It´s not the worst approach to start with the obvious, even if it seems too basic. Just go with the part of SEM which is known by everybody: keyword stuffing. So let´s apply this common method of search engine optimization to an imaginary ecommerce project for the guitar player Buckethead. Here are my suggestions for initial, minimal search engine optimizing by using the main keywords #buckethead #store and supplementing with the additional words #merch and #official.

With the sippet optimizer, you get a quick preview of title, url and description.


1. consider filenames, paths, pages or categories

Using both keywords in the domain address like »www.buckethead.store« or »www.buckethead-store.com« is crucial. Next, I would recommend to add it in the filename for a logo as »buckethead-store.gif« plus a photo with the filename »buckethead-official-store.jpg« and don´t forget a matching short sentence as ALT text for those pictures. Then create pages or categories using these two words: »buckethead« to give background information about the artist details and »store« for an overview of new products.

I am personally not a fan of emojis. But since it´s trending you can include some in the describtion.


2. polish the source code

Change the website title to »The direct way from BUCKETHEAD into your mailbox.« this is possible in the general settings for WordPress. The following options are only available if you install the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress.

Put the keyphrase »Your station for ? official merch ? and music ? by Buckethead ⏩ Fast forward to buckethead-store.com and get shirts, patches, sticker, signed cassettes and cd´s, original paintings and a lot more treats and trinkets. « in the meta description of the startpage to make the snippet appealing for people searching and »official-buckethead-merch« should be the slug for the index page.

3. streamline the content

The keyphrase in the headline H1 should be changed to »Your station for official merch and music by Buckethead « and it´s is important to include this phrase or parts of it into the first longer paragraph of the main text.

And don´t forget to make it userfriendly. Create a place where fans like to hang out … enjoy browsing and shopping. You are writing primarily for human beings and then for the search engine. My conclusion: This method is a solid first step in SEM, that is quick and easy to implement. But, there is more to do, to get a website to rank good, for example, offsite optimization, social cues and user experience etc. Read about my tricks for a quick SEM research here.