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No two words are uttered more often in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) world than Link Building. You have probably heard that a solid link building strategy equals high natural rankings for your site. If you have done your homework you already know: Google and other search engines often reward sites with higher rankings if those sites are linked to by many other well-established and trusted sites. You know that reciprocal linking, commonly called “link exchange”, or “link swapping”, isn’t as effective as it used to be, but can still be a useful tactic in some cases. You have tried contacting site owners on your own and asking (begging!) for a link, to sometimes no availability. Hopefully you’ve stayed far, far away from those dreaded paid links that Google detests.

How do you succeed at link building? Change your link building thinking, of course! If you’re a blogger, you know that you capture links by being entertaining and interacting with others. This tactic is called Social Media Optimization (SMO). It is a facet of Search Engine Optimization—link building’s close cousin—and SMO can drive quality links and traffic to your site.

The golden rule of SMO is “engage visitors”, not deliver a sales pitch. Although there are likely a few social media sites directly related to your industry, other popular types of social media sites include:

Social Networking Sites - Sites like Facebook.com, Myspace.com, and LinkedIn, where users create profiles about themselves and network with friends. Ning.com, a new networking site, allows you to create your own social networking community.

Content Submission Sites – Think Digg.com, Reddit.com, and Propeller.com. Users create a profile and add content in the form of news articles, blog posts, videos etc. to the site. Other users are able to view this content and vote on it. The more votes your site has, the more likely other sites will notice it and link to it.

Micro-Blogging - Sites such as Squidoo.com, Tumblr.com and Twitter.com allow you to create a blog or mini web page within a larger website. They typically have built-in promotional tools that help get the word out about your micro-blog or mini-site, so visitors to these sites have a better chance of learning about your actual site.

Forums - Forums are sites where users ask questions and other users leave informative responses to their questions. Look for forums related to your industry, as well as related topics on Yahoo! Answers at Answers.Yahoo.com, and remember to join the dialogue with other e-commerce professionals at forums.ebizinsider.com.

Just like traditional link building, SMO has a long list of do’s and don’ts, such as:

Do brand yourself as your business. Social media users will know in a heartbeat if you’re pretending to be someone you’re not. They won’t forgive you.

Don’t create a profile on a social media site just so you can add your link to it. Remember, SMO is about connecting with users who in turn may be naturally propelled to link to your site. You don’t have to interact daily, but instead consider social media as a long-term strategy for success.

Do offer value to your visitors and friends. Give them tips, advice, and suggestions. No one likes a pushy car salesman, so stay away from that sales pitch!

Don’t love it and leave it—update! Just because you create an informative, great-looking micro-blog or profile doesn’t mean you can forget it. It is crucial to post fresh content and update regularly.

Do track your SMO efforts. Data analytics programs like the free and extraordinarily robust Google Analytics allow you to measure the amount of traffic and revenue the social media site is bringing to you. The response may be slow at first, but continue updating your SMO presence and interacting with users, and you’ll see a difference over time.

A link between two websites represents a relationship to search engine crawlers. Just like real life, relationships are better when they are as authentic as possible. Social Media Optimization does not replace traditional link building strategies - it’s an update that has the potential to create links that drive traffic, conversions—and ranking power–to your site.

Most online store owners are keenly aware of the source of their business. Not only in terms of venues (paid traffic, organic search results, e-mail marketing, etc), but also which geographic regions provide revenues. Northern states may snap up winter products much faster than Florida and Texas, while coastal shoppers might be more likely to buy beach gear than those in the middle of the country. If you ship internationally, you may find that a good percentage of your sales are coming from different countries and even different continents. In fact, if you’re using Pay-Per-Click advertising to market your business, you can leverage this information right inside your own accounts.

Geo-targeting is a powerful way to market directly to your best customers as well as to reach out and test new audiences. If a product performs below par in paid search, but you know it’s one of your top movers, geo-targeting may be a way to make it profitable. If your organic rankings in international search engines are low, geo-targeting your PPC ads can increase your exposure in key countries.

