eCommerce site SEO

Hey all,
Im starting a new store that will go live in a month or so. Ive optimised all that i can...tags, titles, keywords etc and ive also considered impact of duplicate content etc.

Is there anything i can do to hit the ground running? I have a temp page up for about 4 months and the site address has been indexed although it isnt showing in G for any of my keywords.

I dont think my business area is that competitive...the top site has 2.5k links and PR4. ive slowly started to build links manually as i dont want to get banned for doing it quickly.

Should i be building links through articles etc now or wait till the site is up and running?

I really need this to work so im doing all i can do to make this happen!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Start by targeting longtail keywords, it will be easier and you will see faster results.

I can help you with SEO and traffic if you wish.
In short: add content , add backlinks. add trust to your site and everything will be OK

so the longtail keywords will have less traffic. Once the site is doing well (hopefully!!!) would i change the focus of the keywords to the big ones...will that effect the ranking positions?

Seo with them is pretty difficult.

Once you start doing well for long tail keywords, shift work to tough keywords... Will not affect your ranking unless you start changing anchor text or all your old backlinks...

bhlon said:

so the longtail keywords will have less traffic. Once the site is doing well (hopefully!!!) would i change the focus of the keywords to the big ones...will that effect the ranking positions?

Click to expand...

In some ways, it seems search engines have a grudge against eCommerce sites. Often times, I don't blame them. Many online stores offer little useful content, including dry manufacturer product descriptions, poor internal linking, and no unique, user generated content. Without a doubt eCommerce sites have unique challenges when it comes to SEO. Below I've gathered 25 tips that I've successfully used while optimizing eCommerce sites in the past.

Here is a bit of a ramble that will help you if you choose to implement some of these strategy's.

I run (among other things) a reasonably large e-commerce site, that sees about 500 UV a day. and converts at about 3%

-You have said you have got your keywords and tags and the like set up. MAKE ABSOLUTE SURE this is absolutely fucking perfect, make sure you use canonical URL's so you have NO duplicate content, and you are not splitting link juice.

-Do keyword research, this may contradict with what I am about to suggest, but before you list products, or write descriptions, do EXTENSIVE keyword research. Where it feels NATURAL, use these keywords in categories, sub categories and tags ect. SO many times I have built an ecommerce site and not worked out the money keywords early, and had to change products and categories and do tedious 301's

-Everyone will tell you to target specific long tail keywords like "best blue widget in the uk", do not listen to them, research like this is flawed, and in ecommerce rarely pays. Instead, I have found the following plan to be successful, to put it in perspective, 80% of my hits in the last 6 months have come from keywords/search phrases used ONLY ONCE OR TWICE.

-Write product descriptions yourself, this is essential if you want to succeed. Too hard? Too Boring? Go and work for someone else and always dream of success.

-Make sure you onsite seo is the best in the business, join SEOMOZ for a month, or check out any number of "onsite reporting" tools to see where you can improve.

-Choose your top 10 or 15 keywords, and market them HEAVILY, do whatever floats your boat, linkwheels, xrumer, genuine whitehat, but focus on only a core group of these keywords.

These keywords will give your domain authority, and while you will likely spend a long time at the bottom of the ranks for them, they will help you generate HUGE traffic from the "untargeted" longtail.


Good luck, e-commerce is a tricky game, especially as a one man band, and even more so trying to trust some slimy drop shippers.

bhlon, This is post is 5 months old, wondering if you have anything else to add. I am currently combing through the threads looking for anything related to ecommerce SEO, there's not much out there, your post is one of the more helpful ones.

Do you still continue with the ecommerce site you have?

torreswpb said:

bhlon, This is post is 5 months old, wondering if you have anything else to add. I am currently combing through the threads looking for anything related to ecommerce SEO, there's not much out there, your post is one of the more helpful ones.

Do you still continue with the ecommerce site you have?

Click to expand...

Sorry...just seen this so apologies!!

Yes i still have my site and it is progressing. Before i start i have to say thank you to all those that have answered all the questions i have, i have learnt a great deal and i implement my learning. One day i will give back very generously!!

It has been a long hard slog. I took the decision a while back that there were no real shortcuts to ranking for the keywords. I started with solid onsite SEO which took most my keywords into 30 - 40 postion in google. That is without any link building.

I am currently sitting in number 1 position for my main product keyword which is great....the not so good news is that i was converting more in position three!!!

The rest of the keywords are improving slowly but i dont really have the finance to throw a load of money at it. I have to sell to invest. Luckily, there is no massive company that does what we do so i am up against companies like mine albeit more established. I know i can take them...just a matter of time. I have more knowledge and can implement it. (Unless they employ SEO companies and im up against them then!!)

In terms of gaining good rankings, take a balanced approach, dont rely on a single service. Ensure you have articles, blog comments, bookmarking, profiles, EDU etc it makes a difference. I have made use of some services on here to mixed effect...some good, some bad. I use Fiverr alot for diversity of links and for the minimal cost, they are worth their weight in gold.

I know there are a lot of people here who go all out for a quick win, but given the size of the site, i cant risk it getting deindexed. My risk profile is different. I have given myself a year to have a great web presence and establish myself. Build trust...you can fake that.

In terms of traffic, it is not as high as i expected but i know what i need to do to get there. Google keywords is bullshit.

Ensure you have a professional looking site, neat tidy, simple on the eye. I originally took a site from a big corporate (different area) who would have spent thousands designing layout, colours etc and replicated it. It really looks good and makes a difference.

Focus each page on a keyword, ensure you have a variety of anchor texts. Original content, dont just use the manufacturers descriptions. Its amazing the ability i have in manually spinning the same sentence 20 times.

Overall, its hard work working on your own. I struggle to take a break, always thinking on improvements in design and where i think i can help convert better. Mentally it is tiring but i have hope i can achieve what i want. Currently im back focusing on the trust issue...looking at SSL certificates & verisign. Its much more expensive but ive noticed it appearing on google search results. Im convinced of the higher click through rates.

Also just want to give out some kudos to those that have really given me some good advice...Extrawinner, internalsoul and a host of others. Thanks to you all.

Stay mentally strong, ensure you have a market, dont let setbacks weaken you, stop looking at your rankings every 5 minutes, make sure you develop a brand and brand image, build trust, professional site (mine matches the top notch sites at a fraction of the cost, really good guy too Ram at Wenbzin.in - delete if im not allowed to say that but he deserves the credit! - not currently on his portfolio but he could show you if asked) Make sure you look better than your competitors - not difficult really as people tend to develop a site and then rarely upgrade it. Think longer term. Have a plan.....and try and kick back and relax every now and again.

Hope this helps.