Considering a career in online marketing? Then keyword research is the #1 task that you’ll need to up-skill in.

Keyword research is one of the first things I do when assessing a new opportunity. That research helps me to identify whether there is a demand for a product or service. If people are searching online for something, it’s a good indicator of consumer interest and demand.

By understanding how many searches there are for your product and its various sub-categories, you can make an assessment of not only the market size, but also sales potential attached to securing a solid position in the search engines.

How the structure of Ecommerce sites impacts keyword selection

An ecommerce site is typically made up of three levels, sometimes four,  if the product range has sub categories

1. Home Page – www.domain.com
2. Category Page – www.domain.com/shirts
3. Sub Category Page – www.domain.com/shirts/oxford-shirts
4. Product page – www.domain.com/blue-stripe-oxford-shirt

Some sites will go crazy with this categorization, but most sites with a moderate product range can typically categorise their product range using the format I’ve listed above.

Each of these levels is an opportunity to target specific keyword phrases that relate to the category, sub-category or product.

At the top of this keyword pyramid sits the home page and it typically is optimised to target the highest volume, market defining keywords.

For example: if you were selling men’s clothing, the home page of your ecommerce shop would target keywords such as “mens clothing”. This is a keyword phrase that has a large volume of searches and is broad enough to cover all of the categories of mens clothing.

The next level in a site’s architecture is the category page. This might target “mens shirts” as this keyword phrase is a logical top level category that sits neatly under “mens clothing”.

Beneath the mens shirts category might be other sub-categories of mens shirts, such as “oxford shirts”.

And finally, within the “oxford shirts” category page, you would see displayed all of the available oxford shirts.

If you selected the blue oxford shirt, you would go to the final destination page – being the blue oxford shirt product page, which really only targets that specific product name.

Understand Keyword Volumes and Relevance

As you go deeper into an ecommerce site, the volume of searches for keywords that those internal pages target gets less, but the relevancy increases.

Relevancy is important to understand, because if the page is more relevant to the keyword phrase used in the search then this generally leads to higher conversions or sales.

For example: someone searching for “mens shirts” is still in discovery mode. They wants to be presented with a range of mens shirts for their consideration, so the top level “mens shirt” category page is the ideal landing page.

If, however, they searched for “best price mens blue oxford shirt” then they are in buying mode and simply want to get to the blue oxford shirt page so they can buy the shirt asap.

The goal should be to land the searcher on a page that most closely matches the searchers intent.

My Approach to Keyword Research

The output of the approach I am going to outline below is a spreadsheet with a master list of keywords split across the various levels and categories of your website.

This keyword list can then be used to draft your page titles and meta descriptions.  It can also be used in your link building efforts when picking the anchor texts to use in linking to the pages of your website.

There are two steps I follow:

1. Keyword discovery and compilation – Finding appropriate target keywords and keyword variations
2. Keyword analysis and selection – Reviewing search volumes and picking the right keywords for the right pages

I like to separate the process of discovery and compilation from analysis and selection in the same way good writers separate the writing process from the editing process.  If you constantly stop to edit your work you’ll never get finished compiling a decent keyword list.

Step 1 – Keyword Discovery and Compilation

I use Market Samurai to help me generate keyword lists, filter them and separate these lists into manageable buckets.  Market Samurai provides more than just Keyword Research but for our purposes we only need the Keyword Research module.

It’s important to remember that Market Samurai along with many other keyword tools draw their keywords and search volumes directly from Googles Adwords Keyword tool which now shows real search volumes for keywords (as near as we can tell )

Simply browse to http://www.marketsamurai.com/  to download the free trial of the software which will give you unlimited access to the keyword research module.  You will get access to the full suite of the software for a period of time after which it will revert to only the keyword module which is all we need for this process anyway.

Open up your copy of Market Samurai and select the New Project option to start a new project.

You will then be asked to complete the project settings which typically include the language and region settings.  You will also be asked to enter a keyword in the project settings.  I like to typically use the project name at this stage as Market Samurai uses this keyword to name the data file.

Start with your Home Page Keywords

I like to start with my broadest keywords first.  Typically these are the keywords I want the home page of the website to rank for.  In Market Samurai I click New Keyword and enter this keyword, in this case “mens clothing”, click the Keyword Research button to access the Keyword Research Module and then click the Generate Keywords button.

At this point the tool goes off to the Google Adwords keyword tool and brings back a list of keywords based on the keyword we entered, in this case “mens clothing”.  Once Market Samurai comes back with a list of keywords simply click the Keyword Analysis button to analyse the keywords in detail.

The goal here is to review the keyword list that has been suggested by Google and to see if there are any other keyword prhases that would be suitable for the home page.

Remember a home page keyword phrase should describe the broader market for your product.

