Ecommerce SEO Audit Practices and Audit Tools for 2023: Your Ultimate Checklist

Did you know that, according to recent data, over 50% of web traffic comes from organic searches? This emphasizes the importance of SEO in 2023. The answer to standing out lies in mastering the art and science of SEO audits.

What are SEO Audits and How Do They Work?

Think of an SEO audit like having an old car that you love. Its timeless appeal is clear, but to truly enjoy it, regular check-ups are a must, right? In the online world, an SEO audit does the same thing for your website.

SEO audit is more than a check-up; it’s about guaranteeing top performance in the ever-changing search engine landscape, especially with big players like Google.

At its core, an SEO audit deeply examines your website, carefully designed to find areas for improvement and optimization chances. It’s not just about spotting problems; it’s about planning for the future.

So, why are SEO audits more than just another task? Imagine this: An SEO audit acts as a translator between your website and search engines. It tunes into the frequencies of search engine algorithms, adapting your site to be the perfect partner for their ever-changing preferences.

But there’s more. An SEO audit is like a personal trainer for your website, ensuring it offers an outstanding user experience. Think about those times when a slow website frustrated you – that’s what happens when optimization is ignored. An SEO audit prevents such pitfalls.

Now, let’s talk about the real benefits of SEO audits:

Better Visibility: Stand out in the crowded digital market by aligning with search engine preferences.
More Traffic: Attract a larger audience by ranking high on search engine results pages.
Improved Conversions: Turn visitors into loyal customers with a seamless and engaging user experience.
Technical Excellence: Identify and fix issues like broken links, ensuring a solid website foundation.
Content Optimization: Make sure your content appeals to your audience and search engines.
Mobile-Friendly: With the world going mobile, ensure your site works well on all devices.
Backlink Health: Evaluate the quality of your backlinks, adding value and authority to your site.
User Engagement: Dig into metrics like bounce rate and session duration to enhance engagement.
Future-Proofing: Stay ahead by spotting trends and shifts in search engine algorithms.
Boosted ROI: Optimize your site in every way for a noticeable increase in your return on investment.

Key Aspects of Ecommerce Websites That Need Auditing

1. Technical Brilliance

This refers to the foundational strength and integrity of a website. It encompasses the site’s architecture, its responsiveness, and its ability to provide a seamless experience without any glitches or errors.

Robust Site Architecture: A well-structured website that ensures easy navigation and user-friendliness.
Absence of Broken Links: Ensuring all internal and external links are functional and lead to the intended destinations.
Error-free Experience: No crawl errors, 404 errors, or other technical glitches that can hinder user experience.
Mobile Responsiveness: The site should be optimized for mobile devices, ensuring a consistent experience across all platforms.
Clean XML Sitemap: A clear roadmap for search engines to understand and index the website’s content.

In the fast-paced digital world, ensuring your website’s Technical Brilliance is not a one-time task but an ongoing commitment. Regular SEO audits ensure that the site remains updated, free from errors, and aligned with the latest SEO best practices.

Moreover, as user expectations evolve and search engine algorithms become more sophisticated, maintaining technical excellence becomes paramount to stay ahead of the competition.

Tips for Auditing Technical Brilliance of an Ecommerce Website

Utilize Tools: Leverage tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console to identify and rectify technical issues.
Regularly Check for Broken Links: Use link-checking tools to ensure all links are functional.
Test Mobile Responsiveness: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to ensure your site performs well on mobile devices.
Review Site Architecture: Ensure that the site hierarchy is logical, with important pages easily accessible.
Optimize Load Times: Utilize speed test tools to identify factors slowing down your site and address them.
Update XML Sitemap: Regularly update your sitemap, especially after adding new pages or content.
Monitor Error Pages: Set up alerts to be notified of any increase in 404 errors or other technical issues.

2. Content Quality

This gauges how well your website’s content connects with your audience and meets their requirements.

It’s not only about creating content; it’s about forming pieces that are new, pertinent, and precisely matched with what your audience wants.

