Unfortunately, many Canadian e-commerce businesses unknowingly make mistakes that hold back their growth. Whether it’s neglecting mobile users, skipping content, or ignoring local SEO, these missteps can cost you valuable traffic and sales. In this blog, we’ll break down five common SEO mistakes—and how to fix them—so your store can rank better and grow faster.
1. Ignoring Mobile Optimisation
Let’s start with the big one. Many store owners design for desktop first, then try to make the mobile version “fit.” But in Canada, more than half of online shopping happens on mobile devices. If your site doesn’t load fast or look good on a phone, visitors won’t stay. Search engines notice this. If your bounce rate is high (people leaving quickly), Google will see your site as less useful and push it down in rankings.
The fix?
- Make sure your online store is responsive and easy to navigate on mobile.
- Use large fonts, clean buttons, and simple layouts.
- Keep page load times under 3 seconds.
Test your site on different screen sizes. Better yet, ask friends or customers to check it on their phones and tell you what’s frustrating.
2. Forgetting About Product Descriptions
This one is sneaky. You upload your product photos, maybe add a short line like “Red cotton T-shirt,” and move on. But here’s the thing—Google can’t “see” your product images. It relies on text. Thin, duplicate, or missing product descriptions are one of the biggest SEO gaps in Canadian online stores. If your product pages don’t include relevant text, they won’t show up in searches.
The fix?
- Write unique descriptions for each product. Don’t copy from suppliers.
- Include keywords naturally. Think like a shopper: What would they search?
- Mention details like size, material, who it’s for, and how it helps.
Even short but original descriptions can make a huge difference in how well your products rank.
3. Not Using Local SEO to Target Canadian Shoppers
Many e-commerce store owners want to go global—but forget about their local market. If you’re based in Canada or if you ship to certain provinces, local SEO helps you connect with nearby shoppers. When someone types “organic coffee Calgary” or “vegan shoes Toronto,” will your store show up? If you haven’t optimised for local search, probably not.
The fix?
- Create a Google Business Profile with your business name, location, and category.
- Mention Canadian cities or regions on your site when relevant.
- Use Canadian spelling (favourite, colour, etc.) to match local searches.
- Include shipping info or delivery times for different provinces.
It’s not about excluding global buyers—it’s about not missing out on ready-to-buy Canadian ones.
4. Overlooking Technical SEO
You might have great content and products, but if your site’s behind-the-scenes structure is messy, Google will struggle to crawl and rank it. This is what we call “technical SEO.” It’s not flashy, but it’s critical. Some common technical SEO mistakes include:
- Broken links (404 errors)
- Slow-loading pages
- No sitemap or robots.txt file
- Duplicate content across pages
- Pages without meta titles or descriptions
The fix?
- Use free tools like Google Search Console or Screaming Frog to scan your site.
- Regularly fix or remove broken links.
- Add proper meta tags (title and description) to every page.
- Compress images to speed up load time.
If you’re not tech-savvy, these fixes may sound intimidating. But you don’t have to be an expert—just start with the basics and get help when needed.
5. Publishing Content Inconsistently (Or Not at All)
Blogging may feel old-school, but it still matters. Content is what helps Google know what your site is about. When you publish helpful articles or guides, you create more ways for people to find you. A lot of e-commerce stores in Canada skip content altogether—or they post one blog, then stop. That’s a mistake.
The fix?
- Start with just one blog post a month. Make it helpful, simple, and relevant to your audience.
- Answer common questions. For example, if you sell eco-friendly makeup, write “How to Choose a Natural Foundation in Winter.”
- Link back to your products naturally.
- Use internal links to help people move through your site.
Consistent content builds trust, authority, and rankings over time.
Bonus Tip: Tracking Nothing
You can’t fix what you don’t measure. One last mistake worth mentioning is that many Canadian e-commerce stores never check their analytics. They don’t know:
- Which pages bring in the most traffic
- Where visitors drop off
- Which keywords are working
Without this info, you’re just guessing. The fix?
- Arrange Google Analytics & Google Search Console.
- Track page views, bounce rates, and conversions.
- Look for trends: Are more visitors coming from mobile? Which blogs or products rank best?
Even a few minutes a week can give you clarity and help guide smarter decisions.
Conclusion
SEO isn’t one single trick. It’s a mix of smart moves that build up over time. By avoiding the common mistakes we covered—like ignoring mobile users, skipping product descriptions, or neglecting local SEO—you’ll already be ahead of most Canadian e-commerce stores. Fixing these issues doesn’t require huge budgets or complex tools. It just takes a little consistency, effort, and patience. Whether you’re running a niche Shopify store or managing a multi-category site, SEO is what helps the right people find you at the right time.
Need help getting your SEO on track? Contact Us at Rankingeek Marketing Agency. Our team understands what works (and what doesn’t) for Canadian e-commerce. We offer hands-on, customised strategies to help you grow your search traffic, improve your site performance, and turn visitors into loyal customers. Let’s make your store stand out—naturally and strategically.