Reviewing the Keyword Analysis Screen

The screen below is the one you will be presented with.  It allows you to analyse keywords across a broad range of metrics and more importantly to filter out keywords by these metrics.

I typically deselect everything except for the following metrics:

Total Searches – This is the total number of searches for a keyword phrase in Google.  - Market Samurai gives you the ability to view the volumes for broad, phrase and exact match which you need to do to get a proper insight into which phrase has the most real search volume.

Phrase to Broad Match Ratio – This is a metric that calculates a ratio of the # of broad match searches to the # of phrase match  searches.  Why is this important?  It allows you to filter out keyword phrases that are in the wrong order.  For example “mens clothing” versus “clothing mens”.  My default number is 15.

Aside: Understanding Match Type

This whole broad, phrase and exact match concept always catches people up but it is one of the most important concepts to try to get your hear around.

Google provides the option to view keyword search volumes in Broad Match, Phrase Match and Exact Match.  The numbers typically drop as you move from broad, to phrase then to exact match.

For example if we were looking at “mens clothing”

Broad Match: This is how many people are searching for a phrase that contains the words “mens” and “clothing” in any order along with any other words.

This would include phrases such as: “mens clothing”, “cheap mens clothing”, “cheap shoes and clothing for mens wear”

Phrase Match: This is how many people are searching for a phrase that contains the words “mens” and “clothing” in this specific word order.  The search can have other words before and after  the specific phrase.

This would include phrases such as “mens clothing”, “designer mens clothing”, “mens clothing Sydney”

Exact Match:  This is how many people are searching for the phrase “mens clothing” and just that phrase.

Understanding the differences between these different match types when reviewing different keywords and their related search volumes  is extremely important when choosing keyword phrases to target.

Keywords Analysis Screen

At this stage I am still looking for multiple keyword phrases that might suit the home page so I am happy to have some diversity in the keyword list.

Don’t Analyse – Collate

So at this point simply click the Export button on the bottom right to export this list of keywords in csv format and then load it into excel.

Export your keyword list into Excel

Now  your Category Pages

My next step is to look at the category pages.

With a mens clothing site I start with the categories of products that I know that I am selling.  For example for my mens clothing site I would research:

• Mens Shirts
• Mens Pants
• Mens Shoes
• Mens Accessories like ties, belts etc.

The goal with the category research is to find any other variations or alternatives for keyword phrases to investigate.

For example looking at “mens pants” I can see that people search for “trousers”, “jeans”, “slacks”

Once I have a list of other phrases I’d like to investigate I then go through the process of filtering keywords.

Market Samurai allows you to filter positively, that is to only show keywords that have a specific phrase, as well as to filter negatively, i.e. to show keywords that do not have a phrase.

To do this I simply click on the keyword I want to filter on and click the “tick” symbol for a positive filter or the “cross” symbol for a negative filter.

The list below shows keywords after I have filtered positively using the keyword “pants”.  The result is a list of keyword phrases that all include the word “pants.

Keywords Filtered positively to show only "pants" keywords

Again click the Export button to export this list of “pants” keywords and consolidate them into your master keywords.  I like to have a separate tab for each keyword list.

Rinse and Repeat

Repeat this analysis for each of the keyword phrase variations and alternatives and remember to filter positively so that the list you generate say about “pants” is all just about pants.

Your brain will thank you when it comes to analysing the keywords.

Once you have exhausted the possibilities of the product category move onto the next one say “mens shirts” and go through the main variations such as “dress shirts”, “casual shirts” and “t shirts”

Consolidate all of the exported keywords as separate tabs in a spreadsheet and prepare for the next phase which is Keyword Analysis and Selection.

Keywords Ready for Analysis

Step 2 – Keyword Analysis and Selection

All of the work you did in the previous step was to simply generate lists of keywords that are already sorted into specific buckets.  For example all of the “pants” keywords are on one tab, the “jeans” on another and the “t shirts” on another.

Why do I do this?  So that when I am trying to work out what keywords to target for my “mens pants” category I can focus on choosing the best version of the “pants” keywords rather than thinking whether I should investigate the “mens jeans” keywords and going off on a tangent.

I’ll analyse “mens jeans” when I get to the “jeans” list and give it proper consideration in due course.

So the goal in this stage is to go through each list and select the few keyword variations that you think a category page should target.  I like to shade the keywords yellow to make it easy.

I select three or four keyword phrases and transfer these to a Master Summary tab and enter the target page that I think the keyword is relevant for.

These keywords are going to be used in the title tag and meta description of the category pages as well as in the anchor texts of links you are going to try to acquire pointing back to the category page.

What makes a good keyword?

There are a ton of different things that you can consider when determining what is a good keyword including testing the keyword with some paid advertising.

However for the purposes of collating this list I like to simply consider the following:

Are all of the searches relevant to your business or product?

