http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog The Source, featuring Daily Videos on SEO, PPC, Conversion and E-Mail Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:52:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-back-to-basics-canonical-tags.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-back-to-basics-canonical-tags.html#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:12:38 +0000 Rebecca http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4504 http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/02/specify-your-canonical.html).

There are 2 ways to attack this. The first option is if none of your content on any of the 20 pages is unique – say, for example, it’s all manufacturer created. In this case, you may consider putting the canonical in place to give those pages credit to the parent page (a shirts subcategory page, for example – assuming you have quality, unique content on that page). This is best used as a very temporary fix while you get unique content up on one of your product pages.

If your product pages all have unique content from other sites but similar to one another, you’ll want to use your analytics to determine the page with the highest SEO value for your site. Filter Traffic Sources > Sources > Search > Organic viewing: landing page, and then apply a filter to get only the 20 pages you’re looking to analyze on the screen. Typically, it’s pretty easy to tell which page has the highest SEO value – it’s safe to assume the page with the higher organic visits has the most visibility on the search engines and therefore the highest value. Other things to consider are the bounce rate: Google looks to the bounce rate of a page as a factor in deciding relevance and ranking – don’t canonical to a product page with an astronomical bounce rate. If you’re tracking conversions, you may choose a page that is a high revenue driver or has a good conversion rate (keeping in mind that a 50% conversion rate doesn’t mean much if only 4 people have ever visited

Once you have decided which page to point your canonical to, insert this snippet of code into the header of your page:

link rel="canonical" href="http://www.example.com/page-you-want-all-credit-pointed-to.html"

Canonicals are hints which Google honors strongly – use this to your advantage and reduce red signals on your site by implementing this simple tactic in your strategy.

For more in-depth information, visit Google’s webmaster blog: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/02/specify-your-canonical.html ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-back-to-basics-canonical-tags.html/feed 0 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-pinterest-your-way-to-better-seo.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-pinterest-your-way-to-better-seo.html#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:44:35 +0000 Elizabeth http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4470

If you’re a product-based e-commerce store, it’s probably pretty obvious that you should be adding pictures of your products on Pinterest. Make sure your photography is professional-looking so your customers are intrigued and click through to your store.

Pinterest can also act as a great way to introduce your customers to your team. Create a section with pictures and names of your customer service representatives so they know who they’re talking to when they call in for help.

Get your customers involved and get reviews at the same time by having buyers send in pictures of themselves using your product.

Are you getting ready to launch a new product or product line? Before everything is set in stone, use Pinterest to test it out. Get real feedback from customers.

Create a new contest weekly or monthly to get new customers excited about your products and build store loyalty.

There are a few good things to keep in mind in order for Pinterest to add true SEO value to your company. People need to re-pin you and credit your site as the original for back-linking opportunities to work. Make sure your images on your Pinterest link back to your website and not an image file, and also make sure you add prices to let people know that your products are in fact, for sale. And finally, add Pin It buttons to your webpages that have important products and/or valuable information so people can share easily. Since Pinterest is a relatively new social media, there will certainly be changes in the following months, but we’ll keep you updated with how all of it unfolds. ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-pinterest-your-way-to-better-seo.html/feed 0 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-google-makes-an-update.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-google-makes-an-update.html#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:26:07 +0000 Rebecca http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4446
So you’re an e-commerce store, and you probably don’t post ads and are wondering how this will affect you. Google doesn’t clearly state how they determine if an image is an ad, but based on some changes we’ve recently seen with clients I don’t believe this update is exclusive to advertisements. Posting an excessively large image at the top of your page could be read as spam, especially if all content and products are pushed below the fold. If you’ve seen ranking impacted by this update, try removing or reducing the size of the image you placed on that category page. Not sure how many people can see the content on your site? Google recommends you use their Browser Size tool.

If you’re thinking you might have been penalized by this update and make site changes, you’re not immediately out of hot water. Google points out that, as with any other update, when your site is reevaluated depends on how quickly they are able to re-crawl and process pages from your site. This can take several weeks, as speed depends on the number of pages on your site and how efficiently Googlebot can crawl the content (Google Search Blog ). ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-google-makes-an-update.html/feed 1 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-top-3-seo-predictions-for-2012.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-top-3-seo-predictions-for-2012.html#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:48:54 +0000 Joe http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4408
It is true, that 2012 will become the year of holistic internet marketing as it is going to become harder and harder to sustain growth with just organic traffic. To truly sustain increased market share it will be essential to use all the channels that are at our disposal.

As Google has hinted, social media will begin to become more a factor in your rankings and overall success as a company. That’s right, as the internet evolves, it is proving more and more that no company can hide from the social web, nor should it. A good e-commerce store should have its ear to the streets and not just engage customers at a social level, but be there to discuss and handle any issues that arise, from bad reviews to pertinent current events, it is the companies that are able to show a commitment to engaging each and every customer and connect that will see the benefits.

