XML trusted feed for marketers: An overview
"Condoned cloaking." "Spam." "SEO's killer app." Ask five search engine optimizers about XML trusted feed and you'll get five different answers regarding its effectiveness and ethical status. What's worse, myths and misconceptions add to the XML trusted feed confusion - making it hard for marketers to make an informed choice.
Don't get stuck in the hype. In this article we clear the air and explain when XML trusted feed is useful, positive and profitable. If you manage a site with 500 pages or more - especially if you have frequent fresh content (like sale pages) with limited online shelf lives - it's time to take a peek on this powerful search strategy.
Besides, chances are your competitors are already looking at trusted feed services - and you don't want to get left behind.
The marketer's challenge: XML is techie, but man, is it powerful.
Many marketers have never heard of XML trusted feed services. And the reason why is that XML solutions typically seem too "techie" for non-SEO's to comprehend. Once it's translated into plain English, XML is a simple concept to understand.
Basically, trusted feeds allow sites of over 500 pages to inject their content directly into some search engines (at this date, Alta Vista, Teoma/Ask Jeeves, Fast and Inktomi have trusted feed services).
You have the freedom of knowing that every single product page will be indexed (which is ideal for catalog sites). Additionally, pages are recrawled approximately every 48 hours, so if you make a change - or you have a limited-time sale to promote - you can make the necessary tweaks and see almost instant results.
Explaining the XML geek-speak.
XML trusted feed relies on "schemas" (basically, instructions to the search engine) and "containers" (think of your Title, description and keyword tags). In short, for those who are still learning savvy SEO techniques, XML sounds like a gigantic leap into propeller-head territory.
Basically, imagine an XML schema like a big Excel spreadsheet. Danny Sullivan in his ClickZ article "Ending the Cloaking Debate" explains it best by saying:
"To understand the process, picture a spreadsheet with all the URLs you want listed, row by row. Information about each URL is listed in the columns: URL title in the first, description in the next, body copy in the third, and so on. It's not really Web pages that are read, but tabular information about URLs is pumped into the search engines."
Complicated? No - not if you have the right technology vendor to walk you through. And once big-brand sites enjoy their first XML trusted feed fix, they're hooked for life.
XML - spam or a search marketing secret weapon?
The great XML debate stems from certain techniques XML trusted feed subscribers utilize that are considered cloaking in some engines.
Because Trusted Feeds are trusted and policed, you have the ability to manipulate the content of the XML file. This allows you to serve optimized content and tags to the search engine without changing the page.
For instance, you can add the word "car insurance" to the content container of an XML feed when the visible page is focused on "auto insurance" - and gain traffic for both keyphrases. This fact (serving up different content to spiders than what's on the visible page) is the heart of the XML cloaking debate.
Is it spam? No. You're paying the search engines for the privilege, and they are fully aware of the practice. Is it ethical? Yes - as long as you're not trying to stuff the content container with irrelevant words. In fact, this practice is actually encouraged by the engines as a way for them to serve highly relevant results.
And can it help you? If you have a large site with a massive amount of keyphrases, you can start seeing positions for inner pages previously ignored by spidering search engines. That's pretty powerful.
What do trusted feed services do that Google won't?
Consider this analogy:
Waiting for search engine spiders to crawl your site is like waiting for a date to come calling. Imagine this: You've showered, shaved, and you know you smell good. You have interesting conversation (or content) to share. But, you have to wait until your Google date comes to you. And that's on Google's timeline - not yours.
Sometimes, Google stands you up, blowing you off when you know they've crawled everyone else. Sometimes, Google comes right on time, sweeps you off your feet, and learns about all your interesting information. But, Google is a fickle lover, coming when they want, indexing what they feel like, and changing indexes on a whim. They are the true mercurial lover and dysfunctional relationship: When it's good, it's great. And when it's bad, you stay in the relationship, filled with hope. After all, what if they change next month and things get better?
Trusted feed services inject every page of your site directly into the search engines. You aren't waiting for Inktomi to come crawling. Nor, will Inktomi sample only what they wants, leaving the rest by the wayside. Trusted feed search engines are considerate lovers, coming on time, spending enough attention so all content is recorded, and giving you exactly what every site owner wants - complete indexing.
For a price.
Playing in the per-click space.
