One great way to drive traffic to your Vendio site is by utilizing correct search engine optimization (SEO). A lot of people talk about “good SEO” and many times, business owners don’t know what it means, or if they do, they have no way of knowing how to make it “good.”

Good SEO is all about text. Text for being found in search engines. It can’t be any text though – it has to be the RIGHT text. The right text is the text that your customers are using to find similar products to yours. T shirts – or funny T shirts – or comfortable T shirts – those are common but there are ways of narrowing your keywords and phrases down so people can find you. Getting your eCommerce site listed high in search engines such as Google will bring valuable hits to your site. The traffic generated by SEO is normally very targeted, for example if someone searches for the name of your products, and your site come up as the top listing, the user that is going to be visiting your site is likely to be very interested purchasing. And those are the customers we want, right?

Maximize Descriptions

Sometimes the tendency is to be cute and clever in naming your products or categories. This can be a big mistake for search engines. Search engines deploy software robots to search the internet looking for pages, they are normally referred to as Spiders. Spiders love text, the more and more relevant the text on your site is, then higher your chances of getting listed high in search engines. Make sure your product and category descriptions are as in-depth as they can be, but keep in mind that your descriptions are going to be read by people who want to buy the products, so don’t make them full of gibberish just so that there is text for the spiders. Accurate and detailed product descriptions have also been shown to increase the likelihood a customer will make a purchase from your store.

You want to include important keywords or phrases that your customers may search for. There’s a great (FREE) tool from Google where you can input a keyword, and a list of other, similar phrases will come up, giving you great ideas of what everyone is searching for besides what you think. https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Alternative Descriptions and Titles

Including alternative descriptions and titles for the product images is a good idea as well. Believe it or not, spiders can find the alternative image text information and captions, so don’t leave out any opportunity to get in some more keywords! Use the keyword research tool to find what descriptions people are searching for and give you a good idea which descriptions and titles to choose. Don’t forget, the more text, the better!

About our Guest Blogger
Jess Kupferman, Vendio’s Guest Blogger (and winner of our Blogging Contest) is a creative and engaging expert branding specialist, speaker, and gifted social media strategist and designer. Always plugged in to the latest developments and best practices in the industry, Read more about Jess here.

Hey Tweeters! Now that your profile is filled out and you’ve done a search to find some good peeps to follow, I thought we’d get in the game with some tips for getting started. My guess is, you’ve filled out your profile and then left it alone. Am I right?

Not to worry. Most people do that. Most people sign up for Twitter and then never open it again. Or at least, not for a while. But not to worry! We’re going to fix that right now.

First, some vocabulary.
You may have noticed that Twitter sort of has its own language of sorts. There are some shortcuts that Twitter users know in order to read other people’s tweets.

RT – retweet. This means that you are re-stating what another person has said.

@username – this will “tag” or notify the person you’re referring to – so, for example, if you wanted to “retweet” something I’ve said, YOUR tweet would start like this: RT @jesskupferman

#: On Twitter, this is called a hashtag. A hashtag is something you can use the search box for to follow a conversation about something. It’s also a way of tagging YOUR tweets for other people searching for that subject. For example, rather than tweet “Vendio is the best for ecommerce,” you’d write, “Vendio is the best for #ecommerce.” Then, whomever is searching for tweets about ecommerce would see that tweet. Another way of using these is for attending events. Many times people holding networking events will have an associated hashtag, so people can see all the conversation about that event. A great example of this is #SXSW. (or South by Southwest.)

Next, what to tweet.
There are some basic things that MOST Twitter users tweet.
1. Links to interesting articles about their industry that they’ve found on the internet;
2. Links to interesting articles/videos that they themselves have created;
3. Quotes from other people;
4. Replies to other people’s tweets.

It’s not really good Twitter manners to ONLY tweet about the things that you yourself are selling or creating. Good social media etiquette dictates that we are sharing other people’s content, as well as our own. A good ratio to follow is about 40-60% of our own stuff, and the rest from other people or responses. This is a similar rule on Facebook. Think about it: You know that guy at the party that rambles on and on about himself? Don’t be that guy! Social media is like a party – we’re all there, talking and engaging, complimenting and entertaining with our stories. No one likes an attention hog. So be generous with your support of others and you will get it in return, without question.
The best thing to do is jump in and start having conversations or asking and answering questions on Twitter and seeing who responds. This is a good way to build what’s called a “tribe,” or a base of people in your circle of trusted peers and customers. Once you establish yourself as an industry expert, the followers increase and so does the conversation and passing around of your information. It’s sort of magic, but it really works, and the process can be really thrilling! Seeing people start to converse with you, then follow you, then retweet your material, it is very flattering and nice to feel like a part of this new community.

