How RTINGS.com Dominates Product Niches (search engine optimization Case Examine)

RTINGS.com (small for “rankings”) is among the few affiliate web sites that dominate the search outcomes for a variety of client digital merchandise, together with televisions, headphones, and vacuum cleaners. It ranks excessive even for a few of the most generic, fat-head key phrases like “television,” which has an estimated quantity of 462K month-to-month searches within the U.S. alone.

As of October 2022, the web site drives roughly 9.5M natural search clicks in a month, making up an enormous 160% year-over-year progress: 

Like many different profitable affiliate web sites, it began by simply reviewing televisions. It’s greatest recognized for its straight-to-the-point, in-depth, and data-driven critiques. 

Nonetheless, in contrast to Wirecutter, RTINGS.com doesn’t come up in conversations in search engine optimization communities throughout discussions on online marketing or case research basically. However there’s rather a lot to be taught from its web site’s success.

Once I began my analysis, one thing that impressed me essentially the most was its web site construction and the utilization of programmatic search engine optimization. Listed here are essentially the most attention-grabbing takeaways:

A correctly deliberate web site construction is invaluable when constructing your search engine optimization basis. It helps guests and engines like google rapidly uncover and navigate content material whereas supporting your search engine optimization efforts. 

However it’s simpler mentioned than performed, particularly when designing one for a big web site. The strategy must be scalable by conserving the way forward for the web site in thoughts.

With over 20K+ listed pages (based mostly on the website: search operator), RTINGS.com requires a strong web site construction to win on the SERPs. And it’s nailed it.

Let’s perceive its construction higher by analyzing its “television” subfolder, which has over 2.1K pages and is chargeable for 23% of the full natural site visitors:

Beneath are the highest natural key phrases for the “television” subfolder. And if you happen to look intently, you’ll discover that the web site ranks on the primary web page for all types of key phrases with numerous search intents:

Typically, we are able to classify a lot of the articles as: 

1. Evaluations of particular person merchandise (e.g., lg c1 overview).
2. Better of posts (e.g., greatest samsung television, greatest 120 hz television).
3. Informational posts (e.g., what’s refresh charge, oled vs qled).
4. Comparability articles (e.g., lg c1 vs c2).

Right here’s a chook’s-eye view of its web site construction:

It’s value going into extra element right here.

Model classes and product pages

All the tv critiques are hosted inside their very own model subfolders: 

You’ll be able to see that one of many model pages with the best site visitors is the model class web page. These are all devoted articles which might be typically up to date: 

They usually go helpful hyperlink fairness to the person product overview pages RTINGS.com selected to function there. These pages then shine on the SERPs, because of their schema markup implementation:

Finest by [parameter] pages

Discovering the perfect tv that matches your funds and necessities seemingly begins with broader search queries than particular product critiques. It may be on the premise of the scale of the TV (e.g., greatest 65 inch television), on the utilization (e.g., greatest television for ps), or refresh charge (e.g., greatest 120 hz television). In actual fact, RTINGS.com has content material for six such overarching parameters with a correct subfolder for every. 

That is how the parameters navigation appears like on the web site:

Be taught (television/be taught/)

Informational articles create nice help for the overview content material seen above. For instance, moreover reviewing OLED televisions, RTINGS.com has content material in regards to the know-how behind them and the professionals and cons as properly.

Right here’s a take a look at the highest “be taught” pages within the TV area of interest:

The subfolder proven above drives 83.3K natural site visitors, which is sweet. However it pales compared to what RTINGS.com drives to its overview content material. Nonetheless, such informational content material additional educates readers and boosts topical authority. These are invaluable advantages, which this supporting content material offers.

With so many merchandise in the marketplace and extra launched each different day, it solely is smart to check one with the opposite earlier than making a purchase order resolution. However protecting all of this content material often requires an enormous group of writers.

This brings the query of whether or not full human content material curation is critical on this case. The RTINGS.com group appears to have taken a hybrid strategy and makes use of programmatic search engine optimization to make issues simpler to supply and scale.

Programmatic search engine optimization is a technique used to generate many pages from a set of information utilizing the ability of automation with the aim of rating on Google.