Sure “mens jeans” has a bajillion searches for it but if you sell “designer mens jeans” then a percentage of those people searching for “mens jeans” will not be interested in your designer denims.  So focus on optimising for and ranking for the keyword phrase where the majority of those searches are relevant to your product or category.

Consider the Phrase and Exact Match search volumes

If you are still don’t completely understand the differences between broad, phrase and exact match don’t stress, it takes time for this concept to gel.

Re read my explanation of match types  earlier in this post and when in doubt just focus on the exact match number as the best and most conservative approximation of keyword search volumes.  By using the exact match number you won’t over estimate the search volume or market size for your target keyword.

Broad match is the most misleading number to rely on.  You do not want to simply rely on this number as an indication of the number of searches for a specific keyword phrase as the broad match number includes many many more search phrases that just happen to have your keywords in them.

Consider all match type volumes when choosing a target phrase

 What is the  Output?

Remember the goal of this post was to show you how I  quickly generate a spreadsheet with lists of keywords that were specifically targeted to the home and category pages of an ecommerce site.

This spreadsheet can be used by whoever is drafting the page titles and meta descriptions.  It can also be used by your link building team to help them choose the anchor texts that you want to link to your website with.

Summary of Target Keywords for each page

Remember to separate the process of discovery from selection.  If you try to assess keywords as you are generating and collating them you end up burning a lot of time as you investigate and follow alternative keyword choices through further analysis.

I’d love to hear how you do keyword research or if you have any questions just ask in the comments below.

In the previous post  What Types of Ecommerce Sites can you Create? I discussed the types of sites that are available to you to build.  In this post I am going to discuss The Key Components of an Ecommerce Website.

Once you decide that  Ecommerce is the business model you want to follow then there are several key components of the model you will need to pull together.

Note that the components that I am outlining below assume that you  already have a range of products available to sell.  There is a lot of work that is required in the product and niche selection process which will be covered in another blog post.

The key components that you need to cover include the following:

Domain Name

Choosing a domain name can be a very difficult process as many people chose pithy witty names that they have a personal attachment to.  There are benefits in the selection of a domain name that is brandable upon which a solid business can be built. A good example of this is www.Zappos.com which means nothing but is an excellent brand.

The alternative is to choose a keyword rich domain which includes the primary keyword phrase of the products that you are selling.  The value in these domains is that Google treats  keyword rich domains favorably in the search engine rankings, especially those that are an exact match to the search phrase.  An example being www.shoes.com when ranking for searches for “shoes”.

Exact match domains, that is those that exactly match the search phase you are targeting are almost impossible to find so if you are set on one be prepared to pay to purchase it.

Payment Options

Affiliate Ecommerce websites that simply refer  traffic to the primary merchant do not require payment options.  Very small ecommerce websites or sites that are built at low cost simply to test the viability of a market place can get by with using a free payment method like Paypal.

Most Ecommerce websites will provide this functionality.

If you are looking to build a more robust Ecommerce business and accept credit card payments then you will need to set up a merchant account and an electronic payments gateway.

The gateway is a mechanism of verifying the transaction while the merchant account is simply a bank account created to handle Ecommerce transactions.

A merchant account and gateway do not need to reside with the same institution and dedicated value added companies such a Eway or Authorise.net have been set up to provide Ecommerce gateways  that link into the merchant account you set up with your bank.

Shopping Cart

The selection of a shopping cart is the next most critical component and is dependent on many variables.

If you are  a first time shop owner then the entry level shopping cart options are most likely to be sufficient.  If you are running multiple online shops and require some form of centralized order management system and inventory management solution then shopping cart selection is going to be dependent on many other factors.

There are many options on the market today.  For the small shop owner the primary issues that should concern you include:

• Ease of use. That is how easy the shopping cart manages the day to day function of running an Ecommerce business.
• Community and Support. That is how large is the community of developers that are available to support and customize the shopping cart
• Functionality. Whether the shopping cart has the functionality that you require.

For larger operators the following concerns need consideration.

• Ability to integrate to external systems such as inventory or order management systems
• The availability of a proper network of business partners to provide technology and systems support

Marketing Strategy

If you choose to build an Ecommerce website you need to have a marketing strategy in place to get traffic to the site.

The most important strategy for Ecommerce websites is proper Search Engine Optimization.  This means keyword research, on site optimization being title tags and meta descriptions, and link building; that is targeted back links from other websites to yours with the target keywords as the anchor text, that is the “click here” text.

The alternative is paid traffic such as google pay per click to get traffic to your shop and to give them the opportunity to purchase.

My chosen strategy is to use both.  I prefer to use search engine optimization which is a mid to long term strategy whilst at the same time using pay per click to get immediate traffic to the store to test the site, to see how traffic converts to sales and to make some immediate sales.