Google, Yahoo! & MSN all offer some form of geo-targeting. While the particulars for each engine may differ, the best practices for setting up geo-targeted Pay-Per-Click ads remain the same. First, find out what regions you should be targeting. If you have geographic information available inside your store itself, you can start looking for trends there.

There are a variety of online tools available that can provide further insight into international search and buying patterns. Google Trends (trends.google.com) explores the interest level in search terms around the world. Plug in some of your core keywords and you’ll see the top countries and cities that are searching those keywords.

You can obtain more personalized results by installing an analytics tool on your website. Google Analytics is free, which makes it a great fit for many e-commerce store owners. Not only will you get the geographic specific data you need for your PPC ads, but you’ll gain a wealth of information to help you make informed decisions about your business.

Once you’re armed with the proper data, there are a couple of ways to set up your geo-targeted campaign, depending on your needs. First, you can have it target regions within your current market. Take high-end products that don’t convert well and directly target affluent neighborhoods. Create special promotions and target those ads directly to your top markets. Just be sure to create a separate campaign so you can clearly monitor the targeted ads.

Once you get your feet wet, expand your ads to include other countries. A good first test is to target Canada, if you aren’t already. English speaking countries are a safe bet for this first round of testing. Don’t be surprised to find that your top keywords aren’t driving as many sales internationally. Go back to your tools and look for keywords that have already driven sales and expand from there. Try creating country specific ad text that lets searchers know you ship internationally. In addition, check to see if the keywords you’ve chosen translate the same in different countries. Even within the English language, different cultures call the same products different names (e.g. a diaper in America is called a “nappy” in England). If you’re extra daring, try translating ads & landing pages into different languages and add those to your geo-targeting arsenal.

Remember to test, test, and test some more! Like any well developed Pay-Per-Click campaign, it takes time to gather data and make informed decisions. Geo-targeting isn’t an option for every advertiser, but if you have the time and budget to try it, you might just discover an entirely new venue for reaching potential customers.

We all know by now that running an online business isn’t easy - it takes careful planning, industry research, Internet marketing know-how and tons of skills which you’ll only learn through hands-on experience. With all the time you spend managing your store, who has time to write unique product descriptions? After all, you can just rip them from the manufacturer’s site, and who’s going to notice that tiny paragraph of text you took from their site?

Search engines will notice!

Search engines have been known to reward sites with original, quality content - and penalize those who copy it. Think of it this way:

You’ve got a cold and you walk into a supermarket ready to buy chicken soup. You stare at the shelves only to find there are 50 cans of that same boring condensed chicken soup - and one unique can which has creative packaging and highlights how great chicken soup is for your sniffles. Which are you going to grab?

If you’re a shopper, chances are you’ll notice the distinctive packaging. Likewise, if you’re a search engine spider, you’re going to pick the unique chicken soup can. After all, not only does it set itself apart from all the other cans, but it gives you great information right on the can about how effective chicken soup is in making you feel better.

E-commerce store owners like you know the value of a successful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign. If you’re not listed for keywords related to your store on the search engines results pages (SERPs), how will potential customers find your store and purchase your products? They won’t. But there is another component to successful SEO management. Search engine spiders frown on duplicate content, or content on your site that is taken from another site. Take the time to generate original copy. Don’t run the risk of letting duplicate content adversely affect your keyword rankings.

Writing original, creative product descriptions can attract the eye of search engines and even propel them to rank your site higher for the keywords you’d like to target. Here are some tips for writing effective product descriptions:

• Keep it short. A paragraph of text is sufficient. However, make it original. Remember why you added this product to your offering in the first place. Use the enthusiasm that you felt for this product when you feature it on your site.

• Highlight the product’s features. Think about the product. If you’re writing about chicken soup, talk about how soothing it is and why the noodles in your chicken soup are so tasty.

• Provide the customer with “free information”. Effective product descriptions not only describe the product, they also have take-away value. Tell me how long I should cook the chicken soup for and any great recipes I could use it in.

