SEO guru Stephan Spencer contributed a great overview on tagging and its virtues for usability and SEO to Search Engine Land last week. Do check out Stephan’s entire article if you’re new to the concept of tagging, tag clouds and folksonomy.
Tags help describe various content. Basically, you can tag a blog post, product or photo with relevant keywords. When you want to check out all the posts, photos or products related to a certain keyword, you can click on the “tag” and voila! Usability-wise, visitors can navigate visually through a “tag cloud” (see the bottom of our page for an example) and even discover tags, whereas in a traditional dropdown menu or even faceted navigation this could get out of hand. Tags are great for SEO too, because your tags generate their own URLs, and each tag is a keyword-rich internal link to that page, reinforced by the tagged items themselves and the sitewide tag cloud, if you have one.
I took a peek at blogs from our list of 75+ blogs from top online retailers to “look who’s tagging” and as I expected, I can easily count them all on one hand. What’s worse, the ones that do are doing it WRONG!
The report inspected the Top 100 online retailers and reviewed for 23 tactics commonly used in Checkout. The results attempt to begin a dialog in order to answer questions like: Does a shorter checkout process really decrease shopping cart abandonment? Should you use an order confirmation screen? Does live chat improve conversions? Study samples included a variety of vertical market groups including apparel and accessories, computers and electronics, and both high and low ticket value product retailers.
Note: This is a live blog post to go along with the “Secrets of SEO” Webinar to share links, miscellanea and hints along the way and manage the questions and comments which pop up in the back channel. And yes, the webinar will be available “on-demand” after the live event (we’re working on it).
A: Jason says, “An example of a branded search is someone searching for “Levi’s” (or “levis”) or “Levi’s men’s jeans” rather than just “men’s jeans” or “men’s demin jeans” which are not branded searches (call these “unbranded” searches).”
Q: Is a URL like this SE safe? www.domain.com/index.php/seo/interestingdata
A: Jason says, “It’s safe but not optimal. Ideally the “index.php” would be removed and “interesting” and “data” would be separated by a hyphen (not an underscore) and ended with a trailing slash (which denotes a category or subdirectory to search engines).”
Q: Can you name the companies just mentioned again for URL rewriting?
Gravitystream is “a turn-key solution that makes dynamic websites search engine crawler-friendly”
Note: At the risk of self-promotion, … Elastic Path allows customized URL rewriting by default for all pages (including faceted navigation pages).
Apache mod_rewrite “This module uses a rule-based rewriting engine (based on a regular-expression parser) to rewrite requested URLs on the fly. But all this functionality and flexibility has its drawback: complexity. So don’t expect to understand this entire module in just one day.”
Q: What are inbound links? Are inbound links similar to backtracks? Reciprocal links - could you please provide a definition for this?
Jason says, “Inbound links are instances of another (external) site linking to your site. Reciprocal links are links exchanged between your site and another (again external) site. Backtracks (or Trackbacks) are (usually automatically generated) links created by blogs to acknowledge a referenced blog.”
Link bait campaigns refer to posted content designed to attract many links by being extra funny, universally appealing, particularly interesting, somewhat surprising or fantastically useful. This barrage of links results in (theoretically) increased page rank and marketing buzz. Examples include Get Elastic’s 107 Add to Cart buttons or Netconcepts’ Word Press SEO plug-in. More from Matt Cutts, Google Engineer and Wikipedia on Link bait.
A: Yes. This (and many others like it e.g. Million Dollar Homepage etc.) sell “ad-space” by the pixel. The massive dilution causes the links to be worth basically nothing while making the site owner a few bucks.
Q: Do we get to choose IP range?
A: IP addresses (Internet Protocol address) are specific numbers (usually expressed in four-part dot-decimal notation) used by routers to exchange data on the Internet. IP range is assigned by your ISP who obtains IP addresses from ARIN or an upstream provider. When hosting multiple sites at one ISP (or internal corporate server), the content is all served from the same IP neighborhood and is (likely) discounted by search engines as they are considered affiliated. Be wary of ISP’s who host ’spammy’ sites or sites with questionable integrity.