Coming Next: Examples of Great Ecommerce Websites

In my previous post How to Sell Stuff Online – An Introduction to Ecommerce I talked about what Ecommerce was and why it is gaining in popularity.  It’s no secret I love the Ecommerce business model for a variety of reasons.

In this post I’m going to discuss the types of Ecommerce websites that you can create.

Most people think that the only type of Ecommece site is the standard virtual storefront or shopping cart that you most often see, but the reality is that there are several types of Ecommerce sites that you can create depending on the nature of your business and whether you want to hold inventory at all.

Virtual Storefronts

These are the most popular sites you see when you are shopping online. The primary function of these sites is to provide an online catalog of products that can be browsed, with information and photos of each of the products to allow prospective customers to see what it is they want to buy.

The focus is transactional.  Browse, then buy is the goal.  The idea is that you have a virtual representation of a physical store allowing you to do all you could in a real store but from the comfort of your computer.

Over the last ten years there has been massive development in our understanding of  Ecommerce best practice as well as the shopping cart technologies available to build viable businesses on.  It really is  great time to be getting into Ecommece.

The types of products that can be sold online is unlimited.  From mainstream products to craft and home made products. You are only limited by what you can practically deliver to your clients and still make a profit for your business.

You still need to consider whether your product is the ideal product for Ecommerce but if you have the right product then you simply need to focus on the next steps being traffic and conversions.

Examples of this type of store is Amazon.com and MyBabyShoes

Affiliate Store Fronts

The next type of Ecommerce website is the Affiliate Store front.  Affiliate marketing is an online business model  whereby a website owner, commonly called a publisher sends traffic to another website where a transaction actually occurs.  The publisher then gets paid a percentage of the sale value.

Many information products are sold this way.  For example Clickbank is a market place where you can find informatunbsells information products this way.  Amazon is the alternative model with many publishers displaying Amazon products on their own websites.

Some would argue that this type of site is not really an Ecommence website but because affiliate store fronts display and present products in exactly the same manner as traditional virtual store fronts I have included this under the Ecommerce definition.

An example of this type of store is www.simplynurserybedding.com

Your choice of site will depend on a number of variables including your budget to invest in inventory, your skills at online marketing and traffic generation, as well as your interest and passion in the products you are looking to promote.

Coming next: The Key Components of an Ecommerce Website

Of all of the business models that are available online I have a real soft spot for Ecommerce.

The beauty of selling stuff online is that it gives you a whole lot of flexibility depending on whether you want to actually stock the stuff you sell or whether you can organise someone else to drop ship products for you.

For those of you who don’t know what drop shipping is, it is simply where  you sell something online and then route the order to another business, typically a wholesaler who carries the stock, who is then responsible for fulfillment.

I’ve decided to write a series of posts on the topic of Selling stuff online because I think most people “get it”.  Many people already run retail businesses in their offline lives and it’s not a big step to transition this process online.

I also think it is the easiest model for people can have success in…and I’ll go into that in more detail about my thoughts on that at a later time.  But now, on with the show.

What is Ecommerce?

Ecommerce is simply conducting business online.  It’s the process of taking orders for good or services that you have placed online, receiving payment for those goods and fulfilling the delivery of those goods.

The term ecommerce is typically associated with the sale of physical goods in the real world and it’s the one I prefer to use. However with the growth in the sale of information products delivered digitally,  that definition is starting to be used more broadly to encompass both physical and digital products.

In the virtual world, commerce is conducted in much the same way with the use of various technologies to meld it all together.

Why is Ecommerce gaining in popularity?

• Convenience – Shop when it is convenient for you, from home or at work, from your ipad or iphone. You get where I’m going with this.
• Speed of transactions – I refer you to Amazon’s one click checkout
• Large numbers of businesses and consumers using eCommerce methods

A business is only as successful as the number of customers they attract. With more and more people using the Internet for more than just surfing, more business owners use Ecommerce as a new avenue for increasing their sales.

But, like anything else that is new, you have to gain your customer’s trust.  And there in the detail lies the complexity of setting up an Ecommerce business.

Purely online businesses rely on Ecommerce for their livelihood. Physical businesses have discovered that Ecommerce expands their markets globally (depending on their product line). The Internet opens up an entirely new audience of consumers with infinite niche possibilities.

All of this can result in a head rush but before you look through the crystal ball and predict dollar signs in your future, selling online is simple in concept but not necessarily in production. Knowing the nuances can make the difference between a successful enterprise and on that barely scrapes the bottom of the barrel.

There are many decisions to be made before embarking on the Ecommerce ship.

Planning and strategy are important here. But, to your advantage, there are many resources available to get you going in the right direction. Like this blog for example.

Coming next: What Types of Ecommerce Sites can you Create