Diagnosing & Solving Technical SEO Challenges
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Part of a panel presentation at SMX West in 2015, this presentation provides a practical approach to diagnosing technical SEO challenges that can often be hidden. We'll identify risks, indicators of a problem, find the root cause, and work through the process of getting to a better place. Specific examples are included to round out the presentation.
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Diagnosing & Solving Technical SEO Challenges
- 1. March 5, 2015 Diagnosing & Solving Technical SEO Challenges Corey Morris Digital Strategist, Voltage @coreydmorris
- 2. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Decade of SEO client experience includes: Construction Equip. Parts National Restaurant Chain Boxing & MMA Brand Commercial Paints Mfg. Hearing Centers Chain Hospital Beds Mfg. Retirement Community International Logistics Firm Professional Sports Team Gourmet Coffee Company Natural Products Company Law Firms Banks, Credit Unions, & Mortgage Companies National Chain of Kid Entertainment Centers National Chain of Career Colleges Compliance & Risk Management Firms Leading Brand of Flowers & Shrubs About Corey Morris, Digital Strategist
- 3. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a • Branding, Web Design/Development, Online Marketing • Clients range from NFL teams to one-person start-ups • Distinctive strategy planning & documentation process • Based in Kansas City, Missouri – emerging tech hub and capital of the “Silicon Prairie” About Voltage (VoltageKC.com)
- 4. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a • SEOs • Agency Marketers • In-house Marketers • Web Publishers • Webmasters Engineers & Developers: Please don’t tune out, but feel free to submit questions for these guys (Eric & Ehren) Who I’m Talking To
- 5. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a SEO MEMES!!! Not really, but would be a fun topic Tweet your favorites & use hashtags #SMX #32a (but please don’t tune out) What I’m Going to Cover Used with permission by creator: Elisa Gabbert. Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/matt-cutts-meme-monday-mattcutts/47728/
- 6. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Technical SEO Risks Uncovering Problems Go-to Tools Solving Technical SEO Problems WINNING What I’m Going to Cover
- 8. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a I Have Large-Scale Content: • Tens of thousands of product pages that I can’t optimize individually • Dozens or hundreds of location pages • Hundreds of pages of standardized industry content and references • Multiple corporations, brands, and/or sites under one umbrella Technical SEO Risks
- 9. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a I’m Duplicate and I Know It: • Selling the same products as others • Industry standards and feature parody • Regulated Industries (standards & limits on details that can be shared) • Corporate multi-unit owner • Franchisee • Ecommerce website with products in multiple categories Technical SEO Risks
- 10. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a I Have Technology Challenges: • I don’t fully understand my infrastructure • My team doesn’t know or care about SEO • I inherited this website/system • I know we’re a mess • I don’t want to talk about it (someone took shortcuts, bought the cheapest option, we used to be black hat, etc.) Technical SEO Risks
- 11. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Other Risks & Issues (Known or Unknown): • 302 redirects • Errors in XML Sitemaps • 404s, 500s, and other crawl errors • Missing and/or duplicate tags • Multiple H1s and improper h-tag hierarchy • Flat URL structure and/or hierarchy problems • URL tracking parameters without canonicals • Mobile, printer-friendly, and feed pages • Mirrored and iframed content Technical SEO Risks
- 13. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Some Indicators: • Drops in organic traffic • Drops in visibility in SERPs • Drops in organic conversions relative to total • Webmaster Tools data alarms (not always a message from WMT) • Error reporting in audit tools • Changes in organic quality scoring Uncovering Problems
- 14. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Validation of problem(s): • Duplicate page content (tags, copy) • Not all content indexed • Lots of “omitted” pages in SERPs • Canonical tag problems • WWW vs. non-WWW with no global redirect • XML sitemap not accurate (enough) • Holy crap…I made URL updates without 301s!!! • I have 47 products with 95% same detail Uncovering Problems
- 16. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Some Examples: • Google SERPs and search operators ($0) • Google & Bing Webmaster Tools ($0) • Moz Pro ($99/mo. & up) • Raven Tools ($99/mo. & up) • Bruce Clay’s SEO Toolset ($30/mo. & up) • Copyscape (credit based/cheap) • Internet Officer Redirect Checker ($0) • Google Analytics ($0) • DNSStuff ($0) • Screaming Frog ($0) Go-to Tools
- 17. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Solving Technical SEO Problems
- 18. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Understand the Current Situation: • What technology is in place for my website? • What questions do I have about how it works? • What is required from a content standpoint? • What can be programmatic versus manual? • Do I have CMS control over SEO elements? • What resources are at my disposal? Solving Technical SEO Problems
- 19. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Work it out: 1. Review sitemap & find areas that can follow templates for URL structure, tags, headings, & copy 2. Build formulas for the planned dynamic items in plain English for each template section 3. Consider content strategy: merge content & address need for unique content including user generated content (reviews, tips, comments, etc.) & other ways to build at scale Solving Technical SEO Problems
- 20. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Work it out (continued): 4. Determine areas where canonicals are needed & document (could be a big project) 5. Review pagination & develop plan for canonicals and/or single page solutions 6. Determine options for the Robots.txt and XML Sitemap files & develop recurring audit plan 7. Bring in the UX & Dev teams to review details the plan & elicit feedback Solving Technical SEO Problems
- 22. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Building Dynamic Content for 54k+ Pages for Tractor & Construction Equip. Parts Retailer • No choice but to scale and use database • Developing formulas and ensuring that even data- driven content has unique sources and aspects • Testing new ideas and techniques on single section of content before going global WINNING!
- 23. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Overcoming Duplicate Content Challenge for Restaurant Chain with ~100 Locations • Writing of custom blurb for each location • Use of user generated content including reviews, social media interactions, and local specials • Development of formulas for tags and headings to utilize database • Utilize local specials and calendar information WINNING!
