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June 29 , 2007 |
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Keyword Marketing Using CSEs, Marketplaces, and Other Online
Shopping Sites
by Brett Bernstein, Sr. Technician and Chip Arndt
 Miami, FL (June 29, 2007)—Keywords are essential to any online marketing campaign when using shopping destination sites. Shopping destination sites, for the purpose of this newsletter, refer to any place an online shopper goes that is not a merchant site to find products. Another way to look at it is that shopping destination sites are simply “online shopping malls” which aggregate hundreds if not thousands of online storefront products in one place. These include: CSEs such as Shopping.com, Shopzilla, PriceGarbber, PriceRuner, JellyFish, Become, Smarter etc… and marketplaces such as: Amazon, Underbid, Overstock and Shop.com, to name just a few.
Definition of Keywords
Keywords are pieces of information associated with a product that aide search features on shopping destination sites to better identify products in your product catalog. The shopping destination sites then use this information, in addition to correctly mapped category listings, to ensure that your products appear in the correct places on a shopping destination site according to an online shopper’s search queries.
Keywords do not replace correctly mapped categories to the taxonomy of each shopping destination site, but are meant to further identify your products. This is all good because if a consumer looks for a product not by its general category name, but instead by its manufacturer’s name and/or product attribute, then the shopping comparison sites’ algorithms identify these keywords to ensure that an online merchant has a greater chance of their products showing up for those searches.
If an online merchant focuses only on mapping their product categories using category taxonomy and ignores using keywords, they might lose out on certain products being listed as often as possible in relation to how an online shopper finds a product, i.e. not every online shopper shops the same way.
Creating Keywords
Once you have mapped your categories correctly, without error messages, you are ready to use keywords. The reason shopping destination sites supplement “search” on their sites with keywords is because it is nearly impossible to create all of the necessary categories and subcategories to accommodate a search by an online shopper. By using keywords, the shopping destination sites accommodate an online shopper, and an online merchant, to better match “product search” with “actual products.”
One of the difficult parts of creating an excellent shopping destination site continues to be creating taxonomies that anticipate what a consumer might be looking for and then placing products on the appropriate site pages to match a given search. By using keywords, if an online shopper is looking for “garden tools made by Black and Decker” a CSE is relieved of creating a category for “Black and Decker garden tools” and instead can assign a keyword attribute in their algorithm for garden tools that recognizes a product that an online merchant names a garden tool product by Black and Decker, and then matches it with an online shopper’s search for Black and Decker products.
For this newsletter, I am going use the CSE Shopzilla to show examples of how the proper use of “Keywords” in your data feeds will help you get your products listed in all of the right places.
Shopzilla is one of the largest and most popular CSEs among merchants and consumers. This does not mean that an online merchant should list their products elsewhere, quite to the contrary, I suggest testing many CSEs, but for this example, Shopzilla works well.
Example of Using Keywords
Keywords are associated “words” that a consumer might type into the search feature on a CSE to find your product. Here is the way I look at identifying keywords. In this sense, I am not specifically speaking about a specific ‘keywords’ field, but instead language and other attributes to describe a product.
- Pretend you are a consumer searching online for your product in a CSE. What “might” the consumer type to find your digital camera?
a. Obvious choices: digital camera, Sony (manufacturer’s name), zoom lens, 500s (product code or model number), powershot (product name).
b. Less obvious choices (but very important): gift, 5 mega pixel, digital zoom, etc.
Get the point? There are no right keywords, only those you think might match what a customer may query when they go online.
And remember, big companies spend thousands and thousands of dollars per month on consultants with their “computer programs” to help them with this feature, so don’t feel bad if you don’t get it right the first time. Lots of times, keywords are trial and error, asking your marketing rep at the CSE for their advice, and using a little common sense helps.
- Think like Shopzilla, who is also trying to think like a consumer. Shopzilla reps work hard to do the exact same process as in point 1 above. Hopefully you are in sync in the way Shopzilla identifies and tracks keywords. However, this is not a perfect science, so be patient.
Shopzilla allows the online merchant to list their products in categories and at the product level. Also, Shopzilla has an “attribute system” whereby essential “word choice” in product definitions allows you to ensure that a certain product is listed at a deeper granularity of search. In other words, Shopzilla has included an additional level of category information that is not defined formally in their category taxonomy structure, but rather is sourced and then sorted from terminology in the product information description.
Make sense? Here is a real life example.
