Magento Blog

Adding a blog to your Magento store is an excellent way to connect with your customers, increase your SEO efforts, and make your store an authority site on the products and services it offers. With a blog you can constantly add relevant content(for both your customers and search engines) making your store a destination for information relating to your product or service.

A blog allows you to connect with your customers on a never before seen level. You can publish news releases, detailed product reviews, related content, take customer comments/questions/concerns and respond to them in kind. Coupled with the latest social networking platforms you can cultivate this relationship even further. The relationship you establish with your customers is a great way to see market trends and analyze customers wants in needs. Most importantly it will increase conversions, purchases, and create a loyal customer base.

By successfully connecting to your customers through your blog posts your Magento store will become an authority destination on the product or services you sell. Along with this authority status will come an increase of traffic.  The increase will come not only from returning readers and customers but those looking for information. As your authority status grows people will link to your site from other websites further increasing traffic flow.

Connecting with your customers and becoming an authority site on subjects concerning the products and services you sell will cause your search engine rankings to improve dramatically.  You can further your SEO efforts by providing links to different pages in your Magento store in each individual post. Not only will your customers be lured in by this stream of content but search engines will use it to determine what your site is about. By keeping your posts focused you can manipulate this into better SERPS (Search Engine Results Page) rankings for your site.

A blog for your Magento store is a good idea on many levels. By becoming an exporter of fresh relevant content related to the products you sell, your blog will become an importer of customers and indispensable marketing tool.

The product pages on the Magento Shopping Cart system are often overlooked and not optimized to their fullest extent. Optimizing them properly for both search engines and human visitors might take some extra time but is well worth the effort. Here are some tips to make your Magento product pages easier for search engines to find as well as more inviting and encouraging for the people shopping them.

Magento’s product pages are pretty well optimized for search engines right out of the box.  Most meta tags are automatically filled given the data you include when loading products into the system.  The key is to fill out as much of the product fields as possible.  This can prove challenging but will pay off in a big way with your products getting found on the web.  The job of search engines is to provide relevant search results for the user. The more product description, images and related information you can provide, the more of a chance you have of getting found.

An often overlooked field is the label field in the image tab. Think of this tab as another place to add keywords that support the title tag and description.  By filling it out,  your image title and alt tags will have unique values instead of using the title tag text that Magento includes by default.

Providing an adequate amount of information not only helps with the search engines but with selling and gaining a loyal consumer base.  Consumers often use the web to find information on the products they want to purchase.  Product descriptions that are complete, point out all the product benefits and features and are supported with multiple images and video that are clear and crisp will not only encourage viewers to buy but to come back, tell their friends and come to rely on you as a the guru in your market.

As you can see, optimizing for search engine robots and human online shoppers are not completely opposite practices.  Making sure that your products pages are geared toward both, you can ensure that your site is found and your products are seen.  More importantly, product page optimization will result in converting your traffic into sales!

The secret to internet marketing can be boiled down and concentrated into a couple of phases. Yes, there are important SEO techniques, product placement algorithms, hosting decisions and other endless tactics you will need to implement; however, what really determines your success online is your overall strategy. A solid strategy will keep all your internet marketing efforts inline and focused towards a common goal.  A successful strategy for running a business online should include these major phases:

1) A Well-Designed Website. Before you start worrying about traffic or conversions be sure your website design fits well with the genre of the market you are aiming to be a player in. A well-designed website should take in account not only form, but function as well. Navigation, forms, checkout, and any other processes a visitor might go through on your site should be logical, easy to complete and blended seamlessly into the design.  Your website should be pleasing to the eye yet easy to navigate. All websites, regardless of which type of market, should have professionally written text, free of grammatical errors and have a unifying theme or focal point.

2) Increase Traffic to Website. Once you have a well-designed website its time to introduce it to the masses! Implement a Search Engine Optimization plan for keywords that are attainable through organic search. For keywords that are beyond your SEO budget use pay-per-click (PPC). PPC is a great tool to get capture traffic that comes with those particular keywords that prove elusive to your SEO efforts. Other online advertising tools you can use to connect to your customer base are banner ads, social media, and e-mail marketing. Remember what works for one business might not work for yours. Be sure to craft the right mix these tools to get the optimal amount of traffic.

