advanced seo ranking relationships

#StateOfSearch @dfwsem Alan Bleiweiss @AlanBleiweiss

Advanced Ranking Factor Relationships

Sustainable SEO Presentation


By Alan Bleiweisshttp://AlanBleiweiss.com

http://AlanBleiweiss.com/



SEO is not rocket science. It is search science!



Primary Areas This Presentation Covers



We no longer live in a one or two algorithm world.



"The decision Tree for what gets indexed, what remains, and what gets

removed is more complex than ever.”

“Sites are an ugly mess now, more than ever.”



The Answer:

QUART in all things.

+"Consistency of signal

reinforcement" QUART concept ©2013 – 2015 Alan Bleiweiss



Topical Discovery, Topical Focus+

Content Related User Experience


Advanced Ranking Factor RelationshipsConflicting Signal Detection

One Million product SKUs

GSC: 11 million pages indexed

“site:” check - 600,000 results250,000 duplicate

content

6 million Sitemap URLs submitted3 million Sitemap URLs

indexed[this is actual client data]



Conflicting Signals SourcesDuplicate & Perceived Duplicate Content



Parameter Caused Duplicate ContentMost eCommerce SitesGet URL Parameter Indexation Completely Wrong



Conflicting Indexation Signal Sources



Conflicting Signal DetectionResources

Google Search Console: Sitemap Error Messages

DeepCrawl: Universal, List and Sitemap Crawl

ScreamingFrog: Standard Crawl & List Upload



Conflicting Signal DetectionResources: DeepCrawl



Conflicting Signal DetectionResources: ScreamingFrog



Conflicting Signal FixesOn pages you don’t want indexed:

Eliminate canonical tag ! ( oooh controversial! )

Don’t set URL parameters to “let Googlebot decide”

Eliminate OpenGraph Tags

Don’t include in sitemap file



Conflicting Signal FixesIf you keep canonical tags on pages you want to not be indexed:

Understand Google may override this tag

If too many pages remain indexed, you willneed to kill those canonical tags



Conflicting Signal Fixes301 redirect or block crawlers and indexation?

301 redirect if that page previously had value

(even if it was “little” value)

Block crawlers & indexation if there was no value



Conflicting Signal FixesIf you want to permanently have pages removed, Choose 410 instead of 404.

404: Not Found (maybe intentional, maybe not)

410: Gone (yeah, we killed it on purpose)



Conflicting Signal FixesWhen you 301, de-index or kill pages:

Make sure internal links are updated

Make sure sitemap files are updated

Do inbound link outreach



Conflicting Signal FixesIf you can’t eliminate URL Parameters entirelyBut want to remove variations from indexation:

Add: &noidx=1 to the URL string. Set robots.txt to block all those instances.

*noidx=1 methodology courtesy Jaimie Sirovich



IA Topical Focus ConfusionFlat ArchitecturePartial Flat ArchitectureMultiple Copies of each Product PageInfinite Nesting



IA Topical Focus ConfusionAll Flat Architecture

http://domain.com/http://domain.com/category1/http://domain.com/category1-subcat/http://domain.com/productdetailspage/

http://domain.com/blog/http://domain.com/blogpost/http://domain.com/faq/

http://domain.com/

http://domain.com/category1/

http://domain.com/category1-subcat/

http://domain.com/category1-subcat/

http://domain.com/productdetailspage/


http://domain.com/blog/

http://domain.com/blogpost/

http://domain.com/faq/



IA Topical Focus ConfusionNested Categories, Flat Product URLs

http://domain.com/http://domain.com/category1/http://domain.com/cat1/subcat1/ http://domain.com/productdetailspage/

http://domain.com/blog/http://domain.com/blog/category/http://domain.com/blogpost/

http://domain.com/

http://domain.com/category1/

http://domain.com/cat1/subcat1/



http://domain.com/blog/

http://domain.com/blog/category/

http://domain.com/blogpost/



IA Topical Focus ConfusionMultiple Copies of each Product Page

http://domain.com/cat1/product1/http://domain.com/cat2/product1/http://domain.com/cat3/product1/http://domain.com/cat3/colorx/product1/

http://domain.com/cat4/subcat1/product1/http://domain.com/on-sale/product1/

http://domain.com/cat1/productpage/

http://domain.com/cat2/product1/




http://domain.com/cat3/colorx/product1/

http://domain.com/cat3/colorx/product1/

http://domain.com/cat4/subcat1/product1/

http://domain.com/cat4/subcat1/product1/

http://domain.com/on-sale/product1/



IA Topical Focus ConfusionInfinite Nestinghttp://domain.com/new/2015/toyota/camry/se/4cyl/2-5l/tires/14inch/radial/AT/noise-dampening/long-life/lug-nuts/

http://domain.com/new/2015/toyota/camry/se/4cyl/2-5l/tires/14inch/radial/AT/noise-dampening/long-life/lug-nuts/





IA Topical Focus ConfusionResolution:

Avoid flat architecture

Use consistent nesting model

Only use duplication in gentle ways

1 product detail URL accessible from several category funnels if needed(ideal is to include product in only one category funnel where possible)




If you have many nearly identical products /SKUs, don’t use one product/one detail page model. Consolidate where possible.

Use Dropdown menu selector, radio button, or checkboxes to allow visitors to choose the “variation” of that product they want to purchase.




Assign to categories only when data justifies!

Nest only as deep as data justifies!



Page Speed Factor Complexity

Speed impacts:Quality

AuthorityTrust



“But our GPSI scores are good!”*

*Actual claim from client developer



If you have several high resolution images, optimizing them can still

leave you with a final page that’s too bloated.



If you have too many unnecessary scripts, minify isn’t enough!

5 necessary scripts5 ad network scripts4 "related" and "also bought" widget

scripts3 social widget scripts3 tracking tool scripts


Advanced Ranking Factor RelationshipsGPSI doesn’t properly Evaluate 3rd party connection issues


Advanced Ranking Factor RelationshipsResolving Page Speed Evaluation

Requires Looking Deeper


Advanced Ranking Factor RelationshipsWhen Factor Relationship Stars Align



ConclusionSearch algorithms are more complex than ever

Search algorithms are not perfect

Understand how multiple factors contribute to individual algorithmic decisions

Detecting problems requires multiple tests and evaluations

Be consistent across all individual signal points

advanced seo ranking relationships

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