Enhance your e commerce pdx ga user group

Enhance Your eCommerce Merging SEO & Analytics

@mike_arnesen #PDXGA

Download bit.ly/pdxga-ecom


Mike Arnesen Director of Analytics & Optimization

at SwellPath google.com/search?mike+arnesen


Yes, it validates.

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schema.org/Person"><h1 itemprop="name" > Mike Arnesen</h1>

<h2 itemprop="jobTitle" > Director of Analytics & Optimization </h2> <h3 itemprop="worksFor" > SwellPath </h3> <a itemprop="url" href="google.com/search?q=mike

+arnesen">Find me on Google</a> <img src="/headshot.jpg" itemprop="image" /> <span itemprop="brand" >@mike_arnesen</span></div>#<span itemprop="name" >Enhance Your eCommerce</span><meta itemprop="startDate" content="2014-10-20"><meta itemprop="location" content="PDX" />

</div>

This is going to be rapid fire…



Navigation & Site Architecture

@mike_arnesen #StateOfSearch #eComSEO @mike_arnesen #PDXGA

Use a Flat Site Architecture Try to minimize click depth

Do this…

…not that.

•  Directories represent site architecture •  Describe from broad to narrow •  Human readable


Avoid Meaningless URLs.

•  Don’t sacrifice accessibility for flashiness.

•  Usable without JS? •  Meaningful anchor text? •  Limit choices; focus.


Ensure Nav Accessibility & Utility

Ensure Nav Accessibility & Utility

•  For users and bots •  Make each item clickable •  Use breadcrumb markup (schema.org / data-vocabulary.org)


Use breadcrumb navigation

•  Not the place to stuff links …or your page content.

•  Highlight a few important pages. •  I still use nofollow.


Let’s talk about site footers in 2014

Provide additional: •  Context •  Crawl paths •  Shopping ideas


Don’t forget internal/cross-linking


Categories & Content

•  What am I looking at? •  What’s unique here?


Always use content on category grid walls

•  Effective at increasing ranking. •  Important for avoiding thin content. •  It’s also a branding opportunity!


Always use content on category grid walls


Content Optimization


Content Integration Frame supplemental content as a fallback

1.  Do your research 2.  Outsource initial copywriting 3.  Polish the result & push live


Content Development

Don’t put up #PandaBait …unless you have nothing on your plate for the next few months.


Protect yourself From the Panda!


Crawling & Indexation AKA, man vs. machine

•  Invest in unique product descriptions •  Use proper pagination •  Have a canonical strategy in place •  Noindex when appropriate •  Use clean URL handling


Duplicate content can be really annoying

•  Rel prev & next are your friends! •  Make “view all” the canonical.


Use pagination and/or canonicalization on a series

Near-identical products can cause issues •  Canonize the best seller •  Create unique descriptions •  Consolidate pages


Specify canonical products

Stop!


NoIndex is your friend

Practice good housekeeping to avoid being overrun with duplicate content! •  Non-WWW URLs to WWW (or vice versa) •  Non-trailing slash to trailing slash •  index.php (and similar) to trailing slash


WWW, Trailing Slash, & Index Resolution

Leverage multiple XML sitemaps to monitor indexation by page type.


Divide and Conquer: XML Sitemaps

Use historical analytics, Google Insights, and stakeholder experience to map out seasonality.


Understand & Predict Seasonality

Give holiday campaign pages time to index & rank. Start building links ahead of time.


Get your updates out early and be prepared.


Products & Semantic SEO

What does it mean?!

Without advanced analysis, it’s hard to understand what pages and sites are about.


How we used to convey meaning…


Semantic markup changes everything.



Data pulled from semantic markup is everywhere!


Shared vocabularies make semantic markup meaningful

What is Semantic SEO?

Providing open, structured data in order to increase search visibility by helping connect users with information that they want and need.#


Steps to implementing and tracking structured data 7


Audit & Discovery Let’s see what we have here


Use analytics to identify prime targets for improvement.


