ecommerce seo ecomteam romania workshop
DESCRIPTION
Ecommerce seo Ecomteam Romania WorkshopTRANSCRIPT
ECOMMERCE SEO WORKSHOPIntermediate - Advanced
DAVID SOTTIMANODISTILLED
WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL?
WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL?MAKE MONEY. EVERYTHING ELSE COMES SECOND.
WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL?MAKE MONEY. EVERYTHING ELSE COMES SECOND.STAY FOCUSED
AGENDA
1. THE RIGHT PEOPLE & MINDSET
2. GENERAL SEO & KPIS3. ECOMMERCE SPECIFIC TOPICS
4. SMART IDEAS AND A FREE GIFT!
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR TODAY:
1. Important SEO directives and how to use them
2. Which SEO KPIs are important for making you money & how to track
3. How to deal with expired products, seasonal & sales pages
4. What type of content to use on product / category pages
5. Structured data: deploy, display, troubleshooting
6. Best practices for faceted navigation, pagination, link architecture
7. Ideas, inspiration and tools you might not know about
THE RIGHT PEOPLE / MINDSET
THE RIGHT STUFF – PEOPLE
RAND FISHKIN - http://dis.tl/1jmAWNM
SEO is not dead or easy – it’s just getting harder
THE RIGHT STUFF – PEOPLE
•Dedicate resources to SEO, either internally or externally
•Be selective of agencies and look for multidimensional marketers
THE RIGHT STUFF – MINDSET
•SEO is a long term game, for quick sales use Adwords
•“Set it and forget it” attitude always loses
•SEO incorporates Social, PR, Development, offline marketing and content
GENERAL SEO ADVICE
BEFORE I DO. THE BEST TIP I CAN POSSIBLY GIVE YOU
IS....
ALLEVIATE DEPENDANCY ON DEVELOPMENT QUEUES.
GIVE CONTROL FOR SEO RELATED CHANGES DIRECTLY FROM THE CMS.
YOU CAN THANK ME LATER.
IN THIS SECTION
1. GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE: SEO SPECIFIC DIRECTIVES
2. SEO KPIS TO MEASURE IMPACT
GENERAL SEO ADVICE - DIRECTIVESGOAL
To stop a page from getting crawled
HOW 1. Robots.txt * (When * and Googlebot are
stated, Googlebot only follows specific directives)
User-agent: *Disallow: /example.htmlhttps://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/156449?hl=en
GENERAL SEO ADVICE - DIRECTIVES
GOAL To help get a page crawled
HOW 1. XML sitemaps, Internal links 2. Google ping
(http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/ping?sitemap=YOURURL)
3. Google +https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/182072?hl=en
GENERAL SEO ADVICE - DIRECTIVES
GOAL Prevent a page from being indexed
HOW 1. <meta name="googlebot"
content=“noindex" />2. X-Robots-Tag: noindex
https://developers.google.com/webmasters/control-crawl-index/docs/robots_meta_tag
GENERAL SEO ADVICE - DIRECTIVES
GOAL Redirect link equity
HOW 1. 301 status code – hard redirect2. Rel Canonical (<head> or HTTP header)
WORKSHOP DISCUSSIONhttp://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ro/2011/06/supporting-relcanonical-http-headers.html
GENERAL SEO ADVICE - DIRECTIVES
GOAL Inhibit crawling & theoretically prevent PageRank distribution
HOW 1. <meta name="robots"
content="nofollow" />2. <a href=“/login.aspx" rel="nofollow">sign
in</a>https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/96569?hl=en
GENERAL SEO ADVICE - DIRECTIVES
GOAL Prevent image indexation
HOW 1. <meta name="robots"
content="noimageindex">2. X-Robots-Tag: noimageindex
https://developers.google.com/webmasters/control-crawl-index/docs/robots_meta_tag
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/79892?hl=en
Analyze your server logs to find out what’s really going on.
METHOD:GET, UA: GOOGLEBOT.2.1 IP BLOCK 66.*
http://moz.com/blog/server-log-essentials-for-seo
MEASURING DIRECTIVES
SEO KPIS # PAGES INDEXED# PAGES RECEIVING ORGANICRANKINGSORGANIC VISITSCLICK THROUGH RATEOPTIONAL – # LINKS / LRD&SEO VISIBILITY
USER FOCUSED KPIS SEOs CARE ABOUTBOUNCE RATE & PAGES PER VISITCONVERSIONS & REVENUE
GENERAL SEO ADVICE – SEO KPIS
EASY – GOOGLE WEBMASTER TOOLS XML SITEMAP & INDEXATION REPORT
SEO KPIS – #PAGES INDEXED
SMARTER – Segment XML sitemap into smaller sitemaps to get detailed indexation data from WMT
For example:
Bathroom-products.xmlBathroom-categories.xml
Remember the 50,000 URL limit in each sitemap!
