“I have 30 collection pages here that would be a good landing page for shirts!!!  What do I pick?  Where do I start?”

Do you decide to try to get all the pages to rank for shirts, and hope that one comes up well in the rankings?  Do you pray to the duplicate content filters gods and just wait and see what ranks?  Do you beg the catalog managers to change the collections (which is probably an uphill battle that could have a dangerous effect on usability and sales).  Or do you get more proactive in your SEO efforts?

Having 30 pages that speak to the same thing gives you a lot of opportunity, after you trim the fat.  How are the duplicate pages created?  Are they based of parametric filters?  Sorting?  Internal search queries?  Which pages get the lion’s share of the traffic?  What have the best conversion rate or least amount of bounce?  Which are really the important pages in your pack?  Determine the fat and the lean; make this step one.

Once you figure this out, you should work to close these paths.  Granted, on a dynamic platform you may not have the ability to add per-page meta robots, nofollows, or a tightly tuned canonical tag.  What about Webmaster Tools, and their cool parameter-blocking feature?  It might be an option.

Let’s be honest – in enterprise SEO, it’s really not likely that you’ll be able to tighten the site to your exact specifications, no matter how big (and hard working) your team is.  In enterprise SEO, it’s about locating the biggest holes and plugging them first.  It might be more of the 80/20 rule, or a matter of specific initiatives to tie with other channels.  Just don’t expect to eat the whole pie.

So back to our opportunity.  Once you’ve cut the fat and done your best to get it off your plate (which may require you to monitor Google to see if their internal duplicate content consolidation is working), you get to have fun.  Let’s say you’ve been able to identify five pages that would be good candidates for optimizing with the term “shirt.”  Let’s go a step further and pretend they’re the same types of shirts – tee shirts.  Do your keyword research.  Grab up the best terms.  Compare your current placement for each term, against your competitors.  Look at PPC data (helps you understand demand and opportunity).  Look at each page’s back link portfolio (or hit up Linkscape) to get a sense of what page is likely already juiced up.

Pretty soon you’ll find that for your five pages, you have a handful of similar terms that need a home:  tee shirts, printed tee shirts, cotton tee shirts, etc.  That’s right, folks.  You’re probably going to be playing with the long-tail… the SEO devil’s playground.  Expect to keep notes while you plug some content in, and fuel with backlinks.  Wait a few weeks (or months depending on how strong your site is), and measure.  Was there MOM/YOY growth (a lot of eCommerce is seasonal)?

The goal here isn’t just to avoid cannibalizing terms, but not to cannibalize themes as well.  You really want to theme these five pages out.  For duplicate page A, start theming it about printed tees.  The cool style, what people like about them, the variety in full body prints, etc.  For duplicate page B, start theming out the cotton blends and how they’re durable.  Get creative, and start dabbing your uniqueness all over each canvas, using different colors.

Once your done, sit back and watch.  Start measuring.  Keep a log.  You put in a lot of work that hopefully benefits depending on how well your decisions were made at step one.  Maybe you find it didn’t pay off as well as you’d like, but I assure you, after doing eCommerce SEO for 10 years, it takes practice getting your methods down.  And because ROI is your challenge, you might find it’s also you’re best friend since it’ll keep you happily employed.

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

eCommerce Duplicate Pages Can Lead To SEO Opportunity

If you haven’t noticed, Google changed the way they display their local searches. They appear to show up more often, and resemble traditional natural search listings. The result is that other non-local listings are getting pushed down under the fold, and more local listings are being clicked.

Each listing provides 2 destination links: the main link (which leads to your main site), and a places page.

When you show up in the local searches, the main link provides pretty good traffic. In most cases, the searchers that click a local link were looking for local information. The destination of this link doesn’t satisfy, but it’s a chance for your homepage to capture the users interest and maybe persuade them from getting off their couch and driving to the store to buying online.

