On website promotion thread

[Bowed Over]

I have got too much time on my hands (well I am at work not crafting).

Has anyone ever heard of this. If so is it any good.

http://www.addme.com/

I am a bit scared of these things.

[0103media]

Waste of space...

Don't use it..

[Bowed Over]

I had a teeny tiny feeling you would say that!!! There is so much crap floating out about there about web site optimisation - my head hurts with it most of the time!!.

All the best.

Lisa

[0103media]

If its Free then almost always no good...

Anything automatic doesn't work..

Any thing that says you be listed on 1 million search engines its worth it...



If it was free and easy then I'd been out of a job..

[Bowed Over]

How's about some tips then? I think I am about 4 billionth on the google for candles. I am 40 odd in Yahoo and I can't figure out why I am not too bad on one but hellish on the other. Would need to click click click all day to try and find me under google.

Cheers.

Lisa

[Peter]

*If its Free then almost always no good... *

Someday, I may stop laughing at that one...................but not for a while!

[0103media]

Google and yahoo are completely different ..

I always have a laugh when people say i'm X on google and Y of yahoo why aren't I the same.. hehehehe

Take 1 step back and think about your site..

Why should you site Rank ?

Just because you have a site doesn't mean you should rank for something like candles...

Why do I have a job doing this? Well you have to study the search engines and work out what the factor are that make site rank! ..

So what tips can I give..

A major tip you should know about is AGE .. A site with age is worth far my to users than a brand new site.. Again take a step back and think about the whole picture..

A site selling candles for 5 yrs and that has great rep why should you rank higher than that.. ?


So if you ranked no1 on google for candles then you would likely make you £1,000,000 + a year so the competion is high.. people will spend £10,000's if not £100,000's to make a million no?


Simple google/yahoo/msn/ask factors to natural ranknig..

Content x Age x Links to your site

Hope that helps..

[kipper workshops]

I have to agree. Soooo many people trying to offer SEO services, free, cheap and ridiculous. It's so hard to know what is a con and what isn't.

So do you offer any services 0103 media? If so what ya got?

I am no expert but this is what I am trying....

1. New content regularly.
2. Interesting content. Try to give people a reason to visit, not just to buy.
3. Keywords that relate to the webpages in the actual html text on the pages.
4. Word of mouth, normal marketing tasks. Use SEO to get strangers searching for you on the web, that's great, but don't forget the 'old school' methods! Tell people about you site. Get all your mates to give your cards, samples etc... to thier mates... My wife takes my stuff into work and we have sold quite a few things that way and got hits to the site.

I think we can all get hung up a bit on website SEO (I do!) but I think other methods of getting people to your site are just as important, if not more so..

Just my random thoughts, hope they help a little.
Steve
ve

[0103media]

Been full time seo/sem for 6yrs now..

Been playing with search engines every since my first site, 11 yrs ago..

[EMEvans]

I'm at catch 22 so to speak, need to make some money before i can spend anymore. I just looked into advertising in a craft mag and for a full page it's over £1000 and for an eigth it's £160. The classifieds are cheaper but i don't know if an ad there would be noticed. Anyway i've dissmissed that idea for now so things will just have to stay as they are - c**p!

[Bowed Over]

That's exactly where I am stuck, haven't got a hugggeeee budget to spend on advertising but if you don't advertise you don't sell!! Really big catch 22.

I give out business cards and flyers at all the events I do but unfortunately in Scotland it seems a case that there isn't a lot of disposable income so get a few repeat customers but not many (if I hear I buy the candles but they are too nice to burn one more time I will do a mischief I really will - why buy them in the first place!!)

Obviously need to go national to get the sales but here comes the clitch you need to advertise (ow god there goes that word again)AAAAARRGGGGHHHHH.

Cheers
Lisa

[EMEvans]

I give out business cards and flyers at all the events I do but unfortunately in Scotland it seems a case that there isn't a lot of disposable income so get a few repeat customers but not many (if I hear I buy the candles but they are too nice to burn one more time I will do a mischief I really will - why buy them in the first place!!)
Cheers
Lisa

I must say i'm one of those people who buys candles as orniments, sorry!

If ever i win the lottery, i'll give you all money for advertising as thats where most of us crafters/retailers struggle most. We can all dream!!!!!!!

[Bowed Over]

Right burn the candles that's what they are for!!!

Only joking but it does get a bit annoying after a while!!! I have decided I am going to win the lottery first because that is the only way I will ever get enough cash to go for advertising.

What I have been told is to approach local newspapers and get them to do a sort of a human interest type thing reporting on a new local business starting up but never got round to it.

All the best.

Lisa

[0103media]

A completely different topic is advertising vs a PR company..


The weekend before last, my main client had a double page in the saturday times mag and a single page in the sunday time mag...

Total number of addtional visitors from the article was around 4,000 on saturday, 3k on sunday 2.5k on monday, 1.5k on tues and down to about 500 on wednesday ..


If this was a add and not a article then it would of cost about £10,000 ..

[EMEvans]

Ok you can win the lottery first, but don't forget about your crafty friends, pleeeeeeaaaaaaaassssssseeeeee!!!!!!!!!

About the newspaper thing - i haven't done this neither as there is one local card craft shop who i used to buy a lot from and i don't want her to feel i'm trying to take business away from her, thats why i have an internet shop and not bricks and motar. I'll never make a good business women i worry about other people to much.