There was a post the other day on eCommerce Cache about custom 404 pages that featured 26 different examples of top merchant 404 page designs and features. It features 404 pages from big names like Walmart, GAP, Netflix and more and includes ‘essential elements’ of a 404 page alongside the ‘things you should avoid’ using on your 404′s. The post is in depth and interesting, however I recommend using a different method to direct users who manage to land on a 404 page.

In the EC article, Shannon discusses several rules of thumb for 404′s which includes things like a matching theme to the rest of your site, company name/logo, message about the page, links to important site sections, search function, link to contact page or email and more. She also discussed things merchants should avoid using within their 404′s which include not leaving an explanation, misleading the users, messy or cluttered design and giving users too many options, which may become overwhelming.

I agree with Shannon on all her points and any merchants that currently use 404′s within their design (that don’t already follow those tips) should certainly take her advice. Custom 404′s do work and will help your users to stay on the site longer and gives them another chance to navigate if they happen to land on a 404 page (whether it’s a linking flaw or user error). In my opinion, it’s always better to show users a custom page rather than the default browser 404 page. It’s not that I disagree with Shannon’s points, it’s that I think there’s a better way than remembering all those custom 404 pages rules and spending all that time basically building another landing page.

I prefer using an htaccess redirect back to the index page over building a custom 404 page that explains to users that they are on a 404 page.

As the trend of custom 404′s has spread around the Web, it surprises me to see that so many Webmasters have forgotten about the good old htaccess file, which can be used to redirect users back to index or any other page on the site. With an htaccess redirect, you don’t have to worry about elements of the page to include or leave out, you don’t have to design and perfect another page on your site and it can even be easier to implement than a custom 404 (depending on your platform, hosting and file flexibility).

htaccess File Overview:

First, you will need to know that htaccess files can be used for far more than just errordocument redirecting. You can also use them for url rewriting and redirection, among other things. Before you create a brand new htaccess file be sure that you are not already using one within your file system as two htaccess files within the same directory will not work correctly (they can typically be found in the root directory, but may also be within sub-directories). If you are already using an htaccess you will need to edit the current file rather than creating a brand new file for handling errordocument redirecting.

In order to upload or edit an htaccess file, you will need to use an FTP program and a text editor like notepad. Your host may provide you the ability to upload files other than FTP, but you will still need to be able to edit files and upload them to the root directory.

Editing an Existing htacess File:

To edit an existing htaccess file, simply access the file on your server, open it to view, copy the code that’s in your current htaccess file and paste it onto a new notepad document. This will ensure that the code you are already using gets included into your new htaccess file. Once you have the code copied, proceed to the section below that discusses creating errordocument redirects for 404′s.

Creating a New htaccess File:

To create a new htaccess file, simply open a new notepad document and save it as .htaccess (be sure you include the dot before the letter H). Once the dicument is saved to your computer, you are ready to include the code and upload it to your server. Proceed to the following step.

How to Create an htaccess Redirect For 404 Errors:

Once you have the ability to edit your current htaccess file or have created one for the first time, you are ready to begin adding the code that will redirect users who land on a 404 page back to the site index page (typically the home page). There is a special command line for htaccess files that is meant to help Webmasters handle errordocuments and what users see who happen to land on any errordocument pages.

The command line will follow the following format…

ErrorDocument 404 /filename.ext or ErrorDocument 404 /directory/filename.ext

The command line is added to the htaccess file (ON ONE LINE ONLY) and depending on what directory, filename and file extension is assigned, it will redirect users to the corresponding page on your site rather than showing them the default browser 404 page. You can also use the same method to redirect users to a custom 404 page, or any other page on your site.

