Category: seo

What’s the Point of Having a Business Blog? [2025]

On By DaveIn Business, seoLeave a comment

Last Updated – A few days ago (probably)

Having a high-quality, high-traffic blog in the same niche can significantly enhance the organic rankings of an eCommerce site for commercial terms like “buy football goals.” Here’s how:

  1. Increased Topical Authority

Search engines such as Google prioritise specific knowledge and expertise. A blog that focuses on football-related topics showcases expertise and builds authority within the niche. This can enhance the credibility of the eCommerce site as a reliable source for football equipment.

If you have 30 excellent, well written, detailed posts about football, then for an array of reasons from topical authority to social shares and backlinks, the eCommerce ‘section’ of your site will tend to rank a lot higher for commercial terms.

Top tip – include your own research and data. People love to link back to statistics. A good example with the NOW Foods 3rd party lab testing of creatine gummies – showing half of them had hardly any creatine in them.

  1. Internal Linking Opportunities

A well-organized blog provides the chance to link to your product pages (e.g., “buy football goals”) using keyword-rich anchor text. This not only drives traffic to those pages but also indicates to search engines the relevance of your product pages for specific keywords.

  1. Improved Backlink Profile

Blogs tend to attract more backlinks than product pages because they offer valuable, non-commercial content. These backlinks to your blog can transfer authority to your eCommerce site if you effectively link the blog to your product pages.

  1. Keyword Coverage

Blogs enable you to target informational keywords like “how to set up a football goal” or “best football training drills,” which may not fit well on product pages. Once users visit these blog pages, you can direct them toward related products, creating a smooth transition from information to purchase.

  1. Increased Dwell Time

High-quality content keeps users engaged on your site for longer periods. This increased dwell time signals to search engines that your site offers valuable content, which can positively influence rankings across the board, including for commercial terms.

  1. Capture Users at Different Stages of the Sales Funnel

Blogs can attract users who are in the awareness or consideration stages of their buying journey. For instance:

A post titled “5 Things to Consider When Buying Football Goals” can inform users while subtly promoting your products.

If they choose to buy, they’re already on your site and more likely to make a purchase.

  • Use exit intent pop-ups to build an email list – incentivise sign ups with discounts
  • Have a sticky banner with a special offer
  • Make the brand stand out in images and banners

Brand Awareness!

Anybody can set up a website and sell stuff, and create some ads – but you won’t get direct visitors and people searching for your brand (a HUGE SEO ranking factor) if you haven’t built your brand.

Brand bias is also huge on products – take trainers, football boots and clothes for example. A top quality blog with good content can help build your brand awareness massively.

Establishes Authority & Expertise

Marketing bellends call this “thought leadership” and other contrived BS terms to make it sound impressive. But, at the end of the day, if you read a local PT’s blog about fitness and nutrition and it’s amazing, and references meta-analysis and robust research; you’ll probably be inclined to contact him or her if you are looking for a PT in the future? Especially if they display other EAT – Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness, like a PhD in Exercise Physiology and 20 years experience as a Navy Seal fitness instructor and 10 years as a Premier League Physiotherapy – just to give you a realistic example.

Gives You an Idea of What Your Audience Wants More of

Use search console to see what your blog posts rank for. Take note of any quasi-relevant search terms.

For example, my MMA diet plan, was ranking for Boxing Diet Plan – so I created a new page for this second search term.

In addition to expanding your offerings in terms of content and products, see which are your most popular posts, and if these posts can inspire more content or products. Especially true if the posts related to pain-points of your target audience.

How to Crawl a Sub-Folder Only in Screaming Frog [2025] – example.com/example-sub-folder/

On By DaveIn Screaming Frog, seoLeave a comment

If You’re Folder URL Resolves with a 200 with a trailing slash /

For example – to crawl mysite.com/buyers-guides/

To crawl only URLs in the /buyers-guides/ folder on mysite.com using Screaming Frog, follow these steps:

  1. Open Screaming Frog SEO Spider and enter the URL: https://www.mysite.com/buyers-guides/
  2. Go to Configuration > Spider > Crawl
  3. **Under “Crawl Limits,” select “Limit Crawl Depth” and set it to 1 to crawl only the specified folder
  4. In the “Include” box, add this pattern: https://www.mysite.com/buyers-guides/.*
  5. Start the crawl by clicking the “Start” button

This configuration will ensure Screaming Frog only crawls URLs within the /buyers-guides/ folder on networldsports.co.uk, excluding other sections of the website.