The other link, Places (formerly called Local Business Center), is a nice thing to have because it provides opportunity to really sell your local store. You can provide an exclusive coupon, or promotion. Within the Places page, there’s yet another link that you can control.

There’s opportunity with this link since you control it. Maybe design a landing page displaying synergies between your web and brick and mortar stores. Can you buy online and return the product in the store if you’re not satisfied? Promote that here. Do you have exclusive in-store printable coupons? Display that here. Experiment with this traffic, and develop something special knowing that these are local-minded shoppers (at least they were at the time of entering their first query into Google.

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

More Local Listings Equal More Ecommerce Traffic

So does Google.

SEO helps those people who have interest, and are qualified enough to make a digital inquirey, find this information. SEO also helps create that two way, open engagement that more people are expecting of the maturing internet.

I work with a lot of huge brands, typically in the ecommerce space. It all holds very true for them. Doing SEO work is about caring for the customer more than the product. Hopefully the product was made with an audience segment in mind; SEO is bridging the gap using the internet’s elected hub – Google.

Yes. It’s textbook marketing taking you back to college. But it’s breathing on land now, and doesn’t require gills. The nervous system hasn’t changed. The song remains the same.

Once you make the site technically crawlable and findable, you need to make it work. Sure, you can pass it off to merchandisers or usability or any other group that should have an interest in what to do with the search traffic you deliver, but they won’t know what brought them there like an SEO will.

As far as I’m concerned, marketing is part of the broader definition of SEO in the modern age, still keeping it your most powerful acquisition channel by far… If done right.

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

Why I Think SEO Is Marketing

Let me introduce you to Slim (name changed to protect the careless).

Slim wasn’t much of a businessman.   He started out as a blue collar type with a hobby collecting a certain kind of collectible.   As the market swung, Slim’s hobby started turning into a passion for a lot of other people in the area.   Slim began supplying merchandise related to this hobby at local shops.  He was soon able to open his own store.

As the internet and ecommerce grew, interested searchers started using Google to find retailers who were selling these collectibles online.  The small town shoppers who loved the brick and mortar store weren’t the only audience Slim could reach.  To his credit, he partnered his physical store with an ecommerce store. Opportunity abound!

I worked for Slim doing SEO.  His pay rate was insulting, but because he was becoming semi-popular in his genre, and I was able to negotiate a small commission on sales, I thought it was worth a shot.   I should have recognized the cheapness as a sign of things to come.

Things started out fine.   The ecommerce platform was an antiquated catalog management system with a cheap front end plastered on.   Though it was anything but intuitive, the whole system was manageable and pretty wide open for web customization (aka hacking).  Actually, it was one of the most flexible platforms I’ve ever used only because I knew the programming language.  For a while in the mid 2000’s, the more expensive the CMS (content management systems), the more “Fisher-Price” it was.  This allowed for anyone to do the basics, but nobody could get under the hood to do the advanced SEO work. Don’ t worry – times are changing.  Most CMS systems you review today have much more SEO options baked in.  But I digress.

Eventually things started to slip downhill.   Granted, I had the ability to implement content and keywords as I saw fit, but anything else was nearly impossible. It was quickly becoming a competitive market place for this merchandise. It required some extra SEO work to not only get those rankings, but improve the conversions.  My commission was on the line.

Slim was a paranoid man. Every computer in the company was on lockdown. Nobody (except the executives) was able to view non-related websites.  Slim was so worried about someone taking a mental coffee break and checking their Myspace page or IM’ing a friend, that nobody could successfully explore the outside net. Checking competition was difficult. Finding SEO support and research was nearly impossible. Forget any kind of social marketing or link building – there was no way to research and perform off-page SEO.  Every employee felt disrespected and untrusted. Getting them to contribute to the company wide goal of implementing SEO into every little thing they do was a pipe dream.

