Like stated, eCommerce websites often have lots of pages, which requires a lot of time for maintenance and organization, however an error here and there will undoubtedly happen. The best way to be prepared for those is to learn about basic issues with eCommerce websites face concerning SEO.
Duplicate content
This is the number one issue eCommerce sites face. As a matter of first importance, you need to realize that Google hates duplicate content, and this can lead to penalties for your website, which means you may lose ranking. Duplicate content confuses the search engines. They are not able to determine which page is more relevant and which should come first in the search results because they are the same.
They may have a different URL or the title, however if the content on the page is identical, this is an issue for the search engine crawlers. Duplicate content is caused by:
- Using manufacturer’s description as other sellers may do also so the search engines will locate the same content on different websites
- Product varieties
- Duplicating short description comparative for multiple products
The best way to deal with this issue is to create unique content. Content helps with improving pages and increasing traffic, and it additionally provides useful information for the customers. However, it tends to be rather difficult to create the amount of content needed for a large eCommerce website, in which case, there are two more solutions for fixing this issue of duplicate content:
Canonical tag
Another way to solve the problem is by using rel=canonical tag. In this case, you tell the search engines that a copy or a variety of the page does exist, and the search engines know not to treat this page as unique. So even if the pages have comparative or identical content, search engines will in any case realize what to do and how to prioritize them.
Noindex tag
If there are pages with comparable content that cause a duplicate content issue, use noindex tag for a page that does not convey traffic and does not have to appear in the search results. Using this tag, you train the search engines not to index the specific page, and therefore they won’t see the duplicate content.
Content
Content, in general, can be an issue. Besides the duplicate content, there is an issue of “meager content”. Slim content is the circumstance when a page has an insignificant amount of content. One of the main reasons why this issue happens for eCommerce websites is the way that there is a need to create a huge amount of content for rather comparable products, with the comparable features and properties.
This can be quite a challenge. In general, longer content positions better, which is another reason why content on the eCommerce website can be considered meager. Barely anyone will write that much content for each product.
How to fix this problem? Begin by identifying the pages with thin content and then determine how to improve them. You could use a template. Of course, you should focus on stay away from the majority of that duplicate content issue, however you could create a kind of a template to make things easier for you.
- List of the features – It is best to use bullets
- Introduction – Describe the product
- Product description– Describe when to use the product, how, benefits, grant, etc.
Your point should be at any rate 300 words, however whenever there is a chance to make this description more lengthy, you should go for. It is a general rule to create more content for the most important pages.
Pagination
Pagination does not necessarily have to be an issue, but it frequently is for eCommerce websites. When there are a lot of products inside a category, those are sorted using pagination. The number of products appeared each page is for the most part between 20 and 70, even fewer for the mobile version of the pages.
Load more
This option shows a limited number of products with the “Heap more” button. There is no need to click on separate pages, but the products are indicated once the user clicks on the button. This solution reduced the stacking time of the page because the products are not loaded at the same time but rather in segments, as the users click on the button.
Series
Including the tags rel=next and rel=prev is the way to create a series of pages. When you use these tags, the search engine can understand the connection between these pages. You should use noindex tag for every single other page, so the search engine will just index the first.
Scrolling
Looking over is like burden more, but it is infinite. This means a limited number of products is appeared, as the user looks down the page, the content is naturally loaded. This way, the users can’t reach the footer until the majority of the products are loaded.
Picking the type of pagination for your website is based on the type of products you sell, but additionally based on the number of products you have inside each product category. What you need to focus isn’t to draw out the stacking time or affect your SEO.
Site speed
Another issue that can hurt your SEO is site speed. Search engines use site speed as one of the elements that are integrated as a part of their algorithm used to rank websites, which is the reason this element is significant for successful website advancement. The most well-known reasons why the sites load gradually are:
- Large images
- Messy website code
- Slow hosting
Consider these issues as a way to further optimize your website. Even however they may be regular obstacles, there are ways you can solve them to make sure the performance of your website remains unharmed. You should definitely address these issues as ones of high need.
Try not to let anything back you off, and anything that may hurt the user experience should be something you should take a shot at. Most importantly reaching more users is the thing that you should be focused on so as to increase sales and fixing these issues with eCommerce SEO can certainly help you achieve this goal.