SEO KPIS – #PAGES INDEXED
HARD – CRAWL DATA + GOOGLE SCRAPE
SEO KPIS – # PAGES INDEXED
BEST – WEB ANALYTICS (GOOGLE ANALYTICS)
SEO KPIS – #PAGES RECEIVING ORGANIC
MANUAL – DEPERSONALIZATION IN GOOGLE QUERY PARAMETERS
SEO KPIS – RANKINGS
SCALABLE– TOOLS (ADVANCED WEB RANKING, AUTHORITY LABS)
BOTH TOOLS HAVE APIS AND LOCALIZATION
SEO KPIS – RANKINGS
BEST– WEB ANALYTICS (GOOGLE ANALYTICS)
SEO KPIS – ORGANIC VISITS
BEST– GOOGLE WEBMASTER TOOLS
SEO KPIS – CLICK THROUGH RATE
REQUIRES 4 SOURCES– MOZ, WMT, MAJESTIC, AHREFS
SEO KPIS – #LINKS / LRD (OPTIONAL – WHY?)
BEST– SEARCHMETRICS, SEMRUSH
SEO KPIS – SEO VISIBILITY (OPTIONAL)
E-COMMERCE SPECIFIC TOPICS
SECTION 1
E-COMMERCE - PRODUCTS
IN THIS SECTION:
1. OUT OF STOCK STATUS2. PRODUCT VARIATIONS3. PRODUCT CONTENT
PRODUCTS – OUT OF STOCK - TEMPORARY
FOR SEO PURPOSES:1. Leave page and internal links as is
FOR USERS:2. Email option to alert when product comes
back in stock3. Display similar items
OVERSTOCK.COM – OUT OF STOCK PAGE
PRODUCTS – OUT OF STOCK - PERMANENT
FOR SEO PURPOSES1. Drop internal links, update XML sitemaps2. 301 OR 410 (OR 404*)
301 if there is good link equity to similar page but, never to the homepage.
404/410 if there are bad links or no link equity http://www.davidsottimano.com/internal-301-homepage-treated-404-google/
PRODUCTS– OUT OF STOCKTHE PERFECT OUT OF STOCK PAGES SHOULD
• Allow CMS users to change product status• Always drive conversions regardless of
destination page
THE PERFECT SETUP FOR PERMANENT OUT OF STOCK PAGES SHOULD
1. Keep server response time low – manage redirects wisely
PRODUCTS– OUT OF STOCKSMARTER 301’S
When a product is permanently 301’d display a custom message on the destination page. Try your best to lead them to similar products or at least the parent category.
PRODUCTS – VARIATIONSCOLOR, SIZE, ETC..
TO INDEX OR NOT TO INDEX, THAT IS THE QUESTION
PRODUCTS– VARIATIONSKEYWORD RESEARCH (ADWORDS, SITE SEARCH) WILL TELL YOU WHICH PAGES TO CREATE AND WHICH PAGES ARE WORTH THE MONEY.
IF YOU CAN VALIDATE THEY DO IN FACT MAKE YOU MONEY, THEN YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO INDEX THEM. YOU ALSO NEED TO BE ABLE TO DEXINDEX THEM IF THEY ARE NOT PERFORMING.
PRODUCTS– VARIATIONSWHICH IS WHY I HATE THIS TYPE OF JAVASCRIPT SOLUTION.
NO CONTROL FOR SEOS & LIMITS OPPORTUNITY.http://www.target.com/p/merona-women-s-3-4-sleeve-kni
t-to-woven-tee-assorted-colors/-/A-14589013
PRODUCTS – OUT OF STOCK – VARIATIONS AND I LOVE
THIS. ZAPPOS HAS VARIATION PAGES THEY CAN CANONICALIZE OR RELEASE.
