a common error among stores with extensive product offerings.

For instance, creating a page with a title tag, H1 heading, and image alt tag optimized for the generic keyword phrase "Floral Pattern Scarf" might be a mistake. A more strategic approach would involve optimizing for a more specific keyword phrase like "Chanel Floral Pattern Scarf."

To enhance the optimization of your product pages, consider the following tips:

Incorporate model numbers in your title tags and H1 headings.
Include brand names in your title tags and H1 headings.
Ensure comprehensive information in your image alt tags.
Avoid excessive repetition of the keyword phrase, known as keyword stuffing.
Refrain from using iframes to display content; ensure that content is directly present on the intended product page.

For additional on-page SEO insights, refer to our article titled "The On-Page SEO Recipe for Peak Inbound Marketing Efficiency."

Duplicate Titles

Another issue commonly encountered in extensive online stores is the presence of duplicated title tags. It is crucial to ensure the uniqueness of these titles and steer clear of using identical values. While this is a fundamental principle of SEO, it appears that many overlook this straightforward rule when it comes to online shopping.

For reference, a title tag can be observed in the source code of a webpage. An illustration of this can be found on the SEOmoz.org homepage:

Creating unique title tags becomes challenging, especially when dealing with multiple items from the same brand or similar items from various brands. The repetition of keywords is inevitable, but it's essential to focus on crafting unique key phrases, acknowledging that search engines recognize this pattern.

A successful formula for creating effective title tags is the "brand-model" approach:

Structure your title tag as follows: Brand – Model – Item Type.

For instance: "Honda Accord Sports Coupe" or "Burton Aftermath Snowboard 2013."

Many online shoppers search for key phrases rather than single keywords. To address concerns about non-unique titles, consider using Ubersuggest for further insights.

Step #1: Input your URL and click "Search."

Step #2: Click “Site Audit” in the Left Sidebar

Step #3: Scroll down to “Top SEO Issues”

Step #4: Click on “8 pages with duplicate

tags” (your number is likely to be different)

Clicking on the page count reveals the URLs that have identical title tags. You can then assess whether it necessitates your consideration.

Absence of "Descriptive" URLs

Abundance of Repetitive Content

Pages for printing, archives with varied sorting criteria, tags, and similar elements leading to duplications should not be indexed by search engines and need to be disallowed in robots.txt. This is crucial as your website may face penalties due to duplicate pages, particularly on extensive platforms like numerous online shopping sites.

This content is present on numerous pages within a fashion online store.

Here are some suggestions for reducing duplicate content:

Utilize robots.txt to block sections that generate duplicate content, such as archives, tags, and, in certain cases, category pages.
Implement the canonical tag to specify which web pages should be indexed. For instance, if your shopping cart generates new URLs due to reviews or comments, indicating more than one page with identical content (except for reviews or comments), the canonical tag guides search engines to prioritize a specific page.
Introduce nofollow attributes to links directing to sections with duplicate content. However, meticulous attention is required to identify and apply nofollow attributes to every relevant link, as Google will detect them.

The Fundamental Principle of SEO – Prioritize Usability

As you're aware, Google is a search engine deeply concerned about user experience. Your foremost objective should be to enhance the convenience and usefulness of your online store for customers, earning Google's respect. What proves beneficial and unique to your clients aligns with what Google values.

The duration visitors spend on your site and their reduced inclination to return to the search results page are strong indicators that Google is directing them to a suitable destination.

Ultimately, users who appreciate your website and its offerings are more inclined to establish links to it – reinforcing the fact that, as mentioned earlier, links play a crucial role in securing a prominent position on the search results page!