Many merchants understand the importance of SEO – they know they need it, but they aren’t always sure how it works or why they have poor rankings. There are some common technical SEO issues that prevent Magento sites from ranking as high as they should and those issues don’t always require an SEO wizard to fix them. Broken links, long load times, and duplicate content should be addressed immediately in order to rank higher on popular search engines.
Listed below are five simple SEO tips to clean up search engine optimization without requiring outside assistance.
Fix and Redirect 3xx, 4xx, and 5xx Error Issues
Eliminate any redirect chains where one URL redirects to another and another and another. It not only wastes server resources but also slows down page load time. Replace all redirect chains with a single rule that redirects from the target URL to the final URL, and ensure all old indexed URLs are redirecting straight to the new page.
It’s also important to note that catalog management processes shouldn’t be contributing to this issue. If redirect chains are a recurring event, the management of products and categories may need some adjustments in order to fix the problem permanently.
Correct Missing or Low-Scoring Metadata
Resolve any missing or duplicate meta content in page titles and meta descriptions. Templates are fine for defaults, such as “Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name,” but uniquely written page titles and meta descriptions can improve click-through-rates. Think of it this way: meta descriptions should explain a solution or answer to a question that users are looking for. Those few sentences should accurately advertise the information to the user in a clear and concise manner.
Repair Broken Links
Broken internal and external links do not bode well for any eCommerce merchant. In addition to creating a very poor user experience, too many 404 pages are indicative of a neglected site. Be sure that all internal and outbound links go to functioning URLs and are linking out to highly respected authority sites to increase the relevancy of the web content.
Optimize Images
Page load times are also an important part of the website ranking algorithm. If people have to wait even a few extra seconds, they may leave. Research proves this causes an increased bounce rate that hurts SEO ranking. One of the best ways to clean up the load time is by optimizing images. Resize and compress images before uploading them to Magento. Also, rename images using hyphens instead of spaces or underscores and keep it relevant to the photo topic.
Address Duplicate Content Issues
High-quality content should be found on every single page. Engagement rate should be as high as the amount of time visitors spend reading content. The more time they spend, the more positively it will impact SEO ranking. Delete any duplicate content and make sure the copy is catered to fit the audience’s needs; this commonly means avoiding overcomplicated jargon and shortening content.
These fixes may be simple, but they have a considerable impact on search engine optimization.
Learn more about search engine optimization and your Magento site by contacting InteractOne today.