Slim had an ego; delusions of grandeur. Slim thought he had the answers. As the web got competitive, he refused to lower prices.   He was very hesitant to any discounts.  Through analytics it was clear customers were coming in, browsing the items, reviewing merchandise price, and leaving to a competitor.  Sales were harder to make, while lower priced competitors were getting positive blog posts written about them, and forum discussions linking back to them. This was helping their SEO. On the web, you get editorial when you do something really good, or really bad. Nobody talks about the websites that are off the grid. Discounts and loyalty programs weren’t going to happen.
Speaking of blog posts, as Web 2.0 swept the country and blogs became a household word, Slim didn’t trust them.   He didn’t like providing any editorial content that could elicit negative commentary.  He wanted to censor.   He wanted complete control not only over those who spoke about the company online, but who linked to the company as well (I’m not kidding).  I’m very glad I wasn’t there when Twitter got big. I can imagine, “Don’t let them follow us! Or them. Or them. Or them. You know what? Give me a list each day of new followers so I can review them.”

Once I determined SEO had hit its limit in this company, and I wasn’t going to change Slim’s ways, I pushed for paid search. My budget was $50 a day. It wasn’t even enough to buy a decent portfolio of brand terms, but I was crafty.  I was able to turn a respectable ROI.  Profit! “Aha,” I thought, “Slim will have to see the value in this and raise the budget.  Raising the budget equals more sales.  More sales equals more commission.   More commission equals dinner!”

No dice.  He wouldn’t raise it.  I still don’t understand why.

So, with the small SEO I was able to do, with the skimpy PPC, we still managed to make the web a somewhat profitable channel for his company.   I took the results to Slim, but he didn’t budge. The proof was in the pudding. The revenue was in the tens of thousands.  The logic was smacking him in the face.

“Slim – we did it.”

“I don’t know. This is all different. I’m not sure it’s real.”

“Slim, it’s real. It’s the way of the world. Our purchasing demographic is much wider than the locals in this town.”

“I know my business.”

“Slim, can I get a budget increase for AdWords?”

“No.”

“Can I get a raise?”

“No.”

“I quit.”

SEO is not a one and done activity. When I started with a new company I couldn’t help but peek over at Slim’s website on occasion. The keyword rankings were slipping. The competitors were growing. The competitor’s backlinks were growing. His competitors were “getting it.” I felt partially vindicated, but also depressed watching my year’s work deteriorate. Slim never saw the potential his site had, and never put his faith in his online marketing strategy.

Takeaways:

Ecommerce is still young.  Things are always growing, always changing.  The proof to take chances are continually present.  If you’ve missed the boat for the last few years, you still have time.  You have to be diligent and listen to the sounds around you.

Trust your employees to be your allies. Treat them correctly as a group, and you’ll have a team of loyal helpers to brainstorm new ideas, bring their knowledge to the SEO game, and implement SEO in their specific channels. Got a bad apple?  Remove the bad apple and replace with a good apple!  Don’t be a Slim.

Unblock your internet, open communication. It’s the country’s biggest communication tool – you wouldn’t condemn them from the telephone (I hope).  Let them use social media within reason.   Ask them to teach you what they like about their social media platforms.  How do they use it?  How do their friends use it?  What are they learning?   What trends are they swept up in?  Keep the channels open for them to do some research and development for you.   You want your employees to be your experts.  Don’t cut them – or yourself – off at the knees. And do not prohibit IM. Many people can express ideas through email and IM that they can’t formulate into words at any given time. IM is a business tool. Use it.

Take advantage of Web 2.0. Take advantage of blogs, Twitter, social networks, voting sites, bookmarking sites, any type of site that provides editorials. Let the product reviews generate your content – both the positive and the negative. Consumers are savvy today. If you censor them, they’ll let many people know it. Ask Dell computers. If you’re going to be part of the web you need to consider being a human entity. The charm of brick and mortar stores are often the friendly faces behind the counter. The web is the same way – it needs friendly faces. If you are a good company the positive sentiments you receive will outweigh the negative. Have faith in your business.

