BANS Today

All in one SEO Pack - Meta Descriptions

Written by mbpage on August 25, 2008

One of the most popular wordpress plugins is the all in one seo pack.  I have been using it for a while but noticed that the meta descriptions I created were being ignored by Google.  Usually an indexed page is represented by Google as a snippet.  The snippet is a combinaiton of the meta title and meta description.  The meta description should be no more than 155 characters long and is your opportunity to include sales message to encourage a user to click on your link.  A good meta description is essential if you are going to succeed with Build a Niche Store.

Rather than showing my meta description Google was displaying a random selection of menu items and page text making the snippet look spammy and imo discouraging a potential visitor from clicking my link.  For this reason I had reservations about using wordpress in combination with BANS.

I searched long and hard for a solution to this problem posting requests for help on several forums.  I also asked fellow BANS bloggers and also contacted the plugin author but no one had any suggestions.  Frustrated, I started experimenting with the plugin settings and after two or three weeks of experimentation I have found the solution.

If you use this plugin, and every wordpress user should, and want full control over the Google snippet then you simply turn off the autogenerate descriptions option.  Doing this requires that you enter a meta title and meta description manually but the result of having a meaningful meta description makes the effort worthwhile.  The biggest advantage though is that you make more sales!

Directory Submission Optimization

Written by mbpage on August 23, 2008

It occurred to me that many times we focus on more complex strategies and become complacent over the more simple things. When using a directory submission service such as SubmitEdge or doing your own submissions via a tool such as digixmas set up is key. There are three areas on which to focus:

1. Anchor Text
2. Email address
3. Category Selection

You should choose 3 anchor text links and include them in your descriptions

You should use an email address that relates the domain.  I use HostGator and they make it very easy to set up email forwarders.

That said the main point I want to focus on is category selection.  Many times people choose the wrong category and the majority of submissions made to an incorrect category are often rejected.  You can significantly increase your chances of selecting the right category by doing a little research first.  I like to hop over to dmoz type in my keyword(s) and see what categories they appear under.  You can then mirror these categories in your SubmitEdge submission or use the category keywords in the digixmas category keyword box.

Following these simple tips should ensure a higher percentage of your submissions are accepted by the Directory Webmaster.

Niche Store Sort by Zip

Written by mbpage on August 20, 2008

With the release of the free bans templates I am finally able to achieve something I have wanted to for quite some time. I have several stores selling motor vehicles e.g. Jeeps. eBay motors offer thousands of great value deals but, obviously, America is a big country and most of us are not going to travel a couple of thousand miles to pick up a used bargain Jeep.

Previously I had to spend a lot of time customizing the ugly BANS templates to make use of the advanced search facility or searching for a customized version (which I never found). Several of the new templates include the advanced search facility in a prominent position. As soon as time allows I will swap out some of my existing templates to allow users to target vehicles within a certain radius of their of location.

If you have stores where being able to search on location is useful, and like me you’re not a coder, then you can convert existing stores in about 30 mins (including header creation). I’ve been putting it off but now I have no excuses and neither do you.

Free BANS Templates

Written by mbpage on August 19, 2008

Sometimes I’d like to post more often but I refuse to produce content just for the sake of it. I only write when I’ve got something worth saying and I hope that’s appreciated. I have kept away from the BANS forums recently due to the negative rumors that abound. I prefer to keep focused on what I’m doing rather than worry about the latest “BANS is finished” story. Thats not to say I hide my head in the sand but negative stories can consume time more than anything else I know.

Anyway I popped over and found that Kelvin and Adam have released some really classy BANS templates and what’s more they’re free. Dave (Soggy) and Mark (meetmydomains) are working on creating versions that support wordpress integration so to me the futures never seemed better.

If you haven’t checked out the new templates yet make your way over to the BANS forum and check them out.

Get the Most from SEO for Firefox

Written by mbpage on August 14, 2008

There is always something new to learn.  I’ve had the SEO for Firefox installed in my browser for some time and used it periodically but always felt it was a bit of a pain.  Why because it wasn’t set up correctly.  While going through my RSS feeds today I came across a SEO for Firefox video by none other than Aaron Wall.  Check it out, it helped me a lot.

What is Web 2.0?

Written by mbpage on July 23, 2008

That is the question I have been asking myself lately. Can it really generate traffic? I’d be being hard on myself it I said I had no concept of Web 2.0. It’s been around for a while but I have only been learning the online game since February and I simply haven’t had time to invest in understanding social networking etc. So over the weekend I invested a couple of hours in a spot of research and found a great free guide that is up to date (how unusual is that?) from social marketing authority Jack Humphrey.

Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of the Authority Black Book today.

How to Succeed With Build A Niche Store - 19 Things I’ve Learned

Written by mbpage on May 22, 2008

Today I’m starting what appears to be a large series of posts on How to Succeed with Build a Niche Store.

This represents everything I have learned so far and in no particular order (at this stage) the 19 things I would do differently if I were starting again are as follows. Hopefully, Mark and Rochelle will add some of their insights as the series builds.

• Have a thorough understanding of Keyword Research
• Use Google Webmaster Tools
• Get to grips with Niche Research
• Use Meta Tags for maximum effect
• Use Meta Keywords for maximum effect
• Use Meta Descriptions for maximum effect
• Use H1 Tags for maximum effect
• Invest in Tools
• Backup my Stores
• Buy Aged Domains
• Understand Link Building
• Buy appropriate Domain names
• Buy Templates
• Create Keyword rich content
• Patience
• Ranking in SERPS
• Home Page Content
• SEO
• Keep Records

Wow - that is going to be a growing list for sure. I’ve only be at this since the end of March but I have had the luxury of doing things full time. I estimate I work on BANS and related projects for 80 hours per week presently so it is likely I have surpassed (in terms of experience anyway) many people who can only invest a couple of hours per week in Build a Niche Store projects. I hope you find something of value in this series.

So lets get started …………….. will on Tuesday as I’m taking a break for a few days. Spread the word though because I think this is going to be a great series of posts.

Build a Niche Store - Keyword Baiting

Written by mbpage on May 16, 2008

As you learn more about a subject you tend to start extrapolating (nice word eh) and coming up with ideas of your own. Well, somebody else will have had the same idea because that’s the way the universe works but I hadn’t read this one anywhere else.

As I am currently testing out Nichebot I have been searching keyword phrases to try to pick up more traffic for my stores. Like many other BANS users I have a Coffee store. One of the phrases I was targeting was Espresso Machines - well there’s a bit more to it than that but I don’t want to give away everything. Anyways, nichebot revealed surfers also search for the following phrases:

• Espresso Maker
• Espresso Coffee Maker
• Espresso Coffee Machines
• Used Espresso Machines
• Home Espresso Machines

So what I thought was why not target each of these phrases on a seperate store page heavily optimized to that phrase. So that’s just what I’ve done. Each page shows pretty much the same products although I have put a negative search string in each to avoid dup content issues (I know that’s a bit paranoid).

Now the only problem with this method is that each of these categories shows on the store page nav bar but with BANS EPN you can turn off store pages. Did you know that pages “turned off” are still indexed so if anyone searches for the phrase they will still find the page through the serps. Now, for the purposes of testing I have left all the pages on but I will set up another test with all the pages off to see I can detect a difference.

Now I think that’s a pretty cool idea so why not give it a try for yourself. We’ll see how things go for the next couple of weeks and I’ll update if I remember or one of you guys reminds me.