{!name_fix} - Rob's Yahoo! Store linking trick explained
{!name_fix} - Rob's Yahoo! Store linking trick explained

{!name_fix} -- Howdy!

Sorry this is a bit late. My mom was in the hospital and I've
been out of the office for a week. She's much better now, though!

If you commented on the blog, I'll shortly be sending your
WOMBAT.rtml -- a clients & friends-only utility template to help
you make these links much, much faster.

Yahoo! Store CAPTION Linking Secrets:

Make your Yahoo! Store easier to navigate with simple text links
sprinkled throughout your CAPTION fields (the text field where you
put product descriptions. These hyperlinks help shoppers and have
amazing SEO benefits. Write some good CAPTION text and then
sprinkle text links throughout your copy.

Take a look at Wikipedia to see a great example of a site with
great internal links. Whenever the text references anything that
has another Wikipedia listing (usually any noun), that word or
phrase is hyperlinked to that page. Here's an example of a
Wikipedia page with tons of links using my favorite animal: See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombat

OK. In this post, I'm going to show you how I write CAPTIONS on
section pages and how I link 'em up to benefit shoppers and search
search engines! Let's get started!

Maximize CAPTION Fields on Section Pages

First, section pages need well-written CAPTION text fields to
educate your shoppers. This CAPTION text is really for shoppers,
but search engine 'bots love them, too. Your CAPTIONS should tell
folks what products they should buy and why they should buy them.
Sometimes retailers have great product descriptions, but almost no
text on their section pages. ACK! What a waste of valuable Web real
estate!

Here's why you need to maximize CAPTION fields on your section pages:

* Section pages typically get more page views than product pages
do. The average visitor to your site will probably see more
sections pages than product pages, so take advantage of this.

* Section pages can keep folks on your site.  Provide shoppers with
the information they need to buy the products they want.

* Section pages usually have more link popularity than product
pages. It's easier to optimize sections to rank better in search
engines.

If you want to see which of your section pages are getting the most
page views, go to the STORE MANAGER, and click on the PAGE VIEWS
link under the STATISTICS heading.

TIP: Spend most of your time tweaking the section pages that
feature products that make you the most money. Start with your most
valuable sections and work your way down the list. If you only have
time to optimize three or four pages, you'll get the most bang for
your buck if you start at the top of the list.

Put Links Inside CAPTION Text Where it Makes Sense

Links in CAPTION fields make it easier for folks to shop your site
and for search engines to know what your site is about. As you
probably know, a link is a clickable hypertext reference (a word or
an image) that directs you to another Web resource, usually another
html Web page.

Here are some things you need to know about links:

* Whenever you mention anything in the CAPTION text that has it's
own page, make that text a link to that page so shoppers can click
to learn more about what you're talking about.

* Any time you refer to another type of product in your CAPTION
text, link that word or phrase to the most relevant product on your
site for that term.

* Link to products, sub-sections, shop by manufacturer pages,
product FAQ pages, buyers' guides, product comparison charts or
virtually any other pages on your site that educate users.

* Use relevant keyword phrases as words in the link text (a.k.a.
anchor text) because it makes more sense for the reader. Don't link
with the words click here.

* Keywords inside the link text (anchor text) help search engines
figure out what the linked page is about, sometimes called
reputation analysis.

Now that you know a little bit more about links, I'll show you an
example of some text in a CAPTION field on a section page, and how
I link the keywords in the text to the most relevant page for each
keyword phrase.

For example, let's say you sell the latest high-end wombat fashions
and wombat grooming products. On your wombat shampoos section page,
write three or four sentences describing the various types of
shampoos you sell, the brands you sell, what the best selling
products are, what problems these products solve and list other
related products. Link each of these phrases to the most relevant
page. You can also link to buyers' guides and FAQ pages.

Here's an example of a keyword-loaded CAPTION:

Everyone loves a wonderful-smelling wombat. Browse our wide
selection of wombat cleaners & wombat shampoos. Not sure what to
buy? Check out Wilber's "How to Wash Your Wombat" and "Wombat
Grooming FAQ." More folks buy 100% all-natural WOMBAT WASH (shampoo
& conditioner) than anything else. After washing your wombat, groom
your pet with specialty wombat brushes, blow driers, and styling
gels.

