The Google Merchant Centre is essential for brands and retailers that want to improve their visibility on Google’s enormous shopping platform. The Merchant Centre is the mainstay for any online store that wants to promote its products directly within Google Shopping ads.
A solid Merchant Centre account is essential, irrespective of whether you have a large product catalogue, the lowest prices, or superior service levels. However, it involves more than just having a product to sell; it is also a lot about optimising or cleaning your product URLs.
Why is a compliant and clean URL necessary? The reality is that they improve user experience. However, it also significantly improves your store’s visibility, ranking and overall performance in Google Shopping.
Nonetheless, URL’s are far too often overlooked by the majority of online sellers, particularly at this point in time in fast-moving markets like India, where the digitisation of almost everything continues to create changes in e-commerce patterns.
At first glance, URLs might seem insignificant, but they are a key component for both search engines and users. Google’s algorithms specifically scrutinise URLs when they index and rank your content, and this does not exclude your Google Merchant Centre accounts as well.
In a perfectly clean URL, Google is able to see very quickly what your product is about, which puts them on the path towards the right product, for the right shopper, in the least amount of time.
Clean URLs, free from extraneous parameters or unnecessary complexities, also build consumer trust. Shoppers prefer clicking on links that clearly indicate what to expect, significantly reducing bounce rates and boosting conversion opportunities.
A common issue merchants face in managing their product URLs is the presence of unnecessary parameters. These parameters are often dynamically added by websites or analytics platforms to track traffic and user behaviour.
While beneficial for analytics, they can inadvertently complicate URL structures, making them appear messy and negatively affecting Google’s indexing.
One notorious parameter to watch out for is the srsltid parameter. It frequently appears in URLs due to ad tracking tools and can create duplicate content issues by generating multiple versions of the same page URL. These variations confuse search engine crawlers, potentially harming your site’s SEO performance.
To ensure compliance, always:
Also Read: Canonical Tags in SEO: The Secret Weapon for Avoiding Duplicate Content
Optimisation involves a careful balance between clarity, simplicity, and compliance. Here are some actionable steps to ensure your product URLs meet Google’s stringent standards:
Ensure your URLs accurately represent the product they link to. Integrate keywords naturally, but avoid keyword stuffing. For instance, instead of:
www.examplestore.com/prod12345678
Opt for:
www.examplestore.com/blue-denim-jeans-men
Descriptive URLs help customers and Google’s algorithms clearly understand your page content.
Long URLs can get cut off in search results, affecting the visibility of your URLs. It’s important to keep URLs short but descriptive and try to get under 100 characters for better readability and SEO value.
Whenever a product page is moved or deleted, it’s important to set up the proper 301 redirects to keep the SEO value and redirect customers from broken pages. This ensures a great user experience and keeps your site’s strong credibility with Google.
Complying with Google Merchant Centre’s URL rules is a must! If your products violate the rules, your product feeds become suspended, and your store’s visibility is adversely affected.
Compliance focuses on:
The digital ecosystem will keep changing; that is why auditing your product URLs is so necessary in India, to ensure they conform to your compliance and remain optimised. Periodic audits will help you determine recent URLs that have problems without delay. The regular maintenance tasks of URLs should consist of:
How Can Professional SEO Services Enhance Your URL Optimisation?
Navigating URL optimisation and ensuring strict compliance with Google Merchant Centre policies can seem overwhelming. As one of the most trusted search engine optimisation companies across India, we at RepIndia offer end-to-end support to simplify and streamline this process.
Our approach is methodical yet personalised. We conduct detailed audits of your URLs, highlighting potential issues and implementing robust solutions.
We leverage analytics to monitor URL performance continually, ensuring your product listings remain compliant and optimised to capture maximum visibility and conversions in Google Shopping.
Keeping your product URLs clean and compliant is essential for maximising your returns from Google Merchant Centre. By proactively addressing URL hygiene, you not only improve user experience but also boost your site’s performance in Google’s ecosystem.
In a competitive digital landscape, visibility matters. As one of the most experienced search engine optimisation companies Mumbai has to offer, we help brands consistently apply best practices that lead to measurable impact — from improved rankings to stronger conversion rates.
Write a Message
