Top Tuni’SEO takeaways regarding SEO success for online merchants

The crème de la crème of the Francophone search marketing industry gathered in Tunis, Tunisia to present their insights at SEOCamp’s Tuni’SEO conference on February 28, 2015.

#SEO Découvrez les intervenants de l’édition 2015 du #Tuniseo http://t.co/GBilSi8FjU le 28 février à Tunis #seocamp pic.twitter.com/NdNNKIRXE3

— Tuni’SEO 2015 (@Tuniseo) February 5, 2015

The fourth consecutive edition of Tuni’SEO was promoted on Twitter via the hashtag #Tuniseo held at the Hotel Majestic and co-organized by online marketing experts including SEOCamp President Hasni Khabeb and marketing consultant Mounira Hamdi (previously featured on the Lengow Blog in an article about Inbound Marketing and the power of Scoop.it). Khabeb also invited marketers in Paris to learn how to improve their online strategies at SEOCamp’s annual search marketing conference SEOCamp’us in Paris which will be held soon on March 19-20.

While all of the video of the conference hasn’t been released yet, photos and highlights are available via blogger and Tuni’SEO speaker Khalil Trabelsi and some of the presentations are already available online via Bunkr.

Nearly 200 attendees had a chance to learn from SEO specialists about how to reach Page 1 while playing by the rules; this article provides an exclusive review in English of some of the highlights of the day-long conference.

Search’s Significance

If the impact of search on ecommerce sites wasn’t already clear so far in 2015, SEO masterminds like Aurelien Bardon (one of France’s first success stories in the area of blog monetization) provided data that showed how high the stakes are.

Bardon’s presentation addressed some of the challenges facing ecommerce merchants, from the need for optimal configurations of shops set up on PrestaShop (a Lengow Hub member that is known for its versatility) to the need for a quality search experience for shoppers (which is provided by industry leader and Lengow Hub member Algolia). Data from Zoomerang helped Bardon paint the picture.

96% of shoppers say #search is key for #etail sites,40% use them.-@aurelienbardon at #tuniseo(Retailers:try @Algolia) pic.twitter.com/gqIZq3uFTu

— Lengow UK (@Lengow_UK) February 28, 2015

73% of #shoppers leave #ecommerce sites after 2min if they can’t find products they want.-@aurelienbardon at #tuniseo pic.twitter.com/DFtp2X3cAZ

— Lengow UK (@Lengow_UK) February 28, 2015

Besides the knowledge shared onstage, the conference offered several opportunities during breaks for attendees to connect and discuss industry trends.

Comment by a SEO expert/speaker in Tunis @ #tuniseo:”All my clients use #Lengow.”Find out why->http://t.co/qKxVWNFWJ2 pic.twitter.com/KDacicNUJq

— Lengow UK (@Lengow_UK) February 28, 2015

Online Observations

One of the standout talks was given by Kevin Richard, who shared his advice for achieving Backlinks success and has consistently been able to keep up with Google’s ever-changing algorithm. He now helps companies in France do the same through his company SEObserver and shared some best practices regarding strategy (including a recommendation of fellow Tuni’SEO speaker and PrestaShop expert Priscillien Meideck).

RT @ImenMarref: @512banque démarre sa conférence #Tuniseo #Seocamp pic.twitter.com/PNd7W2uiu9

— Mounira HAMDI (@MouniraHamdi) February 28, 2015

Tips for getting to Page1:build TRUST with Google(avoid spam) & follow @priscillien’s advice-@512banque #tuniseo #seo pic.twitter.com/sDBKAfpeea

— Lengow UK (@Lengow_UK) February 28, 2015

Richard, who previously figured out a huge Google Search challenge (regarding geolocation) that many marketers couldn’t solve and shared it on Moz.com in December 2013, later shared some more advice for online merchants with the Lengow Blog.

“My best advice would be to never put all your eggs in one basket, create several websites and use marketplaces. This way, if you get a Google penalty on one website, the other ones will still be there and all your SEO traffic will not simply vanish,” said Richard.

Search Strategy

Rounding out the SEO-focused speakers were Mikaël Priol, Jean-Benoît Moingt  and Laurent Bourrelly. The latter took some time after stepping off the Tuni’SEO stage to share with Lengow Blog readers his views on how online merchants can achieve SEO success in 2015.

“When you are designing your site, make sure to think about how you are going to map out the site for shoppers. Everything needs to have a semantic connection in order for your site to be ranked higher,” said Bourrelly, who also recommended taking a Mind Mapping approach and is a noted advocate of the concept of the “semantic affinity.”

“For example, if your ecommerce site sells bikes, you can create quality links if you include information about highly relevant topics like maintaining wheels and other content that is helpful for cycling enthusiasts.”