• Include your keywords. Use keyword research tools like KeywordDiscovery and Wordtracker to find keywords that people actually search for that reflect the nature of your business. For the chicken soup product description, I might target a keyword like “chicken noodle soup”, and use that phrase in the title of the page and about twice in the paragraph describing the soup.

If you have hundreds of products on your site and limited employees, we know it can be extremely time-consuming to write your own product descriptions. Have a good writer in the family, or know an English major who lives down the block? Have him or her read this article, give them a little extra cash, and give them something to do by hiring them to write your product descriptions for you. It’s a good secondary solution. But in fact, if you have the time, no one else knows their products quite like you.

Show the search engines you’re different than all the other sites out there and set yourself apart with unique product descriptions.

To build up the right campaign for your client, you need to have the right keywords. The ten tools below are a progression of activity to simplify your keyword research process.

In the Beginning, There Was General Research

Preliminary keyword research will give you the foundation for your campaign. These are the four tools you’ll need to get started:

Keyword Discovery – This tool acts as a guide in your keyword generation development, as it provides the number of searches for keywords relating to your main keyword research query. This gives you real numbers around which to base your strategies.

Google Tool/Traffic Estimator – Located within Google Adwords, this tool gives you additional options for generating new keyword ideas. Compare advertiser competition, current search volume, last month search volume, and past year search volume trends.

Yahoo!/MSN tool – Yahoo! & MSN employ their own keyword research tools. Find related keywords and monthly search volumes for each engine and then compare your results to those you’ve found in Google. This data can help you decide which keywords will be the most effective.

Wordtracker – Similar to Keyword Discovery, Wordtracker gives the search volume for keywords with the added feature that suggests related keywords to use. This tool can also give you the KEI analysis for keywords, which compares search volume to advertiser competition. With a high KEI, your keywords will have a better chance of ranking well.

The Middle of the Road: Analyze Your Data

Once you’ve selected your keywords, evaluate their performance using tools that will analyze specific keyword data.

Google Analytics – View detailed reports and data regarding your keyword selections. Check your paid keyword performance while seeing what keywords are ranking organically. For each section, you can view keywords, number of pages per visit, average time on site, percentage of new visits and the bounce rate for each keyword. From this, you can choose the keywords that give you the right advantage.

Yahoo! Store Backend – Keyword Finder lies within the backend of the Yahoo! store. It ranks keywords for your site based on the number of conversion and referrals to products. It is a great tool to use in developing your PPC campaigns.

Search Query Reports in Google – Google Adwords allows you to run search query reports that gives you data on search queries that triggered your ads and received clicks. You can tell how your keywords are performing from these results, in addition to gaining insight on additional keywords you’re not using, including potential negative keywords.

Finish Like A Pro with Advanced Strategies

By now you’ve developed a list of solid keywords and have become skilled at using the other tools, but there are still several more resources at your fingertips. Stay on top of the trends with keyword research tools. These advanced techniques in keyword research will keep your campaign going strong:

KeyCompete & SpyFu – These tools provide data on competitor keywords. Search by keyword or domain to get information on both paid and organic keywords. Using these tools, you can find out who your competitors are, then find out the items they’re bidding on. Flesh out campaigns and find the keywords you may have missed. Either way, you’ve got the right advantage.

Compete.com – Although Compete features much of the same keyword data found on KeyCompete and SpyFu, it also contains several other features that set it apart. Compete allows you to find a particular competitor’s keywords, what websites get the most clicks from a particular keyword, and then comparisons on how two sites perform for competing keywords. Use the variety of site analysis tools found on Compete to help you further review and evaluate the traffic coming to your site.

Google Trends – Get insight into broad search patterns and learn what regions of the world are searching for your keywords. An invaluable tool for geo-targeting, Google Trends can help you pinpoint campaign objectives. Google also provides Hot Trends, the 100 most searched keywords for any day.

Effective keywords are crucial to e-commerce success. There are tools available to help you choose and monitor wisely. Be wise. Use them!