More: Find IP of a Website + ‘Old Skool’ Internet users know they can use Ping and Tracert commands
Webinar Recap
10:04 - Heading to Q&A mode, there are about 35 questions so we’ll tackle a few of them straightaway
Key indicators to track are search-fueled sales, orders delivered by keywords, conversions - Ergo: hits are NOT the critical metric
9:56 - Secret #6 - Influence the click decision
Make sure description entices click, people only look at first couple of words and listing, first page is implied endorsement - use heat maps to view where folks are looking - have Call To Action in beginning of snippet
9:54 - make multiple copies (canonical sites) of sites - e.g.: with/without “www” - multiple URLs, https version,
9:50 - Secret #5 - Make your URLs optimal
Hints:
Multiple parameters and complex urls are not good, weakens internal page rage flow
session ids are very bad
hyphens are cool, underlines are not
rewrite URLs using keyword (use proxy if needed or ecommerce which allows this (like Elastic Path ;-))
9:48 - Secret #4 - Rejig your site structure
Tag clouds are awesome! passes page ranks between pages - spend it wisely with relevant links, use faceted internal navigation and site search and rewrite URLs
Use blogs (multiple, groups, employees, customers, more …)
Spend as much time commenting to a-list blogs as you do posting
9:43 - Matt Cutts Google Engineer [mattcutts.com/blog] blogs about building page rank by link bait (funny, useful, interesting content with mass appeal) to encourage many to link to build page rank (and buzz). e.g. Netconcepts gives out at Word Press SEO plug-in
9:40 - Use caution with internal links, reciprocal links, footer links, site-wide links which are likely to be discounted (use “nofollow” as needed to not dilute page rank)
9:38 - Don’t link to “bad neighborhoods” + link farms, free for all
Netconcepts uses a database with millions of sites and page rank, category, title to show sites which are good to link back and forth too. Note: .edu and .gov have higher authority and result in better page rank
9:36 - Find link targets, Anchor text is very important, use Netconcepts’ Link Popularity Checker - Offer link-worthy content, Use an RSS feed (Note: Dave O loves RSS)
9:32 - Google Webmaster guidelines say less than 100 links. Fewer links weight each more strongly. Lots of tools to measure link popularity Yahoo, Google Webmaster & Toolbar, SEO Chat, SEOBook (Firefox plugin)
Not all links are created equal! Links from popular and authoritative sites are worth more - each page in site might have different page rank - not just about quantity, quality is also key
9:26 - Title tag is numero uno important! Home page is most important! - Have at least 200-250 words per page (Quality Content rules!)
Also key are:
Header Tags are useful (H1, H2)
Contextual links (make the keyword the anchor) e.g. use “men’s clothing” as link anchor rather than just “men’s”
Graphical links get less search spider love (be sure to use image “alt” tag to describe
meta keyword tags don’t help improve ranking (be wary of using duplicate meta tags on multiple pages - give secrets to competitors and flags as ’spammy’ site)
meta description helps determine what gets displayed in results
9:25 - Jason advises avoiding tables and using CSS for layout (”where it belongs,” says Stephan + great for user experience as well as search engines)
9:23 - CSSZenGarden.com - Learn Cascading Style Sheets to keep text and code separate and clean
9:21 - Secret #2 - Make your pages sing to the search engine
With keyword focus per page in html (search spiders don’t care if it’s pretty - keywords must be high up in the code, call this keyword prominence)
9:18 - KEI score = Keyword Effectiveness Indicator - higher the KEI , the more attractive the term is to your audience
9:06 - Neopetsfanatic.com is Stephan’s daughter’s site making her $30/day from AdSense
9:05 - Plentyoffish.com is a Vancouver-based dating site which drives massive income from Google Adsense
9:00 - we are underway with Jason and Stephan - be sure to ask questions in the Webinar Q&A section
8:55 - Hello All, Dave O here, … just getting fired up and online.
Questions? Comments? Fire away either in the GotoMeeting chat window or in the comment section below and I’ll ask the esteemed panelists, Jason and Stephan, to chime-in.
Elastic Path is presenting a webinar on the “Secrets of SEO for Online Retailers” on Thursday, July 12th at Noon EST (9AM PST). This no-cost online event kicks off a series of monthly webinars on critical ecommerce topics presented by Elastic Path’s ecommerce experts.
The hour long interactive presentation offers a crash course in optimizing your online retail site for organic search dominance, plus you’ll learn how to maximize your pay-per-click ad spend and plan for seasonal fluctuations in traffic.
Noted search marketing expert Stephan Spencer of Netconcepts joins Elastic Path’s own Jason Billingsley to explain the techniques and strategies professionals use to drive quality traffic and increase brand equity.
[Ecommerce Expert Jason Billingsley keeps an eye on
Sales Rep Ryan Quaye at Book Expo America in NYC - photo by DaveO]
Participants will learn how to:
- determine the value of organic search engine optimization
- select the right keywords/phrases
- write for search engines and optimize conversions
- build links that drive traffic and increase pagerank
- architect your site for maximum search engine rankings
- deal with dynamic websites
- establish “hands-off” optimization practices
- leverage blogging and blogs to create search engine “juice”
- scout the competition efficiently and effectively
- get upper management to buy-in to the SEO program
- bake SEO into the everyday routine, hassle-free
Along with real-world examples (both of those doing it right AND wrong), the search engine optimization experts will answer your questions in an interactive Q&A session and moderated back-channel.
*** Save the Date ***
Thursday, July 12, 2007 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM PDT (GMT -8)
Bonus: Jason explains the importance in investing in SEO in practical terms:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is like a lifetime golf club membership - a small up front investment gets you unlimited play. Unfortunately, most online retailers are charged ‘green fees’ (paid ads) for each visit. The SEO Secrets for Online Retailers webinar will help you get that lifetime membership and full access to the links.
This morning, we circulated a press release about the Ecommerce Checkout Report and the forthcoming companion Webinar to the report. PRWeb does a great job of making the press releases more social with insta-links to share, save, and publicize via many social bookmarking and aggregater tools. Plus Jason’s mug shot is attached - great for desktop wallpaper!
