Is this CSS solution to faceted navigation a problem for SEO?
-
Hi guys. Take a look at the navigation on this page from our DEV site:
http://wwwdev.ccisolutions.com/StoreFront/category/handheld-microphones
While the CSS "trick" implemented by our IT Director does allow a visitor to sort products based on more than one criteria, my gut instinct says this is very bad for SEO. Here are the immediate issues I see:
- The URL doesn't change as the filter criteria changes. At the very least this is a lost opportunity for ranking on longer tail terms. I also think it could make us vulnerable to a Panda penalty because many of the combinations produce zero results, so returning a page without content, under the original URL. This could not only create hundreds of pages with no content, there would be duplicates of those zero content pages as well.
- Usability - The "Sort by" option in the drop down (upper right of the page) doesn't work in conjunction with the left Nav filters. In other words if you filter down to 5 items and then try to arrange them by price high to low, the "Sort" will take precedence, remove the filter and serve up a result that is all products in that category sorted high to low (and the filter options completely disapper), AND the URL changes to this: http://wwwdev.ccisolutions.com/StoreFront/category/IAFDispatcher regardless of what sort was chosen...(this is a whole separate problem, I realize and not specifically what I'm trying to address here).
Aside from these two big problems, are there any other issues you see that arise out of trying to use CSS to create product filters in this way? I am trying to build a case for why I believe it should not be implemented this way. Conversely, if you see this as a possible implementation that could work if tweaked a bit, and advice you are willing to share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Thank you to Travis for pointing out the the link wasn't accessible. For anyone willing to take a closer look we can unblock the URL based on your IP address. If you'd be kind enough to send me your IP via private message I can have my IT director unblock it so you can view the page. Thanks!
-
Thanks David. Yes, we did this for Travis who responded above. Would you be interested in taking a look as well? If you private message me your username I can have my IT Director set up access for you.
-
If you set the site to display using an ip address and the username, that will allow others to view the site
-
Travis, if you are willing to take a closer look, I can have our IT Director allow you to view the page by unblocking just your IP address. If you send it to me via private message I'll have him do that. Thanks in advance!!
-
Ah I was afraid of that. Yes, only visible on our internal network. I am going to do a short video capture and also check with IT to see if I can get limited access so the page can be viewed externally. Thanks Travis!
-
The URLs don't resolve. Would love to take a closer look.
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
-
Will there be problems in the future with a mobile dedicated site?
Just wanted everyone's input/opinion on this article that basically states Google will move to a solely mobile index in the future https://www.nngroup.com/articles/mobile-vs-responsive/ That seems like it would negatively impact sites that have a separate URL for their mobile site. In this particular case I'm talking about... the mobile site URL is this layout: www.site.com/MobileView/MobileHome.aspx Any thoughts/input would be enormously appreciated.
Web Design | | AliMac260 -
URL Structure's Effect on SEO
Hello all, I have a client who currently has a very poor URL structure. As it stands, their URLs are formatted in the following manner: http://www.domain.com/category/subcategory/page In all my years of SEO, however, I have always tried to implement the following format: http://www.domain.com/category/page The web designer for this particular project has been very reluctant to change the structure for obvious reasons, but I'm convinced that by modifying the URL structure, SEO will improve. I am correct in thinking this? Likewise, if I am able to get the URL structure changed, what do I need to look out for to make sure we don't lose any traction for our keyword terms? Any and all insight/suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Web Design | | maxcarnage0 -
Is having copy above the fold still beneficial for SEO
Many sites nowadays are approaching a section based approach with copy further down the page. Is it still valid to keep copy above the fold now for SEO. Will it impact on SEO if you have to scroll down the page?
Web Design | | vortexuk0 -
3 Ecommerce Stores All Under One Roof - Good idea? SEO Benefits? Concerns?
I run multiple ecommerce stores in one particular market. I've been considering merging them all together and using a Single sign-on and allowing users to swap between websites. Each site is unique in their own way and are already ranking well on their own. But the goal is to merge them altogether to create a better user-flow. An example of what I'm trying to do is what Zurb.com does (http://zurb.com/apps). They have all of their different products but they're under different domains. Another example is http://www.envato.com/sites and all of their brands to their sites. Will this negatively impact SEO efforts across the board or will we eventually benefit from merging them. Also, is there a correct way to do this. For example; Should I make one site the "parent website" and then create sub-directories of the other websites and work on the DNS to point to the right locations. I'm not the technical person on our team but I do lead the marketing and I can't find the right answer for this question.
Web Design | | venturagroup0 -
How does a Responsive Site kill SEO?
How does a Responsive Site poentially kill SEO? I've seen a few feeds on twitter how a website took a rankings dive after implementing a Responsive theme; yet, it's not clear to me what is actually going on within a Responsive site that would cause the SEO rank to tank? I can only speculate that it introduces a bunch of 404 errors, or that it changes all of the URLs into gibberish, so you loose all of the links coming into your website if not 301'ed? Can someone clarify, what are the actual mechanical issues on a Responsive website that becomes a concern to SEO? Thanks.
Web Design | | ExploreConsulting1 -
For A Corporation With 3 Distinct Business Divisions, Is It Better To Go With 1 Domain & 3 Sub-Domains, 1 Domain & 3 Folders, or 3 Domains for SEO Purposes?
Hi, I am working on a project right now for an existing client, we have one domain up and running well, they want to create an 'umbrella' site to cover three current business divisions and roll everything up under that main site, including the existing site on a totally different domain (would migrate over and 301 redirect from current domain). From what I've researched, I am inclined towards one main domain with three sub-domains due to the amount of content for each business division being significantly different enough that it seems to deserve separation from each other. However, in terms of SEO and maintaining consistent domain authority, would anyone recommend it be better to structure this as just folders/categories falling under the main domain instead of separate sub-domains for each division, and focus keyword targeting on pages tailored to that end within the main domain structure rather than spreading out link-juice to different sub-domains? Thanks!
Web Design | | Dan_InboundHorizons0 -
How can the Web site designer and the SEO strategist work together peacefully?
The organization I work for has decided to re-design or re-develop the existing company Web site. My part in this project is to come up with new features to add to the site, as well as making the site SEO-friendly (copywriting, link-building, keyword research, etc.). I don’t know a thing about Web site design, coding, format, etc., and I guess I will have to work with a designer on this project. How would I go about finding a Web site designer? Should they have some SEO knowledge? How much designer, coding and site structure knowledge should I have? And how do we not infringe on one another as we work together? (Sorry so many questions.)
Web Design | | Obie0 -
SEO Friendly Image Swap Functionality Software
Anyone know of any software for this... I need a simple way to create SEO friendly Image Swap Functionality on multiple product pages of a static site. The idea is that customers can see different images within the product screen by clicking on thumbnails. For SEO purposes it is essential that: The rollover does not create a new URL when the product images are cycled The image needs to have an alt attribute (a different attribute set by the client for each product) As per: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/tips-and-musthaves-for-your-ecommerce-platform Thanks in advance. Justin
Web Design | | GrouchyKids0