An example errordocument redirect to the index page would probably look like one of the following examples, depending on file extensions…

ErrorDocument 404 /index.html
ErrorDocument 404 /index.htm
ErrorDocument 404 /index.shtml
ErrorDocument 404 /index.php

An example errordocument redirect to a custom page would probably look like one of the following examples, depending on directory structure and file extensions…

ErrorDocument 404 /404.html
ErrorDocument 404 /404.htm
ErrorDocument 404 /404.shtml
ErrorDocument 404 /404.php

ErrorDocument 404 /errors/custom.html
ErrorDocument 404 /errors/custom.htm
ErrorDocument 404 /custom.shtml
ErrorDocument 404 /custom.php

Uploading & Testing Your New htaccess File:

Once you have created the file or edited the existing code it is time to save the file and upload to your server. It is always a good idea to backup your existing file before you overwrite it or save over the top of it. You can usually rename the old htaccess file to something like .htaccess1 so that it remains on the server and is easy to name back if something is wrong with the new htaccess file.

Once you have renamed the od file, save your new htaccess notepad as .htaccess (don’t forget the dot before the letter H). Use you FTP program or hosting provider to upload the new htaccess file to the root directory. You should see the new file once it has been uploaded to the server. After you have the file uploaded, open a Web browser and visit your site homepage. In the address bar, after the .com/, add a filename and extension you know doesn’t exist on your server (example would be .com/non-existent-page.html). See what page comes up once you attempt to visit the non-existent page. If you end up on the same page as you included within the htaccess errordocument command, you have successfully created a 404 redirect back to the homepage. If you end up on a default browser 404 page, check the code you have and be sure everything is correct. Common problems may include having multiple htaccess files (causes a conflict), command code on two lines instead of one or you may have failed to include a trailing slash or correct file extension.

Conclusion & Final Thoughts:

Whether you choose to use a custom page or not for 404′s is ultimately your choice. I believe that if you have taken the time initially to create a good homepage design that you probably don’t need to include a custom 404 page and that it would be best to redirect your users back to the index page. It seems like an extra step in the process to me and is certainly a good idea, but just creates extra work and landing page design considerations.

Remember, it is better to have one rather than none at all, so be sure to consider how you handle 404′s when building your eCommerce site.

In addition to weblinking, building links in the “real” world is just as important. While weblinking may direct a lot of traffic to your website, usually less than one percent actually convert. Let’s say for example you own a snowboarding supplies eCommerce site. Do you have friends who love to snowboard? Do you have family members who love to snowboard? Do they know people who love to snowboard? The answer to those questions (assuming people often have friends with similar interests) is probably, “YES.”

If you offer competitive prices, you can see how the value of each link has a significantly higher chance for conversion. The easiest way for you to link to those around you is simply give them a business card or two, tell them a little bit about what you offer, and why they should buy from you. (Offering the cheapest final price, i.e., product + tax + shipping, is always the best incentive. Fast service is a close second in my opinion.) Those who are hapy with your level of service are likely to come back and also refer friends. In addition, go to snowboarding competitions, conventions or just hit the slopes with cool gear from your store. If you see someone else using a product you carry, give them a compliment and ask them where they got it and for how much. If you can do better, say so and give them a business card. It would be a bonus if the card also acts as a promotional coupon with a code that gives the holder extra store perks. If someone asks you about your gear, tell them about your business and how you can offer them the best deal on the Web. It may also be helpful to offer bonuses to people you meet who refer others. But all of this depends on how competitive your prices are, and how good of a service you provide.

Good SEO and other forms of marketing will not be the deciding factor in a bright future for your eCommerce store; only good business practices can and will lead to success. This is just a snapshot of the infinite possibilities out there when it comes to promoting your website. The key is to be creative and understand who your customers are and how they think. More on this topic next week.

There are several key indicators in Analytics that should be paid careful attention to:

• Total Unique Visitors: the amount of individuals who have viewed the site – not the number of page visits, which counts multiple visits by the same user (the more unique visitors the better).
• Average Page Views: the number of page an average user views (the more page views the better).
• Average Visit Time: the time users spend visiting the site on average (the more time spent the better).
• Bounce Rate: the percentage of users who visit the site and immediately leave (the lower bounce rate the better).
• Keyword Tracking: the list of keywords by which users are finding the site. It provides data on which keywords produce how many visits with the average visit time, page views and bounce rates (the more keywords the better).

