Search Engine Optimization is one of those topics that is covered in detail all over the web (see seochat.com for starters), but I thought it would be handy to have a checklist on how to optimize X-Cart itself. This assumes you have already done your keyword research, analyzed your competition extensively and started an inbound linking campaign. In no particular order:
1. Install X-Cart in the root directory of your site so that www.yourdomain.com goes directly to the front page of X-Cart.
2. When you are uploading new products, make sure the product descriptions have a good keyword density. Also try to use your keywords in the product title.
3. When uploading detailed images, add keyword-rich content to the ALT area. Also, use keywords in the image name, and upload the images to the server first and browse to them from there so that X-Cart does not rename them.
4. Use Category descriptions (under "Categories") as well as the META data for them.
5. Use h1 tags in appropriate places, but don't over-use them as that will defeat the purpose. They are meant to be used to show the element with the most importance on the site, so don't use them around your whole product description. I recommend using it around the dialog title element in dialog.tpl, and the product title in your products.tpl or products_t.tpl. Format the .h1 element in skin1.css so that it fits the design and color scheme of the site.
6. Put a keyword-rich paragraph or two on your home page. To the search engines, this page carries the most weight, so it really needs to have text, not just images.
7. Use the HTML catalog option built into X-Cart, and generate it in the root directory. If you are using the HTML catalog, you MUST block php pages from being indexed or you will be penalized by the search engines for duplicate content. Read through this forum for threads on how to block php pages using robots.txt.
As an alternative to the HTML catalog, I highly recommend this add-on:
http://www.safetynetweb.com/Dynamic-Search-Engine-Friendly-URLs-pr-1.html
This gives you the same benefits of the HTML catalog as far as the Search Engine Friendly URL goes, but you won't have to re-generate the catalog daily. Also, it comes with a nice little robots.txt file that does everything you need it to do.
8. The title tag is one of the most important tags on your site. Ideally, it should have a nice descriptive title for the home page (instead of just company name), and then use only the product name/category name when you navigate to those pages. There are a few mods in the X-Cart forum that will accomplish this. Also, you should replace the :: seperators with - as some search engines do not like non-standard characters.
9. META Tags - some say these are useless, but Google still uses the Description tag for the text that displays under your listing, and they certainly can't hurt. By default, the META tags are filled out with X-Cart junk, so if you don't change them before your site gets indexed, your site could very well be listed with them. Change them in General Settings/SEO options. Don't SPAM these either. The Description tag should be 1-2 sentences, the keyword tag should be 12-15 words/phrases. You may also want to consider this mod that allows you to specify META tags for each product.
10. It is best to have all of your traffic coming to either yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com, not both. This will get all of your traffic going to www.yourdomain.com. Put this in your .htaccess file:
Code:
# REWRITE RULES
Options +SymlinksIfOwnerMatch -Indexes
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.example\.com [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
Just replace example.com with your domain. FYI, your .htaccess file is in the root directory of X-Cart.
NOTE: Only use this if you are using your own SSL certificate. It will not work with a shared certificate!
11. Create a site map on your site, as well as an site map to Google Sitemaps using this site.
12. Upload your products to Froogle/Google Base using the built-in module.
13. Add alt text to the product thumbnails. I use the product title by default. Also name your thumbnails with keywords in them and use the same method for uploading as I mentioned for detailed images.
That's it for now...I'll add/edit this post as things change (they always do) or if I think of anything else. As I mentioned above, this is not a comprehensive guide to SEO, as there are many things you can do to help your site OUTSIDE of X-Cart (pay per click advertising, attaching a forum/blog to your site, linking campaigns, etc).
