Why is adding a new market causing SEO problems?

[Colleen7]

I've just added another country as a market, and now I have SEO issues. My page score has dropped from mid 90s to 66 because of duplicated pages, meta descriptions, etc. I have other markets (countries) set up without issue.

Has anyone else come across this? Have I set this one up incorrectly?

[coleatkinson]

If you are using subfolders to target different markets, it is also recommended to differentiate the content between those Markets. You can do this with the Translate and Adapt app, or another translation app on the Shopify app store.

If you don't want to differ your content, then it would be best to have these Markets use the same URL/domain.

[SEOProStaff]

Hi @Colleen7 ,

It seems like the issue of duplicate meta descriptions arises from having similar content across different market subfolders. Google might perceive these as duplicate content, which can impact your SEO. One way to address this is to ensure that each market has unique content that is sufficiently localized, not just translated, which can differentiate the pages in the eyes of search engines.

SEOPro could assist in this situation by auditing your Shopify store for SEO issues and offering recommendations for optimization. It can help identify where you might need unique meta descriptions and can even facilitate bulk updates to meta descriptions and other SEO elements. SEOPro can provide an SEO score for each page, giving you a clear view of where adjustments need to be made to improve your store's SEO.

Full disclosure: We are the developer of this app.

[zahidwonder]

When adding a new market to your Shopify store, SEO issues like duplicated pages and meta descriptions often arise due to incorrect configurations in the new market's settings. To resolve this, check if your URL structure is unique for the latest market (using proper country-specific subdirectories or subdomains) and ensure that Shopify isn't duplicating content across markets. Also, review each market's meta tags (titles and descriptions) to ensure they are customized and not duplicated. Setting up hreflang tags correctly for international targeting can also help search engines understand which version of the page to serve in different countries, preventing SEO penalties.