How many words in the above CAPTION could you turn into links?
Here's how I would link up my CAPTION. This is what it would look
like on the Web:

(This is a TEXT email, so pretend that the following has links)

Everyone loves a wonderful-smelling wombat! Browse our wide
selection of wombat cleaners & wombat shampoos. Not sure what to
buy? Check out Wilber's "How to Wash Your Wombat" and "Wombat
Grooming FAQ." More folks buy 100% all-natural WOMBAT WASH (shampoo
& conditioner) than anything else. After washing your wombat, groom
your pet with specialty wombat brushes, blow driers, and styling
gels.

Notice how some links are bold (to draw attention). I use the
strong tag <strong></strong> which works like a bold tag, but also
tells the search engine that the words inside the tag are
important. Here's the code:

<strong><a href=id-of-page.html>keyword anchor text here</a></strong>

Here's the HTML code which assumes page1.html is about wombat
cleaners, page2.html is about wombat shampoos, etc.:

<strong>Everyone loves a wonderful-smelling wombat</strong>! Browse
our wide selection of <strong><a href=page1.html>wombat
cleaners</a></strong> & <strong><a href=page2.html>wombat
shampoos</a></strong>. Not sure what to buy? Check out Wilber's "<a
href=page3.html>How to Wash Your Wombat</a>" and "<a
href=page4.html>Wombat Grooming FAQ</a>." More folks buy 100%
<strong><a href=page5.html>all-natural WOMBAT WASH</a></strong>
(shampoo & conditioner) than anything else. After washing your
wombat, groom your pet with specialty <a href=page6.html>wombat
brushes</a>, <a href=page7.html>blow driers</a>, and <a
href=page8.html>styling gels</a>.

Here are a few more things you might need to know to make CAPTION
links:

CAPTION: The CAPTION field is a text field on a page made in STORE
EDITOR where you can type the description for items and section
pages. The CAPTION field accepts limited HTML code. To add or edit
text in a CAPTION, login to your STORE EDITOR, browse to the page
you want to edit, and click the EDIT button. Make the changes you
want and click the Update button to see your edits. Remember to
PUBLISH your store when you're ready for your customers to see your
work.

Link (or hyperlink): A clickable word or image that moves your
browser to another page.

Anchor Text / Link Text: The words inside a link. This clickable
text is sometimes shown in a blue font and is underlined.

Anchor Tag: The HTML code that makes a word or image a clickable
link. The code looks like this: <a href=pagename.html>anchor text</a>

Relative Path URL: This is a relative path URL:<a
href=pagename.html>link text</a>. Notice how the URL in the HREF
only specifies pagename.html. This link assumes you are already on
a page somewhere on a domain. A relative path link will move you
from where you are to that new page.

Relative URLS work both in STORE EDITOR and on the published site
because they move you to pagename.html, whether to
http://us-f1-edit.store.yahoo.com/RT/NEWEDIT.youraccountname/pagenam
e.html or http://www.yourdomain.com/pagename.html on the Published
site.

Absolute Path URL: This is an absolute path URL:<a
href=http://www.yourdomain.com/pagename.html>link text</a>. Notice
how the HREF specifies the domain and the pagename.html. This link
assumes nothing and moves you to the exact location specified in
the URL. Absolute URLS don't work in STORE EDITOR because they
"boot you out" to the Published site.

I prefer to use relative path URLs on my stores because I like
using my CAPTION links to navigate when I'm in the STORE EDITOR.

Good luck writing good CAPTION text and linking pages on your Web
site!

Rob

--
Rob Snell / Ystore.com Starkville, Mississippi USA
http://www.robsnell.com
read my blog: http://ystore.blogs.com
buy my book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764588737/sr=8-2/qid=1140275737/ref=sr_1_2/103-4498188-6183843?%5Fencoding=UTF8