Steven Carr
Domain Name Hi Jacking and Owning your Domain
Well, I spent over 45 minutes on the phone with a registrar today because a client did not own their own destiny. This is a more common a problem than what I would like to see.
Here is the story. My client allowed their previous web design company to purchase the domain they where going to use for their business. The designer purchased the domain and locked it up with Domains by Proxy, a service of GoDaddy’s registration company. It was purchased in the designers name and he used his email address.
He then designed a web site in flash, with no regard for the growing Apple devices. After the design was completed, the guy disappeared. (They know where he went but he was unresponsive due to the limitations he had on his Internet access. Read between the lines.)
Well, it has been 4.5 years and they decided to get their site refreshed for everyone to see and so they hired me. We decided to register a new domain name for the project to use as a beta site. It took a couple of days to put their new site together and we were ready to flip it over to the old site, but…. no access to the domain registrar to make the hosting changes.
Because we got the FTP access, we were able to upload a refresh command to make it resolve to the new site, but this is just not a good patch. The client is still paying for hosting of the old site and now for the new on another service.
Maybe in the future we will secure the username and password. If we don’t, the domain expires soon and we will backorder it.
The point of this story is to be sure you own your domain and lock it down before development. If you are using a service that offers hosting, start another account for the hosting service. Do not let your developer/design team into the account with the domain name unless you trust them with your first born!
Steven
Creating an eCommerce site
I have used several solutions for ecommerce in the past and the one I prefer is the GoDaddy.com shopping cart solution.
It is easy to customize, easy for the end user to learn so that products can be added/deleted/changed and the options for the credit card processing are excellent.
The first step after securing your domain name is to create the site look and feel. Once completed, it is time for content. Content is KING and using the right Key Words is very important to your online success with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Then, deciding what you are going to sell and how you are going to sell it. Get good pictures of your products and decide on pricing.
Purchase an SSL Certificate (allows you to verify who you are and provide the security of the site using https protocol). again, Godaddy is a great resource with world class support. Trust me, I spend a lot of time on the phone with these guys. Very well trained.
After you have your SSL, order your Shopping Cart. For $29.95 a month, you get a 100 product catalog and hosting.
Now is learning time. Once you are set up, dive in and learn the system. First time took me 30 minutes. Easy
If you do not have a credit card processing company you work with, you can do it with PayPal or set one up through GoDaddy. I have one I use, so that part takes seconds.
Test and retest. You should be ready to open for business 24/7/365!
It’s all about the word’s behind the message!
Much watch video says it all!
The important role links can play for your SEO
Link building plays an important role in SEO strategies that can be expensive and time-consuming; but can also be rewarding,
Today I want to address some common pitfalls in link building strategies.
Link Exchange Program
Google has already made it very clear that they do not allow link buying as well as link selling. Paying for backlinks to your website might appear like an effective way to get the backlinks but do not do this because: 1. The links may not count and, 2) in the worst case, they may be count against you. For instance, A has a link for B and on the contrary B also has a link for A. The best way is that A connects > B connects > C connects > A.
Back Links from Irrelevant Sites
It is very important to be linked to the relevant sites only! Check out their Google Ranking! Also, be sure the link is going to be relevant to the visitors there. To find out a relevant site may be difficult but you have to find out the relevant sites which are suitable for you. Use a Google search to get a list of suitable sites.
Securing back links with the ‘Nofollow’ attribute
There is no doubt link exchanges are a good way to build the back links. I have a group of friends who have online directories and sites that I exchange links with. Sometimes during link exchange, some companies cheat with a ‘nofollow’ attribute, though you have already paid for placing your link. Actually, this is a common challenge that people face in their link building strategies. So, if possible try to make periodic link checks to be sure the link still exists and does not have a Nofollow attribute.
Relevant Anchor Text
The root of the backlink is just the one side of a coin. The anchor text of the back link is thepart of the equation making the backlink useful. If the anchor text does not contain your targeted keywords, then this link is useless.
Getting an Image Link or Banner Ad
Web masters often skip important aspects of back links as they are in a hurry to get them for their clients. Skipping minor details, such as the anchor text, is common. You can also use image links. Though an image link is OK and it may even bring you a more visitors than a text link if the image is attractive, it is still not as positive to your SEO as the keyword rich anchor text.
Link exchanges with Sites with Bad Reputation
Be sure your link exchanges are not with a bad reputation site. Google interprets these types of links as an endorsement of the rogue site, and that probably will not work in your favor.
Linking to Good Sites Turned Bad
It may happen that the site you have link building with gets an unfavorable ranking from Google. If they over submit or publish scam contents they could be removed from the search engine all together. So it is important to check these back linked sites routinely, otherwise you may suffer later!
Always try to monitor your links.
Houston Web Design
Being a Web Designer is a sometimes a difficult job to describe because design is just the beginning of establishing an Internet presence.
A Web Designer often has to be a strategists, a marketer, an artists, a photographer, a layout specialist, a copy writer, a keyword research specialist and a politician. Why a politician??? To deal with “designed by committee” web sites for small to mid-sized corporations that allow their team to “come up with’ a web site. These are the hardest because the Web designer is often caught in-between warring factions. :-)
My first “collaborative” effort was a web site for a group of retired CEO’s and Presidents (Leaders) who had appointed a committee to do the web site. A team of 3-4 retirees would bring their ideas to a meeting and “discuss” them for long periods of time, often reaching no consensus. After attending the third of such labourous meetings, I told the committee chair that my interaction would only be with him and that they needed to arrive at agreements on a long list of points I provided.