Keywords that produce long average visits, multiple page views and low bounce rates will be the ones that are the most targeted and effective to use on the site. Make an attempt to focus on those keywords rather than the ones producing short visits, few pages and a high bounce rate. At the same time, the keywords that produce a high bounce rate should be eliminated and used sparingly throughout the site as needed. Replace them with other likely keyword candidates and continue to monitor those results in the following weeks and months. Once you get the idea, repeat the same process. The ultimate goal from all this effort is to increase the absolute amount of conversions, i.e., people who sign up or buy a product.

An often neglected aspect of SEO is that websites need to be optimized for human users rather than just search engines. The proper utilization of keywords will help provide users with useful information about the site before they visit and helps search engines to properly index and list a website under the desired keywords. This includes information in the page title and meta description which users see in the SERP’s.

Next week’s article will start off a new subject for me: links. It will discuss ways to create and improve natural traffic, and how that will also help to improve rankings in search engines as well.

The strategic placement of the correct keywords into a website is arguably one of the most influential tasks an SEO can do to influence search engine rankings. The last article, titled Basic Page Title, Meta Description & Meta Keywords Structuring Rules, briefly discusses the strategic placement of keywords, however, knowing how and where to place keywords is only half the battle. This weeks article will provide a few tips and tricks on how to find the right keywords through research and tools like the Google Keywords Tool.

Using Google Keywords Tool:

There are a lot of useful keyword research tools available on the Internet that are free to use, but as of recently, good research can be done through Google AdWords’ Keyword Tool alone.

The tool has two tabs: “Keyword Variations” and “Site Related Keywords.” The former allows the user to find synonyms to keywords and phrases, while the later searches for keywords likely to be related to a Web page or number of pages.

Below is a simple step by step guide on how to find good keywords to target…

• Perform a query in Google on a phrase or two that most closely relates to the website’s offerings, and then find the top five ranking sites. There will be some sites in the results that rank for the query but are not direct competitors of it. Those sites should not be included. Also, there will be sites that rank and are related but will also not qualify as competitors because they provide a localized service in a geographically distant location.
• The top five ranking sites found can be viewed as top competitors. Enter their URL’s into the keywords tool under site-related keywords. This should provide a list of keywords targeted by top ranking competitors. Some of these phrases or words will be broad while others are specific, but both are useful. Also, make sure the “Include other pages on my site linked from this URL” option is selected.
• Collect the keywords and phrases that are the most relevant which can be categorized into five main categories: those that describe the industry in general, those that describe the particular service(s) provided, those that describe the brands of products sold, those that describe a particular category of products offered and those that describe the specific products themselves.
• This process will often yield many results of relevant and suitable keywords for the website, however not all keywords are suitable for every page. For example, keywords relating to the industry in general, services offered, brand names and geographical location of the site (if services are geographically specific) will be best suited for placement on the homepage, whereas category and product specific keywords are useful for category and product pages.
• If more keywords relating to a particular subject is needed, then perform a keyword variations search for more useful keywords. In addition, if there are products and services offered by the website but not the competitors’ websites or if there are any aspects of the business that would make it stand out and unique, those related keywords should also be targeted.

There are many different ways to perform keyword research and different tools that can be factored in when deciding what phrases would be more suitable, but it will not be a very good use of time. The process described above will produce good enough results, for most campaigns, in a short amount of time. It’s better to find likely candidates quickly, test them and make changes later since nothing can be known to work for sure until it’s been tried.

After the site is built with the keywords in place, owners should monitor certain factors such as bounce rate, conversion rate, page views per visit, number of unique visitors, what keywords are getting the most clicks etc. as reported by Google Analytics. I will be discussing more about Google Analytics in next week’s article.

