How Duplicate URLs in Shopify Affect Your Traffic & Sales?
A lot of Shopify store owners are scratching their heads right now. Well, it’s not because they have dandruff! They are just worried about the low performance of their site despite all the SEO efforts.
But,
Most of the time, the issue behind it is quite simple! One of the major culprits that go unnoticed is the existence of duplicate URLs. Let’s see!
- abc.com/collections/best-seller/products/t-shirt
- abc.com/collections/mens-ts/products/t-shirt
- abc.com/products/t-shirt
These are what we call duplicate URLs. If you have something like this in your store, then get ready. We are about to improve your web traffic significantly within minutes.
Believe me, what we are going to reveal has the potential to double your Shopify sales!
So, let’s get started.
What Are Duplicate URLs?
Duplicate URLs refer to separate web addresses that lead to identical or near-identical content.
For instance, a single product page of Shopify could be accessible through multiple URLs. Then, we’ll call them as Duplicate URls. The reasons for this could vary from design choices or sorting options to even poor initial setup. But, the outcome remains the same. It hurts your SEO efforts!
Still don’t get it? Let’s explain it with a practical example and show you where to find these URLs on Shopify.
Example of Duplicate URL on Shopify
Say you have a clothing brand website named abc.com and have a high-selling product, a T-shirt. Since the product is showing heavy sales, you decide to add this to collections like Best Seller, Mens-Ts, and New Arrivals.
Now, do you know what comes next? Shopify will generate these five links landing on the same product page.
- abc.com/collections/best-seller/products/t-shirt
- abc.com/collections/mens-ts/products/t-shirt
- abc.com/collections/new-arrival/products/t-shirt
- abc.com/collections/all/products/t-shirt
- abc.com/products/t-shirt
But only the last link is useful! The rest of the four are just confusing Google.
The Prevalence of Duplicate URLs Among Shopify Stores
Based on industry reports and our internal data, we've found a shocking fact. A huge number of Shopify stores are affected by the issue of duplicate URLs.
As many as 70% of medium to large-sized stores have some form of duplicate URLs. These URLs unknowingly decrease the SEO performance. Another sad reality is that many store owners are unaware of this issue. They don’t even know how duplicate URLs can have severe implications on organic search rankings and sales.
Where Are Duplicate URLs Commonly Found?
The main source of duplicate URLs often lies in the product pages. Say a shirt is listed under both “Men's Wear” and “Summer Collection.” Each category could generate its URL for the same product, thereby causing duplicate content.
Did you get it?
These duplicate URLs can literally destroy your store ranking. Let’s show you in detail why they are bad in your Shopify stores.
Why Duplicate URLs Are Bad for Your Store?
Duplicate URLs are bad for your website, not just for a single reason. There are multiple effects they have on the website. And, of course, all these are the negative effects.
Let’s discuss them one by one.
Confusion in Search Engine Indexing
Search engines provide the most relevant and high-quality information to their users. When they come across duplicate URLs that lead to the same content, they don't know which one to prioritize. This confusion can lead to a situation where neither of the duplicate pages appears high in search engine results.
So, despite all your efforts to stand out, you are just making it harder for your store to get noticed.
Dilution of Backlink Value
Backlinks are a crucial part of building your site's reputation and authority. But when these backlinks are split between duplicate URLs, the value of each link is reduced. Think of it like a vote. If a vote is spread out among several candidates, none of them will have a strong lead.
Inefficient Crawling and Indexing
Search engines allocate a specific amount of resources, often referred to as “crawl budget.” This is used to index new and updated pages on your website. When search engines encounter duplicate content, they end up spending these resources inefficiently. Instead of discovering new content, they're stuck re-crawling the same pages over and over again.
A Waste of Resources
Maintaining these duplicate URLs doesn't just confuse search engines. It also demands additional server resources and administrative effort. This is your precious time and energy. You could better spend it while optimizing other aspects of your store.
Effects on Analytics and Data Interpretation
Having duplicate URLs can also make it tricky to interpret your website analytics. When customer activity is spread across multiple URLs, it becomes challenging to get a clear picture of how well a particular product or page is performing. This fragmented data can lead to incorrect conclusions. Consequently, you make poor business decisions.
Impacts on User Experience
While search engines are one concern, don't forget about the human element. Visitors to your store can also become puzzled when they find multiple links leading to the same content. This could lead to mistrust among your customer base. You know, a smooth user experience is key for encouraging repeat business.