NO DEVS REQUIRED.
http://www.zappos.com/skullcandy-uprock-2012
PRODUCTS– VARIATIONSTHE PERFECT VARIATION PAGES WILL:
1. Variation pages should be actual pages2. Allow CMS users to drop/add internal links
(product integration) or change canonical tag destination
3. Make it fast, use AJAX to change content without reloading the page (Great example: http://www.zappos.com/womens-clogs-mules~8c#!/womens-clogs-mules~8c)
PRODUCTS– CONTENT
PRODUCTS– CONTENT – DON’T DO THIS
PRODUCTS– BROKEN MEDIA – DON’T DO THIS
PRODUCTS– BAD REVIEWS – DON’T DO THIS
PRODUCTS– 0 RESULTS – DON’T DO THIS
PRODUCTS– CONTENT – DON’T DO THIS
ACTIVITES WITH DEADLY CONSEQUENCES
1. Uploading your product content to Amazon – give them different copy.
2. Copy pasting manufacturer content
PRODUCTS– CONTENT – DON’T DO THIS
Again, never syndicate your content to Amazon. Better yet, don’t ever syndicate your content to any 3rd party.
PRODUCTS– CONTENT – INSPIRATION!
https://www.nakedwines.com/wines/montaria-premium-2011.htm
PRODUCTS– CONTENT – INSPIRATION!
http://www.wish.co.uk
PRODUCTS– CONTENT – INSPIRATION!
http://www.esteelauder.com/index.tmpl
PRODUCTS– DEDUPING TITLESCHALLENGEUnique titles and headings for every product
HOW TO•Add SKU – example: Nike example shoe 12021•Add Brand – example: Nike example shoe 12021
WORKSHOP DISCUSSION
PRODUCTS– CANONICAL URLSBy removing hierarchy from Product URLs , you won’t run into duplicate URL (pages) problems.
BADhttp://www.example.com/gucci/gucci-denim-shirt.aspx http://www.example.com/shirts/denim/gucci-denim-shirt.aspx
GOODhttp://www.example.com/products/gucci-denim-shirt
PRODUCTS– CONTENTTHE PERFECT PRODUCT PAGE CONTENT WILL:
1. Make you money 2. Be useful: answer more questions and get
the right intent3. Be at least 30% unique to any other page
on the site4. Unique keyword targeting (title, h1,body)5. Contain less indexable generic copy6. Unique, canonical URL per product
SECTION 2
E-COMMERCE - CATEGORIES
IN THIS SECTION:
1. SEASONAL PAGES2. CATEGORY CONTENT
CATEGORIES– OUT OF STOCK – SEASONAL/UPDATING
A DIFFERENT WAYS OF HANDLING THIS:
1. 301 redirect old to new? * (conditions apply)
2. Keep old pages alive?3. Have 1 page and just update content?
WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
CATEGORIES– OUT OF STOCK – SEASONAL/UPDATING
CATEGORIES– OUT OF STOCK – SEASONAL/UPDATING
2014, all 3 terms have search volume and follow the same seasonal trends.
These guys rank for all 3!
WORKSHOP DISCUSSION ON DIFFERENT OPTIONS.
CATEGORIES– DON’T DO THIS
CATEGORIES– DON’T DO THIS
CATEGORIES – INSPIRATION!
http://ao.com/dishwashers/dishwashers.aspx
CATEGORIES – INSPIRATION!
http://www.gucci.com/ro/category/m/men_s_shoes#look68599lookA113
CATEGORIES– CONTENTTHE PERFECT CATEGORY PAGE CONTENT WILL:
1. Get clicks to transactional pages (products)
2. Contain useful content, not filler text3. Be at least 30% unique to any other page
on the site4. Unique keyword targeting (title, h1,body)5. Contain less indexable generic copy6. Unique, canonical URL per product
SECTION 3
E-COMMERCE - GENERAL
IN THIS SECTION:
1. STRUCTURED DATA2. SALES PAGES3. FACETED NAVIGATION4. PAGINATION
ECOM GENERAL– STRUCTURED DATA
DISCUSSION POINTS
•WHAT IS STRUCTURED DATA?•WHY DO SEOs CARE SO MUCH ABOUT IT?•WHEN EVERYONE ZIGS, YOU ZAG –WE NEED TO BE DIFFERENT TO STAND OUT•THE EASIEST VOCABULARY – SCHEMA.ORG MICRODATA
http://schema.org
ECOM GENERAL– STRUCTURED DATA
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1408986?hl=en
•ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMATIONAL QUERIES / EDITORIAL CONTENT•REQUIRES CODE CHANGES
ECOM GENERAL– STRUCTURED DATA
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/173379?hl=en
•ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMATIONAL QUERIES / EDITORIAL CONTENT•REQUIRES CODE CHANGES•CAN BE COMBINED WITH REVIEWS
ECOM – PRODUCTS – VIDEO & REVIEW
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2413309?hl=en&ref_topic=4603851
•GOOD FOR ALL QUERY TYPES •REQUIRES CODE CHANGES•CAN BE COMBINED WITH REVIEW AND PRODUCT SNIPPETS
ECOM – PRODUCTS – DATA HIGHLIGHTER
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/99170?hl=en-GB
•GOOD FOR ALL QUERY TYPES •REQUIRES CODE CHANGES•CAN BE COMBINED WITH REVIEW AND PRODUCT SNIPPETS
PRODUCTS– STRUCTURED DATA – TIPS
http://www.nerdydata.com
RICH SNIPPETS NOT APPEARING?