**Note – if you are looking to crawl a country folder – e.g. https://www.apple.com/us/ – and the country-folder has URLs deeper than one folder down – e.g. https://www.apple.com/us/phones/i-phone999/
Then don’t add/set Crawl Limit to 1.

If You’re Folder URL Resolves with a 200 without a trailing slash /

https://www.mysite.com/buyers-guides

Enter the URL of the domain plus sub/folder into the main address bar on Screaming Frog.

Choose Sub-folder option to the right of the address bar:

Go to Configuration (top menu bar, to the left) >Spider > crawl > Include
– Add the sub-folder (without trailing slash) to the include section:

Click “Start”. (Button to the right of the “Subfolder” drop down).

Crawling a sub-folder – plus all internal & external links that are contained within the sub-folder pages.

The protocol above would only check the status codes of any URLs actually held within the /buyers-guides/ folder.

For example, if a football goal guide, links to the FA’s website, and 404s, the above methods would not pick this up (as the FA doesn’t have /buyers-guides/ in the homepage etc)

  1. Crawl and check all the URLs within a sub-folder e.g.

https://www.example.com/buyers-guides



2. get the status codes of any internal and external link, that point to outside the folder?



For example:


Our football goal guide –

https://www.example.com/buyers-guides/football-pitch-size-guide

Contains links that point outside of the buyers-guides folder, like to our product pages and external links to thefa.com etc.

Sub-Folder with Trailing Slash /buyers-guides/

Crawl https://www.example.com/buyers-guides/ with ‘Crawl Outside of Start Folder’ disabled, but with ‘Check Links OutSide of Start Folder’ enabled.

Sub-Folder with NO Trailing Slash /buyers-guides

Perform the crawl outlined above (using the include), get the list of https://www.example.com/buyers-guides URLs

then switch to list mode (Mode > List), go to ‘Config > Spider > Limits‘ and change the ‘Limit Crawl Depth’ from ‘0’ to ‘1” and upload and crawl the URLs

Remember to delete in include /buyers-guides from the crawl config before doing the above
i.e. Config>Spider>Include – remove anything in the box/field.

Ranking in Google’s Free Organic Product Listings & Grids [2025]

On By DaveIn seoLeave a comment

The free Shopping listings currently take the form of

  • Organic Product Grids
  • Product knowledge panels
  • Image search results
  • Shopping tab

Reports to Check for Free Shopping Listings

GA4 – Acquisition – User Acquisition > organic SHopping (Keep in mind the recent non-PDP auto-tagging changes – might need customisation in GA4)

Search Console – > Performance Report > Add Filter > Merchant Listings
(There are reports for Search type: Web and Search Type: Image – just add the Search Appearance filter

Optimizing Your Product Feed

A well-optimized product feed is crucial for ranking in free Shopping listings. Focus on these key attributes:

  • Image link
  • Description
  • Brand
  • GTIN
  • MPN
  • Color
  • Size
  • Material
  • Title (highly influential for free listings and CTR)

Leveraging Merchant Features

To stand out in free shopping grids, optimise and complete the following merchant features:

  • Seller ratings (aim for 5-star reviews within the last 12 months)
  • Top quality score
  • Promotions (e.g., coupon codes)
  • Local free listings
  • “Buy Now” button
  • Payment options (PayPal, Google Pay)
  • Loyalty programs
  • Competitive pricing
  • Clear shipping and returns policies

Free Shopping Grids & Structured Data

Products with the best price tend to rank highest

Shipping policy & returns policy – can affect rankings significantly

In Search console there are warnings that show if u don’t have these set up in merchant center or in structured data.can ignore the warnings sometimes tho

Structured data – although we have seen google may unify product feeds and structured data in the near future

