Help with SEO

skater

skater

As many of you know, my family have been involved in roller skating for many years. With all the knowledge & sills we have built up over the years we have now turned that passion into an online store & we sell roller skates at www.skatepro.com.au. Now, we've had the site up and running for some time & we do get some sales, which is good, but most of the sales are referrals from Facebook.

I've looked into getting a professional to do SEO on the site, however the costs are just more than I think it's worth at this stage. Also, from talking to an expert, it sounds like there is a lot of basic stuff I can do myself, but I don't know how.

So.....can anyone help me with BASIC SEO that I can do, or learn to do. Now, it has to be very basic, because I'm not that computer literate, but I figure that anything I do is going to be better than nothing.

What have I done so far? Not a lot really. I've got a Facebook Group, a Facebook Page & a link in my signature here. That's it! Pretty poor really, but as far as getting the name 'out there' is concerned I really don't know what could help.
 
Hey Skater,

SEO is a complex beast.

Id suggest outsourcing the SEO work on odesk, elancer, or similar. You will get the work done for a few dollars an hour.

Ask for a report of actionable items that your web person can implement.

Get three suppliers to provide such reports. Use the best bits of each.

I wouldnt bother doing it yourself (your time is much better invested in property) but if you want to :

Use Google Trend or Google Insights (these are free) or even Adwords/Adsense to work out what words people are searching for - you need to build your site around these words/themes.

Market Samurai, Bruce Clay, SEOMOZ are alternative resources (paid)

There is a dummies guide from BruceClay
http://www.bruceclay.com/au/seo/seofordummies.htm

From a quick look at your site:

You need some more content in your headers around your targeted keywords.
You need to add H1 headers.
Your body copy should be 200-300 words and mention your targeted keywords at approx ~3% density (Ie 3 times in 100 words)
Your domain has a page rank (PR) of 0 (it is a scale of 0-10) so you have some opportunity for improvements =)

There is plenty of other things to do, Im glossing over lots of stuff but I really think the odesk solution is the best one for you.

Cheers,

B
 
XBenX said:
Market Samurai, Bruce Clay, SEOMOZ are alternative resources (paid)

There is a dummies guide from BruceClay
http://www.bruceclay.com/au/seo/seofordummies.htm

From a quick look at your site:

You need some more content in your headers around your targeted keywords.
You need to add H1 headers.
Your body copy should be 200-300 words and mention your targeted keywords at approx ~3% density (Ie 3 times in 100 words)
Your domain has a page rank (PR) of 0 (it is a scale of 0-10) so you have some opportunity for improvements =)

There is plenty of other things to do, Im glossing over lots of stuff but I really think the odesk solution is the best one for you.

Cheers,

B
Click to expand...

Hi Ben, I'm happy for you to gloss over a lot of stuff. I realise that this isn't a simple solution. The places that have given me quotes are two specialist places in Sydney. I was quoted $550 per month, which I think is rediculous for a small enterprise like myself.

At the risk of sounding like a complete dumba$$e, what on earth is a H1 Header & how do I add one.

Body copy, I'm presuming is the part on the bottom that ways what we do. There really isn't any more room to add stuff there as it moves everything out of the boxes the designer has made. They then want a lot of money to 'redesign' which I'm not happy to pay.

Where should I look for a place that knows their stuff that will do things at a cost effective price?.
 
skater said:
I was quoted $550 per month, which I think is rediculous for a small enterprise like myself.

...


Where should I look for a place that knows their stuff that will do things at a cost effective price?.
Click to expand...

$550 per month is certainly more than some, but I wouldn't call it exhorbitant if they guarantee you top 10 Google rankings.

If your site doesn't appear on the first page of Google, the money you've spent on SEO is a complete waste.

For what it's worth (not much to me), I get about 10 emails a day offering SEO services out of India to the email address below in my tag line. They all tell me how cost effective the are! Happy to forward some of my spam to you :)
 
PT_Bear said:
$550 per month is certainly more than some, but I wouldn't call it exhorbitant if they guarantee you top 10 Google rankings.

If your site doesn't appear on the first page of Google, the money you've spent on SEO is a complete waste.

For what it's worth (not much to me), I get about 10 emails a day offering SEO services out of India to the email address below in my tag line. They all tell me how cost effective the are! Happy to forward some of my spam to you :)
Click to expand...

LOL! No, I get plenty of spam. I know that $550 per month isn't a lot in the scheme of things, but this is a SMALL business and they basically told me it would take around 12 months to get on the first page. Twelve months of paying with no results is more than I'm willing to spend.

At the moment my Ebay sales are supporting the webite fees already.
 
I just got another email for SEO services! To bad you're not interested. :)

Have you noticed that most of the highest raking items on Google are actually YouTube videos?

Make a few videos. Skating events, new products, small children breaking bones, etc. Essentially anything that potential customers might be interested in.

Set up a YouTube account and upload them, with lots of key words. Link it back to your website and embed the videos on your website - especially new products (and small children breaking bones because that stuff's hilarious).

Seriously though, new products works really well. People hear about a new product and they go to Google and type "Rocket skates" to try find where they can get a pair. You do an "unboxing" video and review under the title Acme Rocket Skates, it'll drive them to your site!

Get everybody you know to look at the videos to get the YouTube number of views up.

It'll indirectly drive traffic to your site and will improve your Google rankings.

