Best SEO practices for Magento 2 multi-store websites

Managing a multi-store website in Magento 2 is a powerful way to expand your business, target different markets, and offer a personalized shopping experience. But if you don’t optimize it properly for SEO, you might face duplicate content issues, poor rankings, and lost traffic.

So, how do you get your multi-store SEO right and rank higher on Google? In this guide, we’ll break down the best SEO practices for Magento 2 multi-store websites, helping you boost visibility, avoid common pitfalls, and drive more organic traffic.

best SEO practices for Magento 2 multi-store websites

Understanding SEO Challenges for Multi-Store Magento 2 Websites

Magento 2 allows businesses to create multiple websites, stores, or store views under a single installation. This flexibility is perfect for companies that operate in different countries, languages, or product niches. However, multi-store setups come with SEO challenges, such as duplicate content, improper URL structures, slow loading times, and incorrect hreflang implementation. If not managed well, these issues can prevent search engines from indexing your site properly, leading to a drop in rankings.

To avoid these pitfalls, you need a well-planned SEO strategy that covers everything from URL structures to page speed optimization.

How to Optimize SEO for Magento 2 Multi-Store Websites

1. Setting Up SEO-Friendly URLs

One of the first steps in optimizing your multi-store Magento 2 website is ensuring your URLs are structured correctly. If you don’t configure them properly, you risk having multiple versions of the same page indexed, which can lead to duplicate content issues.

A recommended approach is to use country-specific domains or subdomains. Example:

Use Subdirectories (if preferred):

To ensure Magento 2 properly recognizes each store’s URL, go to Stores → Configuration → General → Web and enable the option to include store codes in URLs if needed.

However, avoid using query parameters like ?store=fr, as they are not SEO-friendly and may confuse search engines.

2. Implementing hreflang Tags for International SEO

If you run multiple store views for different languages or regions, adding hreflang tags is essential. These tags help Google understand which version of your website should be shown to users based on their language and location. Without hreflang, search engines might mix up different store versions, leading to incorrect indexing and lower rankings.

Since Magento 2 does not add hreflang tags by default, you will need to either manually implement them in your head.phtml file or use an extension like SEO extension magento 2 from BSS to automate the process. A correctly formatted hreflang tag might look like this:

html
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://yourstore.com/us/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-fr" href="https://yourstore.com/fr/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://yourstore.com/" />

By setting up hreflang tags correctly, you can ensure that search engines serve the right store version to the right audience, improving both user experience and SEO performance.

3. Avoiding Duplicate Content with Canonical Tags

Duplicate content is a common problem in multi-store Magento 2 setups, as the same products may appear across different store views. This can confuse search engines and lead to lower rankings. To fix this, you should use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page.

Magento 2 allows you to enable canonical tags by

Navigating to Stores → Configuration → Catalog → Search Engine Optimization
Setting "Use Canonical Link Meta Tag for Products and Categories" to Yes.

This ensures that duplicate product or category pages are consolidated under a single, authoritative URL, helping search engines understand which page to rank.

For example, if a product appears on multiple store views, the canonical tag would point to the main version:

html
<link rel="canonical" href="https://yourstore.com/main-product-page/" />

This simple step can significantly reduce duplicate content issues and improve SEO performance.

4. Optimizing Meta Titles and Descriptions for Each Store View

Each store view should have unique meta titles and descriptions to differentiate content and target local keywords effectively. If you simply duplicate metadata across all store views, you may struggle with poor rankings due to keyword cannibalization.

For best results, write localized and keyword-optimized meta titles and descriptions for each store. For instance, the US store might have a meta title like “Best Running Shoes – Free Shipping in the US”, while the German store’s title could be “Beste Laufschuhe – Kostenloser Versand in Deutschland”. This not only improves search rankings but also enhances click-through rates by appealing to local audiences.

5. Generating XML Sitemaps for Each Store View

Search engines rely on XML sitemaps to discover and crawl your web pages efficiently. For multi-store Magento 2 websites, it’s best to generate separate sitemaps for each store view.

To set this up, go to Stores → Configuration → Catalog → XML Sitemap and enable sitemap generation for each store. Then, submit each sitemap individually in Google Search Console under the corresponding domain or subdirectory. This ensures that all your store views are properly indexed and ranked.

6. Enhancing Page Speed for Multi-Store Websites

Slow page speed can hurt your SEO and lead to higher bounce rates. Since Magento 2 multi-store websites often contain large amounts of data, optimizing performance is crucial.

To speed up your site, enable full-page caching in Stores → Configuration → System → Cache Management and use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to serve static files faster. Additionally, optimize images by converting them to WebP format, minify JavaScript and CSS files, and enable lazy loading to reduce initial page load time.

Google PageSpeed Insights is a great tool to measure your site’s performance and identify areas for improvement.

Don’t miss this article: 5 Proven Ways to Boost Magento 2 Site Speed for Higher SEO Rankings

7. Leveraging Local SEO to Boost Visibility

If your stores target different regions, implementing local SEO strategies can help you rank better in local searches. This includes creating location-specific landing pages, optimizing Google My Business listings, and acquiring local backlinks.

For example, if you have a physical store in Germany, you should optimize your website for German search queries and add your business to local directories. Using structured data markup (schema.org) can also help search engines understand important business details such as opening hours, addresses, and customer reviews.

Final Thoughts: Elevate Your Magento 2 Multi-Store SEO

Optimizing SEO for a multi-store Magento 2 website is a complex but essential task. By following best practices such as structuring URLs correctly, using hreflang tags, implementing canonical tags, optimizing metadata, and improving page speed, you can significantly enhance your store’s visibility in search results.

For store owners looking to streamline their SEO efforts, tools like BSS Commerce Magento 2 SEO Extension can automate many of these processes, making it easier to manage multiple stores effectively.

By putting these strategies into action, you’ll ensure that each store view ranks well, attracts the right audience, and drives higher organic traffic and conversions. If you have any questions about Magento 2 multi-store SEO, feel free to drop a comment below!

Magento 2 SEO for Multi-Store Websites: Best Practices