Influence for Free Shopping Grids & Listing – 

*Most influential* Website content →Product Feeds→ structured data. *Least influential*

Case Study: Improving Eligibility with Schema Changes

A recent case study demonstrated the impact of schema optimization:

  • Problem: Aggregate offer schema prevented merchant listing eligibility
  • Solution: Switched to ProductGroup schema
  • Result: Increased eligibility for product grids and boosted revenue

Additional Tips for Organic Google Shopping Success

  1. Optimize product titles with relevant keywords & attributes
  2. Use high-quality, unique product images – lifestyle usually best but A/B test
  3. Keep your product feed up-to-date and as accurate as possible
  4. Encourage customer reviews to improve seller ratings – might be wise to pick and choose if possible!
  5. Implement proper category mapping in your product feed
  6. Use custom labels to organize and group products effectively
  7. Optimize your landing pages – A/B test them
  8. Monitor and address any warnings in Google Search Console
  9. A/B test descriptions to improve click-through rates
  10. Regularly analyze competitor listings

Key Takeaways

  1. Use the tools – Search Console, Merchant Center, and GA4
  2. Sort out Search Console first, then monitor with GA4 and Merchant Center
  3. Implement an extensive set of product feed attributes
  4. Optimize product titles for maximum impact
  5. Highlight your unique selling propositions (price, returns, shipping, etc.) & strong selling points too
  6. Fix and address any warnings in Google Search Console
  7. Maintain consistency across your website, product feed, and structured data
  8. A/B test everything you can – if you have enough data etc!

eCommerce Product Page – SEO & UX Checklist

On By DaveIn seoLeave a comment
SEO Checklist:
Product Title Optimization
Include the main keyword naturally.
Keep titles concise but descriptive.
Meta Title and Meta Description
Write a compelling meta title (60-70 characters) with the main keyword.
Create a unique and engaging meta description (150-160 characters) with a call to action and relevant keywords.
URL Structure
Use clean and descriptive URLs with relevant keywords.
Avoid unnecessary parameters and ensure URLs are short.
Header Tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
Use one H1 tag for the product title.
Structure content with subheadings (H2, H3) for different sections.
High-Quality Product Descriptions
Write unique, engaging, and detailed product descriptions (300+ words).
Naturally incorporate relevant keywords.
Highlight features, benefits, and use cases.
Product Images and Alt Text
Use high-resolution, web-optimized images.
Add descriptive, keyword-rich alt text for images.
Include multiple angles or lifestyle images.
Structured Data Markup (Schema)
Implement product schema for price, availability, reviews, etc.
Use JSON-LD for structured data.
Internal Linking
Link to related products or categories.
Include “frequently bought together” and “related products” sections.
Mobile-Friendliness
Ensure the product page is fully responsive and optimized for mobile users.
Test on multiple devices.
Page Load Speed
Optimize images and use compression.
Minimize CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
Use a content delivery network (CDN).
Canonical Tags
Implement canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues.
Keyword Usage
Use keywords naturally in the title, description, URL, headings, and body text.
Avoid keyword stuffing.
User Reviews and Ratings
Display user-generated content like reviews and star ratings.
Use schema markup for review ratings.
Social Sharing Buttons
Provide social sharing options for easy promotion.
Breadcrumbs
Use breadcrumb navigation to enhance site structure and user experience.
UX Checklist:
Clear Call to Action (CTA)
Use prominent and persuasive “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” buttons.
Ensure CTA buttons are highly visible.
Product Images
Include multiple images and zoom functionality.
Offer a gallery of images showing different angles and context.
Product Information
Display essential details (price, size, color, availability) prominently.
Offer accurate and up-to-date stock information.
Shipping Information
Provide clear and transparent shipping details, including delivery times and costs.
Product Variations
Offer a seamless selection process for colors, sizes, or other variations.
Use clear dropdown menus or buttons.
Customer Reviews and Ratings
Allow customers to leave reviews.
Include user-generated content for social proof.
Related Products
Display recommended, cross-sell, or upsell products.
Use “Customers Also Viewed” or “Frequently Bought Together” sections.
Return Policy Information
Clearly outline the return policy on the product page.
Trust Signals
Include security badges, accepted payment icons, and other trust symbols.
Show testimonials or guarantees if applicable.
Easy Navigation
Ensure intuitive breadcrumb trails.
Use filters and sorting options for larger catalogs.
User-Friendly Design
Use white space effectively to improve readability.
Ensure buttons and interactive elements are appropriately sized.
FAQ Section
Provide answers to common questions about the product.
Accessibility Compliance
Follow accessibility guidelines (e.g., alt text, ARIA labels).
Test for screen reader compatibility.
Wishlist or Save for Later Feature
Offer options to save the product for future reference.
Live Chat or Support Options
Provide real-time assistance through chat or customer support links.
Easy Checkout Process
Minimize steps to purchase.
Offer guest checkout and multiple payment options.
Stock Notifications
Include “Back in Stock” or “Low Stock” alerts.

