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You could install a trial of clicktale's mouse tracking and collect visual evidence of how users interact with your site. This could indicate where the share buttons would be best placed. http://www.clicktale.com/product/mouse_tracking_suite

You should have setup a subdomain (which is what you are very linkely to have done anyway) but this linking issue is a real sticking point for you at the moment.

It's difficult to give you concrete advise without knowing your friend's business model, marketing strategy and content, owever, lets just say for neatness he wants to keep his main squeeze page as it is - at www.kingofcopy.com - you could separate all of the squeeze pages from the 'subscribers' content by creating a sub folder called 'members-area' for example - so www.kingofcopy.com contains the squeeze page where it is now (and additional sqeeze pages reside at www.kingofcopy.com/maxoutsideusa.html etc)

and all of the opt in content is moved to www.kingofcopy.com/members-area/ ensuring all of the good info that shouldn't be visible is noindexed accordingly.

Of course, this advise is based on the assumption that you only want to rank squeeze pages.

If I were undertaking this project I would do things a little differently - as I believe that sqeeze pages have now lost some of their kick - perhaps due to the huge numbers of them I have seen... So instead I would have a lot of teaser articles and videos - which contain a lot of good keyword targeted content all SEOd to the max, making sure that there are some good nuggets of info in them - so that the reader thinks - Wow! If the stuff he gives away for free is this good then I can't wait to find out how much better the paid for stuff is!

In terms of onpage SEO and campaign management - separate content which you want highly visible from the members only content -  store non-indexed pages emembers pages within a sub-folder - link all of the content you want visible and indexing in some way

Immediately after the main content. This is exactly where your reader will end up at the point when they will decide whether to endorse the content with a share. Don't make them think, or search. Make it quick and simple - if they have to search for it - or they find it in an area that could relate to another section of the site they won't click it and you will lose the opportunity.

I see a connection between social bookmarking/share buttons and post comments too and as such this reinforces my thinking that immediately after the main content is the intuitive placement position.

Hey Bill,

Can you tell us what campaign type you initially setup: Sub domain, Root domain or Sub folder?

I believe you are going to struggle setting up your campaign to monitor all of these pages due to the current configuration - based on the link architecture/navigation.

Would it be fair to say that you are actually only concerned about monitoring the performance of the  visible Sqeeze pages in the SERPS - because if every other page should only be visible when you opt in then it stands to reason that you would be better to have all of this content hidden using noindex, to preserve the value of the content within those pages - to give potential customers every reason to opt in?

If we had a better idea of what your end goal was it might help us better assist you.

http://www.kingofcopy.com/sitemap.xml - references only 3 files (with the index and sitemap/xml link making it up to 5)

However the other sections of the site are installed into sub folders or are disconnected from the content referenced from your root www.kingofcopy.com

take a look at this sitemap further into the site from one of your subfolders http://www.kingofcopy.com/products/sitemap.xml and you will see what looks to be the 1000+ pages you refer to.

However, there is no connection between the root directory and these other pages and sub folders.

It appears that your main page is http://www.kingofcopy.com/main.html

Ordinarily you would want to bring them into one common, connected framework - with all accessible pages linked to in a structured and logical way - and if you have other exclusive squeeeze pages/landing pages that you do not want to show up in search results - and just direct users to them using mail shots etc then you can prevent them getting indexed - for example - you may want to prevent a pure sqeeze page like http://www.kingofcopy.com/max/maxoutsideusa.html from appearing in the SERPS.

To prevent all robots from indexing a page on your site, place the following meta tag into the section of your page:

Personally, I would consider a restructure to bring this content into the root directory - noindexing the squeeze pages as required - but this would need to be carefully planned and well executed with 301 redirects in place where content has moved from one directory to another

However, you could always shuffle around the first few pages - renaming main.html to index html and having the copy you currently have at www.kingofcopy.com in a lightbox/popup or similar over the top of the main page ?

I think the problem with the main.html page not being found as your default root/home page and the lack of connections between certain pages is the cause for a lot of the issues with your campaign crawling so few of the pages.

Incidentally, if you did restructure consider using Wordpress as would be a great fit with what you have produced already (and there are plently of wordpress squeeze page/product promotion themes available.

I would certainly incorporate as many human readable elements as possible in the URL - these can only help improve the SEO for each product page.

With regard to your concerns about keeping your URLs manageable - Could you not incorporate a unique element into the URL (such as the ISBN number or SKU reference) alongside a well structured keyword rich element - as you find on Amazon or Play.com for example:

http://www.amazon.com/Art-SEO-Mastering-Optimization-Practice/dp/0596518862

or

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/90536/Four-Weddings-And-A-Funeral/Product.html

Using a unique identifier would prevent duplicate URL issues and in some cases - books for example - it could actually help your rankings - If the unique reference was one that could also be searched for by potential buyers - The ISBN 10 number is incorporated in the Amazon URL example above - and regular readers who want a very specific edition of a product are likely to search using this in their search query.

