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Using rel=canonical for a shopping cart site.. really necessary?

by David C.
3 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi WF:

I have a shopping cart site. A number of products have an identical description, save for a wattage, or BTU or other characteristic (marine electronics).

Should I go through and rel=canonical all the duplicates of a page that is ranking? Maybe not all of them?

Does it really make a difference? Can it harm my rankings?

My most popular product, and one I am ranking high for, we have tons of duplicate descriptions in that section... yet the pages rank high.... so not sure what to think.

Thanks!
#cart #relcanonical #shopping #site
  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by David C. View Post

    Hi WF:

    I have a shopping cart site. A number of products have an identical description, save for a wattage, or BTU or other characteristic (marine electronics).

    Should I go through and rel=canonical all the duplicates of a page that is ranking? Maybe not all of them?

    Does it really make a difference? Can it harm my rankings?

    My most popular product, and one I am ranking high for, we have tons of duplicate descriptions in that section... yet the pages rank high.... so not sure what to think.

    Thanks!


    A canonical tag is a low level redirect for search engines (Google SERPs, etc...). So... If you already have ranked pages that are bringing in targeted traffic don't mess with those pages.

    If you have the wrong page ranked that has a duplicate or very similar page buried in the SERPs then you could try adding a canonical to the wrong page that's ranked pointing to the correct duplicate/similar page you want ranked. Keep in mind any type of redirect is a gamble & does not guarantee the page you redirect to will replace a previously ranked pages SERP position.

    Full blown eCommerce sites are usually a nightmare when it comes to SEO because of all the similar options per each product.
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    • Profile picture of the author David C.
      Thanks for the detailed info Yukon, I will most likely have more questions once I roll up my sleeves and commence work.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Here's more info. on canonical URLs.
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