[Chubster]

With the above in mind how can a ecommerce site like mine, that basically has loads of products that dont change, keep things fresh. Ok there are new products that will appear but these will only make up a fraction of the total site.

So how can I create fresh content for Google eyes...???

[RayB]

Originally Posted by Chubster

With the above in mind how can a ecommerce site like mine, that basically has loads of products that dont change, keep things fresh. Ok there are new products that will appear but these will only make up a fraction of the total site.

So how can I create fresh content for Google eyes...???

I'd say blog, blog and more blog

You can post about new products and all kinds of related stuff

Originally Posted by RayB

I'd say blog, blog and more blog

You can post about new products and all kinds of related stuff

Very good question!

But Ray, what if your blog isn't on your site?

[Inzvestor]

If you have a blog hosted elsewhere I would recommend transferring the database into your site and hosting it as part of the overall package.

Blogs are great as they are in a structured easy to spider format.

You could have a reviews sections on each product and thus get new content on a regular basis - although you may have to incentivise your clients to submit the reviews (eg check out Firebox)

[RayB]

Originally Posted by Fill-Your-Pants

Very good question!

But Ray, what if your blog isn't on your site?

Well, generally I'd recommend the blog to be on the shop domain, however, there are exceptions, such as in your case Laura, where you managed to secure an exceptional keyword domain which was screaming out to be turned into a blog.

The trick when blogging about your business (and linking back to it) on a different domain is to be natural and honest - making it clear the blog is connected to the e-commerce domain.

Some people try and fool visitors and search engines by pretending the blog is independent - then proceed to only blog about their own products and stuff

In those instances it is blog spam and does more harm than good

[Alvin]

Content is not king.

The right words in the right places is king.

Just slapping in loads of text is a waste of time SEO wise.

And fresh content is not a prerequisite of SEO.



Alvin

Originally Posted by RayB

Well, generally I'd recommend the blog to be on the shop domain, however, there are exceptions, such as in your case Laura, where you managed to secure an exceptional keyword domain which was screaming out to be turned into a blog.

The trick when blogging about your business (and linking back to it) on a different domain is to be natural and honest - making it clear the blog is connected to the e-commerce domain.

Some people try and fool visitors and search engines by pretending the blog is independent - then proceed to only blog about their own products and stuff

In those instances it is blog spam and does more harm than good

*runs off to change the content of her blog!*

[RayB]

Originally Posted by Fill-Your-Pants

*runs off to change the content of her blog!*

The way you are blogging is perfect

[RayB]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Content is not king.

The right words in the right places is king.

Just slapping in loads of text is a waste of time SEO wise.

And fresh content is not a prerequisite of SEO.



Alvin

Ah, I agree that the right content is king, which is all about words on a page, and in the tags etc (but that is a whole subject in it's own right as we know).

However, I disagree about fresh content not being a prerequisite of SEO:

It is the king of long tail search - and the more content you have in this respect the more organic traffic you will get - and a blog is the very best way to target all this juicy long tail search.

For example, A Local printer gets organic traffic for an average of 900 different KW combinations every month - without me having to alter my highly ranked and optimised "money pages"

[Chubster]

This brings me onto another question re Blogging....I realise it is always best to write original content but this can become a day job in its own right!

Is it therefore acceptable to use articles written by others....again using us as an example, a lot of our suppliers provide articles that are readily available on their sites about the benefit of the holistic approach to feeding your pets or feeding guides and care sheets etc.

Is it ok to have these on our blog so that everything is in the one place, with links from site to blog and vica versa thus building a complete and easy to find reference for our customers?

I already have permission to do this but Im worried about duplicate content?