Relevance: Content must relate to what the audience wants and cares about.
Freshness: Regularly updated content that reflects current trends and information.
Engagement: The ability of the content to captivate the audience, encouraging them to stay and interact.
Originality: Unique content that offers a fresh perspective and isn’t duplicated elsewhere.
User Intent Fulfillment: Content that effectively answers users’ queries and provides solutions to their problems.

Regular SEO audits of content quality ensure that you remain a trusted and authoritative source in your niche.

As user preferences evolve and the digital landscape shifts, it’s crucial to ensure that your content remains top-tier, offering value and relevance consistently.

Tips for Auditing Content Quality of an Ecommerce Website

Use Analytics: Dive into metrics like bounce rate and average session duration to gauge content engagement.
Check for Duplication: Utilize tools to ensure your content is original and not duplicated across the web.
Survey Your Audience: Periodically gather feedback from your users about the content’s relevance and usefulness.
Stay Updated with Trends: Ensure your content reflects current industry trends and updates.
Competitor Analysis: Regularly review competitors’ content to identify gaps in your own content and opportunities for improvement.
Optimize for Search Intent: Review the keywords your content targets and ensure they align with user intent.
Incorporate Multimedia: Enhance content quality by integrating relevant images, videos, and infographics to provide a richer user experience.

3. On-Page SEO

On-Page SEO refers to the array of strategies and techniques applied directly within a website to enhance its position in search rankings.

It encompasses everything from the content you craft to the meta tags and URL structures, ensuring every element is optimized for search engines and users alike.

Title Tags: These are crucial as they provide a brief overview of the page’s content and are prominently displayed in search results.
Meta Descriptions: A succinct summary of the page’s content, enticing users to click on your link in the search results.
URL Structures: Clean and descriptive URLs that are easy to read, both for search engines and users.
Keyword Optimization: Ensuring content includes relevant keywords in a natural and meaningful manner.
Internal Linking: Strategically linking to other relevant pages within your site to distribute page authority and guide users.

In the ever-evolving world of SEO, on-page factors remain a cornerstone of a website’s visibility in search results. Regularly auditing your on-page SEO ensures that your site remains aligned with the latest search engine algorithms and best practices.

Moreover, as user search behaviors and preferences shift, it’s imperative to ensure your on-page elements resonate, engage, and provide value.

Tips for Auditing On-Page SEO of an Ecommerce Website

Stay Updated with Algorithm Changes: Search engines frequently update their algorithms. Ensure your on-page strategies align with these changes.
Use SEO Audit Tools: Tools like SEMrush or Moz can provide comprehensive on-page SEO analysis.
Review Keyword Relevance: Regularly check if the keywords you’re targeting still resonate with user intent and search trends.
Optimize Multimedia Elements: Ensure images have relevant alt tags and videos have optimized descriptions and titles.
Check for Content Duplication: Ensure that content isn’t repetitively used across multiple pages, diluting its impact.
Analyze Click-Through Rates: Review the effectiveness of your title tags and meta descriptions in enticing users to click.
Ensure Mobile Optimization: With mobile searches dominating, ensure all on-page elements are optimized for mobile viewing.

4. Off-Page SEO

This encompasses all the optimization efforts made outside of your website to improve its visibility and authority in the digital landscape.

While on-page SEO focuses on content and elements within your site, off-page SEO is all about building strong relationships and credibility through external sources.

Backlink Profile: The collection of inbound links to your website from external sources.
Domain Authority: A metric that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages.
Social Signals: Interactions on social media platforms, such as likes, shares, and comments, that can influence SEO.
Guest Blogging: Writing content for other websites to earn quality backlinks and enhance brand visibility.
Brand Mentions: Instances where your brand or website is mentioned on other websites, forums, or social platforms.

Your website’s reputation isn’t just built on what you present but also on how others perceive and vouch for you. Regularly auditing your off-page SEO ensures that your website maintains a strong, positive presence in the broader digital ecosystem.

As search engines evolve, they place increasing emphasis on the trustworthiness and authority of a site, making off-page SEO a critical component of your overall digital strategy.

