Quickest Gains

roydovaston · Jul 8, 2014

What do people perceive in mid 2014 as having the quickest gains for SEO for an ecommerce site. Already product descs are unique, we do not have much category content so plan on creating a little more creative writing in this area...

Lots of new content on site? Paid for directory links? Free directory links? Link page links? Blog content/links?

Any suggestions welcome as I have a site where i'd like to push a little but not sure where to start.

Thanks,

Roy

ian · Jul 8, 2014

Paid for links is a mugs game; nothing better than high quality unique content and let it build naturally.

roydovaston · Jul 8, 2014

I see what you're saying but a few years ago paid for links did work so people back then did that and didn't consider it a mugs game. I'd probably tend to agree that paid for links now if done obviously as you say a mugs game!!

However, if you have some high quality content how on earth is it going to progress naturally from there?

Retired_Member42 · Jul 8, 2014

roydovaston said:
However, if you have some high quality content how on earth is it going to progress naturally from there?

By buying links to it

Murray · Jul 8, 2014

I wouldn't advise buying links unless you really know what you're doing

I suppose the easiest way to get instant rankings is to offer to buy an established site that's already where you want to be

Could try using a relevant expired domain with a strong natural link profile

As for content, it's not just about the content, it's good to have a clear idea of how exactly you're going to promote it too and get it seen.

Maybe you do something simple like create a specific piece of content with one person or company in mind, the piece will be structured around kissing their ass so would obviously be something they would be keen to share on their established platforms aka site(s) and social media.

PanzerWagon · Jul 8, 2014

Anchor text rich forum signatures are good.

As are Irish directory links. Republic only though, not Northern Ireland. Google sees them as lucky and rewards the site accordingly.

You would need to specify the area the ecommerce site is operating in to get any real feedback...

Adam H · Jul 8, 2014

I take it you've implemented micro data, rich snippets, social data ? If its a legitimate business which has a physical address then it you've got alot of scope for citation building.

If your not targeting a large amount of products contact some high quality blogs in your niche and ask if you can write a socially engaging review/guest posts of a certain product and link back to your page etc etc.

Competitor analysis, where are your competitors getting their backlinks from ?

Paid links.........like it or not if the niche is competitive and your not targeting long tail, paid links will get you where you need to be , just be careful, exhaust all other avenues , be diverse and then see where you stand if you need to gain some paid advertising then so be it.

Murray · Jul 8, 2014

PanzerWagon said:
Anchor text rich forum signatures are good.

I hope this post was sarcasm

martin-s · Jul 8, 2014

Focus on ways to generate natural links:

* Setup a giveaway (great to grow your email list too - our most recent competition has had almost 10,000 entries)

* If the website is quite niche, can you develop good on-topic content - top 10 lists, expert interviews, etc? Even better, epic content. Something that everyone wants to share.

* Pay for traffic, but not just AdWords. Facebook CTW ads, Twitter, solo ads and other audience media buys. Remarketing too.

* Spider the website for 404s internal, inbound and outbound. Look for more internal linking opportunities.

* Use Google WMT (and Moz) to spot phrases where you have p2/p3 rankings which might only need a little improvement. Lots of small wins make a big difference.

* Setup an affiliate programme.

* Microformat/rich snippets, particularly for reviews.

* Make better use of social. Use Buzzsumo to spot and engage with trending topics.

* Optimise your conversion path. Recapture abandoned baskets by offering a discount code. Implement "You might also like this". (Look at the Shopify app store for more ideas.)

* Setup an autoresponder series for new clients to upsell/cross-sell. Plus, use it to ask people what product they want but can't find anywhere.

* Reach out to PRs and bloggers with review products.

* Offer free shipping.

God there's tonnes of stuff!

woffer · Jul 8, 2014

Good Stuff by Martin there.

There is no getting away from the fact links still do help when they are done in the right way and are diversified in nature and anchor text.

I think if you were to offer up your website or niche we might be able to offer a bit more specific advice?