Neglecting Customer Reviews

Stats show that 91% of people will read customer reviews on a website.

What does this mean for you?

Positive reviews improve the trustworthiness and reputation of a business, which can increase click-through rates, website traffic, and ultimately, search engine rankings.

Keep in mind that your Google Business profile merges reviews from different locations, so one bad review elsewhere can impact your total score. So, ask for those reviews. Respond within 48 hours. Give those reviews some love.
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Weak Product Descriptions

You may not be as optimised for your customer’s search terms as you think you are. If you have only a little bit of text, and if you tend to favour your own brand description of your product category (rather than what people generally call it), you may be missing out.

Remember, search engine crawlers sift through your content to determine if your page is relevant for the searcher. So, your word choice matters. Only write quality descriptive content that helps your customers make better purchasing decisions.
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Using Non-Unique Headings

It's important to make your page headings (H1s) unique to target the relevant info your customer might be searching. One effective formula is the "brand-model" H1 recipe, which involves structuring your H1 as follows: Brand - Model - Item Type. For instance, "Nike Air Walkers – Women’s Size 8”

Keep in mind, keyword research goes a long way when it comes to determining what your customers are looking for, and this can influence your H1 recipe.
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Optimising for the Wrong Terms

Don't rely solely on your own assumptions about how people search, or you may end up optimising for terms that no one is actually searching for. To find the right keywords, use a keyword research tool and focus on finding keywords that have high search volume and are easy to rank for, then naturally weave them into your website.

HOT TIP: Don’t be afraid to target harder keywords. If you have enough backlinks and enough domain authority, go for it.
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Poor URL Structure

If your URLs are long, confusing, or contain random strings of characters, search engines may not be able to accurately determine what your pages are about. As long as the product title is well-optimised, that’s a great starting point.
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Excessive Duplicate Content

Similar content across a website can confuse search engines and make it difficult for them to determine which page to rank for a particular search query. This can lead to lower search rankings, decreased organic traffic, and ultimately, fewer sales.

For Shopify, this requires a specific technical fix so reach out to us if you need a hand.

We get it — SEO is tricky. If you need some help or advice, reach out. We’re here to help.