Are you looking for a way to optimize your e-commerce platform for search engine optimization (SEO)? Have you noticed that some of your efforts don’t seem to be paying off, or even have negative consequences? If so, it’s likely because you’re falling into one of the many traps and mistakes made by digital marketers trying to affect their websites’ search rankings. The good news is that all these pitfalls can be avoided and that there are simple steps you can take right now in order to improve your SEO performance. In this blog post, we’ll take an in-depth look at five specific issues plaguing e-commerce sites—redirects, duplicate content/pages, keyword competition and selection missteps, slow page speed speeds, and poor site navigation—and provide actionable advice on how best to fix them. Let’s get started!
Image source: pexels.com
1. Redirects:
Redirects are an important part of SEO, but they can also disrupt user experience if not managed properly. It is essential to ensure that any redirects you have in place are functioning correctly and do not lead to pages or products that no longer exist. If redirects don’t point to the right destination, or if the destination 404s (page does not exist), Google will mark your site as providing a bad experience for users and penalize you in its rankings. According to an eCommerce SEO Agency – to avoid this issue, regularly check each redirect is working properly through link-checker tools such as screaming frog or brokenlinkcheck.com.
2. Duplicate Content/Pages:
Having many versions of the same page or similar content on your site can have a negative impact on rankings, as it sends a signal to search engines that the content is of low quality and not updated. To prevent this from happening, make sure all versions of each page are canonicalized (linked to one version as the “master page”). This helps ensure that only one version of the page is seen by search engines. Additionally, you should use rel=”canonical” tags in the page’s head section to specify which URL should be used for indexing.
3. Keyword Competition and Selection Missteps:
When selecting keywords for SEO purposes, it’s important to consider how competitive they are. If you try to rank for terms with high competition levels, chances are that you won’t be able to compete with the bigger players. It’s best to select keyword terms that have lower competition levels and are more relevant to your target audience. You should also utilize long-tail keywords (3+ words) as they usually have less competition and can help you target a more specific group of customers. Use keyword research tools such as Google Trends or Ubersuggest to discover what people are searching for in relation to your products or services, so you can make an informed decision.
4. Slow Page Speed:
Page speed is an important factor when it comes to eCommerce SEO rankings, since users expect quick loading times on webpages they visit. If your pages take too long to load, visitors will likely leave before even seeing the content, resulting in a higher bounce rate and consequently lower rankings. To avoid this, use website speed testing tools such as GTmetrix or PageSpeed Insights to test your page speeds and make sure they’re up to par. Additionally, reduce image sizes and other large elements on your pages, enable browser caching and minify HTML/CSS/JS code where possible.
5. Poor Site Navigation:
Good site navigation is essential for usability purposes—if users can’t find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, they’ll likely leave without making a purchase. This can lead to lower rankings due to lack of engagement with the site (e.g., reduced time spent on-site). To ensure good navigation, create categories and subcategories on your website, as well as a search bar for visitors to find products quickly. Also make sure that the navigation bar is prominently displayed at the top of all pages, so visitors can access it easily no matter which page they’re viewing.
Summing Up
By understanding the SEO issues that commonly affect e-commerce sites and following through with the tips listed above, you’ll be able to maximize your SEO performance and drive more organic traffic to your site. With these changes in place, you will likely see improved rankings in no time!