How can you make the most and optimize your e-commerce product pages? In this presentation I show you how you can optimize them to attract more and better organic search traffic and conversions.

1. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
SEO For Changing Product Pages
How to Optimize your Online Store Products URLs
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti

2. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
All
paths
of
your
store
lead to your products
pages,
which
can
make
or
break
conversions
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti

3. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Your
products pages are valuable
to
attract
bottom
of
the
funnel
searches
semrush

4. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
How do noise cancelling
headphones work?
Guides & Resources Pages
brand.com/guides/headphones/noise-cancelling
Categories, Brands & Facets Pages
brand.com/headphones/noise-cancelling/
brand.com/bose/headphones/noise-cancelling/
Products Pages
brand.com/bose/headphones/700/
2,9K Searches/Month
40,5K Searches/Month
Bose noise cancelling headphones
8,1K Searches/Month
Wireless noise cancelling headphones
22,2K Searches/Month
Bose noise cancelling
headphones 700
SEARCH JOURNEY VS. CONTENT FUNNEL
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
PURCHASE
… that not only have a higher purchase intent,
but can also have non-trivial search volume

5. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
moz
Product
pages tend to
be also highly
shared and
a
magnet for
backlinks

6. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
semrush
That can make them some
of your top pages traffic wise too!

7. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
sistrix
However, due to their high volume and always
changing inventory, is easy to generate errors

8. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Caused
by
a
lack
of
consistency
when
handling
their
HTTP
status
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti

9. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
As well as
internal linking
issues, by
pointing to
non-indexable
products URLs
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti

10. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #smxwest by @aleyda from @orainti
Making you to lose traffic and money opportunities
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti

11. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Products pages are also known to suffer
from content cannibalization issues …

12. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
… making Google to leave them out of the
index, while consuming your crawl budget

13. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
So much opportunity, but with challenges!

14. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #smxwest by @aleyda from @orainti
Let’s
see
how to handle products
optimization challenges to minimize SEO
issues & maximize benefits
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti

15. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #smxwest by @aleyda from @orainti
When a
product is
released…
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti

16. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Before creating
a new
URL,
establish rules to
validate if the
product existed
in the past to
leverage its old
URL instead

17. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
If the
product is just a variation of an existing one, it
can become a non-indexable attribute of same page…

18. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Check if the characteristics target specific queries w/
search volume worthy to index and rank for

19. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Some
marketplaces
prefer to
consolidate the
same products
from many sellers
in a single
indexable URL to
avoid inventory/
cannibalization
struggles

20. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #smxwest by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
If they’re worthy to rank independently, differentiate
them to be relevant to target their characteristics
Title & Meta
Description
Product
Description
Product
Heading
Title & Meta
Description
Product
Description
Product
Heading

21. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Enable them to be listed and linked from relevant
indexable category/sub-category & brand pages

22. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Making sure that they fit from a topic and hierarchy
perspective, with a clear navigation path

23. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Don’t link to
canonicalized
Category URLs
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
These categories/facets should be linked through
their canonical URLs, avoiding to add parameters

24. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Don’t link to
canonicalized
Product URLs
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Linking and including in XML sitemaps only original
products URLs to pass value & avoid crawl budget waste

25. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Highlighting further as the latest release, besides
making them easily findable via internal search

26. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Use the
final product
URL to promote
it previous
launch
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
When “pre-launching” a product, use the same
URL that the product will have when sold

27. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/data-types/product
Use product structured data to specify your products
characteristics and expand their SERP snippet…

28. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7439058?hl=en
Create and submit your products feeds via Google
Merchant center to maximize visibility

29. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
When a
product is
sold…
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti

30. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Monitor if the products pages rank for too broad
queries, causing cannibalization issues

31. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
They can
negatively affect
not only their
own rankings
but also
give a
sub-optimal
experience with
a too specific
page

32. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
vs
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
This can help identify relevance & differentiation
issues between products & categories

33. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Or also
linking
mismatch
between the
relevant
category vs.
the product
pages

34. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
As well as to detect a lack of indexable categories/
facets that should target these queries

35. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Like in this case, since they’re targeted by
indexable internal search results instead

36. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Facets should become indexable if there are
enough products to feature and search potential

37. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Should I index a Sub-Category/Faceted Page?
Index
Don’t
Index
No
Are there enough
speci
fi
c products
featured in the
sub-category/
facet to offer?
No
Yes
Yes
Demand
Supply
Avoid
products
competing with
categories/
facets by
indexing facets
based on supply
& demand
Does the sub-
category/facet have
non-trivial search
volume worthy to
target?

38. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Copy.ai
.. while making
sure to feature
specifically
relevant, unique
descriptions..
leverage new
content
generation
software to
scale!

39. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Incentivize user
generated
content: reviews,
ratings, questions
and answers too,
that will also help
conversions

40. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
When a
product goes
out of stock…

41. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
All links
going to any
out of stock
products as
well as internal
search and
XML sitemap
inclusion should
be eliminated

42. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
If it’s a temporary
status or you’re
unsure, the
product page
should remain
indexable,
allowing users to
be notified when
it comes back,
recommending
related products

43. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
The product page structured data & feeds should
show the latest status, including “out of stock”

44. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
If it’s a permanent “out of stock” and the old product
has a new version, 301-redirect to the new one
301 redirect to new
product page, while
alerting users.
Update internal links, XML
sitemaps and product
feeds

45. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Add a
notification when
redirecting
explaining the out
of stock status
to the user
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
…If there isn’t a new version but page has backlinks,
traffic, rankings, 301-redirect to parent category

46. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Another option is 301-redirecting to a similar product
but can cause chain redirects in the long run

47. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Don’t do
this
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Avoid
302 redirects to
make sure you
pass the old
product page
value while
making sure the
destination
actually works
and is relevant

48. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Don’t show 404s for out of stock products w/
backlinks, you miss value & give bad experience

49. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Personalize
your error page
to be usable
and relevant
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
You can use 410 http status for permanent out of
stock pages with no backlinks nor rankings/traffic

50. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
All internal links, internal search, XML sitemaps and
feeds inclusion of these URLs should be eliminated

51. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Set rules in your platform to tackle these scenarios
systematically whenever products change

52. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
ryte
Schedule continuous crawls to run & be delivered
automatically to identify remaining issues

53. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Little Warden and ContentKing
Set real
time SEO
monitoring and
alerts, to be
warned if your
product pages
change their
status

54. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Little Warden and ContentKing
Integrate
Web
traffic
and
rankings
data
to
alerts
validations,
prioritizing
the
ones
of
those
product
pages
with
certain
minimum
value

55. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
Zapier and Integromat
Set the
alerts to be
directly delivered
to your
communication or
PM system to
facilitate their
validation

56. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #smxwest by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
It’s about aligning your products
optimization to their
inventory lifecycle

57. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #smxwest by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
T
o
miminize
crawlability,
indexability,
rankings
and
user
search
experience
issues…

58. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
#productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
…
while
maximizing
their
impact
and
value
from
an
organic
traffic
and
conversion
perspective

59. #productseo at #ecommerceconference by @aleyda from @orainti
www.orainti.com
orainti.com
I’m Aleyda Solis
* 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
Thanks! Questions?