So, if we're going to keep these pages indexed and (hopefully) ranking, the key is to make sure that they continue to give value to your search visitors, and this is primarily a user experience problem. Removing or redirecting pages in a volatile situation where products may go out of stock and come back into stock on a daily basis requires timing Google's processes in a way that's extremely risky. If it seems like I've just ruled out all of the options, it's because fundamentally I don't believe this specific case is an SEO problem. You can automate flipping from "In stock" to "Out of stock" in real time, but Google still has to crawl and update that information, and that takes time. Second, we've still got the timing issue. First, while searchers may appreciate your honesty, you may not be keen to display "Out of stock" on your search result when everyone else is displaying nothing at all. Good news - sloths are still in stock. Unfortunately, there are two challenges to this approach. Google may choose to display this information as part of your organic result, such as this one (thanks to Claire Carlisle for this great example): You can use the property in product-offer schemas to set options including: InStock, InStoreOnly, OutOfStock, and SoldOut. People would potentially still be able to search (on-site) for the Acme Essentials product, but then would be redirected to the Trapper Moe's product, which could seem deceptive and is likely to harm conversion. Could you temporarily swap in the latter product from a search perspective? Maybe, if you could get the timing right, but now imagine the visitor experience. Let's say you're out of the Acme Essentials 10-ounce Mountain Fresh, but you've got the Trapper Moe's 10-ounce Spring Breeze in stock. This has got to be the one, right? Unfortunately, we're still stuck with the timing problem if this product comes back in stock for a short period of time. In that case, by all means 301-redirect, but that's going to be a fairly rare situation. Let's say Acme Essentials ran out of the 10-ounce Mountain Fresh hand sanitizer, so decided just to do away with that product and replace it with the 12-ounce option. The only exception would be if a product went out of stock and that prompted the manufacturer to permanently replace it with a similar product. So, just like with 404s, we're likely to shoot ourselves in the foot. ![]() Second, reversing a 301 can be a time-consuming process. We don't really want to move it in any permanent sense. Option #2: 301 (Permanent Redirect)Īs tools go, 301s still have a special place in our tool belts, but they're not a good bet here. In other words, by the time the page starts ranking again, the product might already be out of stock again. If you remove the page and then put it back (and then, most likely, remove it again and put it back again), it can take Google a lot of time to reconcile those signals, to the point where the page is out of sync with reality. What's more, you want to be able to act quickly when they're back in stock. These products are coming back and you want to sell them. Let's take a quick look at the usual toolbox to see what applies. We want these pages to continue to rank - they're just not very useful in the short-term. Demand is high and continuing to rank is criticalįrom an SEO standpoint, it's essential that these pages continue to rank, both for consumers and retailers, but in the short-term, the experience is also frustrating for consumers and can drive them to other sites. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |