main page opens with category - how does original main page now get accessed?

[shags38]

v1.5.7b php 7.3 Ceon URI Mapping

I have recently changed layout settings to show a category on main page as an experiment to see what it does for traffic and conversions. Just a couple of questions;
1. what type of redirect is happening, e.g. 301, 302 ?? (I assume 302 but do not like assuming)
2. how does the original main page now get accessed, a) by users and b) by crawlers? at what address?
3. what SEO effects are there in home page changing, aside from content, if any at all?

cheers, Mike

[mc12345678]

Not going to repeat the countless statements that have been made in reference to continued SEO monkey business.

1. None. Although a default install introduces some alternate or extra content, the data of the associated category is displayed as if on the main page.
2. In a default install the original content is not accessible. Basically the page address remains the same but the content has been changed to be that of the selected category path.
3. So, content is king. If you're newly chosen category gives a better indication of your site, then there may be improvement. Unknown if the category/main_page duplication will be detected, which may have an impact. If there was something successfully located on your index page that is no longer there or sensually found then I would suspect a negative impact.

[shags38]

Thanks for the detailed response mc12345678 .... I am surprised that the original main page content is not accessible. I will copy that main page content to one of the extra info pages so that it is still accessible by the crawlers at least.

again many thanks,
Mike

[dbltoe]

It's kind of a computer thing.

You tell it not to use the regular main page and open with a category page instead.

It does what you asked and it's a problem?

[shags38]

It's kind of a computer thing.

You tell it not to use the regular main page and open with a category page instead.

It does what you asked and it's a problem?

It (the mechanics) is not a problem, however like anything else in life, unless you can learn about something by way of reading about it or asking a question and getting a suitable answer then you cannot be expected to just know it - well that is how it works for the average being but I suppose there are some exceptions, right?
It may indeed be a computer thing but it has some implications, i.e. the original main page becomes non existent to all and sundry and yes that could well be a potentially significant problem dependant on how Google reacts. I couldn't find anything that explained that (the disappearance of a page) in the Docs hence asked in here. Thanks to mc12345678 I have the information I need to make a considered decision on whether to continue or revert.

Enjoy the rest of the festive season

p.s. how are the Texas Aussie Pies going?

[dbltoe]

The pies are in ten major grocery chains nationwide.

Did quite well during the pandemic but dropping off some now that folks are out and about more.

[shags38]

The pies are in ten major grocery chains nationwide.

Did quite well during the pandemic but dropping off some now that folks are out and about more.

Great news, Kudos to your son. Oh by the way, my other job is a 'royalties collector for Australian National Icons', one being the humble pie - I look forward to seeing a cheque (check) soon - make it out to me, I'll make sure the Government gets their share

Happy New 366 days

[shags38]

Not going to repeat the countless statements that have been made in reference to continued SEO monkey business.

1. None. Although a default install introduces some alternate or extra content, the data of the associated category is displayed as if on the main page.
2. In a default install the original content is not accessible. Basically the page address remains the same but the content has been changed to be that of the selected category path.
3. So, content is king. If you're newly chosen category gives a better indication of your site, then there may be improvement. Unknown if the category/main_page duplication will be detected, which may have an impact. If there was something successfully located on your index page that is no longer there or sensually found then I would suspect a negative impact.

I feel the need to report my experience with 'open main page with a category' - this is not a whinge or ########## but explaining my experience and hoping to get responses that help me undersatnd why the below happened (happens) - I have also thrown in some comment.

For what it is worth the result of the 'experiment' was a Big Negative - yesterday my updated Search Console data showed that Google could not find the domain url, returned a 404, resulting in zero internal links to the home page, a decilne in internal links of some 2000 plus, but far and away the most critical effect was the loss of 80% of the inbound links to the site. Only those external links to pages on the site other than the main page remain (i.e. domain/page) - the main page has zero links. That in turn affects whatever 'trust' Google applied from those links to the site / page in turn negatively impacting ranking. Additionally Google dislikes sites that have major disruptive changes, major chopping and changing, and can often sandbox those sites for a while - I will have to wait and see. If ZC uses a pyramid style internal linking structure (which I think it does) it appears the pyramid was beheaded.

I can only assume that this is because the replaced main page is not crawlable by the spiders. For some reason or other when ZenCart says 'replace the content of the main page' with the content of the selected category page it seemingly doesn't replace the content of the domain url, but displaces it, even though the browser shows the domain url when the category opens, it is not seen by Google as a case of 'ok the domain url hasn't changed but the content has' but rather Google is seeing that the domain url is missing (404). I do not profess to understand the technicalities of what happens with the instructions (code) ZC gives to 'replace' the home page content but it appears that it is also telling Google that the replaced page no longer exists and, as would not be the case with a 301 or 302 redirect, Google cannot see or follow the url and indeed links pointing to that url. It can and does however find and follow links with domain/page (but not url domain).

I do not understand the coding involved when you elect to open main page with a category page - I must admit I expected the new main page url to be that of the selected category (domain/selected_category) and not simply the domain address. However that isn't / wasn't the case.

With the site changed back so that opening with a category is now off, it is likely Google will recover the internal links relatively quickly (a month or so dependent on its crawl cycle and crawl penetration of the site). However Google finding all the external links again will take considerably longer based on experience and posts on the subject on the net. As of yesterday the domain url was not indexed and I have no idea how long for - I would suggest from the first crawl after electing a catgeory page opening (I changed back to the original main page a few days ago but the crawl rate on the site is somewhat infrequent - I have subsequently asked Google to index it)

You were right mc12345678- there is no redirect but the fact that the home page is not accessible at all is 'maybe' something that can be looked at in the coding to overcome the type of issue I have encountered. Maybe the original home page should be a redirect of sorts, maybe to an auto renamed page (domain/former-home-page) that can be crawled by Google in which case the external links would redirect to that page, following the redirect and not be lost, instead of what has happened (then auto reversed if the category page is deselected). I am not a coder so I do not know if that is do-able (anything is do-able I suppose given time and desire) however in my opinion something needs to change.


At the end of the day it is done and cannot be undone - I wanted to see what opening with a category would do for traffic / conversions etc to the site, I did not expect the type of negative effects that resulted (maybe some minor SEO effect either up or down dependent on Google's assessment of the 'new page', but not Armageddon) .... but I did it, no-one else, so I take ownership - I just do not want to see this happen to others and I need to understand what processes led to this.

Hindsight is a marvellous thing - checking the page source just after I made the change may have revealed the potential issue but then again maybe not depending on how the back end is coded.

cheers, Mike

cc @dbltoe

[shags38]

In switching off 'main page - opens with category' the original main page shows back where it was - however the domain url still returns a 404 not found. To correct this 'categories - always show on main page' must also be switched to off - if this isn't done then the domain url still returns a 404.

So it appears that the activation of 'categories - always show on main page' in isolation screws with the domain url.

As per previous post I look forward to some explanation as to what is happening in the back end. please.

cheers,
Mike