A great way to contribute to Twitter regularly is to make it easy for yourself. Using the Twitter share buttons on blog articles and products, or websites that allow that is a quick and easy way to share something without writing it out or wondering what to say. When you click the button, usually it will have the article title and link – but I think it’s nice to share your opinion of the article, too. So it would look like this: Great article! -> Twitter – What Next by @jesskupferman http://bit.ly.com. (subliminal message intended!)

Another great way to easily share content is by using a blog reader like Google reader. Those types of readers will pull in articles from your favorite blogs and then give you easy share buttons when you see something you find interesting. Almost no thought involved!

In the next Twitter installment, I’ll share some management tips, such as how to schedule posts in advance so you’re not always posting in real time. Until then, let me know below what you think of Twitter so far!

About our Guest Blogger
Jess Kupferman, Vendio’s Guest Blogger (and winner of our Blogging Contest) is a creative and engaging expert branding specialist, speaker, and gifted social media strategist and designer. Always plugged in to the latest developments and best practices in the industry, Read more about Jess here.

Maybe you’ve signed up for an account, gotten a few followers, had a few convos, and then gotten busy. Maybe you’ve signed up for an account and decided it was totally pointless and never touched it again.

It’s time to polish off those fingertips and try again, people!

I know, I know. You don’t want to. It takes more time. It’s frustrating. You have no idea what anyone’s talking about. I get it! But there’s a really good reason why you NEED to get to it.

Reputation.

People go to your store and they see you have a Twitter account. They click it to follow you. And they see one or more of the following:

1. You don’t have a profile photo or the bio isn’t filled out,
2. You have less than 200 followers, OR
3. You’ve only tweeted about your own products and sales

What this says to people that want to follow you on Twitter is, unfortunately, one or more of the following:

1. You don’t know how to use Twitter properly
2. You don’t care, OR
3. The worst one of all: You’re unpopular.

Now, you and I both know that the above 3 assumptions aren’t true. But your potential customers don’t know that.

So what are you going to do? Panic? Freak out?

No! There’s no need to do that. Just realize that Twitter DOES have it’s merits – that when used correctly, it can make you look very, very credible and even more of a hot commodity. That Twitter, when used consistently, can bring you more customers than you ever thought possible. And that the tool that seemed like a huge time waster could possibly be, believe it or not, leverage for possible partners and joint ventures.

It’s true! Here’s something you can do today to get started.

Make sure your page is fully filled out. Use a personal photo, not a logo for your profile picture. Twitter is about connecting one on one. Fill out your bio with both what your store is about and your interests. Make sure there’s a link to your store. And whatever you do, do NOT update with a tweet that says “Just trying this out” or “Tweeting for the first time” because it makes you look like an amateur. Send a few tweets about your industry, or other things on the internet you’ve been reading. Resourceful stuff.

Do a search. Search in the search box for your product, and the word “online” or “ecommerce.” Searches like “jewelry online” or “online jewelry store” or “online t shirt store” will bring up interesting people and companies – and when you find a few you really like, follow them. Since your profile is fully filled out, they’ll follow you back, most likely. Don’t follow TOO many people – because you don’t want the ratio of people you follow to get too much larger than people who are following YOU. (That also looks sort of bad.)

That’s it – that’s your homework for this week. If you can check out some people in your industry, follow some colleagues, not necessarily ALL customers, you’re on your way. Get some people to talk to – and next week we’ll talk about how to engage a little bit with those people.

About our Guest Blogger
Jess Kupferman, Vendio’s Guest Blogger (and winner of our Blogging Contest) is a creative and engaging expert branding specialist, speaker, and gifted social media strategist and designer. Always plugged in to the latest developments and best practices in the industry, Read more about Jess here

• Most organizations have an ingrained mythology around which carrier(s) are the best for shipping parcels. But because there are many differences between carriers, none is “the best” or even the lowest-priced in every scenario.
• Most organizations believe that they have a great discount with UPS or FedEx—usually because their account rep told them so.
• Savvy organizations compare shipping rates with their industry peers, and often learn that their UPS or FedEx discounts are not as good as they can be. Negotiation is king.
• In most organizations there is a complete disconnect between what Operations thinks they are paying for UPS and FedEx shipping, what Accounting actually pays every week, and what Marketing thinks they’re earning or losing on shipping charges to their customers.

