VM3 and SEO -detail

[ptrouw]

Hi,
I am using multi languages. I noticed you can only edit VM configuration in your default language. I understand this because most setting are on VM global level. But specifically the SEO Suffix is languages depended, -detail wouldn't work in all languages. Can this great functionality not be moved to shop settings.
Or do I need to purchase an external SEO solution?
J3.3 and VM 3.0.2

[jjk]

VM needs a suffix (default is -detail) to distinguish between category views and product views. So you can't leave it empty. But the suffix is ignored by the search engines anyway. You can change it to whatever text you want. Maybe -htm or -html makes more sense in your case. But make shure you do NOT have 'Adds suffix to URL' enabled in the Joomla configuration. If you do, it adds a second suffix.

[frisco75]

Hi,

I am interested by this thing said by jjk that "suffix is ignored by the search engines anyway". Are you sure ? I migrated my old VM1 to VM3 and in the old version there was not this -detail suffix. And obviously this change the url and my WM doesn't give the same urls that before. This is not good for the SEO, it changes all the SEO, no ? SO are you sure that google ignore the new virtuemart SEO suffix ?

Thanks.

François

[Studio 42]

What jjk say is -detail is so general word then this is not considerate by search engines.

YOu have to add permanent redirect rules to not loose your old URLS in google

[GJC Web Design]

or try leaving it blank if the rest of the url is the same as before and hope there is no category->product slug clash

[jjk]

I wouldn't recommend to leave it blank. VM uses the suffix to distinguish between a product details page and category pages. If you leave it blank, you will most likely have some router errors. Since you said you updated from VM 1.x, you can change it to .html if you like to keep the file type at the end of the url. The file type is also written into the source code of your web page headers as 'DOCTYPE html. All search engine bots and browsers do look there to find the file type. Certain file types are forbidden of course, like for example .exe.

The -details at the end doesn't hurt your SEO, but if you don't like it, you can change it i.e. to -htm, -html, .php or something slightly more creative like -shop or -gift, if you disable the "Add Suffix to URL" in Joomla configuration. (Search engines don't need a suffix, but crawl them).

Google itself doesn't use .htm or .html either. And the only joomla.org page which still uses it, seems to be the homepage.

[frisco75]

Thanks you all for your answers 

So, (I want to be sure, because my english is not fluent) :

When I migrated from VM1 to VM3, my urls keep the same. But in VM 3 there is -detail added at the end of the urls. So even if -detail is added, for Google, they are the same url ? Google didn't think they are new urls because of -detail ?

[jjk]

No, the url with -detail at the end would be a different url for Google. But if you want to keep your .html, you can change the -detail in VirtueMart configuration > SEO tab to .html

[frisco75]

So you mean that if a put .html instead -detail, for Google it will be the sames url than before ?

[jjk]

You said:

When I migrated from VM1 to VM3, my urls keep the same. But in VM 3 there is -detail added at the end of the urls.

If this is correct then the urls should be the same as your old ones after you change the -detail to .html
Just try it out and compare it to your old urls.

[frisco75]

Yes, i see that the urls are visually the same but I mean are they the same for Google for the Seo. Will Google consider them like the sames that before, even if there is the .html suffix ?

[jjk]

I don't understand. Are your old and new urls 'visually' identical or are the old ones without .html and the new ones with .html?
Note that VM 3 uses 'canonical urls'. Look at your source code in the browser. You will see a canonical url in the header. That url is what Google will index.

If there is a difference, you might consider to use this free VirtueMart sitemap generator: http://shop.st42.fr/en/products/virtuemart-2-sitemap.htm, then open a Google webmaster tools account and submit your sitemap.

[frisco75]

I mean that my urls (old and new) are the same. But in the old ones there was not the .htm or html at the end.
I had a look at the source code, with the news url, and they are with the .htm suffix.
So for Google, they are considered like differents, isn't it ?
(thank you for your help and excuse me if I'm not very easy in my explanations, my english is not perfect, especially with technical stuff ! )

[jjk]

I think for Google the urls will be different, but I didn't test that.

[frisco75]

Ok, thanks a lot JJK