Without further ado … here’s my top 25 beginner eCommerce tips and tricks in two parts.

eCommerce Design Tips & Tricks

Domain & Brand Name:
Choose a domain name that describes what you sell, uses main keywords and is short and easy to brand. Many domains are chosen based on web site keywords and key phrases rather than for company branding purposes. It is a good idea to build your web site for the people that will be using it and this includes choosing your domain name. Some domains may already be registered or purchased for resale so do your homework before deciding on the perfect domain and brand idea.

Preparing Content:
Prepare content for homepage, sub-pages, categories, sub-categories and products using main keywords. Keyword rich content is important for search engine spiders to find once they come to crawl your site. With search-friendly content added to individual pages you will have a better chance of improving search engine ranking and increasing web site traffic. It is a good idea to plan and prepare for about 100 pages of keyword rich content. Remember, proper preparation prevents poor performance!

Design Theme & Coding:
Build your site layout and theme using cascading style sheets (CSS), valid code and easy to use interface. Using CSS will “clean-up” your source code giving search engines greater accessibility to your page content. This technique can also allow you to place your most important content closer to the top of your HTML documents and will make it easier for you to update the look and feel over time from a single file. Each page should be W3C validated and function well in all major browsers (IE, Firefox, Safari etc.). It is a good idea to keep the site clutter free with a professional appearance to the best of your ability. The faster the better, every second your users have to wait for a page to load could be loosing you traffic and sales.

Naming Page Files:
Name page files, categories, sub-categories and product pages using descriptive, accurate, keyword rich text. It is a good idea to use the most important keyword or phrase for the page you are naming. It is not a good idea to use long “keyword stuffed” page names. Nor more than one or two hyphens or underscores per file is ideal (-,_).

Navigation & Search:
Create simple and clean navigational elements and a site search that are easy to see and reside above the fold. It is important to “cross link” your topical content across your entire site so that search engines can pass along value to your other content rich pages and so users can easily find the content they are looking for. Google will pass PageRank (PR) along to other pages on a site if you link one page with PR to another page with related content. Other good navigation tips include linking all of your pages to your homepage, creating a site map, using a site search function and help pages (FAQ, forums, blog etc).

SEF URLs:
Use search engine friendly URLs so both users and crawlers can find the pages they want with ease. Many eCommerce platforms create product pages from a database that are not easily found or indexed by search engines and crawlers. Instead, it is best to use a platform that creates search engine optimized URLs (mod_rewrite) or pages (static urls) designed to be easier read by search engines and helps users see which page they are on more easily.

Page Headings:
Use keyword rich page headings, bold text and descriptive headlines at the top or near the top of all your pages. Headings should accurately describe and summarize the content beneath each tag in order for this technique to aid in your search engine ranking. In addition to using H-tags for search engine benefits they will also assist site users who read or scan your pages for information instead of reading each line.

Page Size:
Keep page sizes small so the majority of your content for each page can be seen in full above the fold. It is best to keep page size limited to 15-20k if possible. Smaller page size works well for search engines, and even better for users. It is estimated that half of your web site users will be at 56k or less. That number increases drastically if your target markets are outside of the US.

File Size:
Keep file sizes small so the pages will load in a reasonable amount of time no matter what ISP your visitor has. Some of the most common methods or techniques to create smaller file sizes ,without sacrificing the overall design, include reducing the amount of files on your web server, using fewer colors in GIF and JPG images, compressing of HTML coding and scripts, cut out any java applets, music, or other multimedia that is not absolutely needed on your site’s pages.

IMG ALT & Anchor Text:
Include keywords within text links, anchor text, alt tags, image titles, flash comments and product images. Search engines will assume the link anchor text will be descriptive of the page the link actually points to. In addition to helping the search engines sort out content and crawl easily from page to page, adding keywords to your link text will benefit users who will not have to guess where a text link like “click here” will take them. Adding ALT text to images will help search engines read them as well as users who are disabled or using text-based browsers.

