SEO STRATEGIES FOR E-COMMERCE SITES · planning – SEO keywords research and requirements –...

©Copyright 2012 QA Technologies, Inc. All rights Reserved. ©Copyright 2012 QA Technologies, Inc. All rights Reserved. ©Copyright 2012 QA Technologies, Inc. All rights Reserved.

SEO STRATEGIES FOR E-COMMERCE SITES


Which Search Engines to Optimize For?

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

2010 2011 2012

Internet Portals and Search Engines American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) - July 2012

Google Bing (Microsoft) All Others

P R I O R I T I Z I N G Y O U R E F F O R T S

©Copyright 2012 QA Technologies, Inc. All rights Reserved. ©Copyright 2012 QA Technologies, Inc. All rights Reserved.

SEO Friendly System

Unique title and meta tags Customize URLs – ensure

session IDs do not appear in URLs

Make sure search parameters do not create duplicate content – NO!

example.com/category1/?view=all (if you have to use this, then add a conditional noindex tag to those pages)

– YES! example.com/category1/#viewall

Easily add new content

Integrated search engine Implements schema and

markup for product details and prices

Custom image names and alt text

Options on order products are presented

Pagination options for default number of products per page and “show all”

Mobile compatible Printer-friendly CSS, not

printable pages to avoid duplicate content

I T A L L S TA R T S W I T H A S T R O N G B A S E


BREAKING IT DOWN Getting the architecture and other elements right


Quality Web Hosting

Avoid shared hosting (bad neighborhoods) Near perfect uptime High bandwidth limits Dedicated IP address Speed Security Upgrade paths Opt for servers located in the same country

as the primary business

W H E R E Y O U R S T O R E I S C A N D E T E R M I N E Y O U R C H A N C E S O F S U C C E S S


General Tips

Navigation and categories should correspond to user behavior

Filters are preferred over pagination Check industry trends to see if the singular or

plural form is more popular for products and categories

Use hyphens, not underscores in URLs Don’t create pages that are not needed or are

thin on content Prevent secure / nonsecure page duplication Ensure multi-browser accessibility

T H I N G S T O K E E P I N M I N D A S Y O U W O R K O N Y O U R E - C O M M E R C E S I T E


Images

Optimize image file type – compare quality/file size of JPG, PNG, GIF

Optimize image file size – manually size thumbnails, product shots and make sure they are web-optimized and do not contain unnecessary information – Square or 4:3 or 3:4 dimensions are preferred

Give images a unique keyword name – include the SKU if you must (i.e. white-peacock-invitation-38564.jpg)

Complete alt text with appropriate keyword description (3-5 words)

P R O D U C T I M A G E S A R E A K E Y P I E C E O F PA G E C O N T E N T A N D D E S I G N


URLs

Content should only be available from one URL, use canonical URLs to denote the correct URL if you have to serve up content multiple ways and on multiple URLs

Avoid dynamic URLs Use primary and long tail keywords, including product

names, in URLS versus product numbers or codes, variables, IDs, or other parameters

301 redirect error pages (404) to the homepage with a info message and search box option with the keyword input

301 redirect discontinued product pages to the top category level

C R E AT I N G U R L S T H AT H U M A N S A N D S E A R C H E N G I N E S U N D E R S TA N D


Heading Tags

H1 - one per page for page headline with primary keywords

H2 - one per page for subheader with top primary keyword and secondary keywords

H3 - for main points containing levels 1-3 of keywords

H4 - for main sub-points containing levels 2-3 of keywords

H5 - for secondary sub-points containing levels 2-3 of keywords

P - for keyword rich, natural language content

G E T T I N G Y O U R PA G E C O N T E N T O P T I M A L LY S T R U C T U R E D W I T H A N O U T L I N E D E S I G N


Links

Make sure on product listing and search pages the thumbnail image and product name are wrapped with separate HTML links

Use natural text links that contain keywords between products, categories, educational content, editorial content, and blog articles

Build external and internal links that point to landing pages within the site and not just the home page

Target high quality link sources used by your competitors for link building

Block search engines from following shopping cart pages

Check for broken links regularly and fix them

T Y I N G I T A L L T O G E T H E R F R O M T H E I N S I D E A N D T H E N B U I L D I N G O U T

<p><a href="photo/product1“> <img src="pics/brand2/category1/product1.jpg" width="100" height=“100" alt=“brand2 product1" /></a></p> <p><a href="photo/product1“> Product Name</a></p>

Product Name

http://www.qat.com/�

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/789484�

http://www.sxc.hu/pic/s/d/da/darkside/789484_chain.jpg�

http://www.sxc.hu/pic/s/d/da/darkside/789484_chain.jpg�

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/789484�


Breadcrumb Navigation

Use as secondary navigation Each page in the breadcrumb should have

quality content Remove unnecessary words and characters Remove the link from the last page in the

breadcrumb Use consistently on every page in the site

H E L P I N G C U S T O M E R S F I N D T H E I R WAY B A C K H O M E

Home > Category1 > Product1




Internal Search

Search bar should be on every page Index the full site for optimum user

results and conversion Search on multiple parameters – name,

brand, price, characteristics, recently added

Automatically correct spelling errors or suggest alternatives

M A K E F I N D I N G P R O D U C T S FA S T A N D E A S Y

Advanced


Page Load Time

Minimize and combine each scripting type (CSS, JavaScript), and image files

Create your own thumbnails, don’t use HTML, CSS, or scripting to do it

Minimize the use of JavaScript, Ajax, and other scripting elements to a minimum – Use asynchronous loading whenever possible – Use remote files instead of inline code – Keep any inline code at the bottom of the

page Validate your code

O P T I M I Z I N G T H E E X P E R I E N C E F O R U S E R S A N D S E A R C H E N G I N E S


Sitemaps

XML sitemap for over 100 pages

Semantic XML sitemaps for very large sites – Category pages – Subcategory pages – Product pages

