Ecommerce SEO: optimization priorities change as shoppers approach purchase

[mandy]

Search engine optimization has an important place in online marketing, and the most important pages of an e-retail site to optimize for natural search are those that will appeal to consumers who signal by their search terms that they are getting ready to buy...

At the beginning of shoppers’ buying process, terms of broad relevance – “television,” for example – can be worth optimizing pages around, by category leaders and mostly for branding purposes , but even then only on a very limited basis, says Joe Laratro, chief technology officer at MoreVisibility.“These keywords can be powerhouses for traffic, but due to the range of intention among shoppers searching these terms, much of the traffic they generate may be untargeted or irrelevant,”...

Searches on what Laratro characterizes as “shopping keywords” are a clue that searchers are closer to a purchase. “Plasma television” would be an example...

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=26484

[Kristijntje]

A related article: The right keywords for each stage in the buy cycle

Depending on whether your customer is in the research, evaluate or decide stage, make sure your keywords are most effective...

Decide
Here's where you need to focus on your brand name, detailed product or service names and long-tail searches. Consumers are sometimes very specific in their searches, and long-tail terms are inexpensive to implement. Brand keywords should include what your company is best known for. Do you have a notable tagline or offer a solution others don't? These count as brand terms, too. Just remember, prospects may not choose you during the decision phase if you haven't established yourself during their research and evaluation stages...

full article: http://imediaconnection.com/content/19235.asp