Google does have one strong advantage: Rankings for nothing and the clicks for free. Trusted feed services will typically cost you at least 25 cents a click - and possibly more. What's more, there is little room to negotiate the CPC. It's set by the search engines to discourage price wars between vendors.
However, a huge plus is that you're not tied to buying certain keywords at multiple CPCs. Consider this: if you purchase the keyphrase "men's cashmere sweaters" on a CPC with AdWords, your ad is seen only when that keyphrase is queried.
It's different with XML trusted feed. Since you're not paying for keywords - and the relevancy is keyed on the content - your page can actually position well for a number of queries. For instance, if someone searches for a "soft baby blue sweater," and those words are in your copy, you'll see positions. Since most people query the engines using three or more terms, you're maximizing your reach while monitoring your CPC.
"People focus on one, two and three keyword phrases, but they aren't capitalizing on other phrases. We found that 65% of clicks were from unique queries coming from esoteric long terms," explained Derrick Wheeler during the Wine.com case study during the Dallas, 2002 Search Engine Strategy Conference.
For the metrics-mad, XML offers tremendous click-thru reporting and tracking information. You'll know exactly what phrases people type in to find your site, what keyphrases are hot, and what landing pages are gaining the most clicks. Combine this with a spider-friendly tracking system, and you'll have the search marketing intelligence you need to streamline your campaign.
XML may be the killer app - but it won't save your site from poor rankings.
Trusted feed services are not the fast track to rankings success. All the other search marketing "rules" still come into play - strong content, savvy keyphrase focus, and a strategic linking campaign. Remember, you are paying for inclusion - not for positions. And although some people believe that paid inclusion sites are given a "boost" in rankings, the search engines swear that no preferential treatment applies.
Beginning a healthy trusted feed relationship.
You can't do XML on your own. You'll need the assistance of a trusted technology vendor who can lead you through the process, teaching your Web teams how to communicate XML geek-speak. Here are some initial steps to make it easier:
- Find a vendor that you like, trust, and can help you. Different trusted feed vendors have varying capabilities. Some are totally technology-focused and their job is to simply take your data and convert it into XML - not to maximize for positions or mesh with your existing search marketing campaign. Other companies stress metrics, ROI and savvy search marketing with their campaigns. Your job is to figure out what exactly you need (do I work with a pure-technology vendor and outsource for conversion meta editing, or do I work with a company that can integrate my trusted feed and PPC data?) and plan accordingly.
- Don't expect technology to do everything. The best-performing sites have a dedicated account manager studying every click-thru, writing new content, and developing better Titles for positions and conversions. If you can't keep this in-house, find an SEO firm that offers XML meta editing. The investment will pay for itself and you'll know that your XML listings (and your online visibility) are fully managed.
- Make friends with your IT department. Sometime during the XML process, your IT department will need to discuss specifics with the vendor's technology department. This process goes much more smoothly when your IT department understands what's being done and why.
Ideally, the marketing and IT departments are trained together, with both departments clearly understanding their roles around the trusted feed campaign. This way, everyone is on the same page and any processes tend to roll much more smoothly. - Know that content is still king. Pages with little-to-no content will not position well. Period.
Trusted feed search engines are spidering search engines - just like Google. As such, they key on the content. If you can expand the text with strong SEO copywriting in your content container and enjoy keyphrase-rich landing pages (for both dynamic and HTML sites), your site will see higher positions.
In short, if Google likes it, so will Inktomi and the other trusted feed engines. That means good writing - not circa-1998 keyphrase-stuffed writing with positions (and not conversions) being the only goal. - Understand your site's limitations. If you're pulling content from more than one domain, you're going to have problems. If you have no content, there's nothing for the spider to crawl. If you set your cookies too early, you can mess up the spider.
There are a host of technological spidering issues that make it tough or impossible to crawl. If that situation raises its ugly head with your company, your technology vendor can suggest other options (like uploading your URL's on an Excel document). - Know that XML trusted feed offers many, many advantages - but it's not for everyone. If you're wondering if XML trusted feed could help your company, the article, "Can you trust trusted feed?" gives you some guidelines.
Will Google release their own trusted feed service? In a conversation we had with Google at the last Search Engine Strategies conference, the answer was a firm, "No." In fact, Sergei Brin, founder of Google, is on record for calling XML "evil." Will they change their minds? In this rapidly changing environment, anything is possible. But probable? Don't get your hopes up.
Yet.