Ann Smarty - Practical Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/author/ann-smarty Independent analysis and strategy for online merchants Wed, 24 Dec 2025 02:26:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.4 GSC Groups Keywords as AI Queries Expand https://www.practicalecommerce.com/gsc-groups-keywords-as-ai-queries-expand Tue, 23 Dec 2025 12:11:45 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1558913 Google Search Console's "Insights" section no longer shows click trends for single keywords, only by group.

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]]> Primer on ChatGPT’s 3 Bots https://www.practicalecommerce.com/primer-on-chatgpts-3-bots Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:10:08 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1558738 Knowing which bot is responsible for which task is essential before attempting to disallow it.

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]]> Long-Tail SEO in an AI World https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-targeting-the-longtail-for-more-sales Tue, 09 Dec 2025 13:35:53 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1558574 The top benefit of targeting long-tail searches could now be AI visibility.

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]]> Tools to Track GenAI Citations, Sources https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tools-to-track-genai-citations-sources Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:13:25 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1558409 Understanding how AI platforms conduct searches is key to optimizing visibility in the answers.

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]]> How Google’s Web Guide Helps SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-googles-web-guide-helps-seo Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:57:43 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1558198 The new Google Labs experiment uses AI to organize a user's search results. It's also handy for SEO.

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]]> New GSC ‘Insights’ Show Trends, Status https://www.practicalecommerce.com/new-gsc-insights-show-trends-status Mon, 17 Nov 2025 13:58:36 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1558016 The relaunched "Insights" section in Search Console doesn't provide data unavailable in other reports, but it's helpful for quick trends and items needing attention.

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]]> 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.

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]]> Regex in GSC Reveals ChatGPT Searches https://www.practicalecommerce.com/regex-in-gsc-reveals-chatgpt-searches Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:00:48 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1557551 Search Console reports AI-bot queries as if they're human. Here's how to isolate the bots from real people.

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]]> Does Schema Markup Help AI Visibility? https://www.practicalecommerce.com/does-schema-markup-help-ai-visibility Mon, 27 Oct 2025 12:19:32 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1557526 What matters for AI visibility is relevant content and long-term brand building, not structured data.

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]]> 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.

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]]> Google’s AI Reshapes Organic Listings https://www.practicalecommerce.com/googles-ai-reshapes-organic-listings Mon, 13 Oct 2025 16:28:55 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1557163 Google is changing organic search results as it integrates AI, necessitating new traffic tactics and priorities.

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]]> GEO for ChatGPT Instant Checkout https://www.practicalecommerce.com/geo-for-chatgpt-instant-checkout Tue, 07 Oct 2025 13:09:23 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1556996 Generative engine optimization relies on context, not just product data.

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]]> Google’s Spam Updates, Explained https://www.practicalecommerce.com/googles-spam-updates-explained Mon, 29 Sep 2025 13:26:50 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1556751 Traffic declines from spam updates are typically drastic and result from violations of Google's published policies.

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]]> Recover ChatGPT 404 Traffic with GA4 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/recover-chatgpt-404-traffic-with-ga4 Mon, 22 Sep 2025 14:53:55 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1556594 ChatGPT sometimes hallucinates source URLs, sending users to 404 "not found" pages.

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]]> Did Google Just Prevent Rank Tracking? https://www.practicalecommerce.com/did-google-just-prevent-rank-tracking Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:15:48 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1556440 Search bots and AI crawlers can no longer generate 100 listings per page. It's a telling change by Google.

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]]> Quick SEO: 6 Key Elements, 3 Free Tools https://www.practicalecommerce.com/quick-seo-6-key-elements-3-free-tools Tue, 09 Sep 2025 13:07:07 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1556277 Six elements on a page drive visibility on search engines and generative AI platforms. Three tools can quickly analyze.

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]]> Control AI Answers about Your Brand https://www.practicalecommerce.com/control-ai-answers-about-your-brand Mon, 01 Sep 2025 13:13:34 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1556045 Search engine optimization has shifted from traditional organic rankings to AI-generated citations.

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]]> More Fan-Out SEO Tactics https://www.practicalecommerce.com/more-fan-out-seo-tactics Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:00:26 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1555897 There's more to fan-out optimization than on-site FAQ pages.

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]]> Chrome Extensions for AI Bot Access https://www.practicalecommerce.com/chrome-extensions-for-ai-bot-access Mon, 18 Aug 2025 11:03:49 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1555679 AI crawlers are not as sophisticated as Google's and other traditional search engines. They require extra effort by web admins to access a page.

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]]> Is GEO the Same as SEO? https://www.practicalecommerce.com/is-geo-the-same-as-seo Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:13:12 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1555509 Optimizing for generative AI is different from traditional search engines. The distinction lies in the underlying technology.

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]]> AI Crawler Optimization Tips https://www.practicalecommerce.com/ai-crawler-optimization-tips Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:10:18 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1555287 Robots.txt directives and JavaScript often prevent generative AI bots from accessing content.

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]]> Google’s Index Now Powers ChatGPT https://www.practicalecommerce.com/googles-index-now-powers-chatgpt Mon, 28 Jul 2025 12:26:24 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1555036 ChatGPT does not maintain an index of global websites, instead relying intially on Bing's index and now, apparently, on Google's.

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]]> Sites Have Little Control in Google SERPs https://www.practicalecommerce.com/sites-have-little-control-in-google-serps Mon, 21 Jul 2025 13:46:46 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1554864 Over the years, Google has limited how websites can control their appearance in search results.

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]]> Keywords Don’t Work for AI SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/keywords-dont-work-for-ai-seo Mon, 14 Jul 2025 13:03:50 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1554648 Merchants looking for AI visibility should create problem-solving content. Attempting to match keywords to prompts is fruitless.

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]]> The End of Traffic-Only Content https://www.practicalecommerce.com/the-end-of-traffic-only-content Wed, 09 Jul 2025 09:00:40 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1554495 In 2025, only content relevant to a business's core mission or expertise drives visibility in organic search and large language models.

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]]> How Co-Citations Drive AI SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-co-citations-drive-ai-seo Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:25:51 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1554246 Co-citations are now critical because platforms such as AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Gemini rely on external lists for brand and product recommendations.

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]]> How to Extract ChatGPT’s Fan-Out Queries https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-extract-chatgpts-fan-out-queries Mon, 23 Jun 2025 09:00:06 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1554036 Knowing the fan-out queries associated with an initial prompt helps publishers understand the platform's interpretations and priorities.

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]]> Answer Engine Optimization, Explained https://www.practicalecommerce.com/answer-engine-optimization-explained Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:37:25 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1553838 AEO is not new. But with the rise of generative AI, optimizing content to appear as sources or citations is crucial.

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]]> SEO for Google’s AI Fan-Out Results https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-for-googles-ai-fan-out-results Mon, 09 Jun 2025 10:13:13 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1553624 Google's new AI Mode delivers "query fan out" search results. The term is new, but the concept is not.

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]]> The Post-Traffic SEO Shift https://www.practicalecommerce.com/the-post-traffic-seo-shift Mon, 02 Jun 2025 09:00:24 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1553430 Brand mentions, entity recognition, and problem-solving now matter more than keywords and rankings.

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