EBizInsider

Archives for the ‘Marketing’ Category

Robots, Spiders and Crawlers… Oh My! Master Your Site with Google Tools

Every day, webmasters and e-commerce entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly savvy about the authority and visibility they have on the Web. Even with all that power, there are still plenty of factors beyond your control, like when search engines crawl your site or what pages the search engines choose to index. There’s nothing that a webmaster can do about that, right?

Wrong!

While search engines are never going to give marketers or business owners the secrets of their search algorithms, free services like Google Webmaster Tools can give users a competitive edge. Webmaster Tools allows its users to observe diagnostic data about their website, derived from the crawls performed by Google’s search engine robot – the Googlebot.

I know, I know. Crawling robots? It can sound a bit scary, but it’s way less scary than The Matrix.

Search engines log web pages in their index by sending out automated agents to those pages to parse the information there, which is why they’re called robots. They’ve also been nicknamed crawlers and, because they’re traveling around on ‘the Web’, spiders. The three terms are interchangeable.

Just like a search engine robot is called a crawler, what it does is called crawling. A spider’s visit to a website is referred to as a crawl in Internet jargon.

Googlebot is the software that Google uses to create an index of retrievable websites that it uses to answer users’ search queries. Not just a single application, Googlebot is the collective terminology for two distinct crawlers. The first is Deepbot, and its goal is drilling down as deeply as it can into a site’s architecture and indexing as many pages as possible, a process that it undertakes on a monthly basis. The second ‘bot is called Freshbot, and it’s the robot responsible for locating recent, “fresh” content on the Web. It visits sites that change frequently, like blogs, and the frequency of its visits is based upon how often those sites update.

How do these Googlebots get around? Links. These spiders follow every link on every page that they index (with some meaningful exceptions that I’ll talk about in just a few issues’ time) and catalog the text and links that appear on each page, factoring them into its algorithm when it comes time to choose a site for retrieval in a search engine results page.

Google Webmaster Tools, then, lets you look at the information the Googlebot gleans from your site, which you can use to improve future crawls. For example, Webmaster Tools can help you:

• Create an .xml Site Map

• Identify crawl errors

• Find nonexistent (404) or
otherwise unreachable pages

• Discover URLs that are restricted by your site’s robots.txt

• View errors in your site’s meta tags

• Uncover Non-indexable content

• View the anchor text of links to your site

• Measure and set Googlebot’s crawl activity on your site

• Find all the pages on your site indexed by Google

• Learn the top search queries driving traffic to your site

Those are all good things for increasing your online visibility.

Having a comprehensive and up-to-date Site Map, for example, is a great way to ensure that all the pages you want the world to see can be indexed. Learning about dead ends and errors in the Googlebot’s spidering path will increase the amount of information. Analyzing your anchor text will let you know what keywords Google associates with your site. Learning more about how traffic arrives at your site can give you some insight into how to lower your bounce rate.

I can hear you asking yourself, “When is using Google Webmaster Tools going to get me to number one in the organic results pages?” By itself, it won’t. There’s still no way to game search engines. The benefit of Webmaster Tools is that it can teach you what isn’t working in your site architecture, give some guidance on how search engines categorize your website and help you tailor the information visible to the search engine robots. Taken in aggregate, this can all be used to improve your site’s navigation and user experience, which can lead to an improvement in your organic rankings and more importantly, conversions.

Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

All posts by Solid Cactus | E-Mail the author

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.

Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

All posts by Solid Cactus | E-Mail the author

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.

Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

All posts by Solid Cactus | E-Mail the author

All posts by Michelle Pushfeski | E-Mail the author

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.

Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

All posts by Solid Cactus | E-Mail the author