Does Gemvara really change URL when you customize the ring?

[BeytzNet]

Hi,

I was looking at Gemvara.com which is supposed to be a really great e-commerce site (including SEO wise) and I noticed it changes url as you customize the ring (see product page example).

Do they really change the URL? (I don't see page refresh)

Is it recommended to do so? (for e-commerce sites whenever you change shirt color, customize a computer etc.)

Thanks

[LesleyPaone]

That is definitely rendered, you can tell because it is so perfect and there are not any weld lines for the prongs. I think most internet companies do this so they do not have to carry stock.

[BeytzNet]

Looks great, I only knew about Rhino.

Do you think they used the same technology here:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/14k-white-gold-2mm-knife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-six-prong-item-7990

[LesleyPaone]

They are all rendered in gemvision like gemvara's images, just make a macro that changes the angle a set number of degrees and renders, I think we used 10 degrees. Check this out, it is what a lot of people use. http://gemvision.com/matrix/

[BeytzNet]

I understand the Java rotation but it means (I assume) that you had to take dozens of pictures in exactly the same lighting and without moving the item. Its crazy... (though the result is stunning)

[LesleyPaone]

The 3d rotation actually uses this library, it is in a module form for Prestashop. http://www.uize.com/examples/3d-rotation-viewer.html  As far as not changing for the stone, the project never got that far, I was off of it before all of the features were added. It looks like they do not have another developer or they have not been added yet.

[BeytzNet]

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

I see that in Vaja you change the URL only when a metal was changed and not the stone. I do love the 360. May i ask it was done? (36 images per item? How did you rotate it?)

[LesleyPaone]

I think a normal site can get away with it, if it is done correctly. I developed a site for a jewelry company that uses something similar. But their budget ran out before I could totally implement everything, I only did very limited SEO on the site before they moved the SEO to India (they are an Indian company themselves).

One thing I think can one up Gemvara is the descriptions. Take this description from Gemvara from this page http://www.gemvara.com/jewelry/emerald-cut-lisa-ring-6mm-gem/emerald-cut-emerald-platinum-ring/gfwx9

"This simple solitaire engagement ring is gorgeous for everyday wear and features a single emerald-cut gemstone. It is carefully handcrafted in your choice of gems and metals."

This description is used for every combination of that ring. Which more than likely draws a duplicate content penalty for the other pages (which in itself does not mean that they won't be indexed, it just means they won't be ranked as high). Now lets first look at the Gemvara url and put what we know about SEO in to it. gfwx9, that is meaningless to both you and I, it is no more than trash on the url, just watering it down. Lets look at the structure of the url, sitename.com/jewelry/RINGSTYLE/default-ring-parameters If you notice how the URL for that page works, if you change the style to white gold the url becomes, http://www.gemvara.com/jewelry/emerald-cut-lisa-ring-6mm-gem/emerald-cut-emerald-18k-white-gold-ring/gv3cm so it is safe to lose the trash at the end of the url.

Now for the description, it does not change, the only on site changes are the image, and the selection to the left of the piece. What if you used a variable system similar to how a content spinner worked and changed out words based on the metal or stone selection. I am going to caps the changed out words.

For a Yellow Gold and Diamond

This TRADITIONAL solitaire engagement ring is BEAUTIFUL for everyday wear and features a single emerald-cut DIAMOND. It is carefully handcrafted in SOLID 14KT GOLD.

For a White Gold and Diamond

This MODERN solitaire engagement ring is LONGING for everyday wear and features a single emerald-cut DIAMOND. It is carefully handcrafted in SOLID 14KT WHITE GOLD.

For Platinum and Ruby

This LAVISH solitaire engagement ring is STUNNING for everyday wear and features a single emerald-cut RUBY. It is carefully handcrafted in EXQUISITE PLATINUM.

I have never been known for my writing abilities, but I think you get the drift. I think if you implemented a system like this you would be sure to actually get more pages indexed with combinations than they have. For reference here is the site I was referring to with my short term SEO job. http://vajajewelry.com/women-s-rings/287-the-siren.html  One thing, I would consider adding, although I do not like how it is done on this site, is the 360 rotation. This one uses 36 files to make it look smooth, everything is rendered in jewelry cad.

[BeytzNet]

I started looking at them because I saw at Quora someone mentioning that one of their strengths is that they generated THOUSANDS of pages in a way that every combination of gems with a ring design is a different page - when you multiply the options (permutation) the result is an astounding number of pages (even though these pages barely have texts).

What do you think of this method?

I believe that today it is something that only the big companies can get a way with it...

[LesleyPaone]

Natively they won't get crawled because of the way they are done, but if they are added to the site map they will. I cannot seem to locate gemvara's sitemap on their server to confirm they have them added to the site map.

Think of them as a landing page that you have optimized, but does not link to the rest of your site.

Run these terms through google and you can see that they are indexed.

site:http://www.gemvara.com/jewelry/rich-thin-band/14k-white-gold-ring-with-aquamarine/

site:http://www.gemvara.com/jewelry/lotus-ring/round-black-diamond-14k-white-gold-ring-with-diamond/

From the queries I did, it seems that some are indexed and some are not, but I have no way of knowing that ages of the pages either, because several I came across were not indexed at all for any combination. One thing to keep in mind for their industry Gemvara has about the largest paid advertising budget.

[BeytzNet]

Thanks!

But what about Google's bot? Will he crawl it? Is it considered internal linking?
It is not done by Href's but rather by Javascript and AJAX...

[LesleyPaone]

Yes, they are using a variable tied to the url so that you can access the site and see the combination that has been selected. This is a html5 only thing. You can read more about it here, http://stackoverflow.com/questions/136458/change-the-url-in-the-browser-without-loading-the-new-page-using-javascript/4222584#4222584