Major problem with visibility on Google

[JagoPacker]

I run a business selling IT products, so the majority of the items we sell receive high search volumes each month, such as ipads, laptops, etc.

We have 16,000 products listed and the website has been live for 9 years. When I took it over the business we were getting around 500 users a day on the website with the usual mix of good traffic and rubbish. But with a very low conversion rate , less than 1%, things needed to change to make it pay. For 8 months we have worked on the site updating the site map, ensuring cononicalisation was in place, ensuring Google is indexing it (so far 12,000 pages index) and a whole host of technical fixes and changes to the layout.

The result is we still only have 500 users a day with the same conversion rate

I'm using SEMRush to monitor the site and at one point also used MOZ, Im now stumped as to where to go next.

We brought in a SEO company and carried out all of there recommendations.

We know we have a page speed issue, which we are investigating and I know the product descriptions and product titles are rubbish, so I'm trying to fix them. I suspect the poor descriptions and product title could be a major factor.

Is there a chance Google doesn't like the site as a result of 9 years of poor content and technical errors or do you thinks we may have something more fundamental wrong?

I appreciate you thoughts and advice.

Jago - a very frustrated person

[goodroi]

I noticed you never once mentioned backlinks or popularity. The harsh reality is that there are 1,000 other websites selling IT products and only 1 site can rank on top. Why should Google rank your website above the other 999 sites? You probably sell the same products, have almost identical descriptions, identical product photos, very similar pricing, etc. What makes your site special & unique?

There are hundreds of factors that influence SEO rankings but most of them influence it less than 1%. You want to focus on the core SEO factors that control the lionshare of your SEO score - having unique & valuable content with strong traffic generating links because your business is so popular with consumers.

What value are you providing that isn't already being offered on a thousand other websites?

Do you have the highest quantity & quality of product reviews?
Are you creating product video guides to help with installation & troubleshooting?
Are you hosting webinars to help consumers network multiple IT products together?
Do you have a weekly podcast that addresses IT questions?
Do you photograph all products from angles not displayed in the manufacturer supplied images?
These are some basic ideas of how to add more value.

[cr1m]

In addition to the previous comment, I'd like to add some more questions:
Is your website responsive and can be used well on mobile devices?
Is your website easy and comfortable to use?

But besides that, it does come as a bit of a surprise that you have worked on technical stuff for 8 months and haven't had the time to deal with content. If you showed the website, you'd probably have more relevant ideas thrown your way.

[not2easy]

If you showed the website, you'd probably have more relevant ideas thrown your way.

Except that we don't do site reviews in the public forums.

That only happens here: [webmasterworld.com...]

[JagoPacker]

It's has been very frustrating. We are mobile friendly but are limited as it's written in asp classic.
The site is <snip>
We are focusing on content, links and site speed as I know these are all poor.

[edited by: goodroi at 9:55 pm (utc) on Jul 3, 2018]
[edit reason] Welcome to WebmasterWorld, now please go read the forum rules :) [/edit]

[topr8]

>>limited as it's written in asp classic

sorry i fail to see why that limits you?

why are pages served by asp classic limiting? surely the server side language is irrelevant, the server serves the html generated by the server side processes. you can do pretty much anything in classic asp.

[JagoPacker]

It's my IT team who say this is limiting our functionality.

[Leosghost]

It's my IT team who say this is limiting our functionality.

Your IT team is talking spheroids..

[JagoPacker]

Hahahahaha

[piatkow]

It's my IT team who say this is limiting our functionality.

I have heard similar lines before I retired from the day job. The invariable answer was "RTFM"

[Shaddows]

RTFM - How quaint! These days, it's STFW.

We have a perfectly functioning website in asp (not .net). There is nothing limiting about the language- just about integration with various tools and plugins.

We know we have a page speed issue, which we are investigating and I know the product descriptions and product titles are rubbish, so I'm trying to fix them.

Ummm, I'm not sure why you are looking at technical SEO, when your product is fundamentally flawed.

Lipstick and pigs, polish and turds, SEO and crap content.

[buckworks]

Making sure that technical SEO issues are in good order is perfectly sensible. But eight months for technical cleanup? Something's wrong if it takes that long.

The technical basics have to be good, but don't wait for technical perfection to get started on other aspects that will improve how you connect with users. Better content, better promotion, better customer service, and more.