E-Commerce SEO Audit — 92 Critical Fixes Resolved

Audit summary & priorities

E-commerce stores face a mix of technical complexity: thousands of product pages, faceted navigation, and frequent price/stock changes. This audit lists 92 actionable fixes, grouped by priority so you can triage work:

Quick triage: Start with indexability, canonical issues, and server response (P0). Then move to product schema, on-page optimization, and page speed (P1). After that, address content depth, internal linking, and backlinks (P2/P3).

Illustration: real audit collaboration style

Technical SEO fixes (1–30)

Goal: make sure Google can crawl, index and correctly render your catalog pages without duplication, crawl traps, or unnecessary parameters.

1–6: Indexability & crawl

1. Check robots.txt — ensure `/sitemap.xml` is allowed and disallowed paths (admin, cart, checkout) are blocked. Use Google Search Console (GSC) > Coverage to spot blocked but important pages.
2. Verify sitemaps — submit separate sitemaps: `sitemap-products.xml`, `sitemap-categories.xml`, and `sitemap-blog.xml`. Keep each sitemap < 50k URLs or use sitemap index files.
3. Canonicalization — ensure every product, category and pagination page has a correct ``. Avoid self-referencing canonicals that point to different variants (size/color) without explanation.
4. Parameter handling — identify faceted navigation (sort, filter) and either canonicalize to the main view or use `noindex,follow` for filtered pages to avoid duplicate content.
5. Index bloat — locate low-value indexable pages (tag pages, thin facets) and `noindex` or canonicalize them to main category pages.
6. Host canonical domains — pick one (www or non-www) and redirect the other via 301; set canonical and sitemap URLs to the preferred host.

7–12: Server & response

7. Fix 5xx / 4xx errors — scan server logs and GSC; replace soft 404s with proper 404 or redirect to relevant pages (avoid redirecting everything to homepage).
8. Ensure correct HTTP headers — add `X-Robots-Tag` where needed (for PDFs, feeds) and make sure caching headers are set for static assets.
9. Use HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 — if the host supports HTTP/3, enable it for faster multiplexed requests.
10. Set up a CDN — deliver images, JS and CSS from CDN to reduce time to first byte (TTFB) globally.
11. Mobile first — ensure mobile and desktop versions are consistent. Use responsive design, not separate mobile pages that can create duplicate content.
12. Clean redirect chains — replace long chains with direct 301s and confirm the final status is 200.

13–20: Structured data & product pages

13. Product schema (required) — add `Product` schema with `name`, `image`, `description`, `sku`, `brand`, `offers` (price, currency, availability), and `aggregateRating` where available. Use structured data testing tools to validate.
14. Offer structured data freshness — update `price` and `availability` in schema via server-side render or dynamic JSON-LD updated at render time to avoid mismatch errors.
15. Breadcrumb schema — implement `BreadcrumbList` on categories and product pages to improve SERP display.
16. Canonical + schema match — ensure the `@id`/URL in schema matches the canonical URL.
17. Pagination schema — handle category pagination using `rel=next/prev` or canonical to main category page if you prefer consolidated signals.
18. Fix duplicate product pages — if variants create separate pages, consider consolidated canonical or variant attributes to avoid splitting signals.

21–30: Security & crawl budget

21. Robust 301/302 handling — ensure temporary redirects are only used when truly temporary.
22. Block low-value parameters — use URL parameter tools in GSC or canonicalize filtered URLs.
23. Clean sitemap priority & lastmod — set realistic `` and `` flags for frequently updated products.
24. Check crawl budget — avoid indexable duplicates, limit auto-generated pages, and keep orphan pages out of indexation.
25. Enable HSTS & TLS 1.3 — security best practices improve performance and trust.
26. Robots txt sitemap line — add `Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml` to robots.txt.

On-page & product SEO fixes (31–60)

Goal: make product pages relevant and click-worthy with optimized metadata, unique descriptions and strong internal linking.

31–40: Title tags & meta descriptions

1. Unique product titles — include brand + model + key feature + context (e.g., “Nike Air Zoom — Men’s Running Shoes — Lightweight Cushioning”).
2. Use primary keywords early — put the most important term near the start of `title` and `h1`.
3. Meta descriptions — write persuasive CTAs and include price/offer if applicable (not a ranking factor but improves CTR).
4. Length & truncation — keep titles ~50–60 characters and meta descriptions ~140–160 characters for optimal SERP display.
5. Template for variants — if you have many variants, use templated titles but ensure uniqueness by adding color/size specifics in `h1` or meta description.