Don’t forget Screaming Frog!


Implementation Develop and execute your plan


What content on your site is important?

ArticlesProductsNavigationEventsRecipesPlaces & AddressesOrganizationsReviewsRatingsCommentsVideosDates & Times

PeopleRelationshipsBooksAnswersDietsMoviesTV EpisodesExercise PlanPaintings & SculpturesBus Trips & FlightsServicesMedical Conditions/Treatments


What content on your site is important? Trick question! It’s all important!

ArticlesProductsNavigationEventsRecipesPlaces & AddressesOrganizationsReviewsRatingsCommentsVideosDates & Times

PeopleRelationshipsBooksAnswersDietsMoviesTV EpisodesExercise PlanPaintings & SculpturesBus Trips & FlightsServicesMedical Conditions/Treatments


Build templates & guides

<span xmlns:v="http://rdf.data-vocabulary.org/#"><span typeof="v:Breadcrumb"> <a href="/" rel="v:url" property="v:title" itemprop="breadcrumb"> Home </a></span> » <span typeof="v:Breadcrumb"> <a href=”/blades/" rel="v:url" property="v:title" itemprop="breadcrumb"> Blades </a></span> » <span typeof="v:Breadcrumb"> <a href="/blades/broad-swords/" rel="v:url" property="v:title" itemprop="breadcrumb"> Broad Swords </a></span>

</span>


<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Product" ><h1 itemprop="name">Glamdring</h1><img src="/images/glamdring-high-res.png" itemprop="image" /><p itemprop="description">Glamdring was used in battle only twice in the First Age; Turgon wielded Glamdring in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and in the Fall of Gondolin. For over 6,000 years it went missing, surviving the War of Wrath, until Gandalf (and company) found it (along with Sting and Orcrist) in the trolls' cave in The Hobbit and claimed it for himself. </p><div itemprop="offers" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Offer" >

<span itemprop="price">40</span><span itemprop="priceCurrency" content="XAU"><link itemprop="availability" href="http://schema.org/InStock" />In stock

</div><h3>Related Blades</h3><div itemprop="isRelatedTo" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Product" >

<a itemprop="url" href="/blades/orcist/"> <span itemprop="name" >Orcist</span></a>- <span itemprop="offers" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Offer" > <span itemprop="price">35</span><span itemprop="priceCurrency" content="XAU”>\</span>

</div>

Build templates & guides for all of your content types


Events Decide which events matter to you



Create a Tag:

Create a Tag: to send data to Google Analytics



to send data to Google Analytics with meaningful values

Start Tracking Set tag manager to listen for structured data @mike_arnesen #PDXGA

One RULE to rule… you know the rest


Custom JavaScript Macro:


Custom JavaScript Macro: Detect schema.org markup on page


Creation order & naming conventions for Macros, Rules, & Tags


Create Macros:•  Semantic – {Type} Markup Detection•  Semantic – {Type} {Property}Create Rules:•  Semantic - Has {Type} Markup RuleCreate Tags:•  Semantic – {Type} Markup Analytics Event

Groupings Keep track of each group


Set up dynamic content grouping in Google Tag Manager


…via a Macro with a Lookup Table


Goals Decide what you need to accomplish


Create a goal to track the performance of all structured data on your site


Watch the crawl Using webmaster tools


Keep monitoring Google’s crawling to ID missing data or errors.


How to Implement & Track your structured data


How to Implement & Track your structured data


1. Audit and rediscover your content 2. Strategize and implement 3. Enable tracking of structured data in GA 4. Set up and record analytics events 5. Create itemtype-based groups for content 6. Set up goals to monitor structure data ROI 7. Continue to watch the crawl

Thank you!

Mike Arnesen Director of Analytics & Optimization

at SwellPath google.com/search?mike+arnesen

Download: bit.ly/pdxga-ecom


Enhance your e commerce pdx ga user group

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