Tips for Auditing Off-Page SEO of an Ecommerce Website

Leverage Backlink Analysis Tools: Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to get a comprehensive view of your backlink profile.
Prioritize Quality Over Quantity: Focus on earning high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources rather than accumulating numerous low-quality links.
Engage in Genuine Networking: Build relationships with industry influencers and reputable websites for organic link-building opportunities.
Monitor Brand Mentions: Use tools to track where and how your brand is being discussed online.
Stay Active on Social Media: Regularly post and engage on social platforms to boost social signals.
Avoid Black Hat Techniques: Steer clear of practices like link buying, which can harm your SEO in the long run.
Regularly Update Content: Fresh, engaging content can attract natural backlinks and brand mentions.

5. Mobile Optimization

This involves making sure that people who visit your website from mobile devices have a good experience tailored to their device. In a time ruled by smartphones and tablets, it’s about ensuring your site appears, feels, and works well on different screen sizes.

Responsive Design: A design approach where your website’s layout adjusts according to the device’s screen size.
Fast Load Times: Ensuring that your mobile site loads quickly to retain user attention.
Touchscreen Readiness: Making sure interactive elements are easily usable on touch devices.
Mobile-Friendly Navigation: A simplified and intuitive menu structure for easy navigation on smaller screens.
Optimized Media: Images and videos that are compressed and scaled appropriately for mobile viewing.

Regular SEO audits of your mobile optimization strategies ensure that you’re offering a top-tier experience to this vast user base. As search engines like Google prioritize mobile-friendly sites in their rankings, neglecting this aspect can significantly impact your visibility and user engagement.

Tips for Auditing Mobile Optimization of an Ecommerce Website

Utilize Testing Tools: Leverage tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to get insights into your site’s mobile performance.
Monitor Page Speed: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to ensure your mobile site loads swiftly.
Check Interactive Elements: Ensure buttons, forms, and other interactive elements are easily clickable and functional on mobile devices.
Avoid Flash: Many mobile devices don’t support Flash. Use modern alternatives like HTML5 for animations and interactive content.
Prioritize Content Visibility: Ensure that key content isn’t hidden by pop-ups or ads on mobile screens.
Implement Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP): AMP can make your pages load faster on mobile devices, enhancing user experience.
Regularly Update: As mobile devices and operating systems evolve, regularly update your mobile optimization strategies to stay ahead of the curve.

6. User Experience (UX)

This is the overall experience a visitor has when interacting with a website, encompassing its usability, accessibility, and overall feel. It’s the bridge between users and the digital world, determining how effortlessly they can navigate, find information, and complete actions on a site.

Intuitive Design: A logical and straightforward layout that users can navigate without confusion.
Accessibility: Ensuring the website is usable for all users, including those with disabilities.
Page Load Speed: The speed at which content becomes available to users, directly influencing their patience and engagement.
Interactive Elements: Features like buttons, forms, and sliders that function smoothly and enhance user interaction.
Presenting Content: How information is organized, shown, and made easy to understand for users.

A stellar UX can be the deciding factor that keeps them on your site instead of moving to a competitor. Regularly auditing and refining the user experience ensures that you’re not only meeting but exceeding user expectations, leading to increased trust, longer site visits, and higher conversion rates.

Tips for Auditing User Experience (UX) of an Ecommerce Website

Gather User Feedback: Use surveys or feedback forms to understand user pain points and areas of improvement.
Analyze Bounce Rates: High bounce rates can indicate UX issues. Dive deep to identify the underlying causes.
Conduct A/B Testing: Test different layouts or features to determine which provides the best user experience.
Ensure Consistency: Maintain a consistent design, color scheme, and font across all pages for a cohesive feel.
Optimize for Different Devices: Ensure the UX is consistent and optimized across desktops, tablets, and mobiles.
Check for Broken Elements: Regularly test interactive elements to ensure they’re functioning as intended.
Stay Updated with UX Trends: The digital landscape evolves rapidly. Stay updated with the latest UX trends and best practices to offer a modern and engaging experience.

