Many eCommerce businesses start on Shopify. Indeed, it is a great platform for building an online store and getting products out there to customers. It is quick and easy to set up, the platform is secure and reliable, and it is scalable, and you can continue to grow your store in the years to come.
But, there is something you need to avoid when you are building your Shopify store. You need to make sure you are not creating duplicate content. This is a trap that many people fall into, and it can affect their ranking on Google. Indeed, it can even undo the excellent work they are doing when it comes to SEO. Let’s take a closer look at why.
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Reasons Why Duplicate Content Appears on Shopify
There are a number of reasons why duplicate content can end up on your Shopify store. Knowing how this happens allows you to prevent it from continuing.
By Accident
There are many people that are creating their Shopify store and not realising they are using duplicate content. Perhaps you are writing descriptions in the same way or using similar titles without realising it. So, while it can be an accident, this can affect a user’s experience and your Google ranking.
To Save Time
There are many people that are uploading hundreds of products. So, in order to save time, they copy and paste the information. While this might seem like a quick and easy to way to upload a lot of products, it can lead to consequences later on. It is best that you know how to remove duplicate titles in order to help with your SEO efforts, as well as to organise your inventory.
Unaware of the Consequences
Perhaps you are not aware of the consequences of duplicating content. So, you are using the same descriptions on Shopify without realising what can happen. You might think that Google will not realise or it does not matter because they are your own words and you are not plagiarising. Well, hopefully, if you are reading this article, you are starting to think that there could be consequences. We will go on to discuss this and why you need to always create original and unique content.
Why You Need to Avoid Duplicate Content
It does not matter whether you are innocently copying content or are aware of what you are doing; it is time to stop doing this. Here are some reasons why you need to avoid duplicate content from appearing on your Shopify store.
You Do Not Rank
There are some people that believe you will get a Google penalty if you have duplicate content. Well, this is not always true. But, this does not mean that you will not be punished for having duplicate content. Namely, it is likely that the page that the content is featured on will not rank. Google will choose to go with the original page. If you have copied from another site, they will get the credit. If you have duplicated your own content, this means that only the original will rank. So, this can affect the reach of your website on the internet and affect the sales you enjoy on Shopify.
Affects User Experience
Another reason why you want to avoid using duplicate content is to ensure a good user experience. People want to trust the website they are buying from. If they are reading the same information, you are wasting your opportunity to gain their trust. For example, if you have several products with the same description, this is something that customers will notice. They can be wary of buying that product because they do not know what they are really getting. User experience is very important and you are not going to make a good impression if you are simply copying and pasting your content everywhere.