Let’s look at Shopzilla’s ‘Golf Gifts & Equipment’ category. To do this, and follow along, type in “golf clubs” in the search feature on Shopzilla. This is the resulting page:
http://www.shopzilla.com/8B--Golf_Gifts_Equipment_-_cat_id--
12070300__keyword--golf%20clubs__search_box--1__sfsk--7
This is the end of the category system, but in this category, there are several other groups created by terminology [see left hand side of page] such as “Sets”, “Drivers”, “Iron Sets”, “Irons”, “Sets with Bags”, “Fairway Woods”, “Wedges”, and “More”.
All of these “sub-groups” are populated not by category assignment or feeding of Shopzilla’s category ID#, but instead by keywords and terminology included in the product name and description fields, ergo in the marketing description fields that you send to Shopzilla in your original feed.
Shopzilla then identifies these “key word attributes” and ensures that your product also is listed in their “sub categories”. This only happens if their algorithm identifies the keywords in “other fields” you send to Shopzilla. Just so you all know, these sub-categories are wonderful and are very helpful for an online consumer to better refine their search to find the exact product they are looking for, so we like this.
The issue for merchants is that because these “sub-categories” are not fields that you can assign products to in your feed from the start, but rather they are organically searched for by Shopzilla’s “algorithm” and then listed automatically, how do you ensure that your all of your Drivers get listed under “golf clubs” and ALSO “the sub category” of “Drivers?”
Easy…add the keyword “Driver” in the product SKU description and/or fields where you describe your product. Then your “Drivers” will get listed in the proper general category and in any sub-categories that Shopzilla creates to better assist an online consumer to find the driver they are looking to buy. If you do this, your drivers will be listed in the URL above AND here:
http://www.shopzilla.com/8B--Golf_Gifts_Equipment_-_att361176--
210148-__cat_id--12070300__keyword--golf%20clubs
So a mastery of keywords as they relate to your products is essential to ensure the products you send in your original feeds are then mapped in the appropriate categories and all sub-categories that CSEs have created on their site. The other thing to remember is that each CSE has a unique taxonomy structure and algorithm search feature – none are identical. Thus, it is even more essential to use keywords, as every CSE identifies them to help ensure that a merchant’s products are listed properly and throughout their site.
Will Listing Products get Easier?
The next question you probably will ask is why don’t CSEs just give you “all” of these options to start with?
Good question and the answer is…they are beginning too, but be patient. It takes time to figure out the best way to categorize certain products and then get that new taxonomy to their tech team to program and then to online merchants.
It is an evolving process and nothing is perfect and maybe, someday, if the CSEs can actually categorize on many levels based strictly on an attribute and keyword systems and remove a need to send CSE specific taxonomy, that will make life easier for everyone. Just an idea.
Helpful Tips to Using Key Words
- "Keywords" are essential to master as they help you ensure your products are listed in the right places and all appropriate places on CSEs.
- There are no right keywords...you have to get inside the head of the consumer and the CSE and think like they think...what keywords would you type in to find your product?
- ALL CSEs will identify keywords and then list your products on their site accordingly...so use keywords!
- Whatever system, product, company, or person you use to send your data feeds, make sure they are able to send your products with keywords easily...and then make sure they manipulate and update those keywords over time to ensure that you’re up to speed with the marketplace and your CSE’s new sub- categories.
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Free Marketing – Yes, it does exist!
by Kevin Packler, Product Specialist
 Miami, FL (June 29, 2007)—There are still ways to do some old fashioned free guerilla style marketing and the opportunities are growing.
1) Froogle aka GoogleBase aka Google Product Search
The biggest free shopping comparison engine is produced by the master of free goods, Google. Google Product Search, which is built on top of the GoogleBase platform. The GoogleBase format allows numerous options from customized product attributes to the feeding of the actual address of physical stores to be displayed on Google Maps. Google Product Search (GPS) takes over for the formerly known Froogle comparison engine, which was originally rolled out in 2002. For people who signed up under the Froogle banner, GPS is not as big as it once was. A significant amount of traffic was lost when the Froogle link was removed from the Google home page and replaced with Google Video. However, the GPS site is still bigger than most, and will certainly be making a push to rival Amazon.com and eBay by adding shopping cart functionality with Google Checkout. Even though large already, this is the current sleeping giant of comparison engines and marketplaces. Once a solid and firm direction develops, exponential growth will follow.
2) MSN Live Product Search Beta
This shopping comparison engine is another sleeper which seems to be on the heels of GoogleBase as a place to submit products with the possibility of expanding to other areas. MSN Shopping is already a large site, but this site should not to be confused with the MSN Live Product Search version. Some nice things about MSN Live Beta:
A. Backed by a large corporation, showing good long term prospects.
B. Relatively new, so there is limited competition from potential rival merchants.
C. Products are searchable by Google, so the listings appear in MSN Live’s search, and also as results in a regular Google search. This means essentially a merchant can have Google showing results not only from the merchant site and GPS, but also will show Live submissions in the same results query. This is potentially giving triple coverage for free!