7. Site Speed

This is how quickly the content on a webpage appears. In a time of immediate satisfaction, how fast your site loads can determine if users stick around or go elsewhere.

First Contentful Paint (FCP): The time it takes for the first piece of content to appear on the screen.
Time to Interactive (TTI): The time it takes for a page to become fully interactive for the user.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures the loading performance, marking the point when the page’s main content has loaded.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Quantifies how often users experience unexpected layout shifts—a crucial metric for user experience.
Server Response Time: The time it takes for the server to respond to a browser request.

In the digital realm, every second counts. A delay in page load can significantly impact user satisfaction, bounce rates, and overall conversions.

Tips for Auditing Site Speed of an Ecommerce Website

Leverage Speed Testing Tools: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to get a comprehensive view of your site’s speed.
Optimize Images: Compress and scale images appropriately to ensure they don’t bog down load times.
Minimize HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of elements (like scripts, images, and CSS) that need to load.
Enable Browser Caching: Store cached versions of static resources, speeding up load times for returning visitors.
Reduce Server Response Time: Consider upgrading hosting solutions or optimizing the server for quicker responses.
Minimize and Combine Files: Reduce the number of JavaScript and CSS files, and combine them where possible.
Implement Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): Distribute the load, saving bandwidth and speeding up access for users across the globe.

8. SSL Certification

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certification is a security protocol that ensures data transmitted between a web server and a browser remains encrypted and secure.

It’s the digital badge of trust, signifying that any information exchanged on the site, from personal details to payment information, is protected from potential cyber threats.

Data Encryption: Ensures that data transmitted between users and the website is encrypted, safeguarding it from potential eavesdroppers.
Authentication: Confirms the website’s identity, making sure users engage with the real site and not a harmful copy.
Data Integrity: Ensures that the information sent or received remains unchanged during transmission.
Secure Padlock Icon: A visual indicator in the browser’s address bar that signifies a secure connection.
Improved Search Engine Ranking: Search engines, particularly Google, favor websites with SSL certificates when determining their rankings.

Keeping an eye on your SSL certification helps your website stay secure and trustworthy. This shields user data and boosts your site’s reputation, building user confidence, reducing bounces, and lifting your search engine standings.

Tips for Auditing SSL Certification of an Ecommerce Website

Regularly Renew SSL: Certificates have expiration dates. Ensure timely renewals to maintain continuous site security.
Choose a Reputable Certificate Authority (CA): Opt for well-known and trusted CAs to issue your SSL certificate.
Implement the Strongest Encryption Available: Opt for a minimum of 2048-bit encryption for the best security.
Check for Mixed Content: Ensure that all elements of your site (images, scripts, etc.) are loaded over HTTPS to avoid mixed content warnings.
Use SSL Server Test Tools: Tools like Qualys SSL Labs can provide a comprehensive analysis of your SSL configuration.
Stay Updated with SSL Protocols: As technology evolves, so do potential threats. Stay updated with the latest SSL protocols.
Educate Your Team: Ensure that everyone involved in your website’s management understands the importance of SSL and follows best practices.

9. Structured Data

This is a type of code added to web pages to provide search engines with deeper insights about the content’s context. It’s like giving search engines a clearer roadmap of your site, enabling them to present information more attractively in search results.

Rich Snippets: Enhanced search results that display additional information, like ratings, images, or prices.
Breadcrumbs: Hierarchical navigation elements that help users understand their location within a site.
Knowledge Graphs: Information boxes in Google that provide quick answers or overviews about a query.
Search Boxes: Allows for site-specific search directly from the SERPs.
Event Listings: Display specific event details, such as dates and locations, directly in search results.

Structured data acts as a catalyst, amplifying your visibility in the crowded digital landscape.

Regularly auditing your structured data ensures that you’re providing search engines with the most accurate and relevant information about your content.