In short, it’s a mad decision if you don’t remove the duplicate URLs from your Shopify store.
Do you still think that I’m joking?
Let’s have a look at a real-time case study. We are talking about Blackjack Jewellery on Shopify. You’ll be surprised by how big of an impact they had by removing duplicate URLs.
Real-World Example: Blackjack Jewellery
Blackjack Jewellery is a Shopify store that deals in men's stainless steel jewelry. They offer different categories like bracelets, necklaces, rings, and earrings.
But despite their extensive collection, they were facing the challenge of poor online visibility. In March 2023, they reached out to us at ManagingSEO.
So…
Initial Situation
In March 2023, Blackjack Jewellery was barely having an appearance on search engine radars. They were receiving just 38 clicks per day and 5,338 impressions for the month. This lack of performance was severely limiting their reach and sales growth.
Our Approach
Upon examination, we discovered a variety of issues on their website. However, duplicate URLs were their major concern. These URLs were diluting their search engine value and confusing indexing algorithms.
The Outcome
After implementing the changes and resolving Duplicate URLs, they noticed substantial changes in their website metrics. Here are the changes;
- Increase in Clicks
Daily clicks soared by 284% in just three months. They went up from 38 in March to 146 by June.
- Boost in Impressions
The number of times the site appeared in search results leaped by 231%. They increased from 5,338 in March to 17,681 in June.
As a result, the sales of Blackjack Jewellery doubled in just three months. This highlights the importance of resolving issues like duplicate URLs.
The Potential for Doubling Sales
The story of Blackjack Jewellery is not unique. Many of our clients have seen remarkable improvements in their sales figures after we resolved their duplicate URL issues. This is not just a claim. It's an outcome we strive for with every client.
Let’s have a detailed look at how ManagingSEO can assist in digital marketing.
How ManagingSEO Digital Marketing Can Assist You?
ManagingSEO is an SEO agency that can greatly improve your online presence. With a strong track record of many satisfied customers, we specialize in SEO, PPC, and social media management. We aim to make the complicated world of digital marketing easy for you. So you can solely focus on growing your business.
At ManagingSEO Digital Marketing, we excel at identifying and fixing issues like duplicate URLs. Here's how we make a difference:
- Detailed Website Audits
We deeply analyze your website. Then, we identify issues you might not even be aware of and explain them in a free audit.
- Personalized Plans
Our recommendations are customized to fit your store's specific needs. We give personalized plans to improve your website performance.
- Timely Output
Once a problem is identified, we waste no time in fixing the problem. Time is money, after all.
- Measurable Results
In the end, we provide you with detailed reports that clearly demonstrate the impact of the changes we've made.
- Ongoing Support
SEO is a continuous effort. So, we offer ongoing support to ensure that your store keeps performing at its best.
So visit the official website of ManagingSEO to get your free SEO audit for the Shopify store. We are ready to fix the Duplicate URLs in your store and improve the performance in minimal time.
Now, before we end our article, let’s have a brief look at some FAQs about duplicate URLs.
FAQs
Duplicate URLs often arise when a single product is listed under multiple categories. For example, when you include the same product in “Men’s Wear” and “Summer Collection.”
Also, sorting options on collection pages can be the cause of Duplicate URLs. For example, sorting by price or popularity can create new URLs. These scenarios result in identical content accessible via different URLs.
Yes, duplicate URLs can negatively affect your paid campaigns. They can divert paid traffic to less optimized versions of your web pages.
You might think it’s not important, but this misdirection may lower your conversion rates. It also leads to inefficient use of your advertising budget.
A 301 redirect is a permanent way to reroute traffic from one URL to a different one. This tells search engines that a particular URL has moved permanently. The key benefit is consolidating traffic and SEO value to a single, authoritative URL.
Canonical tags are specific HTML elements. They tell search engines about which version of a webpage they should consider as the primary version.
By specifying this, you focus SEO value on that chosen URL. Ultimately, it helps to resolve issues caused by duplicate content.
Conclusion
Duplicate URLs have a major impact on your Shopify store’s performance. From SEO degradation to the loss of potential customers, the effects can be a big hit on your sales.
However, the opportunity for improvement is also present here. By addressing the duplicate URL issue, you can increase your web traffic and potentially double your sales. Let ManagingSEO Digital Marketing be your partner in solving these complex issues. We will ensure that your store operates at its peak efficiency.