WooCommerce sites have a specific set of SEO issues that come up consistently. Most of them are not covered in general WordPress SEO guides because they are specific to how WooCommerce generates URLs and pages.
The Duplicate Content Problem
WooCommerce creates multiple URLs for the same product: the product URL, the category URL, tag URLs, and sometimes paginated versions. Without proper canonicalisation, Google sees these as separate pages with identical content. Yoast or Rank Math handles this if configured correctly, check that your product pages have canonical tags pointing to the primary product URL.
Category Pages
Product category pages often rank better than individual product pages for broad search terms. They need custom descriptions, not the auto-generated text WooCommerce adds. Write 150–200 words per category page that describe what the category contains and who it is for.
Schema Markup
Product schema (price, availability, review count) improves click-through rates significantly. Yoast Premium handles this automatically. If you are on the free version, add it manually or use a dedicated schema plugin.
SA-Specific
Include ZAR pricing in your product descriptions. Mention shipping to major SA cities where relevant. These small signals help with local search visibility.