Only very large organizations have IT platforms and/or costly shipping consultants to analyze their true costs of shipping. Smaller shippers tend to rely on base rate comparisons, never noticing or even seeing the 20% to 35% in adjustments and accessorial fees on actual billing statements.

If your company ships to residential addresses, UPS/FedEx will add another $2.45 to $2.75 Residential Area Surcharge (RAS). If any of your customers are located in an area that UPS/FedEx consider “rural”—which includes 25% of the US population—expect another $1.85 to $3.00 Delivery Area Surcharge (DAS). In areas that you’d probably consider rural, expect another ding for Extended DAS (and these get super-sized for Alaska, Hawaii and other US territories). Make a tiny mistake on the recipient’s address, or accidentally use UPS/FedEx to send something to a PO Box or APO/FPO address and it’ll cost you another $11 per incident, plus the cost of return shipping if they can’t deliver it.

Everyone knows that UPS/FedEx now add a Fuel Surcharge (FS) to every parcel. But the accessorial fee most likely to go unnoticed—and it can be a massive one—is the so called “dim weight” fee (dimensional surcharge) for bulky but low-density parcels containing things like pillows or lampshades are charged based on dimension, not actual weight. For example, a 12 pound set of bicycle wheels shipped via ground in a 28” x 26” x 13” box is rated as a 58 pound parcel by UPS/FedEx.

UPS and FedEx can apply dozens of accessorial surcharges to your packages. USPS and EquaShip structure their pricing to avoid confounding accessorial fees. For example, neither charges RAS, DAS, Extended DAS, Fuel Surcharge or Address Correction fees. EquaShip doesn’t have any dim weight charges at all (USPS does on Priority Mail).

If you haven’t compared carriers in a while, you might want to do so in January when UPS, FedEx and USPS will all post significant increases (EquaShip is not planning an increase). You’ll generally find that USPS has lower prices than UPS and FedEx for items less than 6 lbs. If you spent less than $150,000 per year with UPS or FedEx, you may find EquaShip has lower prices across all weight classes and parcel dimensions.

The bottom line is when you use USPS or EquaShip you will see all your costs up front. If you use UPS or FedEx, ask your accounting department for invoices and compare your true costs with what you think you’re paying today. Then work with your marketing team to see if you’re charging your customers correctly for shipping, or switch carriers to lower your costs.

Ron Wiener is the CEO of EquaShip™, a new kind of parcel delivery service designed specifically for small and medium-sized business shippers. With transparent “all-in” pricing, EquaShip gives shippers access to great service at prices typically 26% – 77% below FedEx, UPS and DHL Residential Ground retail rates. EquaShip provides fully-integrated track-and-trace, $100 of EquaSurance™ coverage included with every package, and superior customer care, all with no hidden assessorial fees, special software or contracted volume commitments. The Seattle entrepreneur previously founded Earth Class Mail and has been founder/CEO of five other investor-backed technology companies.

Enjoy!!

(Image Courtesy of Sean MacEntee)

Businesses are constantly looking for ways to increase website visits and sales. They spend millions on SEO and marketing campaigns, paying for banner ads, PPC ads and juggling multiple social networks to get potential customers onto their websites. All of these things are important in driving traffic to a website, but they can do little to ensure that visitors perform the types of actions the business desires, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), however, can. By making a few key changes to their website, companies can funnel users towards desirable conversions and improve the overall user experience.

Identify and Contact Lost Opportunities

People visiting ecommerce websites will frequently load items into their virtual shopping cart and then, just before the final sale, leave the website. If the website can identify the person through a login, email address or browser cookie, they can use one (or many) remarketing techniques to bring the visitor back to the site and complete the conversion. The business could send an email reminding the customer of the items in their shopping cart or use an ad network to display the company’s ads on other websites the user visits.

Identify and Improve Landing Pages

The pages that customers first encounter when they visit a website, whether they find it through social media links, an email newsletter or a search engine, are the most important pages they will see. Their impression of the design of those pages will either lead them closer to a conversion or drive them away. Businesses should use analytics to determine what the most popular landing pages are and focus primarily on those, ensuring that there are clear calls to action on each page and that the designs are consistent across the site.

