SEO: The Art of the Keyword

In the world of search engine optimization, it is the keyword that helps drive traffic. Master the use of keywords and the traffic will come.

The ability to bring traffic to a site is important for the success of the site. Unless the site is solely for personal or family use, the reason someone creates a site is to bring people to it. Sometimes it for the sale of a product, sometimes it is for the sale of advertising revenue, or sometimes just for the want of popularity. The art of driving people to a site is largely accomplished through the use of search engine keywords.

The Keyword is King!

The keyword is king because keywords relate to the words and the phrases that people type into the search engines when they are trying to find something. When they want to search for a “Han Dynasty oil lamp” they will probably just type it in and find it pretty quickly since there are not that many of this type of oil lamp around. But if on the other hand, they typed in just oil lamp they are going to be presented with around five million entries.

The person who is searching for the oil lamp is not going to go through all five million entries to find just the lamp that they want. Any site that is at the top of this generic search list is either a well-known site like say Amazon, a site that is not going to provide the searcher with what they want such as how to make your own oil lamp or an established site who has learned the art of the keyword.

How does the keyword relate?

If the site in question is in the business of selling oil lamps, there are a number of things that can be done to optimize for keywords. One of the first is to purchase a domain name with the keyword in it. This is not always possible so the aim is to get something close to the keyword or unique enough that the searcher may type it in when looking for their product.

The next thing is to come up with a list of more focused phrases like “Kerosene oil lamp”, “Aladdin oil lamps”, “oil lamp replacement parts”, etc. It is best to keep a running list of these terms that can be used whenever updating the site so as to add them to the content on an ongoing basis. The other place that these should be entered into is within the HTML of the head portion of the web page in the Meta description and the Meta keywords section.

Why the search engines optimize for keywords?

The reason that search engines focus on keywords is that is what makes them successful. If every time someone sat down and typed in an oil lamp and all it retrieved was electric lamps or oil pumps, that search engine would not find itself with very many users and it would soon be out of business. So sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing constantly work at becoming more efficient at determining what people are searching for and helping them find it.

Because of this, the site owner must be vigilant with how they rank on each of the search engines requests and monitor deviations and changes that can occur. The ability to refine and narrow the focus so that through the use of proper keywords more targeted search can lead to the site being listed at the top of the page.

It’s All About Targeting the Customer

When driving traffic to a site the keyword is king, but it is all about targeting what the customer is looking for and how they will find it within a search engine. By getting into the mind of the searcher and analyzing how they think and what they are looking for and targeting those keywords traffic will be flowing to the site.

 

E-Commerce Strategies That Will Optimize Sales and Grow Your Business

E-Commerce Strategies That Will Optimize Sales and Grow Your BusinessStarting or growing a business during a recession can be a tumultuous experience. Despite a less-than-stellar economic performance, online retail sales is expected to steadily climb in the coming years.

With planned strategies for success and a set of best e-commerce business practices in place, entrepreneurs stand a much better chance of thriving in the online business economy.

E-Commerce Web Development and Maintenance Best Business Practices

Experienced designers share the worst e-commerce web development mistakes in this article – poor functionality, sacrificing usability for aesthetics, and adding too many “cool” effects as a few of the worst mistakes e-commerce business owners can make in building their storefront.

Designers would say that once an e-commerce site is built, test, test, test! Never rely on the designer or programmer to complete the final round of testing. When possible, assemble a review panel of preferred customers or trusted business acquaintances to ensure that all order forms, catalogs, payment processors, links, and other components are working properly. Launching a site with simple, overlooked problems is embarrassing and may drive away customers.

Back-End Best Practices

Automate as many business systems as possible. It is impossible to project just how fast a business may grow, so choose solutions that have the capacity to expand and grow quickly. Many accounting software systems also offer inventory tracking, payroll, tax preparation, report writing, and more. Consider what the program needs to do now, and what it may need to do in the future.

Choosing a content management system is an important decision. The organization and storage of digital documents, pictures, and videos can be daunting without the right support. A good CMS solution allows the business owner to automate certain business processes, monitor and track items and processes, and quickly import or export information.

Customer Service Best Practices

The most obvious customer service strategies are also amongst the most often overlooked:

  • Display contact information for questions, sales, returns, and billing, at a minimum.
  • Build loyalty programs through email marketing, promotions for loyal customers, etc.
  • Anticipate customers’ needs to make the sale a seamless experience, right through to the checkout.
  • Give the customer several communication options, such as email, chat and phone service. Remember that online business often deals in an international marketplace; don’t alienate overseas customers with limited customer service hours.
  • Also, consider interactive CS strategies, such as a social media campaign. Resolve customer technical issues you encounter through different social media channels.

How Front and Back-End Best E-Commerce Practices Work Together

There are many things to consider when starting and growing an online business. With different systems for inventory and ordering, payment processing, shipping, bookkeeping, customer service and more operating simultaneously, it is crucial that each process complements the other.

Ongoing tweaking is always necessary. So is starting out on the right foot with a thoroughly tested e-commerce site, good back-end systems and a set of best practices to give the customer a consistently positive experience.

The Features to Look for in Online Shopping Carts

E-commerce shopping cart featuresThe shopping cart is one of the most important aspects of an e-commerce store. In order to keep up with emerging trends, it should be upgraded or amended at least annually. Depending on the shopping cart software or plugin that you use, this could mean installing a simple update or uploading a pre-built module.

Adding new features enhances the online shopping experience, improves marketing efforts, and encourages customers to purchase additional items. It also keeps the website looking fresh and current.

Features for E-Commerce Shopping Carts

Optimized for mobile devices

Shopping online through mobile devices has become increasingly popular over the last decade. Online retailers experience a sharp increase of mobile users especially during Black Friday and other sale events. It is expected that mobile devices will definitely play an ever increasing role in online shopping in the coming years.

Social media connectivity

Allow website visitors to “like” or share products with their friends with a click of a button. For instance, if a viewer click’s on the “like” button for Facebook, the product and description will be displayed on his Facebook profile page for his entire network to see.

Product reviews

Opening the doors to allowing customers to write reviews can be nerve wracking for many businesses. NPD Group, a market research company, found that 62% of their survey respondents said that they are doing their homework before making a purchase. Of those, nearly 50% are doing this homework through online researching. By adding a review section on the website, customers will be less likely to leave the site for conducting additional research.

Live order tracking

This feature allows customers to log into the site to be able to see the current status of the order, plus the tracking number if it has been shipped. Not only is this feature convenient for customers, but it will also reduce the number of calls and emails to customer service. Combining this service with automated emails that notify customers when the package reaches a particular stage is also very welcomed – especially around the holidays.

Up-selling and cross-selling modules

Being able to up-sell and cross-sell products through shopping cart software is standard in most shopping cart software programs. Even though this feature is commonly available to most online businesses, it being overlooked by many. This powerful module allows businesses to notify customers of other products they would be interested in based on what they added to their shopping cart, or to provide them with additional options.

For instance, if purchasing a flight through Expedia.com, they will often recommend reserving a rental car or purchasing tickets for a local tour. Or, if you book a hotel on Hotels.com, you may see a message that for a few dollars more you can upgrade to a larger suite.

Updating Shopping Carts

Check regularly to see if there are updates or additional features added to your shopping cart software. If you are using a hosted shopping cart, then they may automatically upgrade your account so that you can offer the latest. However, if your shopping cart is a software that is hosted on your own server, then it is up to you to upgrade it or upload modules to expand its capabilities. Keeping your shopping cart up-to-date keeps you from falling behind the latest trends and allows you to increase customer satisfaction and retention.