When your prospect searches for your product, the Google search engine conducts a series of simultaneous calculations requiring only a fraction of a second. The results are determined by votes (links also known as backlinks) and Google’s PageRank algorithm, named after Google’s co-founder Larry Page.
When ecommerce websites are built correctly from the ground up, integrating specific and advanced on-site ‘White Hat’ SEO techniques, they become explosive SEO machines! I love and utilize ecommerce combined with SEO techniques for this very reason. White Hat simply means ethical, and in-line with Google’s recommended practices.
Successful SEO is built on a formula that once learned can be used on any website and in any market to compete with or even obliterate the big boys.
Halfords.com for example have over four hundred stores in the UK, a massive website and a budget many times bigger than mine, yet they could not compete in the search engines for many competitive terms in the car audio, in-car entertainment market when I competed with them. For example, they could not touch us for terms like ‘iPod Car Kit’ and we dominated this competitive online space. They may have had the budget, but unless you know what to do with it, it’s pretty useless.
Top 4 Position Google Ranking with Google Site Links Below the Listing. ‘Site Links’ are Awarded to Category Dominating Websites and Here They List Your Popular Website Links
Top 4 Position Google Ranking with Google Site Links Below the Listing. ‘Site Links’ are Awarded to Category Dominating Websites and Here They List Your Popular Website Links
The SEO foundation and formula for Google, MSN (Now Bing) and Yahoo, the big 3 search engines, is pretty much the same and your website should use this formula.
On-Site (On-Page) SEO Basics:
1) Keywords & Key phrases
Lots of high quality keyword and key phrase-rich and fresh content, updated often via articles, blogs, products and customer reviews. Google frowns upon duplicate or plagiarized content and the original content always scores the highest. If you do steal content then you could be dumped out of the search engines, so be warned.
2) Meta Tags
Strong on Page Meta Tags: Page Titles, Description, Keywords and H1, H2, tags. Use of Alt tags on images.
3) Design
Strategic site design, layout, and structure and site templates that follow the 3 F’s formula – Fast, Functional and Familiar. Clean code and use of CSS is a must.
4) Google Bot Friendly
Implement an easy to follow path for the search engine bots (spiders), ensuring the center container loads first with text and then the header, footer and sides of the main site template. You must use more content in the center container than the other areas of the site template, ensuring each page is unique.
5) Optimize PageRank
PageRank Optimization using key strategies, including the No Follow tag (see image below). This passes Google PageRank around your site structure to key pages and blocks non-key pages from using up this valuable Google juice.
6) Internal Linking
Use key internal linking strategies to pass PageRank as above but also to gain indent listings in the Google search results and create your own on-site link machine. Indent listings equal more search result real estate—that in turn results in more clicks.
7) Related Terms
The use of related terms within your content is critical as this gives you an edge. For example if you are selling a HD TV, you would also use terms like Television, DVD, HDMI, Accessories, etc. These related terms all add to the Google attraction, as it deems you an expert and content machine.
8) Clean URL’s
Use clean URL’s such as www.yoursite.com/tv-accessories
9) Create Many pages
The more pages your site has, the more internal links you will have, and you will accumulate and preserve page rank better. Do not delete pages of products you no longer need. Either 301 redirect these to your new page, or hide them deep within your website and place a keyword rich link to your new page, sending traffic across.
10) Unique Page Titles & URL’s
Every page on your website must have unique page titles and URLS (page names).
‘Word of Warning! Do Not rely on Google and Natural Search for 100% of your Traffic. If Google ever changes its algorithm and this is your only traffic source, your business could sink!’