Increase Page Load Speed

Every type of website, even blogs, will benefit from increased page loading speeds. Users are more likely to bounce away from a website if it fails to load quickly, so sites heavy with flash or large graphics will tend to be detrimental to CRO. Removing duplicate scripts, staying away from redirects and changing the order of things like JavaScript and CSS can help speed up page loading speeds and keep users interested.

Reduce Clutter

When a web page is full of unbroken walls of text or dozens of links, users can become confused and leave the website in search of a simpler page. By using analytics to determine the most popular areas of the site, the design of the website as a whole can be refocused to drive customers to those pages by reducing the amount of links to other areas. By prominently featuring the links that will lead users to their most desired destination, the navigation of the site is improved and the user experience gets a boost.

Make the Process Simple

When a user wishes to make a purchase, they don’t want to have to go through half a dozen pages before the checkout. One easy way to alter the web design of an ecommerce site is to prominently feature an “Add Item to Cart” button for each item on its product page and make the button load the customer’s cart screen when clicked. On the cart view page, the user should have easy access to a “Checkout” button. Any special deals, coupons or announcements can be displayed on either of these two pages and should not be placed on their own page and inserted into the purchasing process. Any page that doesn’t give the user the ability to perform one of their desired actions will only serve to frustrate the user and make them feel as though the business is wasting their time.

CRO should be used to augment a website’s design and complement a company’s marketing initiatives. By placing increased importance on improving the user experience by speeding up page loading, making navigation clearer and simplifying the purchasing process, a business can keep users content and drive profitable conversions.

(Image Courtesy of Jan Tik)

Everything the industry insiders have told you about domain names is true. A bad name can create a negative buzz right from the get-go and seriously hamper your branding. Choosing a good one, on the other hand, can open the door to endless possibilities.

For this discussion, let’s take things a step further. Believe it or not, sometimes the letters used in your domain name – and not the name itself – can truly be the major factor that determines the success or failure of your website.

People always want to know what the most popular buzz words are in today’s online market. But when choosing the next great domain name, a better question to ask might be…what are the most popular letters?

The Top 5 More Popular Domain Name Letters: B, C, M, S, & T

The Top 5 Least Popular Domain Name Letters: Q, U, X, Y & Z

Let’s take a look at the importance of choosing the right letter to start off your name. One place to draw inspiration is look at the popularity of different baby names and the letters they start with.  Last year, the most popular boys’ names started with “J“, while “A” was the clear winner with the girls.

Now, if you were to look at a Top 5 list of baby names and domain names, the two main crossovers would be S and M. And while we‘re on the subject, you’d have to be a bit of a sadomasochist yourself to deliberately lump your personal domain in such a crowded market. The more popular a letter, the larger amount of sites there are beginning with that letter. That puts you in a much more crowded market.

Let’s take a look at the letter “S”. This one’s incredibly popular for a reason, and not just because of its association with the word “Shop”. In fact, there are more English words beginning with the letter ‘s’ than with any other letter, and that stigma is definitely starting to apply to domain names as well. If you’re looking to stick out amongst the crowd, we recommend going in a different direction.

Take “G” for example. It falls somewhere in the middle of the list of most popular letters. This makes it decidedly more unique, and more susceptible to making a stand-out name for itself.  We think it’s safe to assume we don’t have to tell you which domain has been very successful in using this as their first initial.

So are we saying that the less popular the letter, the more successful you’re website could become? No, but to be honest, it doesn’t hurt. Unfortunately, if you want something with an “S”, there’s a good chance that word or phrase has already been taken. By lumping yourself in with a popular letter, it will make it that much more difficult for you to find something truly unique.

It basically all breaks down to this: Should Zappos be patting themselves on the back right now? Yes, yes they should.

Just remember, with a great domain name comes great responsibility. Can a fantastic name can help you get your foot in the door and the right people looking in your direction? Sure, but most importantly, what you really need is a good business – and a good business plan – to find success in this crowded online market.

A traditional business has the ability to accept cash, checks, debit/credit cards, etc. where an ecommerce site is severely limited. Sure, your Vendio ecommerce store enables you to accept checks, but most customers shopping online are not willing to wait the extra 10-14 days for checks to clear.

Why is “credit card acceptance only” a disadvantage?

