Smugmug SEO after new Google Algorithm Update (around Feb 15th) and slow sitemaps

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Comments

  • essex1970essex1970 Registered Users Posts: 35 Big grins
    edited April 10, 2014
    Same here, great improvement. ;) but I have a question: is it normal to have a low number of pages crawled per day? Mine is between 50 to a maximum of 350 per day..?? any tip or info about it?
    Thanks in advance.

    Seb.
  • ablichterablichter Registered Users Posts: 294 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2014
    I'm seeing major problems with findability as noted in the Descriptions Not Working > Folder description not used thread.

    I am also seeing a large number of warnings, many that match those reported above.

    i-hwLKZsg-X2.jpg

    Update / clarification on 24 March 2014:
    I just looked a little deeper into the errors reported on the sitemaps above. As it turns out there are warnings but no errors. Interesting thing is that while the top page shows the date of the submission and the number of errors, they appear to be in the past and not from my most current submission.


    --- Denise
    Denise,
    you might consider presenting /sitemap-galleryimages.xml and /sitemap-base.xml to google instead of presenting sitemap-inxdex.xml in which both are listed as gzipped and again the base-file gzipped.
  • canderson1229canderson1229 Registered Users Posts: 156 Major grins
    edited April 18, 2014
    I guess I'm a little concerned about what mine looks like. I'm not sure I've ever seen mine with a real graph. Can someone tell me why? I keep submitting my sitemap every so often but nothing much changes. Am I doing something wrong? If so how do I correct it?

    i-8rqvKZk-L.png
  • ablichterablichter Registered Users Posts: 294 Major grins
    edited April 18, 2014
    I guess I'm a little concerned about what mine looks like. I'm not sure I've ever seen mine with a real graph. Can someone tell me why? I keep submitting my sitemap every so often but nothing much changes. Am I doing something wrong? If so how do I correct it?
    What sitemap (filename) you are using?
  • canderson1229canderson1229 Registered Users Posts: 156 Major grins
    edited April 18, 2014
    I've been using /sitemap-index.xml all along. I see your suggestion to try /sitemap-galleryimages.xml do you think I would get more information? Just trying to figure out why I don't have more information. Its pretty blank everywhere else.
  • ablichterablichter Registered Users Posts: 294 Major grins
    edited April 18, 2014
    I've been using /sitemap-index.xml all along. I see your suggestion to try /sitemap-galleryimages.xml do you think I would get more information? Just trying to figure out why I don't have more information. Its pretty blank everywhere else.
    Show us what Crawl -> Sitemaps shows.
  • rainforest1155rainforest1155 Registered Users Posts: 4,566 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2014
    I've been using /sitemap-index.xml all along. I see your suggestion to try /sitemap-galleryimages.xml do you think I would get more information? Just trying to figure out why I don't have more information. Its pretty blank everywhere else.
    The sitemap-index.xml file should be all that's needed. It contains an index of all the sitemap files on your site, which is all that Google should need to take care of things.

    However, looking at your account, it seems you've not filled out the Google Webmaster Tools section in the account settings > discovery > search section. That suggests that your domain isn't actually verified properly in Google Webmasters anymore and that's possibly why Google shows no real info.
    Follow the instructions from that section of your account settings to verify your domain with Google webmasters. After doing that, it may take a couple of days for the info in Google webmasters to start to populate.
    Sebastian
    SmugMug Support Hero
  • canderson1229canderson1229 Registered Users Posts: 156 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2014
    Thank you.....!!
    The sitemap-index.xml file should be all that's needed. It contains an index of all the sitemap files on your site, which is all that Google should need to take care of things.

    However, looking at your account, it seems you've not filled out the Google Webmaster Tools section in the account settings > discovery > search section. That suggests that your domain isn't actually verified properly in Google Webmasters anymore and that's possibly why Google shows no real info.
    Follow the instructions from that section of your account settings to verify your domain with Google webmasters. After doing that, it may take a couple of days for the info in Google webmasters to start to populate.
  • canderson1229canderson1229 Registered Users Posts: 156 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2014
    This is the latest in the graph, as you can see there is a huge drop off. Could someone help me get this on track? I just can't imagine the business I've lost.

    i-GRvDvTS-M.jpg
    i-PQ5CkBZ-L.jpg
  • rainforest1155rainforest1155 Registered Users Posts: 4,566 Major grins
    edited April 21, 2014
    Your embedded photos aren't showing for me. Can you double check the links?
    Sebastian
    SmugMug Support Hero
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator
    edited April 21, 2014
    Your embedded photos aren't showing for me. Can you double check the links?
    The photos in canderson's post? They were showing for me but have now disappeared.
    This is the latest in the graph, as you can see there is a huge drop off. Could someone help me get this on track? I just can't imagine the business I've lost.http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=1950527&postcount=41
    I know it doesn't help, but you aren't alone. On my site the same graph that you show shows the same downward dive. The low point I posted on March 22nd was 3578; now that low point is 3136. On 4/28/13 the graph point was 34,669, a huge change.

    The Search Queries page is showing more activity than it was but the numbers are still low.

    --- Denise
  • canderson1229canderson1229 Registered Users Posts: 156 Major grins
    edited April 21, 2014
    Your embedded photos aren't showing for me. Can you double check the links?

    sorry about that!
  • canderson1229canderson1229 Registered Users Posts: 156 Major grins
    edited April 21, 2014
    Thanks for your reply Denise, I find this so disturbing. Is there anything that can be done? Is this being addressed as a top priority?

    What I find most disturbing is that since we've made the shift to the new site there has been some time passed and its still this way. What are we to do if our SEO isn't working the way we set it up to work?
    The photos in canderson's post? They were showing for me but have now disappeared.


    I know it doesn't help, but you aren't alone. On my site the same graph that you show shows the same downward dive. The low point I posted on March 22nd was 3578; now that low point is 3136. On 4/28/13 the graph point was 34,669, a huge change.

    The Search Queries page is showing more activity than it was but the numbers are still low.

    --- Denise
  • KQuinlanKQuinlan Registered Users Posts: 53 Big grins
    edited April 21, 2014
    I'm not so sure that a drop in indexed pages is a bad thing. It all depends on what is being indexed. Too many pages indexed could be a problem if Google looks at alot of it as duplicate content. With a smugmug site, "Search Queries" is probably a much better sign of how well your site is doing in Google.
    My site went from about 100,000 items indexed to about 16,000 items indexed
    During that same time period, my site came up in search results for someone an average of 50 or so times a day (during part of the time 100,000 items were indexed), and now (for the past week) comes up in search results 400 to 500 times a day (with just the 16,000 items indexed).
    The "indexed" graph is more useful if you have a html web site with specifically defined pages, and know how many of them there are (ie a web site with 40 distinct pages). Smugmug sites are considered by search engines to have thousands of pages, because each photo uploaded gets counted as its own page.



    Here is my graph for "indexed" content
    indexed3-14.jpg

    This next one is for roughly the same period, and it is search impressions
    Search-Queries-same-month.jpg
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  • canderson1229canderson1229 Registered Users Posts: 156 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2014
    So is the general consensus is that a drop off such as these is not a problem? I guess I'm not sure I understand that.
  • KQuinlanKQuinlan Registered Users Posts: 53 Big grins
    edited May 9, 2014
    Quick update... looking good
    Just wanted to post a quick update and say thanks again. My "search queries" are now even higher than before the problem happened. (600-800 a day) vs (500-600 a day before)
    Screenshot%20-%205_9_2014%20,%2011_13_48%20PM.jpg
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