Tanner Hobin

Google finally put an end to Googlebombs by adjusting their algorithm. Search “miserable failure” and you will no longer see President Bush, but a list of articles about the popular Googlebomb. It was fun while it lasted, but a worthy adjustment to preserve the integrity of search results. Here is the blog article from Matt Cutt’s: A quick word about Googlebombs

This is not necessarily a googlebomb, but it’s a comical result none the less…
Type in “French Military Victories” into Google and click I’m feeling lucky.

I wrote this response and it was just too good to hide on some forum. So here it is in full:

Hi All

My site has been up and running for well over a year
http://www.discountdvdshop.co.uk

Unfortunately for me is not attracting many visitors and certainly very few sales. I cannot get any positions in the top 50 of either AOL, Google, Lycos, or MSN. I run a program called Top Dog this software gives me details of whether I have climbed up or moved down a particular search engine, it never shows my site making any progress on the engines that I mention above.

Can anyone knowledgeable take a look at my site and give me an opinion? I have very keen prices so i am sure this not the cause of lack of sales. There must be something on the site that stops the small amount of visitors buying?

I have read articles about back links but I am not sure what this means, can anyone explain how this works?
Hope you can help
Regards

Graham in the UK

Hey Graham,

I feel for you mate, I understand how frustrating it can be to have a site out there with great products but not converting. Many of the e-commerce companies I’ve worked for have run into similar issues. With that said, here are my suggestions.

Though many have replied with ideas regarding meta information changes, I would say that there are more important factors to consider. Especially because many search engine crawlers have placed less importance on meta info, thanks to sp@mmers. Anyway, what you really need to concentrate on is converting the traffic that you do get. Eventually, people that convert and have a positive experience with your website will pass it on to friends. Don’t ever forget that word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool. Here are my tips for not only converting the traffic that you get, but building those conversions into additional traffic.

• The entrance page is way too cluttered with products. Place the featured DVDs above the fold and forget about the rest.
• Change category navigation into text links. Not only is this SEO friendly it would be helpful for a consumer to see all the DVD categories that you offer.
• No call to action really sticks out on any page. You may want to consider changing the placement or even the style of your No Charge for Postage statement. Research has shown that the eyes typically go from top left corner out, so consider using that space for your most important content.
• Create more content and never stop adding fresh content. I understand how unique your product offering is, leverage that to your advantage and create reviews or other content that is of use to your target market.
• Consider adding interactive components to your site. Social media is booming right now. Add some videos or podcast reviews that would be valuable to your target market.

Web site conversions basically come down to one solid fact. If you provide quality products with supportive material, people will buy, tell their friends, and come back for more. Finally, if you create valuable content then search engines will love you for it. Become the authority figure in your industry by having the answers for the vast number of researchers, and I promise they will buy from your site.

Good luck, and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

How important is internet reputation management to you? Have you ever searched Google for your name and seen what comes up? You may be surprised at the results. Most people neglect to think about personal reputation management until it is too late. The fact is you never really know what is being said about you until you take the initiative to check. Potential employers could be searching, so are you confident with what is out there?

Here are a couple of ways to do your own personal reputation management:

• Search Google and other major search engines to see what is out there.
• Address any negative results by replying with either an answer or solution.
• Create a blog and make sure your name is prominent on it.
• Take advantage of social media and networking sites such as LinkedIn.com.
• Continue to monitor search results every month and repeat the above steps.

For the majority of us, the suggested steps will work just fine. However, there are cases in which you may want to acquire professional internet reputation management. Politicians and other authority figures would especially benefit from professional services.

If you have any questions regarding internet personal reputation management, please feel free to contact me.