41–50: H1, headings & content

41. H1 hierarchy — one H1 per product page, matching the primary product name (not the SKU).
42. Descriptive bullets — include 6–10 bullet points with benefits & specs; searchers skim — structure for humans first.
43. Long form content — give each product 200–700 useful words in addition to bullets (careful with scale; use templates plus unique additions).
44. User intent — combine purchase intent content (specs, shipping, returns) with top-of-funnel content for comparison and reviews on category pages.
45. Schema FAQs — add custom FAQs on product pages as structured `FAQPage` to increase SERP footprint.

51–60: URL structure & pagination

51. Short, descriptive URLs — `/category/product-name/` rather than long tracking parameters.
52. Remove session IDs — ensure URLs are clean and shareable.
53. Pagination strategy — prefer category pages with filters defaulting to a canonical view; keep page numbers as `/category/page/2/`.
54. Breadcrumbs in markup — visible breadcrumbs help both users and search engines.
55. Locale/versioning — use subfolders (`/pk/` or `/us/`) or subdomains with hreflang for international catalogs.

Content, category and internal linking fixes (61–78)

61–66: Category page optimization

1. Unique category descriptions — 150–400 words focused on user intent and top keywords.
2. Sort & filter UX — canonicalize main sorting (e.g., default sort by popularity) and `noindex` filter combinations if they add no SEO value.
3. Category schema — add `ItemList` for categories for better indexing of contained products.
4. Internal linking to best sellers — highlight top products with editorial links from content blocks on category pages.
5. Pagination canonical — if you consolidate, ensure page 1 canonicalizes correctly.

67–72: Blog & content strategy

67. Cluster content — create pillar pages for core topics (e.g., “Running Shoes Buying Guide”), and cluster supporting posts that link back to category/product pages.
68. Use shopping intent keywords — target “best + [product] + 2025”, “buy + [product]”, and long tails like “running shoes for flat feet” as blog topics.
69. Internal linking plan — every blog post should link to the category and 1–2 relevant product pages (use descriptive anchor text).
70. Product comparison pages — high conversion; build comparison pages with clear schema and affiliate/internal links.

73–78: Duplicate content & UGC

73. Deal with manufacturer descriptions — rewrite or augment manufacturer-provided copy to avoid duplicates across the web.
74. User-generated content — moderate reviews and Q&A; mark reviews with `Review` schema where possible for rich snippets.
75. Canonical product variants — consolidate near-duplicate variant pages and expose variant data via UI (swatches) not separate indexable pages.
76. Pagination & infinite scroll — if using infinite scroll, implement pushState and paginated URLs for crawlability.

UX, Core Web Vitals & image fixes (79–86)

79–82: Core Web Vitals

1. LCP — ensure the hero image or main product image loads quickly; use `preload` link for main hero image or critical CSS to reduce render time.
2. CLS — reserve image dimensions (width/height or `aspect-ratio`) and avoid layout shifts when ads or reviews load.
3. FID / INP — minimize heavy JS main-thread work; defer non-critical scripts and use code splitting.
4. Image formats — serve `webp`/`avif`, and provide `srcset` for responsive images to reduce payload on mobile.

83–86: Images & accessibility

83. Optimize product images — use multiple angles and compressed formats, but keep file size under 150–300 KB where possible.
84. Alt text — descriptive alt like “Nike Air Zoom Men’s Running Shoe — black — side view”.
85. Lazy-load non-critical images — lazyload thumbnails but avoid lazyloading the main above-the-fold product image.
86. Accessible markup — ARIA labels for product options, keyboard accessible controls for swatches and carousels.

Backlinks & outreach fixes (87–92)

Goal: regain link authority and earn relevant editorial backlinks that drive conversions.

1. Fix broken backlinks — use Ahrefs/Google Search Console backlinks report to discover broken external links and 301 relevant pages to restore link equity.
2. Create linkable assets — data studies, original research, interactive buying guides, and comparisons generate editorial links.
3. Guest posting outreach — pitch “best product lists”, “case studies” and “how to choose” content to niche blogs and news sites.
4. Partner & supplier mentions — request suppliers or brands to link to your product pages or case studies where you helped them.
5. Internal link equity — use high-authority pages (blog pillars) to pass link juice to category pages and best-converting products.

Frequently asked questions