Target Marketing: What preparation did Cabela’s complete before implementing the search management platform?
Derek Fortna:The technical team had to implement some server side rules and apply some tags to the Web site. The process was completed over a total time spend of about 10 hours over the course of thirty days, and the software team handled the other aspects.

TM: What, if any, challenges did Cabela’s face when implementing the search management platform, and how did it work through those challenges?
DF: Things went smoothly. The software team planed the implementations cooperatively with us to ensure the solution stays true to the business strategy, the user experience on the site and takes into consideration things such as merchandising.

TM: How did creating a real-time, Web-crawler version of Cabela’s site allow you to optimize your existing pages without forcing a complete site rebuild?
DF: First, it’s important to understand that the pages that GravityStream generates are optimized user experiences for both human and nonhuman users. Having descriptive copy on a page, rather than only images, is good for everyone. The program allowed us to use natural search optimization without having to worry about the heavy lift of redesign. The program does this by creating on-the-fly pages that are based on a set of business rules created during the program implementation.

TM: What results have you seen since implementing the search management platform? How significant was the increase in Google rankings?
DF: Cabela’s enjoys page one, and in lots of cases, much higher rankings on a number of long-tail, unbranded terms that generate a large quantity of new-to-file Web purchases. For example, we now have higher rankings on terms like ‘hunting socks,’ ‘boat seats’ and ‘camp chairs.’ The increase across the board for Cabela’s was significant. The new program shattered indexation goals by 45 percent, which led to 200 percent more traffic and 50 percent more sales. Cabela’s brand is well positioned in over 200,000 long-tail search markets, with over 40,000 pages driving traffic.

Solution: Use buzzworthy anecdotes, video and catchy titles

Results: A 14-percent increase in blog-driven sales and spikes of 1,000 sessions per day after each post that contribute to repeat traffic

Steve Spangler, famous for creating a 30-foot geyser of Diet Coke by dropping Mentos into a soda bottle, not only has mastered the art of science, but also the art of blogging to optimize natural search results and increase Web sales. Founder and CEO of Steve Spangler Science, a multichannel firm that sells educational toys, Spangler says the overall goal of his blog is to convey information in a fun, thought-provoking way. From a simple site with science toys and experiments, Steve Spangler Science has grown exponentially by using fun stories, catchy titles and newsworthy blog topics to catch the eyes of reporters, search engines and, ultimately, parents and teachers.

When he sat down to write his first blog, Spangler didn’t think he had anything interesting enough to discuss. However, after hearing that Insta-Snow, a product his company sells, was featured as a popular “stupid product” on a “Good Morning America” review of e-tailer Stupid.com, Spangler found what looked like a promising topic. According to Stephan Spencer, president and founder of Netconcepts, the SEM firm that works with Steve Spangler Science, leveraging a hot news story is one way to help drive Web site traffic. Spangler’s Insta-Snow blog piggybacked on the interest generated by the current media coverage by describing the story of a woman who got out of a speeding ticket after using the science toy. Spangler says she told the officer she had just left a science training seminar and convinced him she could make it snow. The officer told her that if she could, he would let her go without a ticket. Spangler says, “Lo and behold, she made snow by the side of the road. Not only did the officer excuse her ticket, he [also] asked for the Web site so he could buy Insta-Snow for his kids. We knew when we heard this story, it was like gold falling into our laps.”

What was it about this story that worked for Spangler’s blog? The anecdote surprised readers while showcasing the product’s usefulness or wow factor. “Myself and my customer service team are trained to know that when we hear a great story, we could be very successful by sharing it with everyone through our blog,” he says.

Another solution for increasing Web traffic via a blog is to use catchy titles to attract the attention of news outlets for additional exposure. For example, when blogging about one of his latest group trainings in Florida, Spangler planned to title the post, “Teachers perform hands-on science experiments as inquiry-based learning progresses in Bravard County.” Spencer said that to be effective, Spangler needed to find a great picture and develop a powerful title. Together, they came up with, “Parents Beware: Teachers Gone Wild.” Spangler says, “This was great Google juice! The search engines picked up on it, and we got links back to it from all over.” The flashy titles are fed through RSS and XML feeds to drive clickthroughs, which very quickly becomes viral marketing. Spangler also participates in media activities that drive traffic to find him through search engines. For example, each week his relationship with NBC/Channel 9 in Denver provides video clips placed both on his Web site and on YouTube. According to Netconcepts, these have trememdous viral reach, as well as support both link building and search placement.

In addition to using his own blog to fuel SEO results, Spangler also leverages blog interaction to drive clicks and links via social networking. He helps teachers develop their own science blogs for interaction with students, which often leads them to link to his blog in their postings. Again, this link activity and the blog visits that are a natural part of the blog development process for teachers and students all lead to better SEO results for Spangler’s site.

