Out of Stock page ranking
-
When a competitive site is consistently ranking for a product that is never in stock, or in some cases, has been discontinued for several years and will never again be in stock, is there a way to communicate that information to Google?
-
The first thing I would do in this particular situation is to contact Kaboodle and see if you can get the Buy link to go to your store instead. They may have to remove that entry and you can post a new one.
That sparqstore domain expired on 01/26/2011 and is pending renewal or deletion from Network Solutions. It may be worth looking into how much it would cost to buy the domain and redirect relevant URLs like that to your product page.
That Kaboodle page is indeed a form of spam. It is what I would call a "stub page". Whether you report that page or not is up to you. Eugino provided the link above to where you would do the reporting. I would just say first that you should contact someone - by phone if possible - at Kaboodle to give them the chance to remove the page, as often this is just a matter of pour housekeeping and not outright spam.
Good luck.
-
Thanks for responding. Regarding your first question, how do I know the item will not be in stock, here is an example:
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/sparq-xlr8-digital-timing-system
That item was discontinued five years ago. If you click on the "Buy It Now" button, you will notice that it links to a url that is no longer maintained. I receive many inquiries about this product because it is similar to our line of products, so I wrote an article that not only discusses the product, but also mentions that the product was discontinued years ago. The article ranks well, but many people are frustrated by these stale links on other sites. I've contacted some of the shops that have stale links to clean things up though it does require considerable effort. It just seems that Google should be better at spotting these dead products, especially when "buy it now" points to a dead site.
Thanks again for responding.
Best,
Christopher -
There are many things to consider: first, if its your competitor, how would you know that the product will not be in stock anymore? If the whole website is ranking well, and no spammy procedures have been made by this website, there is no way to communicate it to Google, I think. And anyway, if its not a big problem, Google will not take it into consideration anyway.
Please note that Google has many ways in order to understand if a page is relevant (one of this is bounce rate, etc.)
So if a customer is not satisfied with what he/she finds in your competitors page, cause there is not the product that is being looked for, he/she will leave the page, and Google will notice that.
I would:
1. Try tell your competitor (even as unsatisfied customer) that the page in which they offer the product, is not valid, so please if they can take action to make it more relevant or remove it if needed.
2. Try rank better for that product on my own website. Once I'll have shares, compelling content, great user experience on page (and a few bunch of natural links if possible ), my page would rank better and outdo my competitors page (even if domain age and auth may be higher)
Anyway, if you really would like to send a request to Google, you can read this guide https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/93713?hl=en
Hope this helps
Eugenio | Social Engagement
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Rank online sex shop
I have been trying for some time to take the online store to the front page, but it is very difficult to go up in google searches for the keyword ( sex shop ).
Competitive Research | | Constantin2021
Can anyone help me with some tips. Thank you.
https://www.voluptas.ro/0 -
Competitor Ranks Top Keywords Without Backlinks
One of my competitors is ranking very well for many different competitive keywords (1k+ searches per month). I'm trying to figure out how in the world he is ranking so well. I've signed up for MozPro and looked at his back-links. He has 1 branded site-wide back-link from a decent blog. He also has 1 contextual back-link from a decent blog. Other than these 2 back-links, the rest are garbage links unlikely to even count for anything (he has maybe 12 of these low quality back-links). My website on the other hand has more than 15 back-links from different (high quality) websites and does not rank anywhere near this competitor. This leads me to believe that either MozPro back-link reporting is inadequate or there is foul-play on the part of my competitor. As far as on-page SEO is considered, his website is far inferior. Therefore, I highly doubt this would play a role. What are some reasonable approaches I can take to better understand the cause of this discrepancy. Clearly the back-link reporting has not revealed any answers.
Competitive Research | | poke10 -
How can you rank nr 1 for high competitive keyword with low DA and only 1 backlink?
Hi! Was wondering if anyone can explain this a bit clearer...
Competitive Research | | AleksanderOlsen
Image attatched... How is it possible to rank on Google Norway for spot nr.1 (page in English language) and spot nr.2 (page in Norwegian language) , when all you competitors have higher PA, DA and a lot more backlinks and better on-page optimization according to MOZ? Is there something I´m misunderstanding?
