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Sales dropped 70% this month using custom 404 erro
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fs2787 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 27-September-2011 at 4:23pm

We have been using ProductCart for almost a decade and using custom 404 error handler to rewrite the URL of dynamic pages so that they look and behave like static .html pages.  It has been working great until this month when we saw our sales drop 75% for no apparent reason.  If you browse one of our product page http://www.emantechnology.com/store/pc/Pansat-2700A-21p38.htm   it shows everything is OK, but this is how Google index it.  http://www.emantechnology.com/Pansat-2700A-21p38.htm  Somehow Google dropped the /store/pc directory completely; therefore, all  links are broken and customers no longer able to find us.  Looking at the page cache for some of the product pages that were indexed, it looks like they were indexed around September 4th.  Using Google type in Pansat 2700A and you will see us on the second page with an incorrect link to our product page.

Did Google changes its search algorithm? Anybody know what is going on? Please help.
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whizzinpc View Drop Down
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Points: 20 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote whizzinpc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-September-2011 at 1:35am
You will need to use ISAPI rewrite to correct this. Are you able to get it installed on the server your on? If yes, you can easily put a rule that will always 301 redirect those pages to the correct url that includes the store/pc/ folders. Also, I would recommend using absolute URL's on your template. It will prevent the spider from continuing on without the store/pc.
I think the problem starts from a link that points to your site without the store/pc/. The spider doesnt notice that there is anything wrong with the site because everything loads except the css and navigation links work... so it keeps crawling away.


Edited by whizzinpc - 28-September-2011 at 1:38am
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Hamish View Drop Down
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Points: 56 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hamish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-September-2011 at 3:20am
Hi, I can see this behaviour on the emantechnology site, but not on our demo stores, which implies there is a problem with the SEO / 404 setup. I'd start by investigating that. I'd also advise submitting a site map to Google to try and remediate the impact (but CHECK the links within it before submitting it!!)  
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fs2787 View Drop Down
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Points: 0 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fs2787 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-September-2011 at 1:41pm
I think you might be right. I thought the same thing, the spider could start from a link that point to our website without the store/pc/. From there it keeps crawling away. What I don't understand is we haven't touched or modified anything regarding 404 error redirecting and it has been working for many years. I will go ahead and resubmit the new site map and see if it will fix the issue. 
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Points: 56 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hamish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-September-2011 at 1:52pm
Hi,
   It's probable be that the link to your store is recent & hence the spider will have only recently visited without including the /store/pc. The submission of a site map is only a temporary and partial solution. You need to solve the underlying problem.  
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Points: 0 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fs2787 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-September-2011 at 4:04pm
What is the best way to go back to using dynamic link? It has been a while since we did the modification to use custom 404 error. We are still on v3.051b, because we have made so much changes to the code that we are reluctant to upgrade; moreover, we felt that v3.051 has all the features we ever needed. 
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Points: 56 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hamish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-September-2011 at 4:06pm
V3.051b ?!? Do you mean V3.51b. 
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fs2787 View Drop Down
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Sorry, I meant v3.51b.
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Points: 56 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hamish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-September-2011 at 6:48pm
Hi, I would very carefully review http://wiki.earlyimpact.com/productcart/seo-urls
and check your store is set up exactly as described.
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Points: 20 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote whizzinpc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29-September-2011 at 6:30pm
Originally posted by Hamish Hamish wrote:

Hi, I would very carefully review http://wiki.earlyimpact.com/productcart/seo-urls
and check your store is set up exactly as described.


Some of the sample stores from wiki page also experience the same effect when productcart/pc/ is removed from the URL. It seems to me that this is a common problem. Some sites are giving correct 404 and some are just loading the page with all images and css missing. I wonder what could be causing this on the server side.
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