Tips for Auditing Structured Data of an Ecommerce Website

Use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool: This tool allows you to test and validate your schema markup, ensuring it’s correctly implemented.
Stay Updated with Schema.org: As the primary source for structured data vocabularies, regularly check for updates or new additions.
Prioritize Key Content: Focus on marking up the most important and relevant content on your site, such as products, reviews, and events.
Avoid Markup Errors: Ensure that your structured data is free from errors or inconsistencies that could hinder its effectiveness.
Monitor Search Console: Google’s Search Console provides reports on the performance and health of your structured data.
Implement JSON-LD: It’s a lightweight format for structured data and is recommended by Google for easier implementation.
Educate Your Development Team: Ensure that those responsible for your site’s coding are well-versed in the latest structured data best practices and updates.

10. Image Optimization

This is the process of fine-tuning images to ensure they load quickly without compromising on quality. It’s a delicate balance between maintaining visual appeal and ensuring efficient website performance.

Compression: Reducing the file size of images without significantly affecting their quality.
Alt Tags: Descriptive text that provides context to search engines and aids in accessibility for users with visual impairments.
Responsive Images: Serving different image sizes based on the user’s device to ensure fast loading and clarity.
File Format Selection: Choosing the right format (JPEG, PNG, WebP, etc.) based on the image’s content and purpose.
Lazy Loading: Loading images only when they’re about to be displayed on the user’s screen, improving initial page load times.

Images play a pivotal role in user engagement, but they can also be the heaviest elements on a page. Regularly auditing your image optimization practices ensures that your visuals enhance, rather than hinder, user experience.

By optimizing images, you not only speed up page load times but also improve overall site performance and accessibility, leading to better user engagement and search engine rankings.

Tips for Auditing Image Optimization of an Ecommerce Website

Use Image Compression Tools: Tools like TinyPNG or Compressor.io can help reduce image file sizes without compromising quality.
Regularly Update Alt Tags: Ensure all images, especially new additions, have relevant and descriptive alt tags.
Implement Image CDNs: Content Delivery Networks like Cloudinary or Imgix can serve optimized images based on user device and location.
Avoid Image Overload: While visuals are crucial, ensure your pages aren’t bogged down with too many heavy images.
Test Different Formats: Experiment with newer formats like WebP that offer better compression rates than traditional JPEGs or PNGs.
Monitor Load Times: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to check how your images impact page load times.
Educate Your Content Team: Ensure those responsible for uploading images are aware of best practices, from choosing the right format to adding appropriate alt tags.

11. Social Signals

This refers to the collective likes, shares, views, and interactions a website receives from social media platforms. They act as a testament to the popularity and relevance of your content in the vast social media landscape.

Engagement Metrics: The likes, shares, comments, and overall interactions your content garners on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Brand Mentions: How often your brand or website is mentioned or discussed on social media, even without direct links.
Shareability: The ease and frequency with which your website’s content is shared across social platforms.
Social Media Traffic: The number of visitors coming to your website directly from social media platforms.
Integrated Social Media Buttons: The presence and functionality of social share buttons on your website, allowing users to easily share content.

Regularly auditing your social signals ensures that you’re harnessing the full power of social media to boost your website’s visibility and credibility.

As search engines increasingly factor in social engagement in their algorithms, maintaining a strong social presence can significantly impact your search rankings and overall digital footprint.

Tips for Auditing Social Signals of an Ecommerce Website

Monitor Engagement Rates: Use tools like Socialbakers or Brandwatch to track and analyze your content’s performance across different platforms.
Encourage Social Sharing: Integrate easily accessible social sharing buttons on your product pages, blogs, and other share-worthy content.
Respond to Brand Mentions: Engage with users who mention your brand, whether it’s to address concerns, answer questions, or simply thank them.
Analyze Social Traffic: Dive into Google Analytics to understand the volume and behavior of users coming from social platforms.
Stay Updated with Algorithm Changes: Social media platforms frequently update their algorithms. Ensure your content strategy aligns with these changes for maximum visibility.
Encourage Customer-Shared Content: Motivate happy clients to post about their experiences on social media, boosting trust and realness.
Train Your Marketing Team: Make sure your team knows the latest social media methods, trends, and tools to boost your brand’s online presence.