3) Increase Conversions on Website. Now that you have your traffic numbers up its time to increase your conversion rate. Whether you are selling items through an eCommerce store, selling ad space on your website or just looking for viewers to fill out a contact form to get leads, the goal of most websites is to increase conversions. This can be accompished by the strategic placement of ads, contact forms or products. Maybe its the call to action or other site text that needs to be tweaked. Increasing conversions on a website requires careful analysis and testing of almost every aspect of your website.

Having a well thought out overarching strategy to success online separates the businesses that succeed from those that fade out into oblivion. Sun Tzu put it best: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat”.

There are thousands upon thousands of web hosting companies out there.  It can be overwhelming to sort through them all to find out who has the best price for what you need.  A lot of times with web hosting the saying “you get what you pay for” is very true.

“…but I just found a host that says they offer unlimited bandwidth and unlimited disk space for $15 per month!  What’s the catch?”

For a lot of websites an unlimited plan is just fine, especially if your site has little traffic and not a lot of database access needed to display the pages.  A simple Wordpress site or even a small company site would be no problem.  A lot of times under these circumstances a cheap unlimited plan is just fine as long as you aren’t expecting very much growth and page load time is not a concern.  These companies can offer “unlimited” everything because there IS a catch.  If you start using a lot of their server resources, space or bandwidth they will pull the plug, plain and simple.  As soon as you go over a comfortable amount of space or usage then chances are your site will go offline.  Again, this is not a problem for a small site, but what if you wanted to host Magento on an unlimited plan?

The short answer is yes you can, the long answer is no you shouldn’t.

Magento has some very specific requirements to function properly.  The fact that it is working “properly” doesn’t mean that it’s running efficiently or quickly.  Speed is a very important consideration when dealing with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  SEO is the lifeblood of a lot of storefronts online.  With SEO you get the traffic from people using search engines like Google who are looking specifically for what you are selling.  When these web surfers arrive at your website, how long do you think they’ll wait before moving on?  Eight seconds.  If your page doesn’t load in eight seconds then it is widely accepted that a majority of people go back to the search results to find someone else.

When you have an unlimited plan you are sharing the server with hundreds, possibly thousands of other clients.  This translates into slow loading times since requests being sent to the server have to wait in line to be served, where a fast server will dispatch requests quickly so there is no waiting.  Your page could be very small in size but still take a long time to load on a slow server.  Magento is a robust and highly customizable platform that is built to be fast but you have to put it on a fast server to realize its full potential.

Magento takes up a fairly large amount of resources on a server due to the complexity of the code and database.  Even with caching enabled, the smallest Magento site is still at the mercy of the server that is running it.  When shoppers come to your storefront the home page should load very fast.  On an over-utilized server the loads times are always slower.  When selecting a hosting company be sure they don’t have your website on a server with hundreds of others.  There really is no way to know if this is the case or not.  Usually the only recourse you have is to ask and to search the web for reviews or comments about the company you are considering.

I have found that the best practice is to see if the company that designed your site also provides hosting services.  The company that develops your online presence is going to want it to load quickly since they will most likely use it as an example to get more customers.  Everyone wins in that situation because you can be sure your site won’t just get stowed away on some overcrowded server and the company that designed your site will be able to proudly display it in their portfolio.  Most design companies are willing to allow hosting somewhere else under the condition that they are not responsible for load times or other issues that can happen on a server not in their control.

When you are ready to design your Magento store be sure to keep speed in mind!  Use a company that allows your site to grow as-needed.  Don’t forget to ask your designer if they can also host the site for you.  Most times it will not be as cheap as a shared server but the benefits to your traffic and overall customer experience over time will make the server pay for itself.

Despite the major search engine’s (i.e. Google, Bing & Yahoo) continued evolution of more and more complex algorithms, content still remains as a major player for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). What does this mean for your business? That every page of your website; whether it is a blog, eCommerce or static website should be looked over and analyzed for keywords in meta-tags, keyword density, page focus and user functionality/readability. While existing content should be analyzed and optimized, new fresh content should be created weekly, if not daily, following the same guidelines.

