Duplicate Product Descriptions for Each Variant

[Jon_B]

Hi,

I am setting up a Shopify e-commerce store and I have a questions about duplicate product descriptions. I have written unique product descriptions for all our products. Each product has at least 10 color options. I am thinking that it would look better if I created each color variant as a unique product. i.e. store.com/nice-shirt-blue, store.com/nice-shirt-red ect.

Here is the kicker. Would I be penalized for using the same product descriptions for each product type?

[kwoolf]

Matt Cutts has posted a few videos about duplicate content and the take away is that it won't hurt you unless it's spammy. A legit e-commerce site shouldn't be negatively impacted by duplicate content issues.

If you're worried about it, why not have only one product page for these products and then just have color chooser that page? This way you'll only have one product page and a lot less duplicate content.

[evan89]

I have dealt with this and I think there are a few questions to ask.

1. Do the different color variations provide keyword opportunities. for example, are people searching for nice-shirt-blue and nice-shirt-red, or are they just searching for nice-shirt?

2. If it does not provide any sort of search benefit to separate the shirts, then you may consider combining them into one product page. You may consider providing an image with an array of the products on your overview page to show that there are multiple colors within the product page. This will ensure that any links built to this product are not spread over multiple product pages. Also, from a usability standpoint, is it likely easier for a customer to click through images on one page to decide the color that they want rather than to click the back button to find the new product.

3. Finally, if you decide that it is better for your customer's experience to keep the products on two separate pages, but the color don't provide any keyword or search benefits, you may consider choosing one color (say blue) and setting a rel=canonical on the other colour variations to the blue shirt page.

Ultimately, it boils down to "what is the best for your customer". Search engines ultimately care about user experience, so if you are able to create the best experience first, then decide whether unique descriptions, rel=canonical, or configured pages are best for you.

Hope this helps!

[Kingof5]

If you use rel=canonical on product pages, you risk not having all of them indexed and missing out on long tail traffic. Focus on making sure each page can get served in the SERPs.

[evan89]

David,

You are absolutely right. Ultimately it depends on whether customers will search by color or not. Thank you for clarifying this.

Cheers,