12. Internal Linking

This refers to the practice of connecting different pages of the same website using hyperlinks. It’s a strategic web of connections that guide users through your site, ensuring they discover more of your content and have a cohesive browsing experience.

Anchor Text: The clickable text that holds the link, ideally descriptive of the linked page’s content.
Link Distribution: Ensuring that high-authority pages link to important, conversion-focused pages, distributing their authority.
Link Depth: The number of clicks required to reach a particular page from the homepage, indicating its accessibility.
Topical Clusters: Grouping related content and linking them together to provide comprehensive coverage of a particular topic.
Link Value: The SEO value that gets transferred from one page to another through internal links, influencing the linked page’s search ranking.

Internal linking isn’t just about user navigation; it’s a powerful SEO tool. A well-structured internal linking strategy can reduce bounce rates, increase page views, and enhance the overall user experience.

Tips for Auditing Internal Linking of an Ecommerce Website

Use Visualization Tools: Tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs can help visualize your site’s internal linking structure, highlighting potential areas of improvement.
Avoid Over-Optimization: Ensure that anchor texts are varied and natural, avoiding the repetition of exact-match keywords.
Prioritize Important Pages: Ensure that your most crucial pages (like product pages or landing pages) are easily accessible and have a good number of internal links pointing to them.
Check for Broken Links: Regularly scan your site for broken or dead links that can hinder user experience and SEO.
Balance Link Distribution: Avoid having too many links on one page and ensure that they’re spread out evenly across your content.
Update Old Content: Revisit and update older content, adding links to newer, relevant pages.
Educate Your Content Creators: Ensure that those responsible for creating content are aware of the importance of internal linking and follow best practices.

13. Product Descriptions

These are the detailed explanations accompanying products on ecommerce platforms, providing potential buyers with essential information about the item.

Uniqueness: Crafting descriptions that are distinct from competitors and avoiding generic manufacturer descriptions.
SEO Optimization: Incorporating relevant keywords naturally to ensure the product ranks well in search engine results.
Persuasiveness: Using language that resonates with the target audience, encouraging them to make a purchase.
Clarity and Brevity: Providing all necessary information in a concise manner, ensuring easy readability.
Use of Multimedia: Incorporating high-quality images, videos, or infographics to complement and enhance the written description.

Regularly auditing them ensures that they remain fresh, relevant, and optimized, catering to the ever-evolving preferences of consumers.

With search engines becoming smarter, unique and SEO-optimized product descriptions can significantly boost your product’s visibility, driving more organic traffic and conversions.

Tips for Auditing Product Descriptions of an Ecommerce Website

Use Plagiarism Checkers: Tools like Copyscape can help ensure your product descriptions remain unique and aren’t duplicated across the web.
Incorporate Customer Feedback: Update descriptions based on customer reviews or questions, providing clarity on common queries or concerns.
Monitor Keyword Performance: Regularly check which keywords are driving traffic to your product pages and ensure they’re incorporated in the descriptions.
A/B Testing: Experiment with different description formats or styles to see which resonates most with your audience.
Stay Updated with Trends: Ensure your descriptions reflect current trends, seasonality, or market demands.
Use Active Voice: Craft descriptions in an active voice, making them more engaging and direct.
Educate Your Content Team: Ensure that those responsible for crafting product descriptions are aware of the latest SEO practices, market trends, and customer preferences.

14. 404 Errors

Commonly known as “Page Not Found” errors, these occur when a user attempts to access a webpage that doesn’t exist on the server. They can arise due to a deleted page, a modified URL, or an incorrectly typed URL.

Effect on User Experience: Coming across a 404 error can interrupt a user’s browsing, possibly causing them to exit the site.
Crawl Budget Waste: Search engines allocate a specific crawl budget to each website, and hitting 404 errors can waste this budget, reducing the efficiency of site indexing.
Lost Conversions: A potential customer encountering a 404 error on a product page or during the checkout process might abandon the purchase.
Link Value Dissipation: If a high-authority external site links to a page on your website that now returns a 404 error, the SEO value of that link is lost.
Branding Impression: Continuous encounters with 404 errors can harm your brand’s image, making it seem unprofessional or poorly maintained.

