My shop's position in google search

[gaminn]

Hi, I run a small shop www.aqdrive.com with some industrial automation products, e.g. https://aqdrive.com/8200-vector/13-53-lenze-e82cv3712c-e82cv371k2c-8200-vector-inverter.html . Till July 2025 when I typed model name of any product in my eshop, e.g. E82CV371_2C I got my eshop on the first page of google search results. Also, I got decent number of visitors via google search. From July2025, I can't remember exact date, the number of visitors fell sharply to exactly zero and when I type the product name now in google search my eshop disappeared, it is not even on the last page of the results. I have Google Search Console, Google Analytics and Google Merchant Center for my domain but they don't display any issue I should resolve to be again included in the search results.

Any idea what I can do?

[El Patron]

Hi, from experience I can share a few practical pointers that may help.
You’re competing in a very tough niche for these industrial part numbers, and many of the other sites ranking for these models offer extremely polished catalogs. It’s worth reviewing some of your direct competitors and comparing what features, structure, or content they provide that your shop might be missing.

For example, on this category page:
https://aqdrive.com/12-drives
the filter system appears misconfigured. The page shows 63 products, but the filters only show 1 item available. That creates a lot of friction for visitors who are trying to narrow down or locate the exact part they need.

Even small UX or catalog-navigation issues like this can affect engagement metrics, and when combined with a very competitive industry, they can indirectly contribute to lower visibility in Google.

Most often traffic drop occurs, based on poor visitors experience, google measure everything especially visits and fast bounce...here is one of my blog posts to help ps users know important things they can do to improve relevance.

 

1. Maybe Google Has Reclassified the Page as “Duplicate Content”

Industrial part numbers (E82CV3712C, etc.) appear on hundreds of reseller sites with identical manufacturer descriptions.

If Google detects:

• minimal original content
• mostly manufacturer text
• repeated patterns
• multiple URLs on your website with nearly identical product content

…it may index the page but suppress it from search results.

Check GSC → Coverage → Excluded:

• “Duplicate without user-selected canonical”
• “Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user”
• “Alternate page with proper canonical”

These reports confirm a duplicate-content canonicalization problem.

2. Sudden Drop in “Crawled – Currently Not Indexed”

Check GSC → Coverage → Excluded.

If you see a spike in:

• “Crawled – currently not indexed”
• starting around July 2025, Google is:
• crawling your pages
• deciding not to index the updated version
• relying on outdated cached versions
• therefore not ranking your product pages for model queries

This often happens because:

• slow hosting
• thin content
• canonical tag mismatch
• conflicting SEO module
• duplicate URLs (with/without ID, parameter, category path)

3. Missing or Broken Product Schema

Check the structured data using Google’s Rich Results Test:

https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

If product schema is missing or invalid, industrial part numbers often lose visibility.

[El Patron]

also consider 'high quality' 3rd party theme from addon's, unless you hire a design company to update your base ps theme, this is going to hurt your rankings.  the base theme allows one to configure their shop get it all working but the expectation is to then upgrade to well designed theme, I see this so often, people using base ps theme which lacks advanced features like cool menu, avoid using tree category remove it once you have better filtering.

[gaminn]

Hi and thanks for your reply El Patron.

Thanks for letting me know about "Filter by" not working, I removed it from my site, it 

My typical customer is a person searching for a replacement of their faulty device that broke, they urgently need their machine working again. They can't buy new device, all devices I sell have been discontinued long ago.

I know the design of my eshop is bad, but at least until July 2025 it was not important as the only important facts for my customers who need to repair their machine ASAP are only low price and fast shipping. Which I both have.

Quote

Check GSC → Coverage → Excluded:

Sorry, I can't see this section in my GSC, please see screenshots. I can inspect individual products pages of my eshop in GSC and for all of them I see the same data as in the screenshot. I only see some non critical issues for all my pages: Missing fields review, aggregateRating, shippingDetails, hasMerchantReturnPolicy

 

Quote

https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

Screenshot included. Only some non critical issues like before.

 

I have many non-indexed pages. There is e.g. page https://aqdrive.com/8200-vector/12-52-lenze-e82ev3712c-e82ev371k2c-8200-vector-inverter.html for which GSC says "
Page is not indexed: Alternate page with proper canonical tag". But identical product opens for this url: https://aqdrive.com/8200-vector/12-lenze-e82ev3712c-e82ev371k2c-8200-vector-inverter.html which is indexed so still I don't understand why it doesn't show in search results for E82EV371_2C search term. However, why duplicated URLs for my products in my eshop exists and how to get rid off them and have only unique url for a product?