And finally the number one factor this year in relation to your overall SEO score is going to continue to be content. As Google proved with the Panda update, they are cracking down on low quality sites in their index. The number one factor in weeding out low quality sites will continue to be the content contained on your site. We have seen this time and time again over the course of the panda updates this year. So make sure you continue to work hard at creating engaging, useful, expert content and try to keep it original. For ecommerce owners, yes this will even mean delving into the dreaded product level of you site to continue to cut down on negative signals. ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-top-3-seo-predictions-for-2012.html/feed 1 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-4-types-of-holiday-shoppers.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-4-types-of-holiday-shoppers.html#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:17:44 +0000 Joe http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4354
As pictured here Kevin McAllister is the perfect example of the bargain holiday shopper. In Home Alone 1 his use of coupons while grocery shopping and his interrogation of the clerk about the American dental associations approval of his toothbrush purchase are clear signs that he is intent on making educated purchases. But also, his gift to the weird bird lady of the Turtle dove ornament is certainly an indication of his ability to put thought into his gifts.

The Frugal shopper has a notorious record of low average order values and often bases gift decisions based solely on price. The frugal shopper typically will buy items that are no frills but are staple items such as a pair of socks or mittens. The frugal shopper can at times come off as cold and calculating but at the end of the day it is the thought that counts isn’t it? Plus everyone needs socks I suppose.

It’s a no brainer that Scrooge it the classic example of the frugal shopper.

The Shy shopper may be new to making online purchases or may just be down right skeptical of the whole internet process. Perhaps they have been burned before or perhaps they just need to be shown the ropes of how easy it can be to do their shopping from the comfort of their home. It is your job to coax them out of their shell.

And finally we have the Procrastinator. Some of you out there ( myself included) may still have yet to complete your holiday shopping. If so, you may fall under this category. The procrastinator is not necessarily apathetic to the idea of gift giving. The procrastinator most likely is not even too busy to get it done earlier. The procrastinator just thrives on the drama of waiting until the last minute.

As a consequence for the lack of motivation, the procrastinator typically may have to deal with the fact that all the best gifts are sold out, or long lines the night or 2 before Christmas. Also they will have to pay a little extra for the rush shipping and run the risk of being that guy who ordered the gift but it got lost in the mail. Don’t be that guy.

As exemplified in the movie jingle all the way, Arnie fulfilled the roll of the procrastinator to a T. ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-4-types-of-holiday-shoppers.html/feed 1 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-4-essentials-for-your-2012-seo-strategy.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-4-essentials-for-your-2012-seo-strategy.html#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:19:23 +0000 Lauren http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4312
Best Practices recommended by Google include:(http://code.google.com/speed/page-speed/docs/rules_intro.html)

• optimizing caching
• minimizing round trip times
• minimizing upload size
• minimize size of responses, downloads, and cached pages
• improve browser's layout of a page
• optimizing for mobile devices

Not sure how to do this? Exclusive Concepts has a solution called Site Optimizer that will do all this work for you.

2. Content Strategy

A thorough assessment of top level page content should be completed, looking for duplicated, stale, shallow, or completely lacking text! The location of this text should also be considered. Your customers and Google are not going to think your words are very important if they are hidden or stuck all the way at the bottom below the footer.

Additionally, think about your product descriptions. Are they taken from the manufacturer? Unique product descriptions are important to stand out from the crowd, but this unique content also increases the overall site quality score and allows the product pages to rank better. Overwhelmed by the magnitude of product descriptions? Start on a smaller scale by prioritizing best selling products or products that you’d like to get in front of more people.

3. Social Media Marketing

Have you created a business profile for at least the big 3? Google+, Twitter and Facebook? Define your goals for this medium, figure out who your influencers may be, come up with a publishing schedule, integrate your promotions with your email campaigns and PPC promotions or maybe offer exclusive deals and contests through social media. Using these social networks can send positive signals to the search engines about your trust and authority, particularly when people share your important content and you’re engaging in the conversation. Posts from these social networks are also appearing in search results more frequently.

4. Conversion Testing

You’re probably thinking, “hey, conversion testing has nothing to do with SEO!”, but conversion testing is like the cherry on top of your SEO sundae. With the investment you're making in gaining more traffic from organic search, PPC, social media, and brand loyalists, why wouldn't you want to turn more shoppers into buyers? By testing, you'll learn more about your customers, their behavior and what messaging and merchandising resonates best and more importantly, improve your revenue. ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-4-essentials-for-your-2012-seo-strategy.html/feed 0 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-googles-search-blog.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-googles-search-blog.html#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:35:52 +0000 Amir http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4287 http://insidesearch.blogspot.com) On the blog, they discuss topics pertaining to search and Google. This past week they actually started a new series of monthly posts that are supposed to help make them more transparent. In these posts they highlight important elements of the search engine algorithm that are being worked on. Here are a few things from the most recent post that I found useful.