This is only for those new to the ecommerce game.  Be competitive with your pricing.  You have no choice. Discounts are your weapon.  It’s a big internet. If you think you have it cornered, and you’re not Amazon.com, you probably don’t have the control you think you do. Customers know how to search and compare.   Google helps them every day.  They know how to refine their searches.  They usually know when a site is not quality within 2 seconds. Check your bounce rates. If the higher majority of your customers are exiting quickly you might have either a pricing problem or an image problem.

Spend money to make money.  In marketing online, it’s can’t all be about the ROI if you want to take chances, but it’s certainly about believing in your business and your online strategy. When you open the flood gates via SEO or paid search, it offsets your losses. If you don’t have the money to invest in heavy PPC, invest lightly and build it up. SEO and PPC are real.  It works.  It worked for your competitors and has made Google billions.

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

The Story Of Slim (Or, How To Learn Search Marketing From Bad Employers)

Hey all – my new article is up at Search Engine Land. Enjoy.

How To SEO A Vending Machine.

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

My Search Engine Land Article – How To SEO A Vending Machine

I remember it well, about 5 years ago, when it was released to AdWords. I could qualify the work I’ve been doing for an old eCcommerce employer. He was very ROI focused because he was, well, cheap (not at all generalizing a business who rightfully cares about revenue as cheap). This boss didn’t buy into internet marketing even though he was running an internet store. So this code – which I had to map cart variables too – helped me justified the good work I was doing in my job. While many industry peers were frustrated by the extra scrutiny they were getting, I was actually saved.

But conversion code isn’t everything. It’s not supposed to be. It has its place.

Online analytics is still really young. Now, we have great conversion tracking, and more advanced attribution modeling. But only a few years ago, it was all about impressions and CTR. Basic analytics told us a little of the story, and forced us to take chances. Now, with more of the story, I truly believe many of us find ourselves backed into an ROI corner in which we are afraid to press against. Did these better bullets make us cocky?

“Bullets are great. But you don’t win a war with firepower. It’s with strategy and tactics.”

I had three fortune cookies today with lunch, and this is what they said:

• All channels are not created equal
• Old school marketing isn’t dead, it’s been reinvented
• AdWords is advertising – a “piece” of marketing

I think for many conversion tracking created and atmosphere for marketers to worry about performance to the dollar versus creativity on the web. On the web, creativity is vital and clearly yields bigger results when you strike gold. Creativity with focus speaks to more segmented audiences, which we now know are even more plentiful than we did before the web. General analytics and demos let us focus on those audiences, but data on whether they convert on the last click does not tell the full story. It answers the immediate need of passing a report to your boss, but it doesn’t always lead to the lifetime value.

Marketing is, and should always be about risk taking. If you’re not taking risks, you’re playing on the same level as not hundreds, but hundreds of thousands of other tepid companies. Marketing is also about developing strategies as you build. Tying yourself to ROI alone hurts you in the long run if you’re the kind of company that needs to be competitive. If you disagree, are you really being effective marketers and doing the w0rk the internet demands? Is it our job to encourage options and opportunity? Or is our job to keep stay in a box?

Would love your opinions.

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugliness Of Conversion Code

Is this news? Not really. But I was interested to see how competitive email still is. I was also interested to see where social media (as a channel) resides. Social is under In-store displays and offline signs. Wow. Even though it’s fertile, this is a reminder that social still has a long road until full maturity.

Click for larger image:

Check out Search Engine Land for more stats.

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

How Do Most Consumers Discover Products? Still Search!

SEO is marketing and branding, too.  Getting routine rankings for similar queries helps the searcher buy into your brand.  Your customers spend a lot of time in Google.  Typically more unique visitors come to your site from a Google search than any other medium.  Maybe you’re not getting the sales you’re hoping for from natural search, but you may be building your mindshare just by appearing frequently in the search engine result pages.  A lot of searchers trust Google.  If Google constantly shows your webpage to the same searcher, the perception may be that Google knows something you don’t know.  A lot of people actually think that Google ranks based on traffic and popularity.  Whatever the reason, that semi-conscious thought goes a long way in online marketing.  It could even influence offline foot traffic or sales through your other online marketing channels.  With good rankings comes good brand visibility.

