Biggest retail SEO mistakes | Organic

Do you scroll past the first page of search results? Research by HubSpot shows that 75% of people don’t. Stats like that are proof that SEO shouldn’t be overlooked. Although, online retailers are aware of that, they don’t always implement ‘good’ SEO practices. With that in mind, we’re exploring the biggest missteps e-commerce businesses make when it comes to their SEO strategies. Which are you guilty of?

Why is SEO important?

This vital marketing tool includes several key components. These elements consist of well-researched and carefully chosen keywords. Quality content is essential across various platforms such as web pages and social media. Additionally, it involves search engine marketing (SEM), which encompasses strategies such as pay-per-click (PPC), native ads, and Google Ads. There’s the importance of backlinking and local SEO to consider.

Implementing an effective SEO strategy increases your digital brand’s visibility, making it easier for potential customers to find you. Visibility and ranking are closely interconnected. The higher your position on a search engine results page (SERP), the more likely users are to notice and click on your website.

A robust SEO game plan also builds the site’s authority and creates a more streamlined and intuitive user experience (UX). While these points may seem obvious, it’s surprising how many digital companies make rookie errors. When that happens, the website pays the price, leading to corresponding impacts on areas like sales and revenue.

Common Retail Business Mistakes?

You’re here to learn about mistakes, categorised as technical slip-ups and higher-level missteps. Let’s explore each and discuss ways to avoid them.

Content and SEO Optimisation

First up is content. Do you have duplicate product descriptions, use standard or poor wording, or have multiple pages for product variations with no difference in the copy? These issues may push your website down the rankings and could lead potential customers to leave your site before making a purchase (if they find it in the first place).

Ensure your content and descriptions are high-quality, helpful, original, and error-free. For peace of mind, there are many plagiarism tools out there that highlight copied content.

Avoid neglecting content quality by overloading pages with images. Ensure your copy is optimised for relevant search queries. Build your retail site’s reputation and authority in your niche by creating surrounding content that shares tips and knowledge based on your website’s products and the keywords users search for. And speaking of keywords, avoid stuffing your copy with them – your customers (and Google) will notice.

Technical Optimisation

Website speed is also crucial; slow page load times cost you hard-earned traffic. Fixes can range from upgrading your hosting and cleaning up redirects to optimising images. If you’d like to test the performance of your web pages, check out GTmetrix’s handy tool or Google’s own Lighthouse tooling on Chrome.

Now let’s talk mobile-friendliness. According to forecasts, retail sales from mobile commerce will surpass £100 billion by 2024, and Google has said they’re looking at most websites in a mobile-first way. With that in mind, not optimising for mobile is a major tech error. Responsive website design is key here, along with performing a site audit, eliminating distractions like pop-ups, and ensuring that CTAs are easily accessible and clickable.

The common mistakes include creating multiple routes to products without considering how to handle duplications and neglecting to review your faceted navigation setup. In-page facets can generate numerous crawlable and indexable page variations, leading to duplicate content issues and consuming a valuable crawl budget.

Finding the right balance between helping shoppers find products quickly and easily and optimizing your e-commerce site is crucial. Factors like setting canonical tags and ensuring that Google only crawls priority pages are essential.

High-level blunders

Taking a broader view, there are several avoidable errors that people make in the realm of retail and SEO, including:

Talking to the wrong people: Spending time explaining issues and going through your SEO strategy with the wrong product owner who isn’t responsible for the area you’re concerned with can be a waste of time.
Assuming fixes will stay live: Solving an SEO-related issue that’s reversed in the next development push without anyone noticing can lead to setbacks.
Discounting up-and-coming keywords: When a new product is released, search volume data may not immediately recognise its importance. Don’t solely rely on search volume; consider additional sources of traffic data.

At an organisational level, companies often make missteps by not prioritising SEO across the board. If your goal is to serve customers effectively and deliver the right content when they need it, SEO should be integrated into every aspect of the company, not just the natural search team.

Achieving this requires a clear vision for SEO, an integrated approach, and regular performance reviews. It’s essential for all employees to understand the importance of SEO, and you should involve SEO thought leaders in discussions about site changes.

If you’re interested in discussing your SEO strategy and how Organic can enhance your visibility, reach out to our team today.