WDTalk

Designing your site for e-commerce – begins with keyword research, matching keywords and phrases that most closely match today’s search queries. Why? Because designing a site with keywords or phrases that no one searches for makes conversions very very difficult (lack of traffic). Of course you can still advertise via article, blog and forum posting, or micro-sites, which should provide some very targeted leads, but you lose the viral power of organic search results.

I’ve seen sites that dominate –  SERPS (search engine results pages) for their particular niche, but can’t convert a prospect. Frequently, keyword research reveals that NO ONE is searching for that niche. In simple terms, if you’re getting 6 pageviews/month, it doesn’t matter if you have the best design, intuitive navigation and a kick a** shopping cart, your ROI (return on investment) will suffer.

Taking keywords one step further - selling anything is about the perception of providing value & solutions, and this applies to everything from selling toothpaste to cloud hosting – which leads us to Landing Pages and relevancy, and on to compelling calls-to-action. The words you use cross-site and intra-site need to be relevant to the search query. Getting traffic from a search query that leads to a product or service that’s either in conflict with the search, unreadable (poor theme or contrast), not compelling or out of alignment with the rest of the industry won’t convert well.

My recommendation - absolutely use keyword research tools to match the products and services you want to sell – with the keywords and keyword phrases currently entered into search queries – that will produce sufficient traffic to sustain and grow your business.

As Google continues to tweak – its algorithms to improve relevancy, business reviews got added to the mix. This morning, I moderated a spam comment on WDTalk that promoted an unethical method to work around that, promising to raise your search rankings by writing thousands of fake positive reviews.

The commenter did make – a few excellent points about positive reviews which I’ve quoted below:

Google is now using reviews to determine ranking.

How do positive reviews help in your businesses Google ranking?

1. Positive reviews increase your business rank by linking important and relevant websites to your website.
2. A constant stream of positive reviews improves your online reputation.
3. Positive reviews drive traffic to your business.
4. Positive reviews restore a tarnished reputation by pushing down negative reviews and links.
5. Helps protect against competitors or anyone else from attempting to run your ranking.

 All good points, but my recommendation is – to simply provide superior products, services and support – with the aim to make each of your clients ‘Raving Fans.’ When you go that extra 1% on every call and interaction with your prospects and clients, your business grows internally and externally.

Press releases should be – an integral part of your marketing strategy. They increase brand name recognition, as well as get the word out about what you do and what you have to offer. 

Are press releases expensive – not if you use the services I’ve listed below. In addition to the links, I’ve added their current Alexa rank and verbage from their site.

The key to maximizing traffic streams lies with promotion methods that work TODAY, such as:

• Social Bookmarking – is a favorite way to build links, with 400+ social bookmarking sites available (at my last count).
• Article Marketing – is one of the best ways to market your site (just make sure your articles pass CopyScape.com).  Some of the better article submission sites are:
  • EzineArticles
  • Buzzle
  • ArticlesBase
• Video Marketing – want your site to go viral, then upload video to any number of sites like:
  • YouTube
  • DailyMotion
  • Vimeo
  • Metacafe
• Directory Submission – is also an effective way to build links, which in turn helps with SERPS. There are 3000+ directory submission sites (mostly free), but many still charge nominal fees.
• Answer Sites – like Yahoo and Wiki Answers are great ways to generate leads.
• Press Release Sites – always generate a ton of hits, and some draw traffic years after their release.
• Blog Directory Submission – helps boost your SERPS for targeted keywords.
• RSS Feed Submission – with 100+ RSS Feed Sites to submit your blog to, your traffic will grow exponentially.

The most well thought out (content) and beautifully designed websites – may NOT be optimized for search traffic. Do your sites rank well? Have you pondered why your site doesn’t fare as well as you’ve expected? 

Capturing organic search traffic (not paid) to your website that produces results
Ideally, you’ll need a compelling search result that causes a click through, but how does that happen? Two very important components you’ll need to analyze:

• Your Title
• Your Description

Title
Your ‘Title’ logs in as the heavyweight contender. While it appears first on the search result, its power punch is in how it’s massaged – if your domain is included in the Title it’s displayed in bold typeface and the entire Title is hyperlinked. Keywords in the Title are important as well, since they are one of the components in Google’s ranking algorithm. Ensure your title is keyword rich. In other words, use keywords that are currently being searched for in your niche. It’s best to perform keyword analysis from the onset.

Description
I always recommend managing your prospects expectations. Your description may not have an effect on Google’s ranking, but it could project a powerful perception of your business’ relevancy to a prospects search. Again, Google may boldface the searchers keyword in your description. I know when I type in a phrase, I look to see if the entire phrase is boldfaced, or simply pieces here and there. I perceive immediately, as I suspect others do, the level of relevance this site has to my interest. Managing your description to maximize relevant traffic (and ultimately conversions) is paramount to optimizing your website.

How is the description displayed on Google searches?
Google uses a combination of META tags or abstracts from your page to display the description of your site to the prospect – not always under your control. If you have a description META Tag, Google will likely use it or relevant phrases from it.

They often extract phrases – from the body of your website, as well, usually from the first few paragraphs. To maximize the click through rate, use compelling and accurate descriptions on each page of your site that best match that individual page. On your home page, describe your website as a whole.

Google attempts to rank based on – value to the end user so try to avoid market hype. Match your description to what the prospect will expect to see should they click through. Misleading your prospects is frowned upon. Place emphasis on providing benefits and solutions.

I’m often asked if phrasing is permitted. The answer is ABSOLUTELY. Google limits the description META tag to approximately 20-25 words (115 characters – including spaces), so select your phrasing carefully – to match and flow with content on that specific page.

Building online traffic works best with a mix of online and offline marketing techniques. I’ve assembled a few tried and proven that are guaranteed to grow your site over time. 

1. Organic Backlinks – do not pay for backlinks as this (SEO) tactic never works. Organic backlinks to relevant sites with high PageRank – in good neighborhoods work best. Links to warez, torrent and spam sites are considered BAD neighborhoods – and will drag your site lower in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS).
2. LiveChat – If you have available manpower, livechat is great way to communicate with your prospects and clients. LiveZilla is a free and highly recommended livechat application. The feature I love is the ability to see what pages visitors have browsed, and how long they stay on each page.
3. Forum Signatures – Participating in industry forums and discussion groups positions your firm as an expert in the field. Your signature at the end of each thread or post can link to your website or a specific promotion. Be sure to comply with forum rules.
4. Newsletters – Newsletters are a fantastic way to share solutions, highlighting your business’s strength in its niche. Links from newsletters can be monitored to determine what hits home with your readers.
5. Relevant Content – Beyond a doubt, the MOST IMPORTANT element for any website is relevant content, meaning your content must address each click through (opportunity) with a compelling and convertible solution.
6. Tweaking Your Site Using Analytics/Statistical Progams – Measuring what works, and what doesn’t work provides a foundation by which you can re-structure your site for success. Discard what doesn’t work, and repeat repeat repeat what does.
7. Social Media Networking – I think it goes without saying that having a presence, at least today, on Facebook or Twitter is a necessity. Your competition is already there capturing some of your traffic. 
8. Contests – Giving something away always attracts visitors, even if it’s as simple as a special coupon code on a specific service.
9. Webinars – Webinars are seminars held or presented on the Web.
10. Article Writing – Article writing positions you and your firm as experts in the field. I recommend www.ezinearticles.com. Link your articles back to your site.
11. Business Cards, Scratch & Mouse Pads, Personalized Ink Pens – And the list goes on forever. Promotional material customized with your website information brands your business for success.