My goal isn’t to convince you to ignore ROI in SEO (or any online marketing), but I do want to help you think about it differently if you’re one of the people who say, “my campaign failed because it didn’t turn a profit.”  I want you to remember that marketing is more than just immediate sales.  Sales is an important piece dependent on the components of your strategy.  Brands that concentrate on branding do so because they know the value.  Just because we’re online with amazing abilities to cookie and track, doesn’t mean we should forget the original definition of marketing and branding.

As a postscript, and as far as Old Spice goes, I was walking through the grocery store last week.  I did stop and pause at the deodorant.  I didn’t need any.  But I was semi-consciously influenced, and I this time I caught it.  If Old Spice keeps up their momentum, I might stop next and buy when I am in the market for deodorant.  If they don’t keep it up, that stop may have been it for me.

—

***Update – Per the beginning of this article, it looks like the reports I was reading of low ROI for the Old Spice campaign have been, well, wrong.  Hard stats are in.  According to BrandWeek, Old Spice’s sales increased 107% over last month and 55% over the course of the past 3 months.  Nice.

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

SEO Might Be Doing More Than You Think

A few months ago some lucky searchers found longer snippets being returned. On 3/24, Google announced that the longer snippets was now a reality. This is great news for businesses owners.

What’s a snippet?

The snippet is the little chunk of text that shows up under a listing in the search engine result pages. It’s not much bigger than a Twitter post, but is very valuable to searchers who are looking intently for answers, entertainment, or products. If the title of the webpage catches the searchers’ attention, they will often scan the snippet to validate whether the listing is worth clicking or not. When the keywords the user searched for are present in the snippet, they get bolded – this is an added bonus and a great attention grabber. Something about the bold text just lures searchers in – often semi-consciously!

Google documentation wants this snippet to be a summary of the content on the page. They say, “We frequently prefer to display meta descriptions of pages (when available) because it gives users a clear idea of the URL’s content. This directs them to good results faster and reduces the click-and-backtrack behavior that frustrates visitors and inflates web traffic metrics.” For all of these reasons, SEOs choose to write the meta descriptions carefully, embedding the keywords and messaging searchers are looking for in 155 characters or less.

So what happens if the meta description is deemed irrelevant or unworthy by Google’s algorithm? Or, if there’s simply no meta description found? Then Google will try to post content from the web page that it deems the best summary for the search query. Once in a while they’ll even reach out to the Open Directory Project for a description. Sometimes Google succeeds, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they overlook a great existing meta description for a terrible, algorithm determined alternative. Unfortunately in those cases, there’s nothing anyone can do put wait and pray that Google changes its mind down the line (though rewriting the meta description tag can sometimes influence Google). In the end, this is entirely at Google’s discretion.

Benefits of a Longer Snippet

The mighty powers that be at Google have decided for longer keyword searches, the user will benefit from additional lines of text in the snippet. This makes perfect sense. If the query is “Best Athletic Shoe Store For Women”, a longer snippet flushed with more detail could really help a searcher find what their looking for – not to mention improve the click-through rate and conversions. When the searcher is ultimately looking to buy a pair of shoes, our job as SEOs is to make sure our pages are recognized as the most relevant match – not just by Google, but by the user as well – and ultimately satisfy the searchers needs the first time. That’s where the magic happens. That’s where the sales are made. And that’s why a longer snippet is another great tool in our arsenal.

Read more about the longer snippet on Google’s Blog.

Google Showing Longer Snippets

Post from: Bill Sebald's Greenlane SEO 2.0 Blog

Google Showing Longer Snippets