make SEO challenging A high number of pages due to product volume Complex categorization Dynamic inventory causing constantly changing URLs The same product info as other sites
the SEO process and causes real horror stories Internal search results cannibalizing categories Noindexing categories pages with search potential Lack of unique commercial content in categories Product pages with poor unique descriptive content Product pages with traffic but inconsistent status Seasonal pages with traffic but inconsistent status Overlooking informational content and resources
a sub-category or facet page? Index Noindex No Are there enough products at the sub- category/facet level to satisfy the user need? No Yes Yes Demand Supply The sub-category/ facet has enough search volume to compensate their optimization It’s critical to validate supply and demand of each facet to index
confusion regarding page intent “Our algorithms sometimes get confused … when they have a list of products on top and essentially a giant article on the bottom” John Mueller https://bit.ly/3OZESqM
many products per page as viable, with longer descriptions Product 1 Product 2 Product 3 Product 4 Product 5 Product 6 CATEGORY A Pages: 1, 2, 3… 100 Product 1 Product 2 Product 3 Product 4 Product 5 Product 6 CATEGORY B Pages: 1, 2, 3… 60 < Product 7 Product 8 Product 9 Product 10 * Explain why you’re in the best place to buy these products * Clarify common doubts of customers when buying these types of products
Facts, these can be integrated within categories/facets pages to support sales Reassure users that the products they’re seeing are the best for their scenario Mitigate any doubts around the use and characteristics of the products Show why they’re in the best place to buy these products … #ecommerceseohorror at #mozcon by @aleyda from @orainti
generate these at scale while leveraging content automation tools to help writers FAQs: • Are these boots made from real leather? • Do these boots have a good transpiration system? • What are the best pants to wear with knee-high boots? Surfer, NeuralText
Instructions Images Complementary Products Similar Products Product pages should feature specific, descriptive information Reviews and Q&As Specifications
persistent URLs for each variant you want to index https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/ecommerce/designing-a-url- structure-for-ecommerce-sites#how-google-understands-urls-for-product-variants Avoid showing the same products through different URLs Minimize the number of alternative URLs that return the same content Use descriptive product variant names in URLs Avoid temporary parameters, such as session-IDs, tracking codes, user-relative values
description with version and color Product description with version and color Product heading with version and color VS Differentiate similar products and variants using their unique characteristics in the metadata Product heading with version and color Title & meta description with version and color Product description with version and color
many product variants (like colors) on a single page makes it ineligible for product rich results https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/ecommerce/designing-a-url- structure-for-ecommerce-sites#how-google-understands-urls-for-product-variants
can be featured in many categories, don’t include them in URLs to avoid duplication https://paulnrogers.com/how-to-change-the-product-url-structure-in-shopify/
is permanently out of stock, and has a new version, 301 redirect towards it 301 redirect to new product page, while alerting users Update internal links, XML sitemaps, and product feeds
404s/410s for out of stock product pages that don’t have traffic, rankings, or backlinks Personalize the error page offering alternatives to make it usable
target audience & competition WHAT Is your audience looking for WHEN Are they searching? At what stage in the journey are they? WHERE Do you need to take them to satisfy their needs HOW Do you need to be shown to maximize visibility WHY Ranking for these queries is going to help goals Profitable Queries + Relevant Content Use the 5 Ws and H to ensure high relevance, intent, and profitability through the user journey
avoid the most common e-commerce SEO horror stories Internal search results that cannibalize categories Noindexing categories pages with search potential Lack of unique commercial content in categories Product pages with poor unique descriptive content Product pages with traffic but inconsistent status Seasonal pages with traffic but inconsistent status Overlooking informational content and resources
OK? SEO IMPLEMENTATION YES NO YES ON-GOING SEO VALIDATION SEO RELEASE NO FIX POST-RELEASE SEO VALIDATION: OK? YES NO FIX ON-GOING SEO VALIDATION: OK? YES NO FIX IN LESS 24H REVERSE IMPLEMENTATION A well-aligned SEO execution validation is fundamental, but not sufficient
Quality Framework to prevent errors, rather than simply catching them EDUCATION To prevent SEO mistakes VALIDATION To avoid launching SEO errors MONITORING To catch SEO incidents fast 1 2 3 ERRORS/ISSUES
CHANGES INTEGRATED VALIDATION ORGANIC SEARCH TRAFFIC & CONVERSIONS DECREASE/INCREASE ALERTS WEB RANKINGS DECREASE/INCREASE ALERTS QUERIES SEARCH POPULARITY DECREASE/INCREASE ALERTS WEB CONTENT & TECHNICAL CONFIGURATION CHANGES ALERTS CONTENT OPTIMIZATION & TECH SEO CONFIGURATION CHECKLIST FOR COMMON WORKFLOWS COMPANY CONTENT OPTIMIZATION & TECH SEO GUIDELINES/WIKI ONLINE SEO TRAINING AND Q&AS FOR TECH/CONTENT/[STAKEHOLDERS] TEAMS RECURRING / ONGOING SEO TECH/CONTENT VALIDATION PRE & POST WEB RELEASES EDUCATION VALIDATION MONITORING MENTIONS & BACKLINKS ALERTS WEBSITE SEARCH CRAWLING ISSUES ALERTS SPAM OR MANUAL ACTIONS ALERTS RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS FEATURING SEO CONCEPTS & IMPORTANCE TOWARDS GOALS It should feature SEO education, validation, and monitoring efforts
To Execute Now Don’t Do 2. To Assess & Prioritize 2. To Assess & Prioritize You don’t need to do it all at once! Prioritize those with high impact/low effort in your context
* SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti * SEO Speaker at +100 Events in +20 countries * Author “SEO. Las Claves Esenciales.” * Crawling Mondays Video & Podcast Series Host * #SEOFOMO Newsletter Wrangler * Maker LearningSEO.io * European Search Personality of the Year in 2018 * remoters.net Co-Founder orainti.com Thanks! Questions? orainti.com