[El Patron]

Hi, I don’t really have time to go through all the screenshots in detail, so please go ahead and fix any issues you’re seeing.

You can also use SEMrush or similar tools to see who’s advertising and get ideas on how to improve and enhance the visitor experience. In short, either level up on how to make things better, follow experienced advice, and start closing the gap — you’ve got a hole to dig out of, so it’s time to start digging.

[El Patron]

Quick note — a common mistake many businesses make: .com is a U.S.-targeted gTLD, not international.

I strongly recommend securing a .eu domain and eventually decommissioning the .com to avoid duplicate-content problems.

Right now you have an even bigger issue:
EU visitors landing on the .com experience missing carriers and a generally poor checkout flow because the shop isn’t aligned with their region.

Moving to a .eu domain puts your entire product catalog in the correct regional context — something the current setup fails to do.

 

[willsmith79052]

Hi,

It looks like some pages might have been de-indexed or affected by technical changes. Check robots.txt, canonical tags, sitemap and ensure products are indexed in search console. Others, have you seen sudden drops like this

[gaminn]

14 hours ago, El Patron said:

Quick note — a common mistake many businesses make: .com is a U.S.-targeted gTLD, not international.

I strongly recommend securing a .eu domain and eventually decommissioning the .com to avoid duplicate-content problems.

Right now you have an even bigger issue:
EU visitors landing on the .com experience missing carriers and a generally poor checkout flow because the shop isn’t aligned with their region.

Moving to a .eu domain puts your entire product catalog in the correct regional context — something the current setup fails to do.

 

Not sure, if this is an issue. The only "regional context" that matters on my site is that the customer gets correct shipping rates at checkout. And the rates are calculated based on customer's country which he enters at checkout. 

[gaminn]

I think all my products are indexed, at least in GSC I can see them marked as indexed and still when I search for a model name of my indexed product I won't get it in google search results. You can try search e.g. for "e82ev152_4c200" (https://aqdrive.com/8200-vector/30-lenze-e82ev1524c200-e82ev152k4c200-8200-vector-inverter.html) which has been indexed as you can see in the screenshot. I get 6 pages of results and none of them is my eshop.

The non-indexed pages are some pages with redirects or "Alternate page with proper canonical tag", which I think is not an error but just another URL for already indexed page which google hasn't indexed because it would lead to duplicates.

So still absolutely no idea what to do.

[gaminn]

LOL, it's so funny. "E82CV371_2C" (model number of a product I sell) was mentioned in this thread and voila - when you search for "E82CV371_2C" you now get link to this thread on the first page of google results. Completely nonrelevant search result for anyone searching for "E82CV371_2C" who is interested in the product. Still, absolutely relevant product page in my eshop is not present in the search results. Hard to understand what's wrong with Google.

[El Patron]

On 11/27/2025 at 3:27 AM, gaminn said:

Not sure, if this is an issue. The only "regional context" that matters on my site is that the customer gets correct shipping rates at checkout. And the rates are calculated based on customer's country which he enters at checkout. 

you should then also read the information I posted, you  in same boat.  The original poster thought I made up .com vs .eu and how that is major problem for him...so you should pretty easily rank higher than him if you already don't.  Friday, I feel a little more freedom of speech.  Seldom does anyone follow advice here, they already have some answer in their head and they will focus on that until they go out of business..

[gaminn]

Not sure why .com domain shoud be a problem. Many businesses in EU, even my competitors, use .com domain. I also sell globally.

Still, this is a minor issue for me, as my primary problem is that Google completely ignores my eshop. Once this solves (no idea how) then I can think about better domain name.

Edited Friday at 10:03 PM by gaminn (see edit history)

[johancruffy]

Not sure why .com domain shoud be a problem. Many businesses in EU, even my competitors, use .com domain. I also sell globally like https://kalkulator-jadian.id/

Edited yesterday at 06:53 AM by johancruffy (see edit history)

[El Patron]

15 hours ago, gaminn said:

Not sure why .com domain shoud be a problem. Many businesses in EU, even my competitors, use .com domain. I also sell globally.

Still, this is a minor issue for me, as my primary problem is that Google completely ignores my eshop. Once this solves (no idea how) then I can think about better domain name.