Besides the fact that not everyone has a credit card (this is becoming smaller everyday) the main disadvantage is the higher costs associated with credit card processing. To make matters worse, processing companies charge extra for cards that are manually typed in rather than physically swiped, which basically all online purchases fall under. That means the low quotes merchants find online from payment processors are not even attainable for the typical ecommerce business.

What are the best options for credit card processing?

Just because the traditional credit card processors charge higher rates for ecommerce sites doesn’t mean they are the only option. A number of businesses have come to rescue and allow for merchants and customers to transact on the web in an efficient, cost effective manner.

PayPal

One of the more well-known online payment methods, PayPal gained popularity in the early 2000’s when eBay was growing like crazy. People became tired of waiting around for checks in the mail, so PayPal started by allowing people to transfer money from their regular bank account to an online PayPal account. The user could simply “email” the other party and it would deposit the funds into their account.

PayPal has grown by leaps and bounds since the early days. Their new business model is a great solution for ecommerce sites large and small because not only do they allow individuals to transfer money from their bank account, but they also make it possible for someone to create an instant purchase using a credit card. The best part is that a merchant can use PayPal as a credit card processing solution for their site, and the customer does not need to sign up for an account. They can process the payment just as any other online gateway would.

Google Checkout

While not as big as PayPal, Google Checkout is another great solution for merchants looking to accept credit cards. One of the big advantages to Google Checkout is the name attached to it. Google has a lot of trust in the online world and people are comfortable with using their system with their credit and debit card.

Another very big advantage to Google Checkout over typical payment gateways is the simple fee structure. Rather than a complicated agreement that makes it difficult to understand, Google has a straight forward tiered structure based on monthly transaction volume:

• Less than $3,000 per month: 2.9% of each transaction, plus $0.30.
• $3,000 to $9,999.99 per month: 2.5% of each transaction, plus $0.30.
• $10,000 to $99,999.99 per month: 2.2% of each transaction, plus $0.30.
• More than $100,000 per month: 1.9% of each transaction, plus $0.30.

Authorize.net

Probably the most recognized payment gateway in the ecommerce world, Authorize.net is not actually a processor; instead it provides the ability for credit card payments to route from the point of sale (online) to the payment processor. Either way, they are the face of the transaction so it is important they leave a good impression with the customers.

As one of the biggest and most well-known payment gateways, Authorize.net offers ecommerce sites many different features to better help their business accept credit cards. They offer USB swipers, Buy now buttons, add to cart features, and of course can be fully integrated with a current shopping cart or provide a merchant with a new one.

Authorize.net is typically packaged with a payment processor and sold by a third party. Because of this, most of the complaints against Authorize.net stem from bad sales reps misinforming the business owner about the process or features involved. That is why it is important to deal with a reputable company if buying from a third party.

Overall, there are hundreds of ways to accept credit cards for ecommerce sites, and it is important to get all of the facts before signing a contract. While the merchant services industry is notorious for shady practices and unethical behavior, the above listed companies are very reputable and have stellar customer service records. Just remember that at the end of the day you are the client and they want your business. If something does not smell right, find someone else.

This guest post is by Eric Stauffer, a member of a watchdog group that monitors and reviews merchant services organizations such as Authorize.net and PayPal. They also educate businesses on the best way to save when it comes to credit card processing.

(Image Courtesy of Thos003)

In April, Google released a major update to its search algorithm designed to take the quality and reputation of a site more into account in page rankings. The update was dubbed the Panda update, and was part of a huge wave of changes to the Google algorithm, including the Caffeine Mayday and Farmer updates.

Taken together, these changes to the Google algorithm have revolutionized the way that Google ranks pages. No longer is each page ranked simply by metrics like how many links go to it or how many visitors it gets. Instead sites are indexed based on a large number of factors, like length and quality of site content, the presence or absence of any duplicate content, and social signals like user ratings, social media connections, and quality backlinks. The indexed sites are then ordered and ranked to return site results.

In the wake of all these changes, many site owners have seen a marked decline in their page rankings and subsequent site traffic. By using  Google Analytics, these site owners saw marked declines right at the rollout of the Panda update, indicating that they were probably flagged by the Panda as a “low-quality” site for some reason or other.  Others saw a more spread out or gentle decline in the wake of all the other changes and tweaks that followed Panda.