Despite their recent downgrade of importance with major search engine algorithms, using keywords and keyphrases in your meta-tags is still the best practice and should be followed. This does not mean that you should go stuff keywords in the meta-tags and wait for traffic to come in. Rather use them legitimately and follow these basic SEO rules. On-page tags such as image alt tags and title tags should also be filled. If you have a blog make sure you use the tag function because there is recent evidence that these are of growing importance.

Keyword density and page focus go hand in hand. Each page of your website should be focused around no more than two keywords or phrases. More than two and your content becomes diluted and search engines will have a hard time categorizing your website which will result in poor rankings for your desired keywords. You should be careful not to repeat the same keyphrase over and over again.  A good rule is 5 times per 300 words. You should use supporting words and synonyms that go along with the the subject. H1 and h2 tags should also be used, but no more than one each per page and they should be very similar to your meta-tags.

While search engines may not be able to truly experience your website’s feel and function, they do take in account navigation and text to code ratio (more text, less code is best). These two aspects will also directly affect the human user’s experience.  Less code means a faster website and a more logical user-friendly navigation.  People will be able to view and peruse your site easily.

There are many factors that come into play when making your website  search engine friendly. Optimized content has withstood the test of time and has even grown in importance. Ensuring that your new and existing website content follows these rules will go a long way in your internet marketing efforts.

London UK – 19 April 2010. Profile Wines, a UK based online wine retailer recently launched their new website developed by InteractOne. Built on the Magento community platform, Profile Wines seeks to build a community of Wine lovers who actively participate in an ongoing discussion about their favorite wines.

Enhanced shop by attributes functionality, rating systems and feedback design were implemented towards this goal. A clean and classic design was chosen to support the Profile Wines brand image as well enable shoppers to easily navigate the great selection of Wines.

Hosted on InteractOne’s Ecommerce cluster, Profile Wines is able to achieve top performance load times even during peak load times. Given the great response since launching, Profile Wines is committed to increasing their web community through partnering with InteractOne to further their social, organic and direct marketing efforts.

Visit Site: ProfileWines.co.uk

Using a chat service on your website is a great way to engage your customers and to increase conversions. This is especially true for eCommerce sites like Magento and osCommerce which can offer an array of products to consumers, many of them comparison shopping and looking to learn more about certain items. By answering their specific questions about certain products or services you can expedite the purchasing process, leave customers with a positive shopping experience and offer a more personal connection with your brand.

At InteractOne we use Kayako’s Live Response, which has not only provided us with a more personal connection to potential clients but also gives us information on how they found our website, what pages they have viewed and for how long. It also gives the viewer and us the option to initiate a chat.

Studies into the effectiveness of such a chat service show the benefits of adopting such a system. In a recent article in Website Magazine the numbers are eye-opening. The survey, conducted by Bold Software, stated  “56 percent reported that live chat technology” positively influenced their customers to make a purchase. This number shoots to 65 percent for the Hardware/Home Improvement marketplace and 63 percent for the Health/Beauty marketplace.

Adopting a chat service is a great way to bridge the personal connection gap that many e-tailers experience. Contact InteractOne today to add a chat service to the bag of tools your website uses to connect with your customers.

One of the most overlooked aspects of a solid internet marketing plan is content. There are many on-site Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies; however, if your website is missing unique, high quality, user friendly content all your work might be in vain. Good content not only will attract and cause search engine robots to scour your site but helps retain viewers and encourages them to take action and increase conversions (ie. phone call, buy a product, fill  out a form, ect.) .

So what is good content? Good content will establish you as an authoritative expert on your product or service. Good content should focus around the products or service you are trying to sell.  Each industry has keywords and phrases unique to that industry and your pages should only be focused on one or two at the maximum.   Your websites home page text should focus on your general services or product and should be linking out to pages of related content.   Each page should be at least a couple paragraphs in text with images that complement the text. Your pages content should also include links to other related pages making site navigation easier.

eCommerce websites are notorious for lack of  unique content. This is the nature of selling hundreds and thousands of items in which entering unique descriptions is nearly impossible and a would take a significant amount of time. A way to combat this is to create pages describing your best selling items or services. If your selling apples for example, publish pages showing your expertise in the apple field. Write about tasty apples, apple types, any apple related news, how to grow apples, apple recipes,  history of apples, apple events, apple nutrition…..you get the idea.  Make your website a expert source on the subject.