Robots.txt File:
Use a robots.txt file to instruct crawlers, limit access to certain sections or to utilize site maps autodiscovery. Search engines will look in your root domain for the robots.txt file (http://www.domainname.com/robots.txt) to see which files it may crawl and index or to find special instructions. The technical term for the system is The Robots Exclusion Standard. The file should be created using Unix line ender mode. Most good text editors will have a Unix mode or your FTP client should do the conversion for you.

Multimedia Files:
Keep JavaScript, Flash and other multimedia file use limited and use as many text-based alternatives as possible. Although multimedia presentations and extravagant images or backgrounds make your site more appealing to the eye, it will not look very appealing to search engines. That is why it is a good idea to find a simple balance between your text components and your multimedia. Try to provide text-based alternatives for much of your content that cannot be read by search engines. Use text descriptions in image alt tags and titles for image recognition (do not stuff keywords in alt tags). It is a good idea to stay away from a flash homepage unless you plan on offering an HTML version as well.

Framed Pages:
Avoid using frames within site design as they are not easily accessible for crawlers or easily linkable for users. Generally even if a search engine indexes and regularly crawls a framed page they will not be able to navigate from frame to frame as easily as with a web site built with no frames. In addition to not working well with search engines, frames will have a poor effect on your users as there could be issues with using the back function, print function or similar browser functions.

Round Out:
Consider adding additional features like a blog or RSS that users will find useful and to add that special touch. By continually staying up-to-date and current in your industry you can better implement strategies that are successful. Try to do as much research as you can regarding your products, services, offerings and competitors. Use newsletters to attract a larger customer base and retain customers you already have. Continually add content pages to your site (use a blog or write articles). When you look at other sites similar to yours see if they are offering anything you aren’t, and try to tie it in if you can. Remember, the best way to get the rankings you desire is to create unique quality content people will want to link to and share with others.

eCommerce SEO Tips & Tricks

Strategic Analysis:
Analyze your current site design and marketing strategy to see where you need to concentrate your efforts. It is better to take your time during this phase gathering any information, data, or ideas that may assist in the future web site ranking efforts. Without an initial analysis it may be more difficult to establish the results that your efforts are yielding presently and in the future.

Market Analysis:
Analyze your competitions site and design to see what other ideas you may want to implement within your site. It is important to know how competitive your niche is and the different keywords your main competitors are showing up under on the search engines. Knowing this will help you to determine where you do and do not want to be found, and may help with choosing additional keywords or phrases to market on the search engines.

Keyword Research:
Research different keywords and phrase combinations to include within your site copy and design elements. Many millions of keyword queries are done each day on the search engines. Typically, keyword data is gathered using industry keyword tools (Wordtracker, Overture Suggestions, Google Keywords etc.), site query statistics, and actual search engine queries that people are already finding the site under.

Page Titles:
Create unique page titles for homepage, sub-pages, categories, sub-categories and product pages. Web site Titles should be created for each content rich page using primary keywords and phrases in the correct order, density and character limits. Titles are simply elements in the HEAD section of an HTML document that tell search engines and users what you offer on your site. Your most important keywords should be used in this element in order to gain proper placement under your desired terms.

Meta Descriptions:
Create unique meta descriptions (optional keyword tag) for the entire site, including categories and products. Meta description and keyword tags are simply elements in the HEAD section of an HTML document that help search engines classify your page content and desired keywords and phrases and serves as a descriptive paragraph so users can see what you offer before visiting the site. It is best to use the meta keywords tag sparingly as it is not taken into consideration by all search engines. Creating a unique descriptions for each page will help increase click throughs and conversions of your natural listings as well as provide search engines with an overall theme for each page.

HTML Site Map:
Build an HTML site map for users to navigate and for any users who may be disabled or using text-based browsers. Site maps are web pages that contain all of your most important and content rich pages. A site map will also assist the search engines in finding all of your web site content so that they may scan it to include within their search results. Bigger eCommerce sites can really benefit from a site map as there are usually many pages to be indexed.

