Cog SEO Blog

Posted By Melanie Prough on April 2, 2009

First off, if you subscribe to the “Build it and they will come” philosophy, you can leave now… This post will not help you. Secondly, fixing these items within your shopping cart software systems should not cost a single dime. So what about the VERY common mistakes that people and developers alike make with online shopping sites?

I suspect, that somehow the optimization necessities are somewhat “overthrown” by the money hungry marketing savvy techniques, which do not mean a damn thing without the proper foundation. It’s like putting a 5k paint job on a Chevette, if you ask me.

E-Commerce Screw Up #1
Utter disrespect and neglect of the proper use of the “eyeline” area, and proper content selection for valuable real estate sections.

1. Use your “eyeline” area to capture your visitors, this is not an area to be ignored. You have about 15 seconds to engage a visitor and the first 5 or so are used up in the “eyeline” area. Is yours appealing? Does it deliver the proper message for your site’s theme?
2. Nothing pisses me off more than to visit a store with the search field in the bottom section of the page. Get this as top side and easily noticed as possible.
3. Can people find your products, above the scroll fold? Many shopping cart software systems make this a challenge, but I guarantee you they will not look far before bouncing. Use textual directions, links, and sideboxes above the fold to better accomplish this when your software presents a challenge.
4. Menu first, everything else further down on the page. Your menu, whether right or left should be the first thing in that column, no exceptions.
5. Payment info, conditions, etc…. People will seek this out if they want it, to the bottom with it, as it will never convert anything.

E-Commerce Screw Up #2
Poor navigation and buried products are a considerable source of frustration for visitors who actually stay and are trying to find what they came in for. Let’s face it, you want them to find the product, right?

1. Try to keep your visitors within 3 clicks of your main page. I realize this is a challenge, but it is also highly effective.
2. If a category’s products span more than 2 pages… then diversify it in to 2 sub-categories. People will hardly ever search past the 2cnd page of product listings.
3. Use breadcrumbs, people really do get lost and need the navigational support of breadcrumbs.
4. Use clear and easy to understand category and sub-category names. This will help your visitors find what they are looking for and buy it.
5. Use a logical order and grouping for your categories within your menu. There is not much sense in jumping from “TVs” to “Blenders”, then getting around to “DVRs”.
6. In your category/menu use some sales and user volume logic in your ordering as well. For example, which is more searched for, “factory rejects” or “MP3 players”… And more questions to ask yourself, which has better margin, and which converts better. Remember, users will favor the top of the page, and this translates to your menu as well.

E-Commerce Screw Up #3
It never fails to amaze me the amount of site owners and webmasters who completely ignore their site’s inner pages with respect to ability to rank. Do they think they are only allowed to rank with their main page? Seriously, if you take 3 poles fishing and the fish are biting, will you catch more fish with 1 or 3 poles?

1. E-Commerce sites have an innate ability to rank their category and sub-category pages like they are “mini sites”. The category level is both less diluted and more targeted to a specific product theme than the main page, yet has greater longtail and natural search phrase ability to rank with. However, to achieve this, the page must contain text generally about the entire category, without straying in to other categories much.
2. Build inner page links to main category pages and product pages as well. There are certainly a number of ways to do this, but many are easier than others. Submit to directories that accept inner pages using submission information targeted specifically to the page you are submitting, not the whole site. Social bookmarking can be a great option if you don’t abuse it. Edit your testimonials to include a link to the product page, thus “voting” for yourself.
3. Category pages need unique page titles in the head of the document code. This is a highly essential piece. Remember, treat them with the same TLC as your main page.
4. Use good on page optimization techniques for your inner pages, especially your category pages. Heading tags, proper important text at the top of “divs”, and by all means you do need text.

E-Commerce Screw Up #4
Arguably, this could be the number 1 screw yourself thing to do. Have you ever been to a store that sold for example, “canes” and while looking around to find they also sell “car air fresheners”? Insane huh? Yep, actually it’s the double whammy. The visitors think the store is run by a bunch of scammers, and the search engines have a mixed impression of the store’s theme as well. Ever heard the saying “Jack of all trades, master of none”? The results are just like that.

1. Very clearly let me just say, STAY WITHIN YOUR THEME. If you sell TVs, then a new main category can probably support some other electronics with added textual support within the site’s common template, however “soap on a rope” will KILL you.
2. Keep categories cleanly themed as the more potent the theme of these pages the better their ability to rank, and since the user clicked in to “staplers”, they really don’t care to have you describe your “printers” anyhow.
3. Product pages, are really VERY hard to screw up with most current shopping cart software… But it can be done, I have seen it. These page’s are highly specific in nature, and that is their power. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, this concept is not broke and does not require your “fixing”.

E-Commerce Screw Up #5
I saved the best for last.. Google me this, why in the hell would you, the store owner send your visitors away from your site when you are working so hard to get them there? There is NOTHING more sleazy than a online store with Adsense Ads. So think about this, I’ll go to McDonalds and stand in the drive thru, send every customer to Wendys and give McDonalds a nickel… Would McDonalds be happy with this ROI?

1. Never, never, never send your visitors away unless the ROI is at least 125% higher than the per visit conversion. Why 125%, because by sending them away, you have not just lost a potential sale 1 time, but perhaps next time too. They will not be impressed and tell their friends, they will not link to you because your products and services are awesome, and they will not be back to buy what they came for.. You are kidding yourself.
2. Same rule with any type of Ad, and they should ALWAYS open in a new window.
3. Affiliate Ads look like affiliate Ads, if you think I am wrong ask some users… You will be quite surprised.
4. Are you sending away your sales through reference and resource links you have been kind enough to provide because you have been too short sighted to open them in a new window?

Clearly running an online store is very involved, but these basic concepts will help to guide you and get your creative juices flowing. Its very easy to become short sighted and miss these things. When in doubt do usability studies. This does not have to be some highly technical ordered process. Grab 5 or 6 friends and give them a list of questions, you might even just as we say where I grew up “give them their head” and let them tell you what they think without any guidance. Try to pick a diverse group, even if your site targets guys, a woman will have some useful insight. Small hint for you here, laugh if you like, but 11 year olds make great candidates for usability…. If they can stay focused for 5+ minutes you are doing good! Additionally, they tend to have a very candid and unspoiled way of viewing things and pointing out what adults would not, as they deem it insignificant.

Peace and SEO

Melanie Prough

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Bottom Section, Content Selection, Optimization, Poor Navigation, Shopping Cart Software, Shopping Sites, Software Systems