Bill Sebald - Practical Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/author/bill-sebald Independent analysis and strategy for online merchants Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:59:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.4 The SEO Benefits of Web Scraping https://www.practicalecommerce.com/the-seo-benefits-of-web-scraping Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:40:15 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=369440 In "SEO for Google Shopping," I addressed the need to optimize product feeds. I stated that including keyword product descriptions and titles in the feeds was scalable with "scraping." But I didn't describe it further. In this post, I’ll explain scraping.

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]]> SEO for Google Shopping https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-for-google-shopping Mon, 01 Feb 2021 15:10:27 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=367193 Google has a storied history with services for ecommerce products. The first was Froogle. Then Google Base absorbed Froogle. Both provided a method for merchants to inform Google about their products to improve visibility in organic search results.

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]]> A Day in the Life of an SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-seo Sun, 22 Nov 2020 14:36:32 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=363556 Search engine optimizers are like black sheep in a family. Our work is often misunderstood. Colleagues wonder what we are doing or how we make money for the company. Why do we read blog posts all day, they sometimes ask? Success in organic search can be elusive.

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]]> FAQ Snippets Expand Organic Search Visibility https://www.practicalecommerce.com/faq-snippets-expand-organic-search-visibility Tue, 22 Sep 2020 15:07:37 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=359920 There is one rich snippet that has become increasingly popular: frequently asked questions. An FAQ snippet expands a listing's real estate in organic search results. It's based on implementing FAQ Schema in the code.

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]]> Understanding Core Web Vitals for SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/understanding-core-web-vitals-for-seo Wed, 08 Jul 2020 19:43:18 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=353864 On rare occasions Google provides expectations of upcoming algorithm changes. For example, Google alerted us to the mobile-first index change and, also, the inclusion of SSL signals. Once again, Google has given us a heads-up with Core Web Vitals.

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]]> SEO: Search Console Is an Untapped Source of Keyword Data https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-search-console-is-the-best-source-of-keyword-data Fri, 05 Jun 2020 13:26:51 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=348864 Search Console now has more than enough data to return us to the glory days of natural search keyword data. But many businesses are not aware. I’ll explain the Search Console data in this article.

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]]> The Role of Accessibility in SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/the-role-of-accessibility-in-seo Tue, 14 Apr 2020 14:49:36 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=193517 In the early years, search-engine optimizers typically equated accessibility with rankings. We focused on algorithms. A website that's accessible to users with disabilities would also be accessible to Google. Or so we thought. Things are different today.

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]]> SEO: When to Scale (or Not) https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-when-to-scale-or-not Mon, 17 Feb 2020 15:09:50 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=191389 Most ecommerce platforms have improved their SEO functionality to enable easy, sitewide changes. But it's impossible to scale SEO entirely.

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]]> Lessons from 20 Years of Google Algorithm Updates https://www.practicalecommerce.com/lessons-from-20-years-of-google-algorithm-updates Thu, 23 Jan 2020 21:03:54 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=190018 I have been optimizing sites for over 20 years. Still, I sometimes fail to reach the improvements I expected. A strategy may look good on paper but not align to Google’s latest (and secret) algorithm.

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]]> Are SEO Audits Worth the Money? https://www.practicalecommerce.com/are-seo-audits-worth-the-money Tue, 17 Dec 2019 15:36:49 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=187836 An SEO audit can cover any number of components — technical, content, competitive, backlinks, mobile, and analytics. Or it can be even more detailed. The risk of a generic SEO audit is that it scratches the surface, with little benefit.

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]]> Hreflang Explained https://www.practicalecommerce.com/hreflang-explained Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:08:20 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=186074 Hreflang is an HTML attribute that allows Google and other search engines to recognize localized versions of web pages. If you have sections of your site for a French audience, for example, an hreflang tag helps Google understand that the section should appear in search results on Google.fr, not Google.com.

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]]> SEO Link-building for Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-link-building-for-ecommerce Tue, 29 Oct 2019 21:19:46 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=185462 Link-building is tough. It's especially tough for ecommerce sites. Long gone are the days when consumers linked to products. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be seeking links. It may be even more necessary.

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]]> Is Google’s Nofollow Change a Peek into SEO’s Future? https://www.practicalecommerce.com/is-googles-nofollow-change-a-peek-into-seos-future Wed, 25 Sep 2019 13:44:49 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=183946 Once again, we are faced with a change from Google. In a Sept. 10 post on its Webmaster Central Blog, Google stated that the nofollow attribute is now a hint instead of a directive. Here's the backstory.

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]]> Using Google Trends for Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/using-google-trends-for-ecommerce Tue, 23 Jul 2019 13:37:18 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=179362 Google Trends reports the relative popularity of search terms across languages and regions. It's helpful for identifying when consumers start thinking about a product.

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]]> The 4 SEO Priorities for Ecommerce Sites https://www.practicalecommerce.com/the-4-seo-priorities-for-ecommerce-sites Fri, 28 Jun 2019 14:51:01 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=178452 I can't calculate clear-cut ROI from SEO. But I can address the activities that, in my experience, typically lead to higher rankings for ecommerce merchants. It's not a stretch to suggest that 80 percent of your daily SEO activities should be connected to the four items below.

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]]> SEO: How to Quickly Find Internal Linking Opportunities https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-how-to-quickly-find-internal-linking-opportunities Tue, 23 Apr 2019 18:15:34 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=173910 Optimizing internal links can be helpful for search engine optimization. The larger the website, the more that the optimization can help Google identify important pages. But how can we identify all of the pages to link from?

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]]> How Query Intent Impacts Ecommerce SEO https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-query-intent-impacts-ecommerce-seo Thu, 21 Feb 2019 12:54:22 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=170600 Google attempts to understand the intent of a searcher's query. The company recognizes the burden of providing the best results, even if the query is vague. For example, if someone types in “jaguar,” Google has to figure out what that searcher wants.

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]]> SEO: Reclaiming Lost Links from Site Migrations https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-reclaiming-lost-links-from-site-migrations Mon, 21 Jan 2019 14:33:13 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=167623 There is a little-used opportunity for longtime retailers to gain links. If your ecommerce site has changed platforms in its lifetime, you might have editorial links — legitimate, not spam — waiting for you to reclaim.

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]]> Improve SEO with ‘Audience Insights’ in Google Ads https://www.practicalecommerce.com/improve-seo-with-audience-insights-in-google-ads Thu, 03 Jan 2019 14:31:17 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=165450 What if you could use information about your existing customers to obtain new ones? That’s the purpose of Audience Insights in Google Ads. It helps businesses find new prospects based on current customer data.

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