Technical SEO - Practical Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/category/seo/technical-seo Independent analysis and strategy for online merchants Tue, 11 Nov 2025 02:24:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.4 URL Case Sensitivity and SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/url-case-sensitivity-and-seo Mon, 10 Nov 2025 14:34:45 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1557851 Inconsistent capitalization can harm organic rankings in three ways.

The post URL Case Sensitivity and SEO appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> How to Remove a Web Page from Google https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-remove-a-web-page-from-google Mon, 20 Oct 2025 08:55:49 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1557312 The reasons for deindexing a page haven't much changed over the years, although the tools and tactics have evolved.

The post How to Remove a Web Page from Google appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> Google’s JavaScript SERPs Impact Trackers, AI https://www.practicalecommerce.com/googles-javascript-serps-impact-trackers-ai Thu, 06 Feb 2025 15:21:00 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1549192 Search engine result pages can now "hide" the listings from rank trackers, AI models, and other optimization tools.

The post Google’s JavaScript SERPs Impact Trackers, AI appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> What to Know about Meta Descriptions https://www.practicalecommerce.com/what-to-know-about-meta-descriptions Tue, 14 Jan 2025 13:39:09 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1547804 Here's how meta descriptions impact traffic but not organic search rankings.

The post What to Know about Meta Descriptions appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> How Google Detects Duplicate Content https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-google-detects-duplicate-content Mon, 06 Jan 2025 13:45:50 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1547519 Google seeks diverse search results and must choose when two or more pages are the same or similar.

The post How Google Detects Duplicate Content appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> SEO Aspects of Content Syndication https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-aspects-of-content-syndication Mon, 05 Aug 2024 09:00:38 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1540729 Publishers who syndicate their content can drive referral traffic and raise brand visibility. The tactic does little for search engine optimization, however.

The post SEO Aspects of Content Syndication appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> 3-Tiered Index Hints SEO Link Value https://www.practicalecommerce.com/3-tiered-index-hints-seo-link-value Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:59:28 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1540540 Google stores its index of web pages on a three-tiered hardware system. The leak from Google's engineering documents suggests a link's authority depends on its tier.

The post 3-Tiered Index Hints SEO Link Value appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> The Right Way to Pass PageRank https://www.practicalecommerce.com/the-right-way-to-pass-pagerank Mon, 29 Jul 2024 09:00:16 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1540542 Inbound links remain critical for organic rankings. Managing PageRank is critical, too.

The post The Right Way to Pass PageRank appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> AI Overviews: Initial Tests and Studies https://www.practicalecommerce.com/ai-overviews-initial-tests-and-studies Mon, 10 Jun 2024 12:53:15 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1538288 Thus far AI Overviews appears in a relatively small percentage of queries. The impact on conventional listings changes near daily.

The post AI Overviews: Initial Tests and Studies appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> Early Look at Google’s AI Overviews https://www.practicalecommerce.com/early-look-at-googles-ai-overviews Mon, 20 May 2024 14:11:35 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1537350 The new feature in search results is an AI-generated response to queries. Here's our first assessment of the traffic impact.

The post Early Look at Google’s AI Overviews appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> Google Revs Ecommerce SERPs https://www.practicalecommerce.com/google-revs-ecommerce-serps Thu, 09 May 2024 11:51:47 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1536798 Consumers can now shop directly on Google's search results without visiting merchants' ecommerce sites.

The post Google Revs Ecommerce SERPs appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> SEO Takeaways from SGE’s Partial Rollout https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-takeaways-from-sges-partial-rollout Thu, 11 Apr 2024 10:32:33 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1535128 How will Google's Search Generative Experience impact organic listings?

The post SEO Takeaways from SGE’s Partial Rollout appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> Traffic Recovery from Domain Changes https://www.practicalecommerce.com/traffic-recovery-from-domain-changes Thu, 21 Mar 2024 13:09:43 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1534635 Changing domain names can seriously reduce organic search traffic. Here's how to recover.

The post Traffic Recovery from Domain Changes appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> Google and EEAT, Explained https://www.practicalecommerce.com/google-and-eeat-explained Mon, 19 Feb 2024 13:51:21 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1533525 Google coined "Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness" for its human evaluators, yet the concepts apply to all search optimizers.

The post Google and EEAT, Explained appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> Google’s Core Update vs. Helpful Content https://www.practicalecommerce.com/googles-core-update-vs-helpful-content Thu, 08 Feb 2024 11:00:52 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1532970 Google's algorithm updates were once more or less apparent. No more. Here's the difference between the two primary types.

