Anyone involved in SEO and Search Engine Optimisation advice can’t help but have noticed the large amount of changes recently made to the Google algorithms in an update that has since been referred to as the ‘Mayday’ update. This change has had a noticeable impact on many sites that are focused more on long-tail SEO strategies, with as much as a 30% loss in traffic reported by some sites: especially affecting E-Commerce sites.
The number one response by Google web-master Matt Cutts to the Mayday controversy has been a simple one: improve your content. The new algorithms were created to seek out high-quality, unique content. These tips give some search engine optimization advice that can help you improve the quality of your content within an E-Commerce environment.
1. Enable user-reviews within your site. These will ensure that new, non-duplicate content is consistently generated for your site. Two benefits to this are that aside from the initial web design costs, the new content will be generated for free by your users. Also, you can be fairly sure that the content will be heavy in the keywords that your customers will search for, as it will be being written by the customers themselves!
2. Make sure every page has some sort of character. Far, far too many e-commerce websites simply copy and paste product descriptions from the manufacturers: is it any wonder that sites such as this are considered to be low quality? Take the time and the effort to ensure that you have some high quality (keyword focused) copy – the higher quality the copy, the higher the quality of the website: simple.
3. Give people reasons to link to your page. The obvious goal of any SEO company is to generate backlinks, so take every opportunity to aid your customers in doing this: give them an easily embeddable piece of code that they can post on their own site, and on their own forums, etc.
4. Competing products: A great way to build backlinks is by creating a Product X vs Product Y article for two competing items that you sell – eg the new iPhone v the Samsung Galaxy. Not only will you get the traffic for people searching Google trying to decide between the two, but this is also the sort of content that will be referenced (and linked to) in forums debating the matter.
5. Use high quality images. Many E-Commerce sites will simply use already existing, low quality images of the products: just like the product descriptions used, the quality of the images on your pages can make a big difference. If you invest in high quality, new images, then people are likely to link back to them over and over again.
For information on how our search engine optimisation advice could help you increase your profits, contact us here.
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