7 Deadly SEO Sins in E-Commerce - What Kills Sales and How to Fix It
Intro
Imagine opening a coffee shop - a beautiful, cozy place with great vibes, stunning décor, and the best coffee in this part of the galaxy. There’s just one “small” problem: apart from a handful of regulars, the place is empty. All that work, all that heart, and still no customers… But is everything really as it should be?
An e-commerce store without strong, well-planned SEO is like a café in a basement with no sign outside. You might have a fantastic product and customer service worthy of Michelin stars, but if Google can’t see you - your customers won’t either.
As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Small, seemingly harmless mistakes can tank your SEO and cost you sales. Here are the 7 deadly SEO sins I see most often in e-commerce - and how to fix them.
Sin #1: Categories That Feel Like a Maze
Getting lost in categories is the worst thing you can do to your customers. If users can’t find a product, Google won’t either. Categories are often either too broad (“Shoes”) or ridiculously narrow (“Women’s trail running shoes for wide feet on uneven terrain”).
Example? An online shoe store where the “Women’s Shoes” category holds 5,000 products with no subcategories. A shopper scrolls for a bit, gets overwhelmed, and leaves.
👉 Fix it: Think of your category hierarchy like a good latte - clearly layered. Women’s Shoes → Sneakers → White Sneakers. Simple, logical, and easy to understand for both people and Google.
Sin #2: Copy-Paste from the Manufacturer
Nothing kills SEO faster than duplicate content. Google sees hundreds of identical product descriptions and has no reason to rank your store above anyone else’s. Every description should be unique and add value for users. Remember: customers search using specific keywords or problems they want solved.
👉 Fix it: Write original descriptions. Infuse them with your brand’s personality and customer benefits. Instead of “100% cotton,” say: “Soft, breathable cotton that makes summer heat a lot more bearable.”
Sin #3: Product Descriptions That Say Nothing
A product description should be engaging, specific, and show off the item’s features. “Spaghetti carbonara” isn’t the same as “pasta with sauce.”
👉 Fix it: Tell a story. Why should someone want this product? What makes it special? Sprinkle in keywords, but keep it natural - no awkward stuffing.
Sin #4: A Website Slower Than a Local Train
Fast, faster, fastest… You’ve got about three seconds to make a good first impression online. If your site takes forever to load, customers won’t stick around. In Google Analytics, all you’ll see is a high bounce rate.
👉 Fix it: Compress images, use WebP format, and check your site with PageSpeed Insights. And remember: mobile shoppers matter more than desktop users these days.
Sin #5: Links That Look Like “id=12345”
Good SEO starts with structure. URLs like /product?id=98765 mean nothing to people or search engines. It’s like putting up a store sign that says “Shop No. 27.”
👉 Fix it: Use logical, human-friendly URLs. /womens-shoes/white-sneakers is something everyone can understand.
Sin #6: No Structured Data
You did everything “by the book,” yet something feels off. Your products look sad in Google results, while competitors shine with stars, reviews, and prices.
👉 Fix it: Implement schema.org/Product, Review, and Offer. Then your result in Google could look like: “⭐ 4.8 | 199 reviews | From $99.” Way more appealing.
Sin #7: Ignoring Technical SEO
No sitemap, broken links, poorly set robots.txt… It’s like building a house without a foundation. It might stand for a while, but the first strong gust of wind will knock it down like a house of cards.
👉 Fix it: Regularly crawl your site with Screaming Frog or Ahrefs. Fix broken links, set up 301 redirects, and keep your sitemap updated in Google Search Console.
Conclusion
Great products and a beautiful storefront are important, but without a clear sign, no one will find you. Mistakes are a natural part of building a business - they’re how we learn. What matters is recognizing them and making improvements.
The good news? Every one of these sins can be fixed. And each fix brings you one step closer to making your store more visible, clickable, and - most importantly - profitable.
☕️ SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. But with a well-planned route, you’ll always reach the finish line.
