layout prob

[TheInkDepot]

Many thanx again Mike...I did manage to find the problem! It was in the Act_MarketText.html template...the actinic css was still on the page, once i deleted it everything looked as it should...phew But thanx again!!!

Boz

[Mike Hughes]

No problem. I'm glad I could help.

I really like the design of the site. It should do well.

Mike

[TheInkDepot]

Good morning Mike...Yes you've been a great help AND Many thanks for the compliment too! ....the 'Designed by Webpacks' link is lil ol me! Getting my head around atcinic was and STILL IS a hard task sometimes and the site represents my blood, sweat and tears not to mention taken all my money so your positive comments are very welcome...Thank you!!!

Now I know there have been lots posted on this forum about SEO and I see that you are very knowledgable in this area too! I have never sumbitted the site to any search engines or optimised the site in any way at all, dont know anything about Froogle etc an wondered if you would be able to point my in the right direction?

The 1st thing i'd like to do is optimise the site but havent got a clue as to where to start.

Your help would be very much appreciated Mike.

Would those errors you found in the html create any problems with submissions?

Many thanks.

Boz

[Mike Hughes]

In terms of doing well in Google the main things to get right are (in no particular order):

1. Links, Links and more links.

Get linked to by directories, related sites (paper retailers, printer sellers, reviews, etc), shopper sites, etc, etc. the more the better. Anchor text (the text in the link also helps). Avoid link farms or any site with a PR (PageRank) of zero.

Try to get good quality links where possible. The ideal link is 'one way' (i.e. only to your site, not linked back), from a page with a high pagerank and few links, and from an on-theme site that ranks highly in the search engines for keywords related to yours.

2. Content.

You need plenty of on the page content on your target pages. You can't have lots everywhere without making it a mess, so focus on a few key pages that you want to do well. As an example for your site, create section pages for 'ink jet cartridges' and 'laser toners' (if they're your keywords) and make sure there's lots of relevant content on them. Have the keywords in the pagename, title, meta tags, headings, links in, etc and use plenty of related content too, such as 'laser cartridges', 'laser printers' 'printer toner', etc.

Also add some informational pages that potential buyers might search for. Pages like 'will bulk toner damage my printer' or 'how good are generic printer inks' will help you do well and bring in plenty of visitors.

3. Actinic stuff

Use direct links inside the site as you do already (i.e. avoiding the cgi-bin) as it's easier for the search engines to follow and understand the links. Publish the sitemap as it helps the search engines find all your pages.

get these right and they'll take you a lot of the way to a high rank in the search engines. Although I have to say that it looks like quite a competitive field you're in.

Mike

[TheInkDepot]

I pretty sure I already have section pages for 'InkJet Cartridges' 'Laser Toners' & 'Paper' all with subsections with the acual products, is this what you meant?....also have a fair amount of cartridge/toner related content on the FAQ's page.

I'm sorry for being sooooooo dim Mike but do I need to add 'keywords' etc to every page or just the primary pages & brochure pages?

Any idea how much it would cost to find someone to review my site for SEO?

Many thanks

Boz

[Mike Hughes]

You're right. You do have these sections but they're not linked to on the home page so the search engines won't find them easily and will rank them badly. You should link to them from your navigation menu on the LHS (you already have the text there, just make them link into the sections).

In terms of keywords, view each page as a unique target for customers to find. So the top section pages (laser toner, inket cartridge, etc) should be aimed at people using a generic search to find what they're looking for, the manufacturers (Brother, Canaon, etc) sections should be aimed at a more defined search, and the printer specific pages should be optimised for a printer specific search. By optimise I mean have plenty of the appropriate content related to the important keywords.

I really don't know what it would cost to have your site reviewed. There are people here who will give you a good idea for free. The basics aren't hard and getting those right will get you 80% of the way there. After that it's mostly a case of doing more of the same rather than anything different.

Mike

[TheInkDepot]

You're right. You do have these sections but they're not linked to on the home page so the search engines won't find them easily and will rank them badly. You should link to them from your navigation menu on the LHS (you already have the text there, just make them link into the sections).

They 'section' text you refer to in the nav menu on the LHS are actually graphics Mike, would linking the graphics to the relevant section have the same effect or should i re-do them using the coloured graphics as bckgrnds and add text links in the table?

Hope that makes sense

Boz

[Mike Hughes]

From a search engine perspective, text is always better than images for links as they can read the text and use that as a guide to what the page will be about.

So yes, I would redo the image as a background and use text for the section link.

Mike

PS. A great example of this in action (not a political statement on my behalf) is when George Bush got 'Google bombed' for the search 'miserable failure'. People linked to his biog using 'miserable failure' as the link text so it now ranks no 1 on google for 'miserable failure' (it still does as I just tried). Linking with images would have had no effect as the search engines wouldn't have known what the link was saying.

[TheInkDepot]

poor ol Mr Bush eh? - lol

I've changed the LHS menu headings to text linking to the relevant sections now Mike...i see people recommending to publish a site map, the box is ticked in my actinic settings but i cant seem to find the actual page?

Do i have to go into each section and sub-section to enter the keywords etc or is there a way I can put them in the excel file so they are impoted with all the other data?

Changes have been updated, would appreciate you taking a look.

Many thanx

Boz