Thursday, 02 October 2008
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SEO Tips: Courting Google with Your Content
http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"> name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"> name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12">Google recently made changes to its "Submit Your Content" page, with the goal being to make it easier for people to share their information with the search company.
"As you have put more of your organization's information online, we've introduced more services for organizing and distributing that information. We've heard from a number of you that it's not always clear how to help us find your content — or obvious how users discover your content at Google. Submit Your Content, and this blog, aim to change that," wrote Rick Klau of Google's content partnerships.
Because search engines clearly do a good job of finding Web content — after all that is their main objective — you may think manually feeding your content isn't so important. But given that Google plays such a critical role in e-commerce, considering the majority of shoppers use it to find products, it makes sense to take advantage of any Google submission features out there to be sure that Google is processing all facets of your e-commerce site.
Google has always offered tools for submitting content, but the key features weren't always easy to figure out and news about them, like much of Google's updates, flew mostly under the radar. Google has now reorganized the interface, making it easier to understand the steps in the submission process.
Four Categories for Submitting Content
Here we highlight the new version of the Google site submission page, now organized into four categories: Web, local, media and "items for sale." If you're thinking only the last category is relevant for e-tailers, think again. Each of these categories contain tools, most of them free and fairly easy to use, that can help you optimize your Web shop for Google.
1. Web:
Google describes this entry point as follows: "Increase your visibility by submitting and optimizing your Web site for Google search, and distributing your content across Google and the Web at large." This is where every e-tailer should start, as the basic "Add Your URL" feature is found here, as well as traffic and search optimization tools, found under Webmaster Tools.
One particularly important, and often overlooked, aid in Webmaster Tools is the "submit a Sitemap" feature. This gives Google a blueprint of your site, making it easier to index. In fact, Google recommends the first three steps of any content submission process as: submitting the URL, submitting a Sitemap and listing your business in the Local Business Center. (For more information on Google Sitemaps, see editor's picks and related stories.)
2. Local:
You will want to include your e-commerce information here if location is pertinent to your products or services. For instance, if you sell heavy equipment that can't be delivered, groom or care for pets or provide home spa treatments. And, naturally, if you have a brick-and-mortar store, you need to be listed here. The Mapplets, or mini-applications that run within Google Maps, only take a few minutes to create, and provide you with branded results in Google Maps — and a link back to your site.
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