3) TheFind.com
TheFind.com, like MSN Live, is also in beta stage but features a robust selection, and for the purposes of this article, this site is most importantly free. TheFind features the ability to have a bot scan a recommended merchant’s site and list the selection on TheFind. This can replace the work of having to configure a product file. Whether the site stays free depends on the company’s internal strategy, but for now it offers another great source of qualified traffic.
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Merchant of the Month:
Kellyco Metal Detectors
 Three months ago Kellyco Metal Detectors (kellycodetectors.com) thought life was good. Having been in the business for over 50 years, Kellyco was the leading metal detector retailer in the world. Owner Stuart Auerbach began the company in 1953 after being trained by the United States Military to use metal detectors to find land mines. Fifty-four years later, and thanks to the Internet and eBay, Kellyco delivers metal detectors to anyone who aspires to be a treasure hunter in any corner of the world.
But that was three months ago. Today the 30,000 sq. ft. warehouse that is home to Kellyco is busier than ever. A new phone system was recently installed and new customer service representatives and sales staff have been hired to handle a 30% increase in sales. And the shipping department upholds their “Same Day Shipping” policy, but has jokingly asked the E-Commerce Department to let up just a little. This is almost exclusively due to Kellyco’s new visibility on search engines and shopping comparison websites, accessible via Merchant Advantage’s Channel Management program.
Today any search for metal detectors yields a link to Kellyco’s main site, or at the very least, a multitude of Kellyco’s products. Every site, from Shopzilla.com to PriceGrabber.com, links to Kellyco. Kellyco is even organically ranked 1st on Yahoo! for any search of the words “metal detector.” Thanks to Merchant Advantage’s Channel Management, Kellyco went from being accessible only on eBay to being key players on Become.com, Froogle.com, Pricefish.com, Pronto.com, Shopping.com, Smarter.com and Amazon.com.
Three months ago Kellyco Metal Detectors thought life was good. Today Kellyco thinks life is great and it just keeps getting better and better. With Merchant Advantage, Kellyco has detected a winning combination.
Get Your Channel Management Fee Waived Plus Receive a Complimentary Companion Airline Ticket!
We're thrilled and inspired by all the Channel Management success stories you share with us. Now we want to turn the spotlight on you! Send us your best Channel Management success story and you could be selected as our Merchant of the Month.
If chosen, your company will be exclusively showcased in an edition of our monthly newsletter, eTail dTail. Best of all, your monthly MerchantAdvantage fee will be waived in the month you are selected and you will receive a complimentary Companion Airline Ticket. Submit your Channel Management success story today to stories@merchantadvantage.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
(Note: MerchantAdvantage reserves the right to use any or all of your story, whether or not your article is selected as the winning entry.) |
About MerchantAdvantage
Merchantadvantage.com is an ecommerce software solutions company committed to championing and helping the small to midsized online ecommerce Merchant address complicated online issues and take a systematic, controlled and proactive approach to online product marketing. MerchantAdvantage provides long-term, cost effective software tools that enable an online business to grow by reaching the widest audience possible via online, broadband, and wireless devices. MerchantAdvantage's applications are designed to thoroughly connect the online retailer to their marketplace partners in a seamless motion of communication allowing Merchants to take control of their ecommerce channels, marketing strategies, IT solutions, and online order management demands. These software tools specifically help ecommerce retailers bridge the gap created by non-standardized data feeds to various online market places, shopping comparison engines, and other online shopping destination sites.
MerchantAdvantage is changing the macrocosm of ecommerce by staying ahead of the curve in providing business solutions to the growing online retail marketplace: We're here because America's commerce future is online.™
MerchantAdvantage, the premier software for on-line retailers looking for an efficient and effective method of online product marketing, order and customer service handling, introduces Channel Management with Chanalytics(sm). Channel Management helps online retailers save time and money while maximizing their return on investment and marketing budgets by allowing them to easily connect with shopping comparison sites. MerchantAdvantage is for online retailers wishing to better manage their online marketing efforts and increase their sales volume. |
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"MerchantAdvantage is here to be your partner in growing your business in the multi billion dollar and complex world of online shopping. We are here because you are online.sm"
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Michael Lambert, CEO |
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For information on how MerchantAdvantage may help your business grow, please contact us:
Chip Arndt
Executive Vice President
Business Development and Strategy
305.895.9466 x113
partnerships@merchantadvantage.com
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