Why filter pages are holding your SEO efforts back and how to avoid it

June 17, 2024

February 3, 2022

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6 min read

When it comes to eCommerce, product filtering is essential for a good user experience. Whether online shoppers are browsing through the product categories or looking for a specific item on an eCommerce store, they are likely to use the site's filtering system. If your e-store's filter pages are not set up properly, it can hurt your site's SEO efforts.

On the other hand, did you know that it can also help with your search engine ranking? By creating filters that are SEO-friendly, you can make it easier for customers to find the products they want on your site.

In this article, we'll show you how to set up your filters in a way that won't waste your SEO efforts.

Problem #1: Duplicate Content

How It Happens

The ultimate purpose of the filtering system on an eCommerce store is to help customers reduce the number of displayed products on a given list. To do so, users need to choose the filter criteria that match their buying intent.

Read more about Dynamic Filtering on eCommerce stores.

Simply put, filter pages are the URLs you get after applying some filter options. In different industries, these URLs look similar. The differences lie in the names of the available filter values and categories.

Each time a customer applies a filter, a new URL is generated. Different filter combinations, even those leading to the same products, create separate URLs. Even changing the order of applied filters can result in duplicate URLs. For example:

/shoes?color=red&size=9

/shoes?size=9&color=red

These lead to the same products, but are seen as distinct pages by search engines.

In these stores, the URLs for filter pages both contain the domain and collection name, followed by identifiers starting with pf (product filter) and then the applied values. For example, opt_size=7 (option size: 7), pt_type=Protein%20Bars (product type: Protein Bars). (Source: Red Dress, Protein Package)

Why It's Bad for SEO

The filtering system is meant to be a help for both usability and SEO, so how can it hold your search engine ranking? The real problem arises with inappropriate indexing.

Index Bloat

Think of search engine crawlers like busy little bees, diligently buzzing around your website, gathering information to add to their index. Every page they crawl takes time and resources.

When your site is bloated with duplicate filter pages, these crawlers waste precious time indexing redundant content. This depletes your “crawl budget”—the number of pages a search engine will crawl on your site within a given timeframe.

Instead of focusing on your important, unique content, the crawlers get bogged down in a sea of duplicates, potentially missing valuable pages and ultimately hindering your overall visibility.

As the filter pages follow the chosen filter values, the number of URLs knows no bound. Any combination of product filters will generate a different URL even when its content is the same.

Just change the order of the applied filter, you'll have 2 URLs, although they are for the same filter pages. (Source: Red Dress)

Lower Page Authority

Page authority is like a popularity contest for web pages. Search engines use it to determine which pages are most relevant and trustworthy for a given search query.

When you have multiple duplicate filter pages, the authority that should be concentrated on one strong page gets spread thin across all the duplicates. It's like dividing a delicious pie into too many slices – each slice becomes smaller and less satisfying. This weakened authority makes it harder for any of your filtered pages to rank well, diminishing your overall search visibility and potential traffic.

Confusing Search Engines:

Duplicate filter pages create confusion, making it difficult for search engines to determine the best page to display for a given search. They might end up showing a less-than-optimal version of your page, one that doesn't convert as well or provide the best user experience.

This can lead to lost opportunities and a less-than-stellar first impression for potential customers. Clear the confusion and guide search engines to the right page, every time, for a winning SEO strategy.

When not indexed properly, filter pages can cause duplicate content on the website, which makes it difficult for search engines to determine the relevant pages for related searches. This impedes SEO efforts and diminishes the site's visibility in Search engine result pages (SERPs). Sadly, many online stores are not aware of this issue, although the solution to it is not that complicated.

How To Fix It

Canonical URLs

Tell search engines which page is the “original” using the rel="canonical" tag. This consolidates ranking signals to the preferred URL.

For example, both of the above URLs should have a canonical tag pointing to a single page, like /shoes. This way, Google understands that while the filtered versions are useful for users, the main /shoes page is the authoritative one.

Here is an example from Conversion Giant:

For this page:

<a href=“https://www.shoes.com/boys-shoes?size=10boys” rel=”nofollow”>Size 10</a>

the canonical would look like this:

<link rel=“canonical” href=”https://www.shoes.com/boys-shoes” />

You have now essentially told Google that for all filter parameter pages, only count the main URL listed in the canonical tag.

Nofollow vs. Noindex

While noindex prevents a page from being indexed, it can also block valuable traffic. Instead, use rel="nofollow" on filter links. This tells search engines not to follow the link for indexing purposes, but still allows users (and potential traffic) to access the filtered results.

Let's look at another example from Conversion Giant:

<a href=“https://www.shoes.com/boys-shoes?size=10boys” rel=”nofollow”>Size 10</a>

Here, you have instructed Google bots not to follow this filter page (with the Size filter applied) to the full URL. The page /boys-shoes/ still gets indexed in the main menu or from the boys' apparel page.

Read more about crawlability in: 4 SEO Considerations Besides Keywords For Dummies

Problem #2: Thin Content Problem

How It Happens

Imagine landing on a page that only shows a list of products. Helpful, maybe, but not exactly engaging.