Parked Domain Classifier  

Google has added a classifier to it’s algorithm that automatically detects parked domains. A parked domain or website is a page that serves no purpose but just lives on the internet. I equate this to an empty house. Google says that these parked domains rarely help searchers find what they are looking for and typically just have a lot of advertising. Because of this, Google will now exclude these pages from the search ranking. As a ecommerce store owner you want to make sure you website actually provides value, and if you end up purchasing a parked domain you want to make sure that you make the changes necessary for Google to correctly recognize your website.

Original Content  

Google is really on a kick of adjusting it’s algorithm to make sure pages with the best content are at the top of search results. Original content can really help boost your websites ranking in the search engine. Not only is Google emphasizing content, the algorithm can now figure out where the original content comes from. If you are writing copy for your website, be very careful and make sure that your content is original because we all know how difficult it is to rebound after falling into Google’s bad graces. When in doubt, be original!

Top Result Selection Code Rewrite

This deals with websites that Google serves up at the top of the first page. Google wanted to avoid serving up the same website in multiple spots at the top of the search engine. This serves a few purposes, it helps create competition at the top of the search results. If for instance your competitor had a few pages ranking at the very top of the search results, going after that term might have not been worth your time. Now, it should be easier to rank for terms like that. This change in the algorithm is particularly interesting, I’d be interested in hearing what other algorithm changes the Google team comes up with regarding the top search results. If I had to guess, I would probably say that Google’s algorithm will be paying even closer attention to those top search results. My advice would be to make sure that if you want to rank for a specific term or long tail, make sure everything on the page you want to rank for adds value for someone that were to come to your page based on a search for that term. ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-googles-search-blog.html/feed 0 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-verbatim-search-in-google.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-verbatim-search-in-google.html#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:47:08 +0000 Scott C http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4269
To use the new verbatim tool, it is actually pretty easy:

1. First perform a normal search in Google for the phrase you’re looking for
2. Next, click on the “show search tools” in the left hand column, where you’ll see a list expand of the different tools
3. Finally, click “verbatim” on the list which will then filter out the results to just the verbatim results you are looking for.

Now let’s take a look at an example of the verbatim tool in action.

In the example show on the slide, you’ll notice on the left screenshot how Google shows results for “vinyl fences” (with an ‘I’ in vinyl) because it recognizes the possibility of a typo and that most likely the user is looking for these results. On the right screenshot, you’ll notice a search done using the new verbatim tool where Google is now only showing results for “vynyl fences” (with a ‘Y’ for the spelling). In comparing the number of results for both, you can see that using verbatim significantly reduces the numbers of results which can easily help people find exactly what they’re searching for without the clutter of what Google believes you want. ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-verbatim-search-in-google.html/feed 1 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-is-google-getting-smarter-every-day.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-is-google-getting-smarter-every-day.html#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:52:28 +0000 Joe http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4262
However, while doing some research over the weekend for a side project, I noticed a funny observation. While doing a search for the query “Best Football Players of all Time” I noticed some discrepancies in Google’s Bolding patterns.

In several cases the results, although relevant reflected bolded terms for synonyms of my own query. And in once case, the term Soccer was bolded, which in this instance is a clear indicator, that google is unsure how to treat the term football as soccer is called football in most countries but is a completely different sport here in the United States.

So..in conclusion, I am not sure if this is a recent update, but certainly something I have been seeing more and more often.

Also, it seems that Google is smart, it is still a machine and in NO Way perfect (yet), or a mind reader. So be cognizant of this fact when searching for terms that may have multiple meanings. ]]>

]]> http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-is-google-getting-smarter-every-day.html/feed 0 http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-think-with-google.html http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/seo-monday-think-with-google.html#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:46:21 +0000 Rebecca http://www.exclusiveconcepts.com/blog/?p=4235
ThinkwithGoogle.com is bringing together useful resources for marketers, making it easy for professional marketers and business owners alike to perform research to make informed decisions about their business. Let’s say, for example, I’m the owner of a store that sells home furnishings and am considering creating a mobile site for my store. By clicking into the “out mobile planet” tab of the insights page, we can create our own graph looking at the search and buying behaviors of consumers in our vertical. We choose our target country (in this case, the US, which had a sample size of 6,000) and then click to see the graph. From this view we can see that the majority of smartphone owners in the sample don’t research home furnishings on their phone, but of the 24% that DID research products on their phone, 16% ended up making a purchase. If you’re selling bigger ticket items, such as furniture, a mobile site then might be worth the investment if selling a few items off the site allows it to pay for itself.

Another useful tool is the Real-Time insights Finder. It brings together many of the tools SEOs are used to using in one dashboard that’s straightforward and clickable, making these tools accessible and easy to understand for search marketers at any level. Carrying over the example from the last slide, I can look to see how people are searching for my product in my store’s location (Boston, for example.) By clicking into “What are people looking for” – “by region”, the tool brings you to Google’s Insights tool and allows you to see other highly searched terms in your area.

So take some time when you get a chance and play around with these tools at www.thinkwithgoogle.com and let us know what you’ve found useful in the comments section below! I hope you’ve found this post helpful. ]]>

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