We only dream of peace...
prolonged SEO support for an online store in a highly competitive environment
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Why maintaining high search rankings and website traffic metrics requires ongoing efforts from SEO specialists and developers
About the Customer
The Ilya-Les enterprise is a large Russian manufacturer of high-quality sawn timber from ecologically clean Vologda forest. The company has been selling products throughout Russia since 1996, and is also engaged in forest restoration.
The online store is aimed at construction companies and private consumers engaged in construction of country and low-rise houses, especially in Moscow and Moscow region.
The online store is aimed at construction companies and private consumers engaged in construction of country and low-rise houses, especially in Moscow and Moscow region.
History of Resting on Laurels
The ilya-les.ru website was launched in March 2016. By April 2019, the R52.RU team managed to increase organic traffic to the site up to 30,000 visitors per month. In many ways, this result was achieved due to promoting to the TOP of a large number of search queries in Moscow and the region. As of April 2019, there were 3,160 queries in TOP-10 alone.
See details in our case.
2019 started with new records. In January-May, traffic and orders from the site exceeded the indicators of 2018 by 30-50%, depending on a month. The project members received well-deserved bonuses. The project case received the Bronze Medal of TAGLINE AWARDS 2019 in the Best Search Engine Promotion nomination. The client practically abandoned contextual advertising in favor of search engine promotion.
See details in our case.
2019 started with new records. In January-May, traffic and orders from the site exceeded the indicators of 2018 by 30-50%, depending on a month. The project members received well-deserved bonuses. The project case received the Bronze Medal of TAGLINE AWARDS 2019 in the Best Search Engine Promotion nomination. The client practically abandoned contextual advertising in favor of search engine promotion.
Wake-Up Call
A key feature of the project is significant seasonality associated with an increase in consumer demand in the spring-summer period and a decrease during autumn and winter. The seasonal traffic curve repeats from year to year, as shown in the graph below:
The 2019 graph also shows that starting from June, the record growth in traffic slowed down in comparison with 2018, and in August the traffic began to decrease. And if in June and July we assumed that this situation was an accident or a result of fluctuations in consumer demand, then in August it became impossible to ignore the problem. The project was assigned the "Requires Special Attention" status according to the internal classification of R52.RU, which meant attracting additional resources in the form of finance, analysts, etc.
The initial analysis did not show any serious optimization flaws or miscalculations in the promotion tactics. At the same time, there was a decrease in the number of search queries in the TOP-10 during the period from April to September 2019 by 4.39%. This was considered insignificant, although reflecting some bad tendency. Moreover, by September the traffic to the site got back on track.
The initial analysis did not show any serious optimization flaws or miscalculations in the promotion tactics. At the same time, there was a decrease in the number of search queries in the TOP-10 during the period from April to September 2019 by 4.39%. This was considered insignificant, although reflecting some bad tendency. Moreover, by September the traffic to the site got back on track.
Dynamics of Search Positions during April-September
Further development of the situation fell short of our expectations for a life at ease. Since October 2019, the position tracking system began to record a decrease in the number of requests in the TOPs and traffic, the site clearly began to "sink" in search. By November, the drop in positions was 10%, and in traffic – 20%.
Dynamics of Search Positions in October-March
Brainstorm
A repeated competitive audit of the site was carried out in several areas: semantics, meta tags, link profiles, content, usability, and a technical component. Based on the results, the main hypotheses on the reasons for deterioration in the website assessment by search engines, especially Yandex, were defined.
- Applying a text filterAt some point (most likely in September 2019) Yandex regarded the saturation of the site's content with keywords as overspam, despite its authority, link mass, and the age. It seems that the share of the website trust in the SERP has declined relative to other components.
- Blurring relevance of the pagesThe increase in the number of tagged pages on the site (including the ones significant for promotion and relevant to a large number of "hearty" queries) could lead to a decrease in their importance for search robots. To restore their weight, it was necessary to rethink the menu structure and raise the most important pages in the site hierarchy higher to the main page.
- Complication of Yandex algorithms for working with synonymsThose words that were previously considered synonymous by the search engine (for example, "lath-bar") are now perceived as different and require separate landing pages.
- Increased competition in the search by related (secondary) goods from specialized sellers and hypermarketsBased on the above hypotheses, it became clear that it was possible to cope with the problems that we faced, although it was a complicated and slow process. As a result, a list of necessary measures for a 4-months period was developed.
Rehabilitation Measures
Kernel Reclustering
A comprehensive cluster rework of the semantic core was carried out when the project was launched in 2016. Clustering allowed to check compatibility of keys and understand which queries can be promoted on a single page by a list, and which require separate pages. It also helped to build a promotion strategy and define technical specifications for copywriters.
During a 3-year period of working on the project, scheduled checks of all clusters were carried out in turn to maintain their relevance to the changing requirements of search engines, which made it possible to maintain high positions in the TOPs for a long time. However, apparently, the moment has come when the site optimization has not begun to cope with the volume and speed of Yandex algorithms modernization. The decision was made to start as ''from scratch''. And the first step was a comprehensive reclustering of the semantic core.
During a 3-year period of working on the project, scheduled checks of all clusters were carried out in turn to maintain their relevance to the changing requirements of search engines, which made it possible to maintain high positions in the TOPs for a long time. However, apparently, the moment has come when the site optimization has not begun to cope with the volume and speed of Yandex algorithms modernization. The decision was made to start as ''from scratch''. And the first step was a comprehensive reclustering of the semantic core.