Quick note before I repeat myself yet again 🙂
The questions you’re asking have already been answered in detail above in this topic. I’m speaking from many years of hands-on experience with PrestaShop – I’ve  geo-targeting / visitor localization modules every day.  I've localized some of the biggest shops over the years.

I’m not here trying to win work or sell you anything, just sharing what I’ve learned so you don’t have to hit the same walls. If you’re still unsure, that’s totally fine – but at this point the best thing you can do is dig in, do your own research, and test so that you can be confident in the answer.

Stronger Geo-Relevance in Google for EU Markets

The .eu domain is an EU geo-targeted TLD, which signals to Google that the website is intended for European audiences.

What this improves:

• Ranking for EU-based searches (DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, PL, etc.)
• Visibility on part-number queries where competition is extremely high
• Local relevance for product-specific searches
• Google has confirmed for years that ccTLDs help determine geographic targeting.

Meanwhile:

.com is a US-generic gTLD

Google has to guess your market using other signals (IP, hreflang, Search Console)

In competitive B2B or technical niches, this small signal often matters.

 

Avoids Mixed-Market Confusion & UX Problems

A .com domain creates an expectation that:

1. Prices may be in USD
2. Shipping may be US-only or expensive
3. The business is American
4. EU buyers often hesitate when:
5. They see a .com domain but need EU-local support
6. They compare multiple shops and only one looks US-based

Even if your store is fully EU-compliant, the perception hurts your conversion rate.

If your PrestaShop sells primarily inside the EU and competes on part numbers, switching from a .com to a .eu is one of the simplest ways to gain:

Better EU search ranking

Higher trust from buyers

Higher click-through rate in competitive SERPs

Fewer regional mismatches with carriers, language, and VAT

Stronger alignment with EU regulations and marketplace platforms

.com = US
.eu = Europe

For an EU-focused business, the domain should reflect the market.

 

THE END...UNFOLLOWING AND CONSIDER HITTING THE LIKE BUTTON or at least thank community members that take their time to inform 

 

[darkin]

4 hours ago, El Patron said:

Quick note before I repeat myself yet again 🙂
The questions you’re asking have already been answered in detail above in this topic. I’m speaking from many years of hands-on experience with PrestaShop – I’ve  geo-targeting / visitor localization modules every day.  I've localized some of the biggest shops over the years.

I’m not here trying to win work or sell you anything, just sharing what I’ve learned so you don’t have to hit the same walls. If you’re still unsure, that’s totally fine – but at this point the best thing you can do is dig in, do your own research, and test so that you can be confident in the answer.

Stronger Geo-Relevance in Google for EU Markets

The .eu domain is an EU geo-targeted TLD, which signals to Google that the website is intended for European audiences.

What this improves:

• Ranking for EU-based searches (DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, PL, etc.)
• Visibility on part-number queries where competition is extremely high
• Local relevance for product-specific searches
• Google has confirmed for years that ccTLDs help determine geographic targeting.

Meanwhile:

.com is a US-generic gTLD

Google has to guess your market using other signals (IP, hreflang, Search Console)

In competitive B2B or technical niches, this small signal often matters.

 

Avoids Mixed-Market Confusion & UX Problems

A .com domain creates an expectation that:

1. Prices may be in USD
2. Shipping may be US-only or expensive
3. The business is American
4. EU buyers often hesitate when:
5. They see a .com domain but need EU-local support
6. They compare multiple shops and only one looks US-based

Even if your store is fully EU-compliant, the perception hurts your conversion rate.

If your PrestaShop sells primarily inside the EU and competes on part numbers, switching from a .com to a .eu is one of the simplest ways to gain:

Better EU search ranking

Higher trust from buyers

Higher click-through rate in competitive SERPs

Fewer regional mismatches with carriers, language, and VAT

Stronger alignment with EU regulations and marketplace platforms

.com = US
.eu = Europe

For an EU-focused business, the domain should reflect the market.

 

THE END...UNFOLLOWING AND CONSIDER HITTING THE LIKE BUTTON or at least thank community members that take their time to inform 

 

Sounds like one of the biggest bull&sh!t, but in these days can be nothing strange when someone having nothing to do tries to change what was working properly... But again, @gaminn site with .com is not showing in search result, but same request shows results from prestashop.COM  and somebody tries to say, that .COM is a problem, that .com=US (another shait)... Some result to learn something...

