Any ideas?

[neooptic]

I've been working on http://www.gear-zone.co.uk/ for a while, and we moved on to a SEO-friendly platform in November last year. Rankings have stabilised after dropping heavily on the old platform, but they haven't improved inline with the amount of link building we've done.

Does anybody have any ideas for tricks that we could have missed? Any advice would be much apptreciated.

[Keszi]

Hi Neooptic,

After moving to the new platform, did you ensure to redirect from the old URL system to the new one?

That can cause a massive drop and it is usually forgotten by many.

Gr.,

Istvan

[neooptic]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, we took care of all the redirects, 301ing to all relevant pages where possible. All others were sent to the homepage.

[Keszi]

Ok, next question will be

Did you submit a new sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools?

[JarnoNijzing]

Neooptic,

what software package do you use? You call it SEO Friendly but when i look at the source code of your page it is not. A lot of Javascript code in the page, a lot of hidden form field etc.

This could be the problem.

And indeed, sitemap in Google Webmaster Tools, resubmit you website might also work, or keep on linkbuilding as it should do the trick eventually.

kind regards

[edwardlewis]

There are quite a few things on page that could be improved: http://gtmetrix.com/reports/www.gear-zone.co.uk/oTasIFqU

You make the classic seo mistake by putting your logo inside an H1:

Gear-Zone

As already pointed out, some of the coding is a bit messy

There are also potential duplicate content issues: eg /outdoor-footwear

The content in the section "How to Clean and Reproof Walking Boots and Outdoor Footwear" is displayed on the category page and also by clicking through to the gear guide page.

I would re-write the content on the category pages so it is more unique.

[JarnoNijzing]

Maybe the mistake of putting the logo in the H1 is done by the software (it does happen). otherwise i agree

[edwardlewis]

And more duplicate content..

"Walking boots are possibly the most essential and personal piece of outdoor kit you can buy, but once you've found that perfect pair you'll want to keep them in tip-top shape."

http://www.gear-zone.co.uk/blog/january-2011/how-to-clean-and-reproof-walking-boots

http://www.gear-zone.co.uk/gear-guides/cleaning-and-reproofing-walking-boots

http://gear-zone.blogspot.com/

[neooptic]

Yep, it's live now.

[neooptic]

Thanks! Is the H1/logo a real issue? I was under the impression it was OK. I'll check out the duplicate content too.

[neooptic]

Thanks Edward. Regarding the page speed stuff, Google rate the page speed of the GZ site at 91/100 – with the javascript being the only place where points are being deducated. The only problem is, the JS relates to the trustpilot widget, and social links at the bottom of the page – neither of which work when they are deferred.

I'm looking into the content now!