As a result:
- Groups of requests that required additional pages for promotion were identified
- Synonyms requiring separate duplicate subsections with their own meta tags and urls were identified
- A new form of the product card was developed
- A list of additional pages for requests on lumber of different classes and grades was developed
Struggling with a Text Filter
1. We started with hiding from indexing all the texts that existed at that time. Next, a text analysis was carried out across the entire list of requests. All clusters (all of them or all high-frequency queries from the cluster) were investigated according to the following procedure:
- first, a group of queries was loaded into a text analyzer,
- then, based on the results obtained, the corresponding page was edited and styled (meta tags, headings, text field, text fragments, etc. changed / added / removed / closed from indexing).
2. In addition to individual changes on each page, the following alterations have been implemented on the website as a whole:
- template texts from catalog pages and product cards were removed;
- the number of the word "price" on the listing has been optimized;
- A "Buy in 1 Click" option was added onto the listing and in the product card;
- the number of H2 tags on the listing was reduced;
- in order to combat overspam, the number of keywords in the text block for linking tagged pages was minimized.
It should be noted that consistent work on correcting the site's shortcomings based on the results of text analysis began to take effect after a couple of updates, which largely contributed to the optimism of the project team.
In total, it took about 2 months to get the site out of the text filter.
- first, a group of queries was loaded into a text analyzer,
- then, based on the results obtained, the corresponding page was edited and styled (meta tags, headings, text field, text fragments, etc. changed / added / removed / closed from indexing).
2. In addition to individual changes on each page, the following alterations have been implemented on the website as a whole:
- template texts from catalog pages and product cards were removed;
- the number of the word "price" on the listing has been optimized;
- A "Buy in 1 Click" option was added onto the listing and in the product card;
- the number of H2 tags on the listing was reduced;
- in order to combat overspam, the number of keywords in the text block for linking tagged pages was minimized.
It should be noted that consistent work on correcting the site's shortcomings based on the results of text analysis began to take effect after a couple of updates, which largely contributed to the optimism of the project team.
In total, it took about 2 months to get the site out of the text filter.
Engineering Work
All changes were implemented, the need for which became apparent as a result of competitive auditing, text analysis, and reclustering.
1. We changed the directory on the main page, where additional important tagged pages were displayed. That is, a complex mix of catalog and tagged pages was implemented, which made it possible to raise relevance of the most important pages for attracting traffic.
2. We changed the menu on the inner pages of the catalog, which made it possible to expand the range without blurring relevance in the future
3. We changed the display of products on the listing, namely: displaying product cards, added the "Buy in 1 Click" function, added dimensional characteristics (width, length, and height).
4. A new form of the product card was introduced: new functions and characteristics appeared
5. Duplicate sections were created for all available synonyms, for example, "bar - lath".
6. Additional pages were created for such requests as sawn timber of various classes and grades.
7. The "Missing Product" function was introduced. Previously, the missing product was not reflected on the site, which led to a decrease in the number of products on the listing and a decrease in search positions.
7. The "Missing Product" function was introduced. Previously, the missing product was not reflected on the site, which led to a decrease in the number of products on the listing and a decrease in search positions.
8. Work continued on external optimization and gradual build-up of the organic link mass.
Changing Approach to Dealing with Non-Essential Products
As a result of the situational analysis regarding promotion of ilya-les.ru on requests from the group of related products, such as "Antiseptics and fire-bio-protection" (69 requests in the core), "Sheet products - CBPB, fibreboard, chipboard, plywood" (64 requests) and Insulants (68 queries), it was found that only thematic sites, online hypermarkets and aggregators dominate the search. Not a single site specializing in lumber is in the TOP for these requests.
It was decided that at the current stage in terms of the company's product matrix, ilya-les.ru was not ready to fight for this group of requests, and, therefore, it was unreasonable to invest into such an unpromising area.
It was decided that at the current stage in terms of the company's product matrix, ilya-les.ru was not ready to fight for this group of requests, and, therefore, it was unreasonable to invest into such an unpromising area.
Results
As mentioned above, the site got rid of the text filter 2 months upon beginning of the rehabilitation work, i.e. by the end of January 2020, although the effects were in place until March. The entire campaign was completed in 5 months, and by April 2020, positive dynamics began, which has continued to this day.
- PositionsBy July, the number of requests in the TOP-10 exceeded the pre-crisis values (more than 3100) and reached 3908 by the end of September 2020.
- TrafficTraffic to the site from search engines amounted to 38,716 targeted visitors per month in May, which is 25.86% higher than the best indicators of 2019.
Conversion and Orders
We cannot provide all information on the number of calls, orders and sales from the ilya-les.ru site due to our NDA obligations. However, it should be noted that during the period from November 2019 to September 2020, we managed to achieve a significant increase in indicators specific to high interest of site visitors in purchasing Ilya-Les products.
Достижение цели «Заказ обратного звонка»
Достижение цели «Клик по телефону»
Достижение цели «Просмотр страницы контакты»
Достижение цели «Просмотр прайс-листа»
Выводы
- Поисковые машины и конкуренты не дремлют. Даже самая качественная оптимизация не даёт гарантию сохранения высоких поисковых позиций сайта на протяжении более 3-х месяцев, особенно в конкурентных тематиках. SEO – штука непрерывная.
- Вовремя обнаруженная проблема позволяет минимизировать ущерб, поэтому необходимы постоянный мониторинг трафика и поисковых позиций по всему семантическому ядру сайта, а также систематический текстовый анализ.
- Наличие дизайнеров и веб-разработчиков в SEO-команде позволяет быстрее реагировать на изменения требований поисковых машин и эффективнее бороться с возникающими проблемами.