Well, they finally reached an agreement and I built the site in hours, not days.
This is not always the case. I have been involved with “teams’ including marketing, legal, design, HR and management that were ready to stand their respective ground until the site was built to satisfy each groups agenda. I still look back and shake my head. Billing by the hour instead of by the job started on that project!
I have a proven method that streamlines the process. Call me and I will share it with you!
Short Tail vs Long Tail Marketing Strategies
What am I talking about??? Cats, Dogs Kangaroo’s or Marketing???
What is “Short Tail” and “Long Tail” marketing when it comes to SEO?
It is all in the graph my friend. In short, no pun intended, it is all about key words.
Short Tail keywords are 1-2 words that are the focused specific words dealing with the web site you are wanting to promote.
Let’s take HoustonJOBS.com for example. The Short Tail keywords would be “Houston, Jobs, Careers, Texas, Employment”. These few specific keywords are used in the content to assure top search engine placement when searching “Houston Jobs”.
Long tail keywords, by definition are combinations of 3-6 words that are specific and relevant to the products you are wanting to market/sell. Any generic keywords containing product features, Model number, SKU #, price, etc. can be taken as a long tail keyword.”
Using HoustonJOBS.com as the test case for Long Tail Keywords, we would use phrases like “Houston Engineering Jobs” or “Legal Assistant Jobs in Houston, Texas”
Coined “Long Tail” by Chris Anderson he realized the short tail and long tail of key word search is about equal.
Keyword research is one of the most significant and basic SEO processes. When identifying keywords for a retail search marketing campaign, targeting long tail keyword is one way to increase search traffic and improve conversion rates.
Here is an example of both short tail and long tail keywords using HoustonJOBS.com as the example:
Short Tail Keywords:
- Houston Jobs
- Job Search Houston
- Houston Employment
- Houston Texas Jobs
Long Tail Keywords:
- Houston Para Legal assistant jobs
- Chemical Engineering Project Manager in Houston Ship channel
- Houston area Senior Construction Project Manager
Short Tail keywords vs. Long Tail keywords
A person who is using short tail keywords may be searching for different specific jobs available or might be conducting some research on the current job market. So it is better to make your category pages filled with short keywords.
Ranking well for short keywords is not a bad approach, but at the same time it may not work always. By using long tail keyword such as “Chemical Engineering Project Manager in Houston Ship channel” the searcher has already done some research and may be searching a more specific opportunity and is more likely to respond to a posting with that focus.
Truth about Long Tail Keywords:
- Can easily rank in search engines
- Will not have too much competition
- Will not be present in keyword database because search volume is very low
- Can increase conversion
Basic Steps to find Long tail keywords:
- Brainstorm – Step into online shopper’s shoe and conduct an imaginary search to find long tail keywords if they were to search for products.
- Competitor Analysis – Look at your competitor’s source code on the product page and find what long tail keywords they have used.
- Look into your Web analytics and see what long tail keywords people have used to find your website.
- Collect these keywords and check for keyword relevancy. Ignore all those keywords that are too generic or do not apply.
With this research, you can tweak your meta tags, content pages, and navigational codes.
Here is the simple strategy you can follow…
- Use general keywords in the home page
- Use specific keywords in category pages
- Use brand specific keywords in brand category pages
- Target long tail keywords in the specific product page
So, break out your past Website Analytic reports and go to work. Check this theory out for yourself and you will see how you can increase traffic and hopefully conversion rates on your site.
Be sure the Long Tail Keywords you decide upon are relevant and directly related to your product.
- View your analytics tool/log files to see for how many long tail keywords your webpage ranks in search engine.
- What percentage of conversion these long tail keywords have given?
- What is your bounce rate?
- If most of your long tail keywords just give you traffic with no sales then there could be any or all of the following problems
- Irrelevant landing page
- Weak product description
- No extensive product features
- No Call to actions
- No proper content presentation
- Poor product image
- Weak Navigation
- Sloppy website design
- No proper placement of shopping cart
- The product price might be higher
- Long checkout page and other factors.
So the idea long tail keywords can increase conversion becoming a more commonly accepted approach to marketing online. Just be sure to do your homework.
Does Google like WordPress?
In a nutshell, the answer is yes!
WordPress is a great way to maximize and simplify your SEO to be ranked in the search engine.
Watch this video! it is well worth the time spent to learn how Google does it!
This is the complete WordPress SEO presentation of Matt Cutts from WordCamp San Francisco on May 30th 2009.
Using your Web Site Stats
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are financial and non-financial metrics used to help an organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals.
Web site stats are non-financial metrics to allow you to see what is going on with your web site on a daily basis to see if it is meeting your goals.
It is all about “Conversion Rates” or the percentage of visitors to those who become customers. Do you have a call to action? Are you asking them to buy your product or services?
Do you know your bounce rate? Do you even know if you have a web stat program running in the background?
If you can not measure it, it does not exist! Get the answers today and start asking the questions of your web site team to see if you are progressing towards your goals. If not, then call me!