SEO issues we check — and how to fix them
Your catalog pages may be invisible to Google right now and you'd have no way to know. Indexability gaps, canonical conflicts, and faceted navigation issues silently kill organic traffic — we surface every one and tell you which to fix first.
52 catalogued SEO issues, each with step-by-step, platform-specific fixes.
Filter:
- Catalog coverageModerate effortAudit your XML sitemap and internal linking so that every product and category page is discoverable and crawlable by Google — not hidden behind JavaScript, pagination, or missing links.
- Cwv clsModerate effortEliminate unexpected layout shifts by reserving space for every image, video, embed, and dynamically injected element so nothing jumps when the page loads.
- Cwv inpLarger projectReduce Interaction to Next Paint (INP) to under 200 ms by breaking up long JavaScript tasks, deferring non-critical third-party scripts, and lightening event handlers so the page feels fast and responsive after every tap or click.
- Cwv lcpModerate effortReduce Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) to under 2.5 seconds by serving the hero image in a next-gen format (WebP/AVIF), preloading it, and eliminating render-blocking resources.
- Duplicate meta descriptionModerate effortWrite a unique, page-specific meta description for every page on your store so Google can display a compelling, accurate snippet for each one in search results.
- Duplicate titleModerate effortGive every page a unique, descriptive title tag that accurately reflects that page's specific content.
- Faceted url indexableModerate effortPoint the rel=canonical on every faceted/filter URL to its clean parent category URL (or add noindex), so Google treats filtered pages as a single authoritative page instead of thousands of duplicates.
- Images missing altModerate effortAdd descriptive alt text to every product and content image so search engines and screen readers can understand what the image shows.
- Images missing alt bulkModerate effortAdd descriptive alt text to every product and content image at the template level so search engines and screen readers can understand all images on the page.
- Low performance scoreLarger projectImprove your Lighthouse/PageSpeed performance score by reducing page weight, eliminating render-blocking resources, optimising images, and addressing Core Web Vitals so Google ranks your store higher in search results.
- Meta description too longQuick winShorten your meta description to 150–160 characters so Google displays it in full instead of cutting it off with "…" in search results.
- Meta description too shortModerate effortExpand your meta description to 120–160 characters so Google displays a compelling, complete snippet in search results that drives more clicks to your store.
- Missing canonicalModerate effortAdd a self-referencing canonical tag to every page so Google knows which URL is the definitive version of that content.
- Missing h1Quick winAdd a single, descriptive H1 tag to every page that currently lacks one, clearly stating the page's main topic.
- Missing meta descriptionModerate effortWrite and add a unique meta description (120–160 characters) to every page that is missing one, so Google can display an accurate, compelling snippet in search results.
- Missing og descriptionModerate effortAdd an og:description meta tag to every page so that social media platforms display a compelling, accurate preview when your pages are shared.
- Missing og imageModerate effortAdd an og:image meta tag to every page so that social media platforms and messaging apps display a rich, branded image preview whenever someone shares your store's link.
- Missing og titleQuick winAdd an og:title meta tag to every page so your store's title appears correctly when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
- Missing titleQuick winAdd a unique, descriptive title tag (30–60 characters) to every page that is missing one.
- Multiple h1Moderate effortRemove all but one H1 tag from each page so every page has exactly one clear, descriptive primary heading.
- Noindex detectedQuick winRemove or replace the noindex directive on any page you want to appear in Google search results.
- Non self canonicalQuick winAudit every page whose canonical tag points to a different URL, then either correct it to self-reference or confirm the cross-reference is intentional and correct.
- Og url mismatchModerate effortSet a unique, page-specific og:url meta tag on every page that exactly matches that page's canonical URL.
- Page not foundModerate effortFix broken internal links pointing to pages that return a 404 error by either removing those links or setting up a 301 redirect from the missing URL to the correct replacement page.
- Page speed warningModerate effortReduce your page load time to under 1.5 seconds by optimizing images, eliminating render-blocking resources, and enabling caching and compression.
- Redirect chainModerate effortUpdate every internal link that passes through a redirect chain to point directly at the final destination URL, eliminating all intermediate hops.
- Search results indexableModerate effortAdd a noindex robots meta tag to all internal search result pages and block the search URL path in robots.txt to prevent Google from crawling and indexing thin, duplicate search results.
- Seo category description missingModerate effortWrite a 100–200 word description for every category page explaining what products it contains and who they are for, so Google can rank it for category-level keywords.
- Seo category description thinModerate effortExpand your category page description to at least 100 words of genuinely helpful, keyword-rich content that explains what shoppers will find in that category.
- Seo category emptyQuick winEither populate the empty category with products, or add a noindex tag and remove it from your navigation so Google does not waste crawl budget on a page with no content.
