By Edahn Golan

 

Findability

The recent WebTrends study that found that online jewelry retailer Blue Nile topped the search engine rankings among jewelry websites is something to pay attention to. The web analysis company found that Blue Nile’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) gave it high visibility thanks to a concentrated effort that took into account keywords that relate to and describe its core business - jewelry, diamonds, rings, etc. But at the same time, the websites examined did not seem to pay as much attention to elements related to the cyclical nature of the industry, such as Valentine’s Day.

 

This is something to take into account. “Retailers can significantly boost their search visibility during these critical times and improve their ROI,” said WebTrends VP of Products, Jason Palmer.

 

As an added piece of advice, WebTrends suggested avoiding heavy use of JavaScript, which pushes important content lower on the page, in turn reducing its relevancy for the targeted keywords in the eyes of search engines.

 

Usability

Another interesting article, by Webcredible - a firm specializing in improving web usability - was on ways to improve e-commerce sites’ usability. Among the 10 tips it suggests are a few worth repeating here (but don’t excuse yourself from reading the whole article if you run an e-commerce site!).

 

To start from the end, the importance of usability cannot be over emphasized. When building a site, don’t think only as a seller or business person who wants to get things done, think like a buyer, a user. The mind shift will highlight possible pitfalls in your site. Improved usability makes your e-commerce site more successful as well.

 

The third tip on the list is the one I feel needs the most emphasis in industry sites: “Tell users where they are and where they’re going.” Considering all the possible distractions around you, you might lose track or patience if you don’t know how much longer the process will take. A simple bar showing the user where he is in the (checkout) process will do wonders.

 

The eighth tip: “Put users’ minds at ease,” is one we have stressed on these pages before. People want to buy with confidence. They want to know you are honest, you will address problems regarding your product if they encounter any, you won’t abuse personal information given to you and that you will meet your promises.

 

Use services like TRUSTe, the Better Business Bureau or awards and citations the site received to demonstrate that you are a serious business. For an example, go to GoDaddy.com and look at what happens at the bottom of its home page: A plethora of ease-putting icons.

 

And Then Some

It has been a while since I covered developments at Google. The guys at the search engine are busy looking at more places and ways to use their search technology. After the images, news, and group searches, they are now testing out Google Maps. Nothing really new here, beside the trademark Google features: speed and simplicity. Typing a name of a city or an address was not enough. How about “restaurants near grand canyon, AZ” or “hot air ballooning over Napa” Type, hit enter and wham, there it is. A map with a list of relevant results supplied. Want directions? Type in start address and end address, and voila. Click and drag the map to view the adjacent area dynamically - there's no waiting for a new image to download.

 

Google Zeitgeist, a look at what people are searching for on Google, reveals patterns. It’s broken down into categories such news, into overall gainers and decliners, and more. One breakdown is by country and recently India was added. Tennis player Sania Mirza beats Bollywood goddess Aishwarya Rai.

 

By the way, Google image search engine was updated and includes 1 trillion, 187 billion, 63 million images - just in case you were wondering.

Another feature they are testing is a video search engine. It is a long way from perfection and I’m surprised they even made it available. A search for “Venus tennis” did not yield top results for Venus Williams the tennis player.

 

Knowing Google they will make a great engine, but in the meantime try Singing Fish for very relevant results or my favorite TV video search engine Blinkx. The cool interface, quick and relevant results, and the ability to very quickly filter out certain sources (only BBC? No problem) gives it top priority over others. Some radio programs are also available as an extra bonus.

 

But bar none, the one search tool that really grabbed me recently was A9’s Yellow Pages. We depend heavily on our senses to make rational decisions and a name of a business in a part of town you don’t know tells you very little. Why not take a look at the block the store is on to checkout the neighborhood first? That is exactly what Block View does. Take a stroll.

 

Links

WebTrends Study Finds Blue Nile Atop Search Engines

tinyurl.com/58m2o

 

Ten ways to improve the usability of your ecommerce site 

tinyurl.com/5bv77

 

GOOGLE

Maps: maps.google.com

Zeitgeist: www.google.com/press/intl-zeitgeist.html

Video: www.google.com/video

 

Singing Fish: Singingfish.com

Blinkx: Blinkx.com

A9: A9.com

 

Keep those emails coming in. If you have a question, suggestion or a comment to make, by all means drop me a line at: edahn @ idexonline.com.