XML Site Map:
Build an XML site map for search engines to find updates to your content and products at regular intervals. XML site maps can be sent electronically to most major search engines. Dynamic site maps are optimal, but site maps you update manually can also be useful. XML site maps are special files that contain links to the most important sections and pages of your site. eCommerce stores that update catalogs often should definitely consider using an XML site map to help search engines find new products and update old ones.

Linking Campaign:
Consider ideas to build links to your site through offering promotions, coupons, press or media releases and more. As link building is becoming more popular with merchants, it is important to include a link building strategy into your store marketing plan. Finding quality links that are already popular in search engines is key to getting listed higher, however links from newer sites will eventually be popular and can also be beneficial.

Sponsored Listings:
Consider using Google AdWords or other sponsored search marketing services including comparison shopping engines. Whether you have purchased pay per click ads or not in the past, it’s definitely something you should consider as part of your strategic marketing campaign. Ad campaigns are becoming easier to control, are getting better results and are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to market Online. Google is the most popular out of all the companies out there. Start there, learn how to use AdWords and move on to any others if you feel they will continue generating a return.

Build Brand:
Brainstorm more unique advertising and marketing ideas to help with branding, word of mouth and more links. Building up your brand name will be an important step toward building your business and increasing sales. The more recognizable your brand, the more comfortable users will be buying from you. Growing your business means all kinds of new opportunities. It is a lot easier to gain a place in an niche if people recognize your name and know who you are.

Continue Education:
Continue learning about newer marketing trends or strategies and keep up with all the latest industry news. Learning something new is fun and exciting, especially if it can make you more money. Just like anything else that is taught or learned it is necessary to continue to move forward in your education. Read articles, visit discussion forums or blogs and talk to anyone you can that is considered an Online selling guru. Do not be afraid to ask questions, remember knowledge is power!

The head section of an HTML document includes, among others, the title tag, meta description and meta keywords. Proper usage of keywords here is extremely important for a websites rankings in search engines. This section will provide some general basic guidelines/good practices to follow when constructing the head section of your eCommerce website.

Page Title Tag:
The title tag is the title of a website that is displayed at the top of the browser, and is also the hyperlink that shows up in the search engines results page (SERP) above the website’s description and adress. Title tags are extremely important, not only for search engine ranking, but it also informs human users about the content they can expect to see the on a website once clicked. Here are some general rules of thumb for constructing them:

• The title of each page should be unique. This is because the content of each page is different, so it would be useful and more informative for both users and search engines if the title to a page is specifically tailored to its content.
• The title of each page should accurately describe that page’s content. Part of the reason why they should also be unique.
• The title should contain roughly nine words or 60-70 characters. If optimizing for Google, they are always on the low end of the spectrum so 60 characters for the title should be the maximum.
• The first letter of each word in the title should be capitalized. Just like in the title of a book or magazine.
• The title of the homepage should include your primary keywords. Furthermore they should be descriptive of the entire website rather than just the contents of the homepage itself.
• The titles of each subpage, category page or subcategory should only describe that particular page.
• Do not use stopwords in the title. Stopwords are words like “and,” “or,” “for,” “at” and “by” that Google ignores for queries. So the query “the cat in the hat” is no different to Google search algorithms than the query “cat hat.” See List of Google Stopwords for a complete list of stopwords used (or rather not used) by Google. Instead, replace stop words with symbols or separators, for example, use “&” for “and.”
• The ordering of keywords in the title should be from most to least important. The most important keywords are those that are most searched or most relevant to the site.
• The keywords in the titles should be separated by commas. More specifically, they should be separated by “, ” with a space after the comma.
• The title should include the company’s name. This is of course assuming that the company name is “brandable” or if branding the name is the intent.
• Consider adding a short call to action at the end of the title, when suitable. “Free shipping!” “Sign up for free!”