Scraping JSON Schema with Screaming Frog Custom Extraction [2025]

On By DaveIn Screaming Frog, seoLeave a comment
Last updated – a few days ago (probably).

If you go to Menus – configuration > Custom > Custom Extraction

Click the +Add button on the bottom right and choose “Regex” from the drop-down menu, which is to the right of “Extractor 1” text box.

Add the code below, in the box/field to the right of “Regex”.

<script type=\"application\/ld\+json\">(.*?)</script>

I’m using the code below, to extract product schema only – I can export to excel and filter the URLs containing product schema, but don’t have the aggregaterating:

<script type=\"application\/ld\+json\">(.*?"@type":\s*"Product".*?)<\/script>

Scrape Product Schema & Identify Missing Fields
(Product Schema missing aggregateRating field in this case)

  • Turned out easier to use this regex to identify all the URLs that have aggregateRating fields:
"aggregateRating":\s*\{[^}]+\}
  • and set up a second custom extraction to check for URLs/pages with any reviews –
"review":\s*\[\s*\{[^]]+\}

If the page had review schema, but not aggregateRating – then we needed to fix them.

scrape schema screaming frog

Config File Explained for Non-Coder [2024]

On By DaveIn seoLeave a comment

The Magento configuration file is a critical document that contains important settings and directives for the operation of the Magento website. It acts as a site control panel where relevant information is stored and managed. As an SEO professional, even without a strong background in coding or server management, a basic understanding of this file can enable you to understand how the various technical aspects of a website work.

Here is a division of its purpose and functionality:

Stores basic settings: The Magento configuration file records key information such as database details (including data on products, customers and orders), security protocols, and caching mechanisms that affect site speed.

Regulates functionality: Directs Magento behavior by specifying preferences such as the language used, the currency displayed, and the activation status of certain features.

SEO considerations: URL structure: Some configurations affecting URL generation on a site can be managed here, which contributes to a cleaner, more optimized URL layout.

MTPuTTY Explained for Beginners (non-coders)

MTPuTTY (Multi-Tabbed PuTTY) is a tool that helps manage multiple server connections at the same time.

Here’s how it works in a simple, non-technical way:

By allowing users to open several tabs, MTPuTTY streamlines the process of connecting to various remote servers without the hassle of switching between different windows or applications. This means that you can seamlessly work on multiple projects concurrently, enhancing productivity and efficiency. Each tab operates independently, so you don’t lose your connection when navigating between tasks. Additionally, MTPuTTY provides a user-friendly interface, making it easier for newcomers to grasp the basic functionalities, while still offering advanced features for experienced users. This combination of simplicity and versatility makes MTPuTTY an invaluable tool for anyone who needs to maintain numerous server connections at once.

  1. What is PuTTY?: PuTTY is software that enables developers or server administrators to connect to a server remotely, such as accessing the back-end of a Magento website to make changes or check performance.
  2. What does MTPuTTY do?: MTPuTTY is like an upgraded version of PuTTY that allows people to open multiple server connections at once in different tabs. It’s particularly useful for someone managing several servers, because it keeps everything organized and easily accessible.
  3. How is it relevant to you?:
    • You won’t likely use it, but developers or technical SEO experts might. They use tools like this to access your website’s server and make behind-the-scenes optimizations that can impact website speed, performance, and security, all of which are important for SEO.
    • For example, if your site is running slowly, they might use MTPuTTY to connect to your server and make improvements, which could help with SEO by improving site speed.