I would leave you with one suggestion - carry out any number of random product searches both within your niche and out of it - and note how many of the highest ranking URLs have a structure similar to the one you are currently considering versus structured, human readable URLs.

Ho ho ho! Very whimsical indeed

For your sanity you should know there has been issues with this for all of us recently - and Delete Reply doesn't work

( Hmmm, I wonder if SEOMoz will get penalised for all of this duplicate content??? )

Update your links to get back 100% of your link juice back.

See here for more info: http://www.seomoz.org/qa/view/48932/link-age-vs-domain-age

EDIT: DANG! How quick are you Ryan ;o) Were you at Vivid Lime's house when he started writing the question?!?

I would bear in mind that most people who are serious about undertaking an online degree are likely to search for an online degree in a specific field - Online Marketing Degree etc, rather than the very vague 'Online Degree', so I would target one main keyword (and related keyword variations) per page/discipline.

Potential customers who are further down the buying funnel will use more specific searches to find exactly what they want - afterall, they will know that a search for online degree will bring out LOTS of irrelevant results and not deliver what they are looking for - so they drill down using the long tail keywords.

Take a look at The Long Tail by Chris Anderson - http://www.amazon.com/Long-Tail-Revised-Updated-Business/dp/1401309666/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308771559&sr=1-2

You will also stand a better chance in the SERPS targeting the longer tail keywords.

It's easy to get blinded by numbers in SEO and it is very easy to all end up chasing the same keywords - when they might not be the best converting keywords - I have spent some years doing exactly that and it is only in recent years that I changed my tactics and started pursuing 'more of less' and as a consequence improved the performance of my online business considerably.

If by 'irrelevant keywords' you mean the words that occur naturally when discussing your subject area then it is absolutely not an issue if you provide quality information, written for the reader primarily - not the search engines. It is easy to get blinded by focusing on nothing other than keywords, which usually results in their overuse in an unnatural and spammy looking way.

Remember - Search Engines won't buy what you are selling - but your visitors will - IF you can show them ithat you offer what it is they are looking for using tried and tested sales copy, which is reassuring and can demonstrate the product features which will benefit your visitor/potential customer.

Think from the perspective of your visitor. They will be asking themselves 'What's in it for me?'

They aren't likely to surrender their contact details unless they genuinely want you to contact them. So they will either want information (quotes or technical information) People expect to provide contact details in forms - which is why free quotes work so well, so if you are thinking on those lines - i.e. you are trying to capture details during a request for information it might be better not to deviate too much from the tried and tested.

Of course if you are thinking in terms of innovative marketing and you have a budget there are endless possibilities.

So you can appeal to their desire to get something for nothing - YOUR OLD CAR STINKS! - Win a lifetime's supply of Magic Trees! Contact us for details of our SWEET SMELLING deals!

Ask for their help - by stroking their ego - acknowledge their automotive expertise.

Ask them to help you help others - Pick a local charity and place a bucket on the sales office and pledge a dollar or $5  for every free quote request you get that day - don't forget to show them the actual bucket - with some $$$$s in it!

YOUR WIFE 's car IS DIRTY! Bring bring her down to our dealership today for a free hand wash and part ex valuation (on the car - not the wife!)

Essentially you need to either offer them something that they already know they want, but cannot normally get freely elsewhere (without providing details) or something that is exculsive to your dealership - so they cannot get it elsewhere - or the chance to get something they didn't know they wanted, but now that it has been brought to their attention they don't want to miss out on  - like Naked Bear Wrestling or a similar family fun day?

Give Google content it strives/loves to deliver to it's users - the thing that is the core of their whole ethos: RELEVANT content - without that Google users go elsewhere to find it and you miss the opportunity to promote your product or service.

You don't need to drill down to that level really. You can use filtering within the results to show coats by colour etc.

There are many examples in ecommerce of different URL structure and layout/navigation. It is difficult to categorically state (no pun intended!) which one is the BEST per se, however, if you work this problem backwards - i.e by generating a list of the keywords you want to target for all of your products, and look at the typical searches for these you will end up with some strong indication of where it is best to place emphasis and this may influence your url structure and navigation elements.

As long as useablity isn't overlooked and you create content that naturally allows you to focus on your desired target keywords without trying to create artificial, keyword stuffed content then you should be well on your way.

A lot of this is determined by the backend of your CMS solution - is it an out of the box ecommerce solution or custom made? Or is it not strictly ecommerce, but wordpress for example? As there are certain limitations to URL structure within many ecommerce packages.

In mechanical terms having Open Categories and Sub Categories in the sidebar can lead to a very long menu, but all options are visible without a click, versus, Closed Categories (which do not display sub-categories until they are clicked (by either expanding or showing sub categories in the main page) can give a neater/shorter menu, but require clicking before the user can determine if they have the right category.