That's the thin content trap.

Auto-generated filter pages often fall into this category. They dutifully display the products that match a user's selected filters, but offer little else. No helpful descriptions, no engaging context, just a bare-bones list. While this might suffice for basic navigation, it's a missed opportunity to connect with your audience and boost your SEO.

Why It's Bad for SEO

Low-Quality Score: Search engines are like discerning readers; they appreciate valuable, informative content. Thin pages, lacking substance and depth, earn a low-quality score in the eyes of search engines. This low score directly impacts your ranking potential, making it harder for your pages to climb the search results ladder.
Reduced Crawl Efficiency: Remember those busy little crawlers? They don't want to waste time on pages with minimal unique content. Thin filter pages offer little value to search engines, leading to wasted crawl budget and potentially neglecting more important pages on your site.
Harmed User Experience: Users crave more than just a list of products. They want context, information, and a sense of connection. Thin content frustrates users, leading to higher bounce rates (users leaving your site quickly) and lower engagement. This sends negative signals to search engines, further impacting your ranking.

How To Fix It

Dynamic Content

Inject life into your filter pages with dynamic content. Use scripts to add relevant text based on the selected filters. For example, if a user filters for “red dresses”, the page could dynamically display a captivating description of your red dress collection, highlighting their style, versatility, and suitability for different occasions.

Optimized Landing Pages

For frequently used filter combinations, go the extra mile and create dedicated landing pages. These pages provide a focused, content-rich experience for users, boosting engagement and providing search engines with valuable, index-worthy content.

For instance, instead of relying on a filtered category page for “Holiday Sale Dresses”, create a dedicated landing page with festive imagery, compelling copy, and special offers. This targeted approach elevates the user experience and strengthens your SEO.

Sparkle in Pink featured holiday–themed collections and a clearance collection on their main navigation menu.

Problem #3: Site Speed

How It Happens

Several factors can contribute to slow filter performance: inefficient dynamic content loading, excessive HTTP requests for scripts and images, heavy JavaScript execution, and poorly optimized caching. These technical hurdles create bottlenecks, slowing down page load times and hindering the user experience.

Filter pages, unfortunately, are easily caught these problems.

Dynamic Content Loading:some text
- Filter apps often utilize AJAX or server-side queries to load content dynamically. However, if these implementations aren't optimized, they can slow down page loading times.
- Complex queries, particularly with large catalogs, may lead to longer server response times, impacting the overall user experience.
Increased HTTP Requests: Third-party apps for product filtering often load additional scripts, stylesheets, and images, increasing HTTP requests and page load time.
Heavy JavaScript Execution: Many filter apps depend heavily on JavaScript for interactive filtering. If the scripts are excessive or poorly optimized, they can significantly hinder rendering times, especially on mobile devices where performance is crucial.
Non-Optimized Caching: If filtered results aren't cached effectively, fresh data must be retrieved for every user interaction, increasing server load and slowing response times.

Why It’s Bad for SEO

Impacts Core Web Vitals: Site speed is a critical ranking factor, and Google's Core Web Vitals metrics directly measure the user experience related to loading performance. Slow filter pages can negatively impact these vital metrics, pushing your site down the search rankings.
Increased Bounce Rates: Slow loading times frustrate users, leading to higher bounce rates. Search engines interpret high bounce rates as a sign that your site isn't providing a good user experience, further harming your ranking potential.
Reduced Mobile Friendliness: Mobile users are particularly sensitive to slow loading times. With the majority of online shopping happening on mobile devices, poor mobile performance can severely impact your visibility and traffic from mobile search.
Lower Conversion Rates: A slow and cumbersome filtering experience can deter users from completing purchases. This directly impacts your bottom line, hindering revenue growth and overall business success.

How To Fix It

The most impactful change you can make is to choose a filter app designed with performance in mind. Look for reviews and benchmarks that demonstrate a proven track record of speed and efficiency.

Boost AI Search & Discovery is an pioneer in optimizing the app performance to help Shopify merchants with SEO on filter pages. Our latest TURBO version leveraged the server-side rendering approach which improved Pagespeed Insight score on both mobile and desktop.

Addition to choosing a speed-optimized app, enable caching to store frequently accessed data. This reduces server load and creates a snappy filtering experience.

Another recommendation is optimizing your JavaScript and CSS by minifying and combining files, which help streamline page loading. Implement lazy loading for images and non-essential elements to improve initial load times.

Also, ensure your server configurations and database queries are optimized for optimal response times. Finally, using a CDN distributes your content globally, ensuring lightning-fast loading speeds for all users.

In conclusion

Product filtering is an important part of the eCommerce experience, but it can be difficult to make sure that it's also SEO-friendly. In this article, we've shown you how to make sure your product filtering is helping you rank higher in search results. We hope you found this information helpful!

If you're looking for more ways to improve your eCommerce site, be sure to subscribe to our blog today to get useful tips and tricks for eCommerce. Have more discussion with the Boost team on our social channels Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Youtube.

Ellie Ho

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Content Marketing Specialist

February 3, 2022

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6 min read

Why filter pages are holding your SEO efforts back and how to avoid it

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