Anybody doing search engine optimization on their website?

[Charlie Schultz]

Any suggestions on what works or doesn't work?

[Jim McConkey]

Content, content, and content (and lately, how much you want to pay for placement!). The last time I looked into it, most major search engines now ignore meta data because it was so abused. Most are also wise to tricks like text colored the same as the background, and take that as a cue to lower your ratings for cheating. The modern focus seems to be on actual text content, and how many links there are to and from a page. I'm not sure how that is considered with the use of content management systems (like phpbb), which is getting far more pervasive.

[David King]

I still think meta data is useful to fill in. It works in many search engines and it can give the searcher a clue as to what to expect from your site without having to click through. It also gives you an opportunity to think about what you are presenting and who might be looking for it. A long time ago I put the price range of my instruments right up front and eliminated 9/10 of the "tire-kicking" emails I used to get asking me if I could build them a guitar for $300. It probably cut my traffic in half but it achieved my goal of reducing emails I felt I had to answer.
Doing something like that in a "real business" probably would have got me fired.

[Brent Cole Sr.]

It was I, Founder/Owner of Alaska Specialty Woods, that asked Charlie this question as I renewed Sponsoring the MIMF for another year.
I am looking for someone in the marketing biz and the lutherie biz, that I may hire to write blog posts and do SEO maintenance on AlaskaWoods.com domain. Our current service provider doesn't know wood or acoustic instruments at all. It would certainly be best done in house, but we just don't have the time or people. It's just Annette and I.

[Jim McConkey]

I didn't say that meta data didn't have its uses, but few search engines are using them for ranking any more.

Brent, if you can't find anyone local, try contacting the graphic design faculty at whatever community or other college you have in the area. Sometimes they will "loan" you students for the real world experience involved. They will at least know the technical bits.

[Brent Cole Sr.]

Thank you or that idea Jim. But the highest education offered on our Island is grade 12. And I think the Grad class reaches 25-29 students in Craig, the largest town.
Outside of basic stuff, of services and shopping, all comes from outside. And for us that means south, as we are closer to Seattle than Anchorage.

[David King]

I'm not sure how useful it would be but I get SEO offers from India all the time. As long as it was fairly general info that someone there could look up and summarize for you. They seem pretty competent and I'm sure the price is competitive. I would probably go to one of these work-bid sites that draws internationally. Someone who's hungry somewhere in the world will be thrilled to write up what you need on a regular basis and post it.

[Beate Ritzert]

David,

better that spending extra money for SEO optimisation is thoroughly planning the structure and the contents of Your side. It is wise to put a lot of background knowledge on it. It is very wise to keep the site structurally clean and avoid gimmicks flash animations. A few simple photo galleries showing the shop and the instruments, everything with some nice explanations. Especially if Your offer includes "unconventional" instruments (like a flat top violin, exotic designs and the like). Maybe informations on the price. A thoroughly defined set of meta keywords is not a mistake - we simply do not know if one of the major search engines changes its policy to include the meta tags at least to some degree.

Try to identify words or phrases You would like to be found by and use them in Your text - of course in a way that is natural and reasonable.

Make the site easy to access by visually impaired people and keep in mind that search engines are indeed "visually impaired" - and remember your next customer might be a visually impaired person. Make it accessible and understandable by text based web browsers like lynx.

Enter Your site into directory services (those free of charge), have an entry in google maps and a set of REAL backlinks.

Well, and be present and helpful in suitable forums and have backlinks and access from there. l am doing this for my business in the hairtell forums among a few others - this way i have raised the page hits of my site from 10000 in 2010 to 67000 last year.

Kind regards

Beate

[David King]

Hi Beate,

Thanks for your excellent advice. The fundamental rules haven't changed. People are always looking to precise, unbiased knowledge and when they find it they will link back to it to help others in their quests.

[Perry Ormsby]

The problem I have with websites for business, is that once they find you, they have to keep coming back for updates. Sure, you can, and should, have a mailing list they can subscribe to, but wouldnt it be much more profitable for your business if there was a way to keep prospective clients updated and 'teased' with images and stories of your work on a daily or weekly basis?

I havent updated or even thought about my website in over four years now.

[Bob Francis]

The problem I have with websites for business, is that once they find you, they have to keep coming back for updates. Sure, you can, and should, have a mailing list they can subscribe to, but wouldnt it be much more profitable for your business if there was a way to keep prospective clients updated and 'teased' with images and stories of your work on a daily or weekly basis?

I havent updated or even thought about my website in over four years now.

That's the whole concept behind blogging for commercial sites.
If you just post "what's new" it's enough to change content and at least be of some help to the search bots.

[Perry Ormsby]

The problem I have with websites for business, is that once they find you, they have to keep coming back for updates. Sure, you can, and should, have a mailing list they can subscribe to, but wouldnt it be much more profitable for your business if there was a way to keep prospective clients updated and 'teased' with images and stories of your work on a daily or weekly basis?

I havent updated or even thought about my website in over four years now.

That's the whole concept behind blogging for commercial sites.
If you just post "what's new" it's enough to change content and at least be of some help to the search bots.

And they STILL need to actively 'pop back' to check updates regardless of SEO. If they forget your brand, they will never visit again. "Fans" wont get notifications about updates, and generally dont interact with blogs. I prefer 2 minute updates daily, with interaction and discussion, and photos and info streamed into their daily routine BEFORE they think to do a google search for a blog/website.

If it's done right, you'll sell out of everything you ever release in no time at all. Minutes even!