A .com domain is a top-level domain (TLD) that stands for commercial, but is now used for all types of websites, not just businesses. It is the most popular and widely recognized domain extension globally, making it a trusted and often default choice for anyone wanting to establish a website. 

Key characteristics of a .com domain

Commercial origin: The .com TLD was originally intended for commercial organizations.

Broad use: Over time, it has become available to anyone and is used for personal blogs, non-profits, and other non-commercial sites.

Global recognition: It is the most common and familiar domain extension worldwide, so websites with a .com are often more trusted and easier for people to remember.

Ubiquitous availability: Due to its popularity, many common names are already registered, but it remains the top choice for most new websites. 

@gaminn search for SEO optimization and thse who do this, maybe some errors will be spotted, maybe you added some new modules or deleted/disabled some old ones and know there's a mess somewhere and prevents for proper indexing and showing on search results.

[El Patron]

20 hours ago, darkin said:

Sounds like one of the biggest bull&sh!t, but in these days can be nothing strange when someone having nothing to do tries to change what was working properly... But again, @gaminn site with .com is not showing in search result, but same request shows results from prestashop.COM  and somebody tries to say, that .COM is a problem, that .com=US (another shait)... Some result to learn something...

A .com domain is a top-level domain (TLD) that stands for commercial, but is now used for all types of websites, not just businesses. It is the most popular and widely recognized domain extension globally, making it a trusted and often default choice for anyone wanting to establish a website. 

Key characteristics of a .com domain

Commercial origin: The .com TLD was originally intended for commercial organizations.

Broad use: Over time, it has become available to anyone and is used for personal blogs, non-profits, and other non-commercial sites.

Global recognition: It is the most common and familiar domain extension worldwide, so websites with a .com are often more trusted and easier for people to remember.

Ubiquitous availability: Due to its popularity, many common names are already registered, but it remains the top choice for most new websites. 

@gaminn search for SEO optimization and thse who do this, maybe some errors will be spotted, maybe you added some new modules or deleted/disabled some old ones and know there's a mess somewhere and prevents for proper indexing and showing on search results.

Instead of trying to score points here, why don’t you present actual documentation that disproves what I’ve stated? Telling me I’m here because I have nothing better to do is not only wrong — it’s downright insulting.

I’ve been in this ecosystem since PrestaShop 1.4, building real-world localization solutions long before most people even understood how localization in PS actually works. Your response was rude, dismissive, and contributes nothing of value.

If you think my explanation is incorrect, then show something more substantial than your personal opinion. Show documentation. Show code. Show results.
Otherwise, it’s just noise.

My work is public and easy to verify:

• Full localization suite (InterSEO, Geo Targeting Pro, MaxMind commercial IP integration, “delivery to (country)” logic)
• Multi-domain / multiplexing solutions from a single installation
• Real production shops built, optimized, and selling at scale
• Years of mentoring merchants on these topics

So before you talk down to me about “how you think it works,” show your work. Show the shops you’ve built. Show the modules you’ve written. Show the real-world experience that justifies speaking with that level of confidence.

If you can’t do that, then your criticism isn’t constructive — it’s just ego.

Edited Sunday at 03:21 PM by El Patron (see edit history)

[darkin]

@El Patron I'm not fighting here... I'm not going to apologize cause people this time getting too easy insulted even when nobody was trying to insult them. Statement you're not reading is because @gaminn writes that search result (looking by/for product number) with his product number is given from the post in prestashop forum with domain extension .com and not showing on search results from his eshop with same extention .com (and you state, that the problem is domain extension). I run through google docs for dev about search results, maybe too fast, but found nothing about domain extension influence an search results (btw @gaminn check on these docs maybe some thoughts after that)... FYI .us=USA domain name extension relevant to country. gTLD's are not country associated so my saying that .com=US (is another bullshait is correct). I said reading helps, so put these in search and check "what is gtld by country" , "domain name extensions by country" , "domain name extensions and search results" . I did not dispute your contribution to this community helping with prestashop issues, but sometimes i have doubts about who is the real author of your answers.

@El Patron the saying, that someone who has nothing to do but to change what is working properly - was not about you, but if you think so - it's not my problem. Just read, not imagine (the talk was about search engine rules and data rankings, so I don't think you are making them) ...

 

Edited Monday at 03:48 AM by darkin (see edit history)