•Validate your markup with the Google testing tool•Validate in search results – maybe Google isn’t showing them for anyone!•Reverse engineer working examples with Nerdydata.com
ECOM GENERAL – SALES PAGES
http://www.audible.com
EMPLOY REL CANONICAL, NOINDEX, OR ROBOTS.TXT BLOCK – WORKSHOP DISCUSSION
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ro/2014/02/faceted-navigation-best-and-5-of-worst.html
GENERAL SEO ADVICE – FACETED NAVIGATION
•URLs – Always unique, and only 1 canonical version•Breadcrumbs – Easy way to cross link•Adding / removing facets - Add or remove facets and land on the canonical URL•Additional filters -javascript (# anchors) to stop unnecessary pagerank dilution
This is hard! Workshop discussion
GENERAL SEO ADVICE – FACETED NAVIGATION
SOLVING DUPLICATE CONTENT – WORKSHOP DISCUSSION
1. ROBOTS.TXT2. REL NO FOLLOW3. REL CANONICAL4. JAVASCRIPT
FACETED NAVIGATION a la Zappos
FACETED NAVIGATION – LIVE EXAMPLE
MY VERY FIRST COMPLEX MULTI FACETED NAVIGATION FOR A SITE THAT HAS BILLIONS OF POTENTIAL URL PERMUTATIONS.
HERE’S WHERE I TELL YOU WHAT I DID AND WHAT I WOULD DO NOW.
PAGINATION – GENERIC ADVICE
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ro/2011/09/pagination-with-relnext-and-relprev.html
http://www.example.com/category?story=abc&page=3
<head><link rel="prev" href="http://www.example.com/category?story=abc&page=2" /><link rel="next" href="http://www.example.com/category?&page=4" /><meta name=“robots” content=“noindex”/></head>
PAGINATION
Not an easy subject! Different sites have different needs.
Workshop discussion
PAGINATIONIF YOU HAVE RAPIDLY CHANGING PRODUCT PAGES AND THEY AREN’T THE BEST RESULTS FOR USERS – (JOB / CLASSIFIED SITES ARE A GOOD EXAMPLE)
DISCOURAGE PAGINATION CRAWLING THROUGH WMT PARAMETER TARGETING (I.E. DO NOT CRAWL) , EMPLOY REL CANONICAL BACK TO CATEGORY.
WORKSHOP DISCUSSION.
LINK ARCHITECTURE - OVERVIEW
http://seogadget.com/solving-site-architecture-issues/
LINK ARCHITECTURE - SILOING
http://seogadget.com/solving-site-architecture-issues/
LINK ARCHITECTURE – CROSS LINKING
http://seogadget.com/solving-site-architecture-issues/
SMART IDEAS
IN THIS SECTION:
1. FREE STUFF!2. COOL TOOLS3. LESS IS MORE
HOW ABOUT SOME FREE STUFF?
http://info.deepcrawl.co.uk/ecodi
CODE IS ECODI (CASE SENSITIVE)
CHECK YOUR SITE FOR DUPLICATE CONTENT
http://www.copyscape.com/compare.php
GET ON GOOGLE + ... NOW
https://plus.google.com/+eBay/posts/2bwSAZVnbkB
GET ON GOOGLE + ... NOW
TOP REASONS WHY
1. Extension of search results – G+ posts rank!
2. Rankings change depending on if your customers have you in circles, you get automatic ranking boosts
3. Certain links within G+ pass PageRank
LESS IS MORE•Offering too much choice can turn off potential customers•80% of sales come from just 20% of products – applies to many businesses•It is easier to become known for a small number of great – and crucially – memorable products than for offering lots of different ones
Read this: http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/mar/13/avoid-giving-customers-decision-overload
THINGS I WISH I COULD COVER TODAY
•Live chat
•If you’re not mobile friendly, you might as well quit now
•Make everything work, then make everything fast
•“Good for SEO” review services (BazaarVoice, Reevoo)
•Links, product promotion cycle and creative campaigns
QUESTIONS?
DAVIDSOTTIMA
NO@dsottim
ano