Just when I thought SEO started to make sense 😞 7sXH00d0 -
How does my competitor website jump from a natural ranking of 10 to 1 in a matter of days?
OK this has really got me baffled, and I really hope the MOZ community can give me the answers I am seeking.... My statements and queries below are my own opinions and thoughts. I am not an experienced SEOer and I am learning all the time, so if I have written something incorrectly, please feel free to correct me 🙂 I have been told that natural rankings take time, and I have read with the recent algorithm changes from Google, that purchased links do not have an effect like they used to. I have also read somewhere that google has clamped down on bogus article writing (MOZ please clarify) But what I am seeking some clarification on is, how does my competitors website, that has had a natural rank of #1 in the past, suddenly drop off; for a lengthy period of time, then suddenly re-appear at #10 on page #1, then some three/four days later, hit #1? I have read that natural rankings are purely natural. I.e. a domain owner cannot pay google to boost their natural ranking. But is this really true? Why is it when I speak to a close colleague of mine in the same industry, he mentions that his maps listing has dropped off, and after making a couple of phone calls to his SEO guys in India, maybe a day or two later, magically his maps re-appear? I really am starting to question is a "natural ranking" really "natural?" I have heard that some of these SEO agencies do have some tools that dramatically effect the natural ranking of a domain. What are these tools?
Competitive Research | | Giorgio680 -
Localized SERP Rankings - Multiple Questions...
The Google SERPs for my keywords are pretty regional. We are in the "IT Support Company" space. I've checked with friends in other parts of the country, and we don't show up in the SERPs in other parts of the country for KWs that we are ranking for locally. Questions: 1. I see both national and local players showing up in the SERPs. Is there any kind of formula for how Google decides who gets on the first page? 2. Some of my keywords trigger Google+ listings. How long does it take to show up in Google+, assuming we're optimized appropriately, and we have earned a placement? 3. For Moz's keyword ranking tool, how does it handle regional searches? Moz's tool is going to show different KW rankings than what I will see. My immediate concerns are rankings in my area (NY Metro), but we want to go national. How do we track rankings in different areas? 4. Is it possible to be on the 1st page with Google+ and Organic listings? 5. Do the Google+ 7 packs have generally better, or worse CTRs than similarly placed organic listings?
Competitive Research | | CsmBill0 -
What is a reasonable time frame to get to the 1st page
If my site is not in the first 50 results and the keywords are medium to highly competitive? I have just started adding to directories, planning out a blog, fixing seo mistakes, updating sitemaps etc. The 1st ranking competitor has external links in the tens of thousands whereas I have maybe a few hundred. I see a light at the end of the tunnel as competing sites in between me and the 1st place ranking competitor have external links only in the 1000-2000 level. We are an ecommerce site and want to be ready for our high season which is Nov-Jan.
Competitive Research | | ribandhull0 -
How to find a neutral rank for a webpage a keyword term?
Hi!
Competitive Research | | lilactree
I'm sure this has been answered here already - I'm just not searching for the right words. I'm trying to find the ranking for a website for specific terms. Being that the search engine remembers what I search (I try to log out, privately browse, etc), everything matters and impacts my search. I'm trying to see what a website ranks for a person who has never visited that website before, or doesn't have other factors influencing the result. I tried the keyword research tool, and while that seems to deliver what I'm after, it only gives 1-10. Even though these are the coveted positions 😉 I'd like to know if a website isn't ranking there, and is further down. We track the progress made after work is done to a page, to see if it moves up, and what other tweaks we need to make to improve the rankings and attract clicks. Thanks!0 -
"keyword" - rank the home page or sub page domain.com/keyword?
One of my clients has a pretty decent website that ranks 1st place for most major keywords in their line of business. EXCEPT one keyword that i've been struggling to get 1st position on Google (currently 2nd). My problem is: let's say "tennis shoes" as a keyword the home page of course has several other shoes listed but I've seen that Google took my home page and made it 2nd position (on 1st page). Where the section domain.com/tennis-shoes is on 2nd page of Google. My question is should i rel cannonical from the /tennis-shoes section to the home page so it focuses more on the specific keyword that i need to get the home 1st? Or should i leave the home page generic and focus more on /tennis-shoes to get that 1st position? What do you Moz'ers Think?
Competitive Research | | mosaicpro0