Meta Description Tag:
A meta description is the short website summary that shows up below the hyperlinked titles in the SERP These summaries simply describes the website as whole, a particular page or section. Like the title tag, meta descriptions do not show up in the content of the site itself. The purpose of the meta description is to inform users who the company is, what the company does followed by a call to action like “free shipping” or “sign up for free” if one is not already being used in that page’s title. A good guideline to follow when creating meta descriptions are:

• Meta descriptions should be 25 words or 150-200 characters in length. Like with titles, Google displays the lower end of the spectrum, so when optimizing for them stick to roughly 150 characters.
• Stopwords are allowed in descriptions.
• Descriptions are written in sentence format. Capitalize the first letter of the sentence and all proper nouns.
• Start the description with the company name followed by a verb (offers, provides, sells) and then list the most important and relevant keywords in order of importance, with a limit of four to five keyword phrases.
• Keywords should be separated by commas. The same rule applies as with titles.
• Try to mix up keywords. Use different words that make up many combinations of different phrases.
• End with a call to action. Call to action gives the user a reason for clicking.

Meta Keyword Tag:
Meta keywords are a list of keywords that pertain to a certain page. The extent to which meta keywords influence rankings in Google is a controversial issue. However, its inclusion with proper construction can still be beneficial. Here are some general guidelines:

• List keyword phrases in order of relevance and importance.
• Separate each keyword phrase with a comma and space (just like keyword lists in the title and description).
• Do not include stop words.
• Stick to a limit of 45 words in total.
• Start the first phrase with a capital letter and make all others lowercased, even proper nouns, and end with a period.
• OK to end the list with the company or domain name.
• Consider adding keyword mispellings or different common word spellings. For instance, “optimization, optimisation.”

Note: We will be posting more basic information about keywords and other places they should be included with your site elements. Keep in mind, these are basic rules and should be followed or considered most of the time. They will not always hold true for every merchant or every unique situation. These are rules that we have found to work well for eCommerce sites we have optimized in the past. There are many more factors involved with ranking on search engines than just adding these tags to your head sections. I hope some of our beginner readers find this information useful when learning how to properly setup their eCommerce site header tags.

Take Google, the world’s leading Internet search engine, as an example. It is estimated that their search algorithm ranks websites based on more than 280 factors. Among the most important, according to seomoz.com’s top ten positive factors, are keyword use in title tags, anchor text of inbound links, global link popularity, age of the site, link popularity within the site’s link structure, etc. In addition, there are also factors that negatively influences a website’s ranking, and if a site is caught for unethical SEO practices, such as using link farms, buying links and link spamming, it automatically becomes flagged for review and may drop off from the ranking charts. In fact, Google has already made necessary algorithm updates where these sorts of black hat SEO tactics are no longer effective.

As search engine companies continue to refine their algorithms, it has become more and more difficult for SEOs (white hat or black hat) to improve or manipulate a website’s rankings because so many factors are involved. And as time moves forward, it will become increasingly the case that the only thing that will guarantee high rankings is having a useful and informative website that is worthy of those rankings.

However, this isn’t to say that the time will come where e-commerce optimization will become obsolete or that this day is just over the horizon. Unlike humans beings who can make quick subjective assessments about the quality and relevance of a given website, search engine robots need to follow a specific set of directions and standards for harvesting websites and the search engine algorithms also have their standards and directions as to what constitutes “useful” and “informative” for a given query. So it remains entirely possible to create a good and relevant website according to human standards while at the same time being non-search engine friendly. The web has more or less established standards, and as long as those standards differ from commonsense, e-commerce marketing will always be useful.

Note: We are pleased to announce a new author to eCommerce Optimization, Jack. He will be posting every Friday about beginner eCommerce and eBusiness strategies, methods and insights as he learns how to properly design, optimize, market and improve eCommerce enabled sites.

Jack is just beginning in the world of eCommerce and offered to share the knowledge he grasps, as he learns it, with our readers. His weekly articles should help new merchants and marketers better understand the steps it takes to become a successful eCommerce SEO and Online marketing guru. Check out the new author profile for more information about Jack.