SEO for comparison websites

Comparison websites are essential for consumers who want to compare products and services before making a purchase. The challenge is that these websites often have a lot of competition and risk duplicate content. In this article, you’ll learn how to optimize your Optimize your comparison site for SEO to generate more traffic as well as conversions.

The challenges of SEO for comparison websites

Comparison sites risk being viewed by search engines as duplicate content because many pages share the same product information. In addition, competition in many industries, such as insurance and technology, is enormous. To circumvent these problems, it is crucial to develop a unique, valuable SEO strategy.

Thereby, the customer journey of a comparison site will always be one click longer than one’s own shop/offer. This creates different user signals given to Google in this process.

There are many updates from Google to counter default comparison websites. Consider the November 2023 reviews update (a huge update for comparison websites). This is an important one to keep in mind.

The benefits of a comparison website

A comparison website has something for “everyone.” I like to use an Amazon as an example. When you search in Google for “shoes,” Amazon has something for everyone. In fact, Amazon has cheap, expensive, black, blue and purple shoes.

An online store that specializes in expensive branded shoes can only satisfy maybe 10% of the intent of the keyword shoes and will never rank in the top three. A comparison website like Amazon has by far the greatest chance of ranking high for these short tail search terms.

Create quality content

To avoid duplicate content, you need to add value to your pages. This means more than just offering price comparisons. Enrich your content with in-depth product reviews, user tips, and analytics. Add unique elements such as detailed guides, video comparisons, or interactive tools. Try to avoid standard vendor product descriptions.

It is important to show that you actually own the product and at the same time that you have tested the product yourself. This can be done by making a video, for example. From Google’s product review updates, this is becoming increasingly important.

Some keywords for different comparison sites (to also show the level of competition):

Keyword research

Focus your keyword strategy on long-tail keywords that match the specific needs of your target audience, such as “best laptop for students 2024” or “cheapest energy contract for renters.” Long-tail keywords attract users who are closer to a purchase decision, which increases the likelihood of conversions. Most combinations are made with the following modifiers:

• Dear
• Cheapest
• 2024
• Compare
• Top
• Brand 1 vs. brand 2

From there you can make the combinations with the specific services or products you are comparing.

Optimize equation tables

Comparison tables are the core of your website. Make sure these tables are search engine friendly by structuring them properly and optimizing them with relevant keywords.

For example, use HTML tables that can be easily crawled by search engines. In addition, include short descriptions and meta information that make it clear why your comparison pages are valuable.

You can invest a lot of time in the design of one comparison table and from there deploy this design for all tables on the website (with unique content, of course). This saves a lot of time in the long run.

Conclusion

SEO for comparison websites requires a focused approach involving unique content, smart keyword research and optimized pages. By applying these strategies, you can stand out in a competitive market and generate more traffic and conversions.