In summary: MTPuTTY is just a tool that helps manage technical tasks on servers. While you don’t need to know how to use it, it’s helpful to understand that your team might use this tool to maintain your website’s health, which indirectly affects SEO performance.

Google Search Console – Crawl Stats Report [2024]

On By DaveIn seoLeave a comment

Google follows links and sitemaps provided in search console to crawl websites.

Pages are revisited to check if they have changed

The crawlers needs to prioriterise what and when to crawl different pages, and different domains/websites.

Successfully crawled pages are passed to the index

Google computes crawl rate of your website – according to what traffic your site can handle.

Crawl Stats Report

Provides stats about Googles crawling of your site.

Looks out for errors and drops & spikes in graphs.

Login to Search Console and click on settings

THIS REPORT IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR PROPERTIES AT THE DOMAIN LEVEL – that don’t include https etc in the address

Look for spikes and drops in the data

E.g. to determine if robots.txt has been updated incorrectly – if there’s a sudden drop.

That’s about it.

Oh, check your server/host is ‘working okay’ too –

Find the above report by clicking “settings” on the left hand side-bar/menu > Crawl Stats > Choose a “host” in the middle panel (usually just your homepage address) > then “Host status”.

  • It’s good to check crawl stats and average response time before and after a migration or redesign.

Average Response Time:

Under 200ms: Excellent. Site is well optimized for crawling by Google etc.

200ms-500ms: Acceptable. That’ll do pig, that’ll do.

500ms-1s: Slightly too slow, especially if your site is 1,000 pages+

Over 1 second: Too slow. You’re shit

SaleEvent Schema Example [2024]

On By DaveIn seoLeave a comment

Here’s an example for Black Friday:

It’s JSON format

{
  "@context": "http://schema.org",
  "@type": "SaleEvent",
  "name": "Black Friday Mega Sale",
  "startDate": "2024-11-29T00:00:00",
  "endDate": "2024-11-29T23:59:59",
  "eventAttendanceMode": "http://schema.org/OnlineEventAttendanceMode",
  "location": {
    "@type": "VirtualLocation",
    "url": "https://www.yourstore.com/black-friday-sale"
  },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "url": "https://www.yourstore.com/black-friday-sale",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "price": "199.99",
    "eligibleRegion": {
      "@type": "Place",
      "name": "United States"
    },
    "availability": "http://schema.org/InStock",
    "validFrom": "2024-11-29T00:00:00"
  },
  "organizer": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Your Store",
    "url": "https://www.yourstore.com"
  }
}

It’s listed as schema type recongised by Google, and it shows on SERPs

saleevent

Source

Business Audience Schema Example [2024]

On By DaveIn seoLeave a comment 


{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebPage",
  "mainEntity": {
    "@type": "BusinessAudience",
    "audienceType": "Consumers",
    "description": "Middle-class residents of the United Kingdom interested in purchasing t-shirts.",
    "geographicArea": {
      "@type": "AdministrativeArea",
      "name": "United Kingdom"
    },
    "hasOfferCatalog": {
      "@type": "OfferCatalog",
      "name": "T-Shirts",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "Offer",
          "itemOffered": {
            "@type": "Product",
            "name": "T-Shirt"
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    "additionalType": "https://schema.org/Commerce",
    "audience": {
      "@type": "Audience",
      "audienceType": "Middle-class",
      "description": "Individuals with average to above-average income levels"
    }
  }
}

Here’s business Audience schema for a B2B business:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BusinessAudience",
  "audienceType": "Business",
  "numberOfEmployees": {
    "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
    "minValue": 50,
    "maxValue": 500
  },
  "yearlyRevenue": {
    "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
    "minValue": 1000000,
    "maxValue": 10000000
  },
  "geographicArea": {
    "@type": "AdministrativeArea",
    "name": "United States"
  }
}