Regularly auditing for 404 errors is crucial for maintaining a seamless user experience. These errors can not only frustrate users but also signal to search engines that your site might not be well-maintained.

Tips for Auditing 404 Errors of an Ecommerce Website

Use Monitoring Tools: Tools like Google Search Console can help identify and rectify 404 errors.
Implement Redirects: If a page has been moved or deleted, set up a 301 redirect to guide users to a relevant page.
Customize Your 404 Page: Create a user-friendly 404 page that guides visitors back to the main site or offers alternative browsing options.
Check External Links: Regularly review external links pointing to your site and ensure they’re not leading to 404 errors.
Audit Site After Major Changes: After redesigns, migrations, or major content updates, conduct a thorough SEO audit to catch any potential 404 errors.
Maintain URL Structure: If possible, avoid changing URL structures. If it’s necessary, ensure you have redirects in place.
Educate Your Web Development Team: Ensure that those responsible for the site’s structure and content are aware of the implications of 404 errors and the importance of preventing them.

15. Canonical Tags

Often referred to as “rel canonical“, these are a type of HTML element that specifies to search engines the “master” version of a web page. They’re essential when multiple pages with similar content exist, guiding search engines to the version you deem most authoritative and relevant.

Duplicate Content Management: Canonical tags help in addressing issues related to duplicate content by pointing search engines to the original version.
SEO Value Consolidation: By using canonical tags, you ensure that the SEO value from duplicate pages gets consolidated to the preferred version.
Crawl Efficiency: They help search engines crawl more efficiently by reducing the number of duplicate pages they need to evaluate.
Ranking Clarity: Canonical tags provide clarity to search engines on which version of a page should be considered for ranking.
Cross-Domain Content: They can also be used to specify the preferred version of a page across different domains.

Regularly auditing canonical tags is vital to ensure that search engines are indexing and ranking the correct version of your content. Incorrect or missing canonical tags can lead to SEO issues, including dilution of ranking signals across multiple similar pages.

Tips for Auditing Canonical Tags of an Ecommerce Website

Use SEO Tools: Tools like Screaming Frog or Moz can help identify pages missing canonical tags or those with incorrect implementations.
Avoid Mixed Signals: Ensure that the canonical version of a page doesn’t have a “noindex” tag, which can confuse search engines.
Steady URL Formats: The canonical URL must align with the favored URL structure, whether with or without “www” or a trailing slash.
Canonical Tags for Self-Reference: Even if a page doesn’t have repeated content, it’s wise to use a self-referencing canonical tag.
Match Sitemap URLs: Confirm that the URLs in your sitemap align with the canonical URLs.
Regularly Review and Update: Especially after adding new products or content, review canonical tags to ensure they’re still accurate.
Educate Your Content and Web Development Teams: Ensure they understand the importance of canonical tags and implement them correctly when creating or updating pages.

Final Thoughts | Ticking Off SEO Auditing Items

The world of SEO is akin to a vast, intricate puzzle. Just when you think you’ve placed the final piece, a new section appears. But isn’t that the thrill of it? The constant evolution, the challenges, the triumphs.

As we sail through the digital waters of 2023, one thing remains clear: with the right tools, strategies, and a dash of passion, the vast ocean of ecommerce SEO is yours to master.

Remember that time when a minor tweak in your meta description led to a significant boost in click-through rates? Or when a simple image optimization reduced your page load time by seconds, enhancing user experience? These are the moments, the victories, that make the SEO journey worth every second.

So, as you stand at the cusp of another year, armed with this comprehensive guide, ask yourself: Are you ready to dive deep, explore the depths, and emerge as an SEO champion? Because the digital realm awaits, and it’s yours for the taking.

Let SEO experts help you. Call us.

seo best practices 2023