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Common eCommerce SEO Mistakes You Need To Avoid

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We all make mistakes. Some mistakes can bring significant misfortunes. Some turn out to be inconsequential that act as learning experiences. From an SEO perspective, many such mistakes that bring significant misfortunes exist. Interestingly, some eCommerce SEO mistakes do not appear as mistakes until you feel their impacts. 

Below, I have gathered a list of critical SEO mistakes that could harm your eCommerce business and push you down to the bottom of the search engine results pages.

Ecommerce SEO Mistakes You Need To Avoid

Using HTTP Instead of HTTPS

One of SEO mistakes you need to avoid is the aspects of HTTP/HTTPS and SSL certificates go hand in hand. After all, it is the SSL certificate that makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS. 

SSL certificates are primarily meant for security, which they offer through encryption. On the 6th of August, 2014, Google made an announcement that would revolutionize the course of SEO. HTTPS would be used as one of the critical ranking factors. See the copy of the announcement in the screenshot below.

https as a ranking signal
Source: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2014/08/https-as-ranking-signal 

The bold step Google undertook had a significant implication for webmasters. In other words, Google was telling website owners “install SSL certificate or drop in rank.” Most eCommerce stores have since integrated SSL certificates and have seen the fruits through increased visibility in search engines. 

However, some still make the mistake of sticking to HTTP or failing to renew SSL certificates upon expiration. The consequence is that their websites become relegated to the bottom SERPs. 

If you have not done it, you should buy an SSL certificate for your eCommerce store. SSL certificate prices vary depending on various factors, such as the number of domains and subdomains they secure, the validation level, and the availability of a warranty, among many other factors. But you do not have to spend much of it on the ranking you are after. A low priced or cheap SSL certificate will do the task for you. Many resellers offer lowest price on SSL certificates.

Failing to Optimize the Website For mobile

Mobile compatibility and responsiveness are crucial components of the Google search algorithm. In September 2020, Google switched over to mobile-first indexing. The move implied that the search engine would first index the mobile versions of websites. eCommerce store owners who would wish to improve their SEO ranking should take the aspect of mobile compatibility with the seriousness it deserves. 

According to a study conducted by Brilliance, shopping cart abandonment rates on mobile and desktop stand at 80% and 73%, respectively. One would wonder why such a colossal difference exists. 

The simple answer is that most people still approach eCommerce web development from a desktop-first perspective instead of a mobile-first approach. In the end, their SEO ranking becomes jeopardized. eCommerce merchants should avoid such mistakes by making their websites mobile-friendly.

Poor URL Structure

One of the most common ecommerce SEO mistakes is poor URL structure. Ecommerce store merchants often forget that they need to “speak URL” by incorporating keywords in the URLs. Again, some eCommerce stores tend to have product URLs with IDs as their identifiers. 

The best idea is to have a URL with the full product name included so that the URLs for individual products stand out.  

Another SEO mistake eCommerce store owners make is that they make inflexible URLs. It is essential to think long-term and make it easy to change the URLs if need be. 

Keyword Stuffing

Inexperienced eCommerce store owners tend to create pages stuffed with keywords. Look at this example.

Robot vacuum cleaners for sale!

Are you looking for robot vacuum cleaners? No problem! We have stocked the best robot vacuum cleaners than any other store online. With our robot vacuum cleaners, you will wonder how you have lived without them. Check out various robot vacuum cleaners below, and contact us to get one for yourself. Have a pleasant cleaning experience with our robot vacuum cleaners. 

From a search engine’s perspective, the description above is deemed spammy since the focus keyword frequently appears without much meat to the content. Google considers such instances as keyword stuffing, and this ends up hurting your SEO. This strategy of keyword stuffing might have worked between the 2000s and early 2010s, but not today. The Google algorithm is too advanced to fall prey to such petty tricks. 

Plus, from a simple human perspective, who would read such a description and be impressed anyway? 

The best strategy for eCommerce stores is to use keywords sparingly. Keyword practices such as incorporating them in your titles and meta descriptions would work best for you. 

Slow Site Loading Speeds

The speed of your eCommerce is one of the critical factors that determine your SEO success. It is common knowledge that people want to buy products, acquire information, and be gone. In a nutshell, an average internet user is impatient. 

If your customers find that your eCommerce is taking too long to load, they will exit and look to shop elsewhere. According to an article by Portent, the first five seconds have the highest conversion rates. In other words, the bounce rates increase as the loading speeds of a website reduce. 

Search engines support the notion of website loading speeds. In fact, Google recommends that no website should take more than three seconds to load. Websites that load faster will rank faster than those with slow loading speeds. Your eCommerce store is losing out on visibility if it takes too long to load. You can check this page to learn more about boosting your page loading speeds. 

Content Duplication

Content duplication has long been recognized as a devastating SEO mistake most eCommerce store owners make. Content duplication is largely a major problem since most marketers prefer copying product descriptions from sites such as Amazon, eBay, and Aliexpress and pasting them on their sites. 

It is important to understand that search engines usually index content once it is published. In case of duplication, the content will be flagged as duplicate, negatively affecting your search engine optimization. Instead of copying content from other sites, writing original content would be a great idea. You can hire an expert content creator to help you out. 

In Summary

The right SEO strategies could be the engine that drives your eCommerce store to international recognition. However, most eCommerce store owners tend to make mistakes that hurt their visibility in search engines. 

Mistakes such as poor website speed, content duplication, lack of HTTPS, and mobile incompatibility, are but a few examples that could hinder your success. You must know the best strategies to prevent such mistakes and stick to the right SEO practices.


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