My experience from an ecommerce prospective is that you would be better adding a Category into your structure, for a couple of reasons:

1. SEO. Adding an category page gives you an opportunity to rank for the broader keyoword COATS,  rather than just having content targeting the more specific keywords, LEATHER COATS etc. The category pages give you an opportunity to add additional pages of content which contain more keyword diversification and some more anchor text - Just don't go too heavy on it and do be sure to add the keyword variations, make the content look natural and importantly, make sure it is of value to your visitors - and it has a natural readable structure, rather than just content designed to satisfy the Search Engines. All too often it is easy to focus on the content from an SEO perspective only, and in doing so neglect the most important aspect - the end user experience. A well thought out Category page will give you many SEO benefits.

Another consideration would be the development of content that can create a foundation for SITEWIDE LINKS. All of the Sitewide links I have gained have been as a result of Category pages/Sections - rather than individual content pages. Of course you can't directly influence whether or not you get Sitewide links, but having the structure in place will not hurt.

2. NAVIGATION/USEABILITY. A Category page, which contains a list of all of the individual product pages also allows your user to get an overview of all of your product variations within a category and can then select a product which is most relevant to their enquiry. You will also have an opportunity to present them with additional options that they might not have previously considered (or been aware of), such as PVC COATS for example.

I also think the Category option gives you scope to really expand upon your product range without having any URL duplication issues (for example) Home.com/leather-coats.html as opposed to Home.com/Mens-Coats/leather-coats.html or similar. A slightly longer URL which contains the targeted keywords helps both the Search Engines and your User.

(If I am looking for shoes for example and I saw www.domain.com/lmens-shoes/casual-eather-shoes.html I would be more inclined to click than if I saw www.domain.com/leather-shoes.html) as I can see from the URL that the page is more relevant to my gender and search enquiry.

Incidentally, I developed (and SEOd) an ecommerce shoe store for a friend and the VAST majority of their business is the result of specific LONG TAIL keyword searches, rather than the BROAD SEARCH keywords, as the searchers who use long tail searches are further down the buying funnel. So a hit for Gold Leather Gladiator Sandals would convert much more than a hit for Womens Sandals as an example.

Youl would also have better control over navigation elements as your product range expands.

Home.Com
Mens Coats
Womens Coats

etc and the individual product pages underneath.

Without this you could end up with a very difficult to navigate structure.

A logical layout will give you control over the content, easier navigation and the opportunity to create pages that target a more diverse range of keywords in a natural way, which will all contribute toward better rankings.

Rand states "We plan to have an updated version ready to launch in the next 60 days." posted on the 6th June - so Early August 2011 looks to be the target re-launch date.

Interspire Shopping Cart. Built in SEO is excellent! (Though the support are a touch slow in a number of other areas.)

With Interspire and a good domain name I get a great number of extremely good rankings on the first page of the SERPS (alongside the likes of Amazon.co.uk) for almost every one of our targeted keywords.

Do not overlook this solution, or their hosted version www.BigCommerce.com

NOTE: SEO 'GURU' Aaron Wall had some involvement (as a consultant?) in the SEO aspects of Interspire too.

The on page analysis is showing you this URL as it is the one that you are currently ranking 37th for. The Grade applied to this page is determined by many on page elements that can be better optimised to improve your Grade - and in doing so the likelyhood of improving your rankings as a result.

With regard to better optimising your page to best match your keyword - I would suggest that you first (and foremost) look at focusing on first selecting a small number of potential keyword variations that are the most relevant to your niche, your content and your customer - make sure they are targeted keyword/s rather than a very broad keyword/s (especially if the broad keyword is one that is highly competitive.)

Then I would take my shortlist of keywords and do some keyword research using something like Google's Keyword Tool or similar and examine the popularity of these keyword phrases (I would also consider selecting phrase and exact matches for these keywords) to best determine the most popular variations based on the number of monthly searches.

Try and build a URL structure that matches this keyword too - for example www.mydomain.com/villas-in-florida/

(If this proves to be a different keyword to the one you are currently using and you want to change the URL structure, page title etc and some of the copy on page you should create a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new.)

If both of your sites have a mixture of original and duplicated content (and also when dynamically generated urls are creating duplicate content) the surest thing to do is to declare the original source of the duplicate content using the rel=canonical tag. Now, if you are using duplicate content across domains you would use the cross domain rel canonical: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/12/handling-legitimate-cross-domain.html This will prevent the .ie version showing up in the SERPS. See also this link for info on the rel canonical tag: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=139394 And this article on duplicate content: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/09/demystifying-duplicate-content-penalty.html

Generally the .xml.gz format is the one stated in examples there are a few references to this here : http://www.sitemaps.org/protocol.php#index

Most sitemap generators that create both compressed and uncompressed sitemap files name them sitemap.xml and sitemap.xml.gz respectively. It also makes it clearer what the content of the zipped file is. I don't believe it is essential however, as you will direct tools such as google.com/webmasters to your xml sitemap - rather than expect it to find it of its own accord.

I always use the .xml.gz format when compressing. I would argue that (if both formats work) neither one is 'BETTER' than the other, rather one is more ACCEPTED than the other.

This is a very useful article:

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/facebook-twitters-influence-google-search-rankings