The post Google’s Core Update vs. Helpful Content appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> How Google Uses Keywords https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-google-uses-keywords Thu, 01 Feb 2024 11:00:35 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1532849 Search results in 2024 are driven by users' intent. Keywords are often the best indicator.

The post How Google Uses Keywords appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> SEO: Crawled not Indexed, Explained https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-crawled-not-indexed-explained Thu, 25 Jan 2024 13:41:30 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1532758 A nonindexed page is not necessarily inferior, although an inferior page is certainly a nonindex candidate.

The post SEO: Crawled not Indexed, Explained appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> AI SEO for Brand Names https://www.practicalecommerce.com/ai-seo-for-brand-names Thu, 04 Jan 2024 14:19:39 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1531824 Consumers search companies' names during purchase journeys. AI-driven search results complicate optimization tactics.

The post AI SEO for Brand Names appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> SEO Signals from SERPs https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-signals-from-serps Thu, 07 Dec 2023 19:25:02 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1530910 The search result page for any query provides signals for optimizing for that term.

The post SEO Signals from SERPs appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> 3 New Metrics for Today’s SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/3-new-metrics-for-todays-seo Thu, 23 Nov 2023 14:36:45 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1530320 Modern search result pages are much more than 10 blue links. SEO performance metrics have changed, too.

The post 3 New Metrics for Today’s SEO appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> SEO: How to Target Countries https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-how-to-target-countries Thu, 26 Oct 2023 12:48:39 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1528799 Cross-border ecommerce is booming. Here's how to ensure a site ranks in organic search for a targeted country.

The post SEO: How to Target Countries appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> SEO for SGE https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-for-sge Tue, 24 Oct 2023 12:41:49 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1528732 Google's AI-powered Search Generative Experience will soon roll out to all users, replacing the current layout and results.

The post SEO for SGE appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> How 404s Impact Organic Rankings https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-404s-impact-organic-rankings Thu, 28 Sep 2023 14:54:36 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1527251 A deleted page is not the issue. The harm is from broken backlinks to that page.

The post How 404s Impact Organic Rankings appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> How Google Personalizes Search Results https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-google-personalizes-search-results Tue, 29 Aug 2023 15:06:46 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1525952 Search results differ based on a user's history, interactions, location, and more.

The post How Google Personalizes Search Results appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> Dos and Don’ts for 301 Redirects https://www.practicalecommerce.com/dos-and-donts-for-301-redirects Thu, 27 Jul 2023 13:36:09 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1524848 301 redirects are essential for search engine optimization. But improper use can do more harm than good.

The post Dos and Don’ts for 301 Redirects appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> How Google’s AI Search Could Impact Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-googles-ai-search-could-impact-ecommerce Sun, 25 Jun 2023 13:08:32 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1523081 Google's generative, artificial intelligence-powered search results are "experimental." But change is coming.

The post How Google’s AI Search Could Impact Ecommerce appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> Reasons to Avoid Nofollow Link Attributes https://www.practicalecommerce.com/reasons-to-avoid-nofollow-link-attributes Thu, 01 Jun 2023 12:59:08 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1522220 Google in 2023 views nofollow link attributes as hints, not commands. Here's a rundown of common nofollow mistakes and the (limited) cases for using them.

The post Reasons to Avoid Nofollow Link Attributes appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> AI Pushes SEO to Social and More https://www.practicalecommerce.com/ai-pushes-seo-to-social-and-more Mon, 29 May 2023 11:39:02 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1522054 Google's "new perspectives" in AI-driven search could emphasize content beyond branded websites to include social influencers and more.

The post AI Pushes SEO to Social and More appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> SEO for Domain Clustering Is Risky https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-for-domain-clustering-is-risky Tue, 04 Apr 2023 14:56:48 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1520046 Despite announcing otherwise, Google still occasionally clusters two or more URLs from a single site in search results. But optimizing for such clusters poses risks.

The post SEO for Domain Clustering Is Risky appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]> How to Optimize for AI ‘Answer Engines’ https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-optimize-for-ai-answer-engines Mon, 20 Feb 2023 14:19:27 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1518195 The merging of AI-driven chat into traditional search engines could transform organic results, producing relatively few answers to queries rather than an extended list of URLs.

The post How to Optimize for AI ‘Answer Engines’ appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

]]>