Creating unique, high quality, user friendly content for your website will go a long way with your SEO efforts. By making yourself an expert or authoritative figure when it comes to your product or service you can ensure that traffic for your website will increase and with it conversions.

Looking for an eCommerce shopping cart that will meet the needs of your business and stay within your budget can seem overwhelming at first. Shopping around to find the right solution can be a daunting task.   Wading through the seemingly endless varieties of shopping cart packages can take many hours and can be very frustrating!   Each company boasts that their system is the right one for you so determining which platform to run your eCommerce business requires time and patience.  Here are some points to keep in mind when purchasing an eCommerce shopping cart system.

Easy To Use Interface
The interface should be easy to use and understand for both you and the customer. Any eCommerce system worth its salt should be able to import products from an excel sheet, organize them into categories and track inventory.  Writing descriptions and modifying products should not be a difficult task.
On the consumer end, your eCommerce shopping cart should be easy to navigate and the checkout process must be simple and secure. Your products should also be categorized and displayed in a logical and intuitive way.

Search Engine Friendly
If people can’t find your eCommerce site then you’re not going to make any sales. Clean code and the ability modify URLs and header tags should be standard.  Your website’s loading speed must be fast and without any lag.  Lag is any noticeable delay that the user experiences when accessing your website.

Analytics and Reporting
A good eCommerce system will have the ability to track traffic, search queries, shopping cart abandonment, most viewed items and have automated sale reports. Knowing who is coming to your site, what they’re buying, their likes and dislikes, and how they are finding you can go a long way in shaping your marketing strategy.

Marketing Promotions and Tools
Promoting products, offering an email or newsletter sign-up, free shipping options and up-sells are a few features a shopping cart are the features of a superior shopping cart. Getting the customer to the site is only half the battle!  Encouraging them to purchase items is a lot easier if your eCommerce system is equipped with the ability to promote your products.

These are just a few pointers and suggestions when looking for an eCommerce system.  Here at InteractOne, we offer Magento eCommerce and osCommerce shopping cart solutions. If you are interested in either system for your business please contact us to learn more!

You have decided to implement a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign to drive traffic to your website, increase conversions and tap into the millions of consumers shopping for what you offer on the internet.  Which keywords or key-phrases should you target? While instinct might tell you to go after the keywords and phrases that best describe your business, it is best to research your competition using those same keywords, variations on keywords, and a cost analysis of the effort and time required to implement your keywords versus the amount of traffic they may generate.

First to give credit where it’s due, your instinct is right - make sure your SEO keywords specifically fit your business.  The key word here is “specific.” If you are a car window repair shop, choosing the keyword “windows” will get you nowhere fast. If you are a local New Holland tractor dealer, trying to rank with the phrase ”New Holland” might put you into unwanted and unprofitable competition with several large cities around the world. If you are a coffee shop, tempting as it might be, you have little chance with the keyword “coffee” alone.

Do you see the trend? Make sure your keywords are on-target, ownable, realistic and not easily mistaken for another subject entirely.

Once you’ve built your list of keywords it is time to analyze how many people are searching the web using those keywords. Two free tools that do a good job of this are Google’s Keyword Traffic Tool and Wordtrackers GTrends Tool. Follow this rule of thumb: if a keyword generates a ton of searches, it will be harder to rank organically through an SEO campaign.  If you find that your keywords have too much competition, try adding the town, city or state name. Also, try longer-tailed keywords; for example instead of  “windshield repair” try “windshield repair Cincinnati” or “window repair shop in Cincinnati.”

Your current rank for a keyword or phrase, the amount of competition for the same keyword and the current state of your website are all important factors in estimating SEO campaign costs. Writing articles and submitting them, optimizing website code, text, images, creating and monitoring social media to support your site, and the creation of new website content all must be taken into account.

Determining the proper keywords for your SEO campaign is an ongoing process. Setting and forgetting just isn’t possible. Constant traffic analysis, keyword position reports, and frequent website updates optimally tune your website for SEO.  Like most things, experience and first-hand knowledge are paramount. Start your SEO campaign on the right track with the proper keywords and you’ll gain the experience to make your website highly competitive by constantly refining your SEO strategy.