In the wake of the Panda/Farmer updates, many online merchants found that the advertising dollars they were spending on SEO tactics were no longer effective and turned instead to solutions like email marketing software. While connecting to clients via email and social channels like Facebook and Twitter is important, there are several things that online merchants can do to restore their site’s reputation in Google’s eyes so that their rankings will bounce back and their traffic will return.

1. Improve your quality: The most important way to improve your ranking is, quite simply, to improve the quality of your content. The Panda update (and related changes) were intended to take site quality into account, and they have done a good job. The best way to improve your page ranking is to get a steady influx of quality writing, pictures, and video onto your site.
2. Double check:  Google has admitted the algorithm isn’t perfect, and some sites that still have value, like public forum sites, might be flagged by the update for “duplicate content” or “thin” posts. If you think your site was hit by the Panda in error, you can contact Google with your objection and they might whitelist you.
3. Improve your site architecture:  The domain authority of your site is like a fluid, and if your links are poorly organized and head nowhere, authority will leak out of your site. Make sure your architecture is tight and your links are all getting people where they need to go. I have neither the space nor the expertise to get into all the specifics here, but you can check out this guide.
4. Avoid duplicate content: This connects back to Tip #1, but it bears elaboration.  One of the biggest no-nos that the Google algorithm now penalizes sites for is the presence of duplicate content on any of your pages. Make sure that nothing from your site is copy/pasted from anywhere else on the web. Rewrite all duplicate content in your own words.
5. Make social networking connections: Having Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking accounts proves that you are a real person and that your site has a meaningful connection to other real people. It increases the legitimacy of your site and appeases the Panda.
6. Watch the ads: Make sure any ads on your site are reasonable and non-invasive. If ads are too prominent on your page, Google might penalize your site. It’s hard to say how much is too much, but a good rule of thumb is that the content should be more prominent than the ads.
7. Improve your reputation: Social signals affect your site’s ranking. So if you share links with a lot of low-quality sites, it will drag your own reputation down, whereas if you share links with high-quality sites, it will improve your reputation. Evaluate the sites that you link to and have backlinks from. Try asking the lower-quality sites to remove your backlinks, and try to get more backlinks on higher-quality sites instead.

For more guidance, see Google’s own advice on the topic.

(Image courtesy of Rosaura Ochoa)

Ask any internet marketer, and they’ll tell you that social media is all the rage.  Websites like Facebook and Twitter aren’t just for finding old friends anymore.  Now, they are powerful marketing tools that businesses are using to cash in.

Social media is great for driving traffic to your website.  If you’re active on the social media sites, you don’t necessarily need a high search engine ranking to get a ton of traffic.

But, social media websites also play a big role in SEO.  Here’s how:

1.  The search engines are taking cues from social media sites

Both Google and Bing have publicly admitted that social media affects their rankings.  If, for example, you publish an article that gets a lot of “likes” or “re-tweets”, the search engines are going to assume that your article is popular.  And when it comes to the search engines, popularity is a good thing.  The more popular the search engines think something is, the higher they rank it – meaning that your article will be ranked higher than something that hasn’t made a dent on the social media sites

2.  Your social media updates can show up at the top of the search results

Google’s “universal search” doesn’t just show a listing of websites.  Now, it also shows the top results for images, videos, news items, and even social media items.

What does that mean for you?

A popular Tweet of yours may show up on page 1 of the search results – even if your website isn’t quite there yet.   The tweet won’t stay up there permanently, but while it’s listed, you can take advantage of all the perks that come with a page 1 ranking.

3.  Social media builds inbound links

Every time someone re-tweets your link or “likes” it on Facebook, it counts as another inbound link for you.  And since the social media sites are considered to be authorities by the search engines, you’re getting a high-quality inbound link – which is exactly what you need to move up in the rankings.

4.  Social media can get your content into Google News

Google admits that re-tweets and Facebook “likes” play a role in the Google News results.  If a particular story has created a buzz on the social media sites, Google will be far more likely to pick it up – and rank it towards the top.

5.  The people sharing your stuff also plays a role

You know that old saying, “it’s not what you know, but who you know”?  It’s alive and well in the social media-SEO relationship.

The search engines admit that they look at who is “liking” and re-tweeting your content.  A “like” or a re-tweet from someone that the search engines deem to be an authority will carry far more weight than a “like” or a re-tweet from some random person.  Again, it all goes back to quality over quantity.

This is a guest post by Kirsty LaVier, an editor for Shopping Cart Reviews, the leading shopping cart information website.