Running an e-commerce business is more competitive than ever, and SEO often makes the difference between steady sales and being invisible online. Yet many online stores unknowingly repeat the same SEO mistakes — which can waste marketing budgets and cost sales.
At Bottrell Media, we help Australian e-commerce businesses identify and fix these common issues so their sites rank better, attract more shoppers and convert traffic into revenue.
Below, we break down the most common e-commerce SEO mistakes — and how to fix them.
The problem:
Many e-commerce sites copy manufacturer descriptions or reuse the same text across multiple products. Google sees this as duplicate content, which can hurt rankings or prevent products from appearing in search results at all.
How to fix it:
Write unique, keyword-optimised descriptions for each product.
Focus on what makes the product different: features, benefits, and use cases.
Add buyer-focused details like FAQs, size guides or usage tips to make content richer and more helpful.
The problem:
Some online stores focus only on individual product pages, leaving category pages thin on content. But category pages often target broader, high-traffic keywords that attract shoppers earlier in the buying journey.
How to fix it:
Add unique intro text describing what’s in the category, its benefits, and what makes it special.
Use keywords naturally in titles, headings and descriptions.
Include internal links to popular or featured products to boost relevance and user experience.
The problem:
Shoppers abandon slow sites quickly — and Google considers page speed a ranking factor, especially for mobile.
How to fix it:
Compress images and use modern formats like WebP.
Minify CSS and JavaScript files.
Consider a faster hosting solution or a content delivery network (CDN).
The problem:
Without structured data, your products may miss out on enhanced search results like price, reviews, or stock status — features that increase click-through rates.
How to fix it:
Add product schema to show information like ratings, price and availability.
Use breadcrumb schema to help Google understand your site structure.
Test your schema with Google’s Rich Results Test tool.
The problem:
Most online shopping happens on mobile devices. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, it frustrates shoppers and ranks lower in mobile search.
How to fix it:
Use a responsive design that adapts to all screen sizes.
Simplify navigation and checkout flows for small screens.
Regularly test your site on different devices.
The problem:
Without clear internal links, Google and shoppers may struggle to navigate your site. This can lead to orphan pages (pages with no internal links) that don’t get crawled or indexed.
How to fix it:
Link from product pages to related products and categories.
Use keyword-rich anchor text naturally.
Regularly audit your site to ensure important pages are linked.
The problem:
Images often bring traffic through Google Images and help product pages rank better, but only if they’re optimised.
How to fix it:
Use descriptive, keyword-focused file names (e.g., “womens-blue-running-shoes.jpg”).
Add meaningful alt text that describes the product.
Compress images to balance quality and load time.
The problem:
Some stores use auto-generated or duplicate meta titles and descriptions, missing opportunities to attract clicks.
How to fix it:
Write unique meta titles and descriptions for every important page.
Include target keywords naturally.
Make descriptions clear, benefit-focused and actionable.
Many e-commerce sites struggle with these issues simply because SEO takes time, expertise and regular maintenance. At Bottrell Media, we help online retailers identify problems, fix them and build a sustainable strategy that grows traffic and sales.
If you’d like to see how your store could perform better, contact us for a free SEO review.