New Ecommerce Research Sheds Light on Checkout Myths
The study looks at ecommerce checkout strategies at the Top 100 Online Retailers to determine which tactics are used most and work best. The report is free to download and requires no registration. A companion webinar, hosted by report researcher Jason Billingsley of Elastic Path Software and web marketing expert Stephan Spencer of Netconcepts, will be held May 17th, 12pm ET to discuss the findings in depth with full attendee interaction.
Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) May 9, 2007 — We assume a prominent return policy, site security badge, and shorter checkout process will lead to an increased conversion rate, but is this truly the case? Many online retailers are both time crunched and resource strained. They are unable to legitimately test which tactics do and do not work. Unfortunately, when determining which best practices to adopt, decisions are often based on hunches and not fact.
A new report evaluates the checkout strategies of the Top 100 Internet Retailers and seeks the correlations between the checkout tactics and success rates. The Ecommerce Checkout Report observed top performing online stores for 23 specific checkout characteristics affecting the customer experience in three categories 1) speed and ease of use; 2) security and confidence; and, 3) profit enhancement.
The report attempts to answer questions like: Does a shorter checkout process really decrease shopping cart abandonment? Should you use an order confirmation screen? Does live chat improve conversions? Study samples included a variety of vertical market groups including apparel and accessories, computers and electronics, and both high and low ticket value product retailers.
Interesting findings within the report:
Conversion rates were nearly double at retailers selling high ticket priced items when coupon code entry was not available.
Conversion rates were a full 40% higher where Top 100 retailers did not request a CVV (Card Verification Value), yet over 55% of them do.
36% of Top 100 retailers offer alternative payment options such as PayPal, Bill Me Later, or Google Checkout, but conversion rates were convincingly higher at retailers who did not offer alternative payment types - more than double at retailers selling high ticket value items.
Principal report researcher, Jason Billingsley of Elastic Path Software — an ecommerce software vendor, explains, “Our goal with this report is to give online retailers a yardstick for comparing the effectiveness of their own checkout strategies. Hopefully, it will give them incentive to start testing tactics that seem to be most effective for increasing conversions.”Beyond the complimentary report, readers can hear anecdotal commentary at an upcoming Webinar on May 17 at 12 p.m. ET with panelists Jason Billingsley and noted industry expert Stephan Spencer of Netconcepts. Webinar registration is free and the format will allow for questions to the experts. The collected conversations will form the basis of a follow up prescriptive report including objective recommendations for improving conversion rates in specific industries.
New article: Maximizing the Conference Experience - 11 Tips for Smart Attendees
Attending conferences can be an expensive proposition. Besides the cost of registration and travel, the opportunity costs resulting from being out of the office can be considerable. The shows can be overwhelming with multiple tracks of presentations and a show floor full of vendors competing for your ear. Here are 11 tips to help you maximize the return on investment from your conference attendance: Read the full article and listen to the podcast (No registration required)
Event Profile
Did you miss eTail 2007 in Palm Springs?
We packed up the podcast gear and set out for sunny Palm Springs to bring you interviews with retailers and vendors doing innovative things in the world of online retail. So if you missed the show, these bite-sized interviews will fill you in on technology, best practices, innovation, marketing, and strategy that will help you grow your online retail business.
Interviewees include:
JellyFish - A new spin on comparison shopping engines
HackerSafe - Security badges to instill trust with site shoppers
Intellifit - Tru-fit technology to match clothing sizes with actual sizes
EvoGear - Online ski and snowboard retailer
StrikeIron - Web service provider for address verification and tax rates
Netconcepts - Noted search engine marketing company
Ice.com - Pureplay retailer of jewelry and Web 2.0 pioneer
Chris Anderson - Keynote Speaker and author of The Long Tail
Consumer generated content is taking off and delivering ROI for retailers. PowerReviews enables retailers to quickly add the benefit of customer reviews to the online retail stores.
Organic search marketing tips and tricks with Brian Klais of Netconcepts is the topic from Etail West. Along with host Dave O, they discuss the sustainable optimization strategies, history of seo, building link juice and page authority, url structure, meta tags and the reputation of search marketing industry.
Netconcepts released a white paper in 2006, detailing the aspect of long tail[13] Netconcepts then went into detail about how to optimize a website for long tail searches, such as changing from dynamic to static URLs so a search engine can index the page easier, rewrite title tags, and copy optimization.[14]
From New Zealand Work-Life Balance Project: Case study - Stephan Spencer - Work-life balance - taking the office to the beach
Subscribe via RSS Feed
Comments(6) 
SEO guru Stephan Spencer contributed a great overview on tagging and its virtues for usability and SEO to Search Engine Land last week. Do check out Stephan’s entire article if you’re new to the concept of tagging, tag clouds and folksonomy.
We packed up the podcast gear and set out for sunny Palm Springs to bring you interviews with retailers and vendors doing innovative things in the world of online retail. So if you missed the show, these bite-sized interviews will fill you in on technology, best practices, innovation, marketing, and strategy that will help you grow your online retail business.