- Seo category sparseModerate effortAdd more products to sparse category pages, or consolidate very thin categories into broader, related ones so every indexed category page delivers genuine value to shoppers and search engines.
- Seo facet url not canonicalizedModerate effortAdd a canonical tag to every filtered, sorted, and paginated collection/category URL pointing back to the clean (unfiltered) category URL, so Google consolidates duplicate pages and focuses crawl budget on your real content.
- Seo product content client renderedLarger projectServer-render your product descriptions in the initial HTML so that all crawlers — including Google, AI search bots, and social media scrapers — can read your content without executing JavaScript.
- Seo product description minimalModerate effortExpand your product descriptions to at least 300 words by adding specifications, use cases, and benefits so search engines have enough content to rank and shoppers have enough information to buy.
- Seo product description missingModerate effortWrite and publish a 200–400 word product description covering what the product is, its key specs, who it's for, and how to use it.
- Seo product description thinModerate effortExpand every product description to at least 300 words of unique, keyword-rich content that answers real shopper questions and gives Google enough text to understand and rank the page.
- Seo product image alt filenameModerate effortReplace auto-generated filename-based alt text on product images with short, descriptive phrases that accurately describe what the image shows.
- Seo product missing brandModerate effortAdd a `brand` property to your Product schema markup so search engines can match your listings to brand-specific queries.
- Seo product missing gtinModerate effortAdd a GTIN (and/or MPN) field to your Product structured data so Google can match your listings to its product knowledge graph for rich results and Google Shopping.
- Seo product missing stock statusModerate effortAdd a visible stock availability label and an `availability` property to your Product structured data so Google can display rich results and shoppers know immediately whether a product is in stock.
- Seo product no imagesModerate effortAdd at least one high-quality image to every product page so shoppers can see what they're buying and Google can surface your products in Image Search.
- Seo product no spec tableModerate effortAdd a structured specifications table or list to every product page so shoppers, search engines, and AI tools can instantly find and use key product details.
- Seo product price not in htmlModerate effortRender your product price in the server-generated HTML so Google and other crawlers can read it directly — without executing JavaScript.
- Seo product single imageModerate effortAdd at least 4 product images (multiple angles, detail shots, and lifestyle/in-use photos) to every product page to improve click-through rates, conversions, and Google Images visibility.
- Seo product title genericModerate effortRewrite every product page title tag to include the specific product name plus at least one differentiating attribute (variant, material, brand, or model) so Google and shoppers can instantly tell what the page is about.
- Seo variant urls in sitemapModerate effortRemove product variant URLs (e.g. ?variant= or ?sku= query strings) from your XML sitemap and keep only the canonical base product URL for each product.
- Seo variant urls not canonicalizedModerate effortAdd a canonical tag to every product variant URL pointing back to the base product page, so Google consolidates ranking signals on one URL instead of splitting them across hundreds of duplicates.
- Server errorModerate effortIdentify and fix every page returning an HTTP 5xx server error so search engines can crawl and index those URLs again.
- Slow pageModerate effortReduce your page load time to under 3 seconds by compressing images, eliminating render-blocking scripts and styles, and improving server response speed.
- Thin contentModerate effortAdd meaningful, original written content to pages that contain fewer than 300 words so Google has enough substance to rank and display them confidently.
- Title too longQuick winShorten your page title tag to 60 characters or fewer so it displays fully — without truncation — in Google search results.
- Title too shortQuick winExpand your page title to between 30 and 60 characters so Google displays it fully in search results and shoppers can immediately understand what the page is about.
SEO — common questions
What does ecommerce SEO cover?+−
Ecommerce SEO covers six layers: crawlability, URL structure and canonicals, title tags and meta descriptions, structured data (schema markup), content quality, and internal linking. All six must work together for a store to rank effectively.
Why is ecommerce SEO different from content site SEO?+−
Ecommerce stores have hundreds or thousands of pages generated from templates. SEO findings are almost always template-level problems — a missing schema property, a canonical pattern, a title formula — that affect every page using that template simultaneously. Fix the template and you fix the issue across the entire catalog.
What are the most common ecommerce SEO issues?+−
The most common issues include: missing or incomplete Product schema, canonical conflicts from platform URL structures (especially Shopify collection-product paths), thin product descriptions, empty or near-empty category pages, faceted navigation creating crawlable duplicate URLs, and orphaned pages not reachable through internal linking.
How does SEOLZ handle ecommerce SEO audits?+−
SEOLZ crawls your store, classifies every page by type (product, category, blog, landing page), and checks each against the rules for that type. Fix instructions are matched to your detected platform and SEO plugin. Template-level findings are grouped by affected page count so you can see that one fix resolves a finding across hundreds of pages.