- 24. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Identifying Hidden Problems for Boxing & MMA Equipment Brand • Recent Magento upgrades and MOM integration query development • Could not identify cause of drop in organic traffic & sales seen in Magento and Google Analytics • Found drops & increases in traffic to URLs in GA and determined that URLs had changed without 301s • Tracked down thousands of 404s WINNING!
- 25. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a National Chain of Career Colleges with Hidden Problem Not Found with Tools • Awesome optimization and custom content for all locations and programs & no problems in WMT or intelligence tools • Pattern of rankings stuck on page 2 and held back from where expected on page 1 • Duplicate mirrored site on different domain name found in page 70 of SERPs via manual review WINNING!
- 26. searchmarketingexpo.com @coreydmorris #SMX #32a Advice for Success • Prioritize activities and have patience • Explore all options and trust best practices and your experience • Educate your team and get their buy-in • Balance costs and resources with potential impact • Don’t cry wolf and don’t give up WINNING!
Editor's Notes
- I’ve had the opportunity to work for a couple of growing agencies and share in their successes in growing SEO and online marketing teams While I’ve had some clients in common industries, no major focus and wide variety
- Voltage recently rebranded from “Voltage Creative” and we have a balance between web and marketing staff and projects We use a process that focuses on discovery and documentation that helps us work with clients of all shapes and sizes We are in the heart of the tech boom in Kansas City and love all of the excitement in our town. I’m proud to be part of a local radio show focused on the topic
- Basically anyone doing SEO…don’t tune out developers! If you’re new to SEO, feel free to catch me later as I’ll be happy to go into further detail on any concepts that are new Or, if you’re seeking help in how to translate concepts to clients or other team members, I can help with that too!
- If you’ve been doing SEO, you know about the problems with duplicate content and the best practices related to it In some cases, like these, we inherently have it and need to handle it somehow
- No system is perfect…even if we build it from scratch, aspects will get outdated or obsolete based on changes in best practices and standard Step 1 is to know what we have and to overcome our own problems related to technology.
- I hate the phrase “I know enough to be dangerous” as it is often true. Danger and risks lurk in manual and automated efforts that aren’t fully understood or comprehended. That’s what causes many of these risks and issues in addition to simple ignorance (which isn’t a bad thing as we are all hopefully continually learning and growing)
- Wouldn’t it be nice if we got an email with specifics every time there was an issue…or if Google would tell us via GWT? Unfortunately, many times issues are hidden and we have to proactively seek and find them. We have to discern between drops due to company, industry, macroeconomic, seasonal, or other considerations and problems related to SEO In many cases the buck stops with us and we are the ones who have to find the issue when there’s no UX or
- So we have an idea or clue…now what? We have to go track down the cause of the problem. It can be like Jeopardy, except we find the answer and have a lot of potential questions to sort through before we find the right one that fits with the indicator. We must check against best practice standards as well as competitor or comparable websites that are ranking well…where do we differ and where are we out of tolerance from the norms.
- There are a lot of other great tools and I’ve limited this to my “go-to” tools for the sake of time. Additional tools for indicators: Panguin Moz’s algorithm update history Siteliner (affiliated with Copyscape)
- ----- Meeting Notes (2/28/15 20:43) ----- At the end of the day, the help we can get via internal resources is huge and can solve all of the bullets above the last one.
- Plot out the actual current and/or proposed sitemap on paper, in excel, etc. Keep the formulas simple and just put brackets around dynamic elements and use plain English (or language of choice) Remember that any dynamic or user generated content must be rendered or output into the HTML of a page and not be iframed in or part of a feed inside a container
- Canonicals can be tricky and dangerous if implemented improperly. Plan well and test like crazy Don’t forget your root files!!! These can be overwritten by systems or people on accident or be dynamically updated with details that aren’t in line with your SEO plan Walk your teams transparently through the steps you’ve taken, what you’ve decided to do, and to get their feedback on your plan. They may have more efficient or effective ways to accomplish your plan. By cluing them into the level of effort and detail you’ve put into it they will appreciate your trade and hopefully accept any best practices education, etc.
- We had the problem of being a retailer selling common parts. We needed to rank at the top near the manufacturer and beat all others selling the same parts So many pages and so little resources that we couldn’t touch each page Test, test, test…we got to a point where testing was imperative for growth alone, but also could hurt us if not done properly as we didn’t want to lose positioning
- Half the stores were franchise owned and the other half were franchisees. This made for some interesting content challenges. We were limited by resources as the internal development team put SEO as a low priority for a YEAR We used pretty much every element on a page to work in our favor and to differentiate the locations from each other.
- My whole deck could have been a clinic going through this example. I’m still working with this client auditing and planning for their temporary and long-term solutions. I found clues to their issue in Google Analytics by looking at changes in traffic to specific pages. I found evidence that old URLs disappeared and new ones came online. We circled back with their IT team and found that their custom feeds and queries from MOM to Magento did wipe out and rebuild category URLs on their ecommerce sites…oops. NO 301s and lots of ignorance I’m continuing to work with them, but so far have found 404s, 302s, multiple versions of home pages, duplicate product pages (on site), duplicate content (off-site), HTML formatting in meta descriptions, and several more problems. The biggest fix/recommendation is use of canonical tag (for now)
- Yes, I literally went through 70 pages in the SERPs manually not knowing or thinking that I’d find the issue. Yes, from all accounts, this was the thing holding us back…we had a lot of data to show that. Yes, we seriously won in nearly all markets by removing this issue.
- Fight the good fight! Don’t quit and admit defeat. Work to get ALL of the details from your team, the client, and all stakeholders. Don’t let someone hold the key to solving your problem by not understanding or thinking that any details are insignificant. We’re all in this together