We all know getting inbound links is the key to increasing your rank in Google.  But, what is it about inbound links that makes them so valuable to search engines?  Why does Google put so much stock in inbound links?  Is one inbound link as good as another?

In the broadest sense, Google considers a link from one site to another a vote.  If site A links to site B, Google considers site A proclaiming to the world that site B has something note-worthy going on.  But, not all links are considered equal and that’s where some insider info comes in handy. (more…)

I know you’re excited. We just installed Google Analytics on your site and the dream of increased conversion rates glows brightly in your eyes.  You login and… uh-whaaaaa?  What is this jibber-jabber?  All you see is squiggly lines and a page full of numbers and links to more pages full of even more squiggly lines and numbers.

This is a common reaction to the Google Analytics Dashboard. The numbers look intimidating but with a little help, they’ll soon be your best friend.  The first step of being able to release the power of your site’s analytics is to understand the terms used.  After we get you familiar with what the terms mean, we’ll move on to understanding the way they interact with each other.  But that’s for another time.

So, put on a pot of coffee, grab your spectacles and settle in; I’m going to teach you some key definitions that will help you get the most out of Google Analytics.
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If you Googled “Enter your site title here”, what do you think you would find in the search results? Surprisingly, you get a lot of legitimate e-commerce sites, most of them using AspDotNetStorefront, that just haven’t figured out how to set their site’s meta title. By not making good use of this tag, a lot of store owners are missing out on an opportunity to make it easier for shoppers to find their site.
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Want to deliver content directly to your shoppers instead of relying on them remembering to come back to your site?

That’s what this series article is all about.  I’ll give an overview of seven different ways to deliver content to your users instead of waiting for them to visit your site.

In this part I’ll explain how to use RSS feeds and product feeds to attract customers.
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Credibility is essential for eCommerce success. Testimonials establish your credibility and make customers feel secure and comfortable during their shopping experience on your site.

Considering how much of an impact solid testimonials could have on your sales, it’s important to be smart about how to get them and then use them on your site.

Here are a few quick tips:

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AspDotNetStorefront has a built-in Google sitemap that not many people know about.

Google allows website owners to submit sitemaps via Google Webmaster Tools. Submitting a sitemap to Google helps ensure that Google knows about all the pages on your site.

The built-in AspDotNetStorefront Google sitemap is dynamic; it changes as you add new categories, topics, and products to your site.

To get to the Google sitemap, type “googleindex.aspx” onto the end of your URL: www.YOURSITE.com/googleindex.aspx

You should see a page that looks something like this: (more…)

Landing Page Optimization is the process of improving a visitor’s perception of your site so that they’re more likely to complete a goal or convert to a sale.

Landing pages target a specific audience or support a certain advertising campaign. If a landing page is well-optimized it will lead to higher conversion rates.

If your store sells audio equipment and is running advertisements about Logitech speakers, you would create a Logitech speaker landing page for customers that come to your site from that ad campaign.

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Inbound links are possibly the most important part of SEO. In this article I’ll define what a good inbound link is and what it takes to get them.

A lot of people focus on metadata when they’re talking about SEO. But metadata is only part of a successful SEO strategy. In fact, I’ve heard stories of horribly optimized sites ranking well for popular keywords solely because they had a lot of inbound links from popular sites.

The right inbound links will make the difference between whether customers will find your site or not.

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Canonical Issues occur when a website has the same content appearing on multiple URLs.

Duplicate content can negatively impact your search engine performance. Some search engines consider it a form of keyword stuffing; others have difficulty prioritizing multiple pages with the same content. Either way, both results lower your position in search results.

By designating one piece of content canonical you tell search engines to ignore other versions of the same content.

How Can I Test for Canonical Issues?

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Why did the use of video to promote online products skyrocket by 20% last year? Because it works.

Video is educational, entertaining, and enables consumers to have a better visual understanding of the product they are purchasing, which serves to increase sales.  Video also has a far greater chance of being spread via word of mouth and attracting a much larger audience to your website.

“Will it Blend?” and a 5x Sales Increase
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