eCommerce is growing every single year.
Now is the best time to utilize SEO as one of the most powerful sources of traffic and revenue.
In this talk, I'll show you how to build high-quality sub-category pages targeting long-tail keywords that sell.
2024's Top PPC Tactics: Triple Your Google Ads Local Leads
The 8-Step eCommerce Framework to Elevate Your SEO Game at #WTSFest 2020
1. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• I started in SEO about 10 years ago
(when directory submission was still a
thing)
• I’ve worked on agency side and in-house
• I went freelance last August
• Founder of MarketingSyrup
• And I absolutely love eCommerce
2. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• I started in SEO about 10 years ago (when
directory submission was still a thing)
• I’ve worked on an agency side and in-house
• I went freelance last August
• Founder of MarketingSyrup
• Creator of the SEO Challenge Course
• And I absolutely love eCommerce ♥
3. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
“By 2040, around 95% of all purchases
are expected to be via eCommerce”
(Source: Nasdaq)
39. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
To go through all these steps again
would mean spending about 1-2 years
on the implementation
46. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Create high-quality sub-categories targeting
long tail keywords with buying user intent
(without spending years on implementation)
51. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Step 2:
Analyze the existing filters and
find those that will become basis
for the new indexable facets
52. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Fit
Women
Men
New Balance
Lacoste
Short Sleeve
Sleeveless
Colour
Brand
Style
53. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• Fit (e.g. for women, for men, for children)
• Colour (e.g. black, green, white)
• Brand (e.g. New Balance)
• Style (e.g. short/long sleeve)
Filters that will become indexable facetsFilters that will NOT become indexable facets
• Price
• Size
• Country of produce
54. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• Price
• Size
• Country of produce
Filters that will NOT become indexable facetsFilters that will become indexabl
• Fit (e.g. for women, for men, fo
• Colour (e.g. black, green, white
• Brand (e.g. New Balance)
• Style (e.g. short/long sleeve)
55. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Step 3:
Define the rules for creating
indexable facet pages
56. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• The facet pages should only be created
for top level categories (e.g. T-shirts)
Filters that will become indexable facets
57. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• Only the combination for ‘category + filter’
should exist (i.e. no ‘category+filter+filter’
variations should have their separate URLs)
Filters that will become indexable facets
59. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Is this facet for a top level category?
Don’t create a
facet page
Create a facet
page
Will this facet be based on one of
these filters: fit, brand, colour, style?
Will the facet be based on the combination
of ‘category + filter’, e.g. ’t-shirt + green’
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Should I
create a
facet
page?
60. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Step 4:
Define the rules for canonicalization
of the new facet pages
61. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• If a facet page lists 9 or more products
set up a self-referencing canonical
How to choose the right canonical
62. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• If a facet page has less than 9 products
set up a canonical tag to the parent page
(i.e. top level category)
How to choose the right canonical
63. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
• *9 was the golden middle number in my case.
You can change it
How to choose the right canonical
64. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Don’t create a facet
page
Create a facet page
Does the page lists
≥ 9 products?
Canonical to itself
Canonical to parent
page
Yes No
67. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
These are
links
to the new
pages
Fit
Women
Men
New Balance
Lacoste
Short Sleeve
Sleeveless
Colour
Brand
Style
69. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Titles
{Facet Name} {Category Name} in Canada | Brand Name
Green T-Shirts in Canada | Brand Name
70. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
H1s
{Facet Name} {Category Name} in Canada
Green T-Shirts in Canada
76. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Complete the initial
keyword research
Analyze the existing
filters and find those that
will become basis for the
new indexable facets
Define the rules for
creating indexable facet
pages
Define the rules for
canonicalization of the
new facet pages
Set internal linking to
success
Create Title & H1 tags
templates
Test everything Improve
1
6
2
5
3
4
7 8
84. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
Crawl budget is something
most sites don’t need to
worry about… Unless you
have millions and millions
of URLs”
Source: Google Webmaster Hangouts, Jan 31st, 2020
“
85. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
But for big stores with millions
of pages crawl budget can
become a real issue
89. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
If the page has <9 products
add <meta name="robots"
content="noindex"> to it
90. Kristina Azarenko @azarchick | @techseowomen #WTSFest
The 8-step
eCommerce
framework
Step 1: Complete the initial keyword research
Step 2: Analyze the existing filters and find those that will
become the basis for the new indexable facets
Step 3: Define the rules for creating indexable facet pages
Step 4: Define the rules for canonicalization of the new facet pages
Step 5: Set internal linking to success
Step 6: Create Title & H1 tags templates
Step 7: Test Everything
Step 8: Improve!