HTML sitemap linked to home page to help keep all pages 3 clicks from the home page

M A K I N G S U R E S E A R C H E N G I N E S A N D U S E R S C A N F I N D E V E R Y T H I N G O N Y O U R S I T E

Category 1

Page

Page

Category 2

Page

Page

Home Page


PAGE SPECIFIC OPTIMIZATION

Getting your site ranked from the home page to product detail pages


Home Page

Content with top keywords above the fold

Link to best selling products directly from the home page

Include text-based links

Contact info using schema

F I R S T I M P R E S S I O N S S T I L L M AT T E R


Category Pages

Increase importance of linked pages that might otherwise be too deep to get indexed by using them as Landing Pages in your advertising

Categories determined by high search volume Custom URLs Unique, search asset allocated meta titles, meta

descriptions, content Feature top selling or featured products Include 2-3 sentences of solid keyword rich content to

explain what customers can expect to find in the category and how to quickly find what they are looking for. You might included the brands, features, uses, etc. for the category of products as applicable.

C R E AT I N G V A LU E A LO N G T H E PAT H T O I N D I V I D UA L P R O D U C T D I S C OV E R Y


Product Detail Pages

Unique, search asset allocated meta titles, meta descriptions, content

Minimum 3-4 sentences of keyword filled content above the fold. No duplicate content!

Content should include specific brand names, model names, SKU numbers etc.

Write your own content to supplement or replace vendor supplied product description

Use one page for all variations (color, size, etc.) of a product

If products fall into more than one category, the URL structure should be example.com /product1

Product Details

Product Reviews

Related Products

Product Comparisons

Facebook “Likes” E-Books

Magazine Subscriptions

Newspaper Subscriptions

S O M E T H I N G F O R E V E R Y O N E , A L L N E AT LY A R R A N G E D


Brand Pages

Keywords specific to

each individual brand only

Unique meta titles, meta

descriptions, content

Branded URLs

No duplicate content!

F O R B R A N D S T H AT A R E N O T Y O U R O W N , B U T Y O U S E L L T H E I R P R O D U C T L I N E


Blog

Utilize guest posting

Capitalize on hot, new, and trending topics and issues

Focus content on priority keywords, including long tail phrases

Regular, fresh content

Should be on main domain

C R E AT I N G G R E AT C O N T E N T T O K E E P T H E R E L AT I O N S H I P F R E S H


LEADING INNOVATION

Leading innovation and driving the next generation user experience in e-commerce sites.


E-Commerce Solutions

E-Commerce solutions include: – website or a web based system

• custom e-commerce solutions • open-source systems

– shopping cart – payment gateway integration – secure and scalable hosting – marketing consulting

Benefits – reach more potential customers – sell more products – efficiently and accurately fulfill

orders – drive customer satisfaction

B R E A K F R E E O F LO C AT I O N A N D B U S I N E S S H O U R S C O N S T R A I N T S W I T H Q AT G LO B A L .

Break free of location and business hours constraints with QAT Global. We can help you take your business to the web 24/7 with your own online store.


E-Commerce Strategy

5 Steps to Developing an E-commerce Strategy

– Business review and requirements – Target audience analysis and user

requirements – Competitive analysis and opportunity

planning – SEO keywords research and

requirements – Prioritizing objectives and setting

expectations

Five Elements Every E-commerce Strategy Should Include:

– Branding – Conversion – User Experience – Search engine visibility – Agility

N E X T- G E N E R AT I O N E C O M M E R C E S T R AT E G Y G U I D E D BY I N N OVAT I V E T H I N K I N G A N D R E S E A R C H .

Ready to look beyond what's happening now to create a forward-thinking e-commerce strategy? QAT Global can help you discover and define your opportunity for success online.

Download the brochure

http://www.qat.com/ecommerce-strategy.asp�

http://www.qat.com/ecommerce-strategy.asp�


For over 17 years, QAT Global has been an innovation partner delivering high quality results on time and on budget. QAT Global focuses on all aspects of R&D; we help our clients quickly get to market with new or enhanced products including custom software solutions, web software, desktop software, line of business applications, mobile applications, third-party integrations, ecommerce solutions, content management systems, rich internet applications, and mainframe applications. QAT Global has invested in key technical talent, jump start tool kits, development libraries, methodologies, and templates that have been refined over many product development efforts and achieve above average, repeatable results for our clients. QAT Global has a flexible operating model, we work with each of our clients to determine the right fit and we design an approach that will work the most effectively for each client. This always begins with helping our clients balance insight and ideals with strategic action. Most importantly, throughout our relationship we always place the interests of our clients first.

Repeatable Success F O R S O F T WA R E P R O J E C T S

LEARN MORE AT:

WWW.QAT.COM


Contact Us

Looking to learn more about what makes QAT Global your top partner for e-commerce projects? We'd love to connect with you and discuss your company's goals and what makes us the right partner for the future.

Address: 222 South 15th Street, Suite 1001 North, Omaha, NE 68102

Phone: 402-391-9200 Email: [email protected]

S U P P O R T F R O M T H E S TA R T

“ S T A Y C O N N E C T E D ”

Twitter.com/qatglobal

Linkedin.com/in/company/qat

Facebook.com/qatglobal


W E L O O K F O R W A R D T O PA R T N E R I N G W I T H Y O U

SEO STRATEGIES FOR E-COMMERCE SITES · planning – SEO keywords research and requirements –...

Documents

Transcript of SEO STRATEGIES FOR E-COMMERCE SITES · planning – SEO keywords research and requirements –...