For small-business owners trying to increase Web traffic and generate more sales, Spangler says, “Two things are of utmost importance: 1.) Make sure you have something to say and [that] someone wants to hear it. Find some niche area on the Web where people are talking about what you are merchandising, or thinking about merchandising, and talk to them directly; 2.) Always ensure your blog features your own distinct voice. When starting a blog, a lot of business owners will see it as almost a diet pill. To stay with the same metaphor, a diet requires exercise, eating right and hard work—not simply a pill.”

Adding a blog isn’t a quick fix if there are holes in your business or marketing strategy, he points out, “but if hard work is put into it, and it is given a chance to develop and find its place in the online community, the results can be breathtaking.”

—Kate DeBevois

Listen to Stephan Spencer’s interview with Bryan Eisenberg for more about how to boost your site’s conversion rate.

In this interview, Steve discusses how Netconcepts has helped him over-achieve his business goals by rebuilding his original ecommerce site and later creating a powerful blog to fuel his viral online success.

Steve states, “I found a couple Web sites [that I liked] and they said “Netconcepts” on the bottom. So I contracted [the company] to redesign the Web site. I wanted to find somebody that wasn’t in my industry, to not get the same old stuff. I liked what [the Netconcepts LLC founder Stephan Spencer] was saying about showing people you’re the expert in that field by what you write. I found out how important it was to have more content, like our experiment library. People started visiting.”

Read entire Wall Street Journal article here.

“A year ago, PoolDawg traded in its modified version of an “off-the-shelf” e-commerce platform for a completely new platform from Netconcepts. The Netconcepts GravityMarket 2.0 e-commerce platform offers a flexible design that, for example, supports the placement of content that has proven to help shoppers complete purchases, Feiman says.”

Read the article here. For more information about PoolDawg.com’s success, read the PoolDawg.com Case Study.

Read more in-depth about how good blog content can boost organic search in this article from Inc.com here.

Spangler works with Stephan Spencer, president of Netconcepts, an e-marketing services firm that specializes in natural search, to develop and optimize his blog. Here, they share a few lessons they have learned about what information to post and how to go about doing it so your blog becomes more than a one-way conversation:

Tactic #1: Give your blog a singular voice with a personality, says Spencer. “Your blog has to be authentic or other bloggers will figure it out.” If your blog is supposed to be from the company president, then he had better be the one who is writing it with his own words.

Tactic #2: Feature real-life customer stories, especially if they are funny, says Spangler. For example, he has blogged about a customer who used his fake snow product to get out of a traffic ticket, kids’ science projects and other types of customer testimonials. Sometimes these posts are simply text, but people often send him photos and even videos.

Tactic #3: Connect your products to interesting stories. The speeding ticket story gave Spangler the perfect opportunity to provide a link to his Instant Snow product page. Or simply develop intriguing stories around your products. To spark readers’ imaginations around Halloween, he offered a list of spooky experiments to try, some of which tied in to products on his Web site.

Tactic #4: Pay attention to your blog post titles. Catchy titles get picked up by news aggregators, says Spencer, and give your blog wider exposure. Spangler has scored news time with headlines like “A Meteor Hit My House” (about how to use a powerful magnet to find the mini meteorites in your rain gutters) and “Parents Beware: Teachers Gone Wild” (about teachers trying out science experiments at a teaching convention).

Tactic #5: Invite guest bloggers who have something interesting and pertinent to say. But don’t abdicate your responsibility to communicate with your readers by featuring a constant rotation of contributors, says Spangler. If there is someone else in your company who has great ideas to share, then give this person his or her own blog. And don’t forget to leverage the blogging relationship by linking to your guest writers’ blogs, Spencer adds.

Tactic #6: If you are short on writing time or stumped for ideas, consider developing a series of podcasts by conducting taped (audio or video) interviews on the top cool trends of interest to your audience or some other list-oriented topic. Then, you can break up the interview into individual segments to be doled out on whatever basis you normally post, Spencer explains. This technique also works great when the blog writer needs a break for a vacation or to accommodate a packed travel schedule.

For more blogging ideas, visit Spangler’s blog at www.stevespangler.com and Spencer’s blog at www.netconcepts.com/tag/blogs

Stephan comments on the latest SEO Title Tag Plugin release and the effectiveness of blog optimization to improve search results. Watch this intriguing interview below.

“With the earlier system, he says, “If I’m a user searching for boat trailer parts, I can’t buy from that page, I have to make another click to go into the web site to make a purchase. With the GravityStream proxy, if I find what I want I can place the order right there.”

Read the article here.

For more information about Cabela’s success with Netconcepts, read the Cabela’s Case Study.

Read the entry submission and GravityStream product overview published by the NZ Marketing Association and written by Netconcepts’ very own Chief Executive Officer, Nigel Varcoe.