For instance, reasonably than writing a devoted overview evaluating AirPods’ first technology with the second technology and different alternate options, it’ll evaluate the 2 on the premise of sure parameters just like the battery life, bass, becoming, and extra.

One thing to notice right here is the concentrate on visible comparisons too:

RTINGS.com used this methodology and created a comparability software for a number of client digital classes like televisions and headphones. The Headphones Comparability Instrument, for instance, at present has 2.4K pages printed and drives over 200K natural search clicks each month. 

What might be shocking to many is that it’s additionally monetizing the comparisons via a month-to-month subscription that gives customers with limitless entry to all its instruments and early entry to check outcomes for brand spanking new merchandise. So if you happen to’re in two minds about programmatic search engine optimization, you must remember that there’s an viewers able to pay for such content material. 

Every comparability web page is hosted on a distinct URL that appears to be generated by some type of algorithm. Every particular person web page will be listed and drive natural site visitors.

Nonetheless, the RTINGS.com group nonetheless seemingly takes on fairly a little bit of handbook work on these pages, together with writing overview summaries, creating title tags, and so forth. Right here’s a take a look at the top-ranking comparability key phrases:

If you happen to’re curious about one other instance of utilizing programmatic search engine optimization, take a look at the Smart search engine optimization case research as properly.

Constantly including and updating inside hyperlinks is a reasonably low-hanging search engine optimization fruit for a lot of web sites. Inner hyperlinks not solely go hyperlink fairness but in addition assist with discoverability and creating a pleasant expertise for the reader (so long as they’re related, in fact).

The Finest by hyperlinks report in Ahrefs’ Website Explorer reveals us that a few of RTINGS.com’s pages, even deep down the positioning construction, get hundreds of inside hyperlinks: 

For instance, particular person TV critiques will be talked about in “better of” posts, as performed beneath: 

Moreover, it has a devoted “associated article” part, which seemingly promotes its most necessary pages and contributes to the large variety of inside hyperlinks some pages get.

Bettering navigation 

As soon as an internet site begins counting its pages within the tens of hundreds, the person expertise from the navigation and discoverability perspective turns into vital to success. A great UI/UX is equally necessary to a correctly deliberate web site construction right here. And there’s rather a lot we are able to study that from RTINGS.com.

For instance, take a look at its homepage and the way good a job it does to indicate new and up to date posts. It’s minimal but usable. 

All of the articles are tagged beneath “New,” “Replace,” or “Early Entry.” It additionally reveals the variety of articles printed beneath every class, immediately including quite a lot of credibility. The very best half for me is the menu bar for every class. 

We’re in 2022, and there are various preferring watching a video overview to studying an in depth article. Since all of RTINGS.com’s gadgets undergo so many assessments, it solely is smart to doc the whole lot and share it in a video. The group figured this out early on—2013, to be precise.

As of October 2022, its channel has 327K subscribers and over 58M views:

Most of its movies are both product critiques or comparisons. All of the movies are linked to the overview articles it publishes, and that is the place we begin to create the search engine optimization connection.

The factor is that its web site and YouTube channel each rank on the primary web page for a lot of key phrases, maximizing its SERP “actual property.”

Whereas it hasn’t seen a hockey stick progress when it comes to subscribers, its movies have persistently garnered views month-to-month.

General, YouTube is the proper channel it could double down on to extend its natural visibility. There’s large potential. In actual fact, it ranks on the primary web page for over 100K key phrases the place Google reveals movies within the SERP outcomes. All it must do is determine the best merchandise and publish movies about them. 

Final however not least, I really like the way it makes use of the Group tab to attach with subscribers by exhibiting them behind-the-scenes content material of upcoming critiques. 

Simply take into consideration the content material distribution advantages of getting a extremely engaged group. Connections to search engine optimization are just about in all places.

Last ideas 

RTINGS.com has created a powerful moat in a number of product niches over time. This has helped it to develop from an already spectacular month-to-month natural site visitors of 2M two years in the past to over 9M right this moment. 

There’s rather a lot to be taught from it, particularly if you happen to’re searching for tips about enhancing web site construction or planning to run experiments utilizing programmatic search engine optimization.

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