Do you stock Rocket Skates? I want some!
(Picture the Coyote chasing Road Runner)

Google "Rocket Skates" and you'll see that about half the hits are either video or pictures!
 
One of the best ways to organically improve your google rank is to continually update your content.... news, specials, blog etc. The quality of content and frequency of change is scored pretty high, moreso than keywords and meta tags.
 
skater said:
At the risk of sounding like a complete dumba$$e, what on earth is a H1 Header & how do I add one.

Body copy, I'm presuming is the part on the bottom that ways what we do. There really isn't any more room to add stuff there as it moves everything out of the boxes the designer has made. They then want a lot of money to 'redesign' which I'm not happy to pay.
Click to expand...

I'm not much better with these things than you, however I have been working on a web project at work recently.

H1 refers to the heading style. For instance, if you were to go into word and type up a document with a couple of headings and subheadings. The main headings can be set up as a H1 header, the subheadings would then be H2 and H3. The text under each of these headings would be the body text or copy.

Example

Skating (H1 heading)

Skating is great for all ages..... (body text)

Skating for kids (H2 heading)

blah blah blah


Your website will have these different elements within them. When it is being built the designer allocates the 'H1' or 'H2' heading styles to the headings.
 
Hi Skater

This can't be good. When looking up Skate Pro the Danish one actually beats you.

Also the text

This is the home page heading Welcome to Skate Pro This is the standard text that appears on your homepage. We recommend that your keep this text...

Which I assumed is a google generated text rather than something scraped from your site.

Just discussed with my son and he tells me that this text is on your site but not seen. So if that is the case, you should change this immediately to be more meaningful and related to your business.

As XBenx has already mentioned you need to find somebody on oDesk who can improve your web site and also work out all the SEO issues that you have inherited with your generic site.

By the way do you realise that every skate site looks exactly the same as yours.

Cheers
 
If you need to have explained what a H1 Header is (99.9% of the population would be in the same boat) then don't bother doing it yourself, do this:
XBenX said:
Id suggest outsourcing the SEO work on odesk, elancer, or similar. You will get the work done for a few dollars an hour.
Click to expand...
Start here: https://www.odesk.com/contractors/sales-marketing/sc/seo-search-engine-optimization/

I would narrow down to only those with:
4.5-5 stars feedback
large number of hours billed on odesk
5 out of 5 English level

Then give a few trial runs to those priced around $5 an hour and see how you go.
 
I wonder if there are any 'Western' people on ODesk asking higher rates than their developing country brothers, only to subcontract out to the aforementioned cheaper rates....

Suddenly I'm a consult in everything IT!
 
Have you tried Google adwords?

Not quite SEO, but can drive traffic there which I think can increase your rankings?

Can be just a few cents a click through.
 
chindonly said:
Have you tried Google adwords?

Not quite SEO, but can drive traffic there which I think can increase your rankings?

Can be just a few cents a click through.
Click to expand...

i think this is a good option, the search words for your business would be cheap.

to be frank and a litlle rude u have no idea what u r doing, so doing it yourself would be a waste of your precious time.

u could pay somone to set up the framework and design the page properly, work out what the key search terms are, prepare some legit backlinks etc and then you could take over and just do the updated content, making sure you make at least one small change a day

for $4k upfront and basically no ongoing you should get your money back many times over, in the meantime throw $200-$300 at google ad words until ur site rates organically. if an seo expert can't get to rank i the top 5 in ur business in 6 months he is no good
 
jim1964 said:
It really is a sad state of affairs when you are only prepared to pay someone $5 a hour.:mad:
Click to expand...

Off topic SEO wise, but I am using an accountant (more like a bookkeeper with good accounting knowledge) and so far he has done about 30 hours trawling through my entries and sorting out some inter company transfers.

Basically, I see this as him learning my processes so he can do a monthly book keep exercise for me.

Anyway was discussing his cost of living and turns out he spends about $200 per month on living expenses. That's food, electricity, water, internet but not rent as he shares with family. Although I suspect that he would contribute in some way. So at $5 ph he only needs to do 40 hours per month to pay for most of his living expenses.

I feel that he will work out fine and I would expect that I will utilise his services for about 10 hours per month. I will also be trying to extend his skills to include other tasks I have in mind.

This guy is in the Philippines.

Cheers
 
PT_Bear said:
I

Do you stock Rocket Skates? I want some!
(Picture the Coyote chasing Road Runner)
Click to expand...
LOL! Yes, I do. They are kids skates though, so they won't fit you. They would be perfect for your daughter though.:D

Uploading videos is outside my comfort zone.

DaveMSydney said:
One of the best ways to organically improve your google rank is to continually update your content.... news, specials, blog etc. The quality of content and frequency of change is scored pretty high, moreso than keywords and meta tags.
Click to expand...
Haha, I have't got blog capabilities with the site. That's another extra. I've just been slowly adding more stock.


jim1964 said:
I used to use Peter when i worked www.befoundonline.com.au
Excellent service,1st page google guaranteed,used to charge $1 per suburb,you choose the areas.
Click to expand...
I'll look that up in the morning.

handyandy said:
Hi Skater

This can't be good. When looking up Skate Pro the Danish one actually beats you.

Also the text

This is the home page heading Welcome to Skate Pro This is the standard text that appears on your homepage. We recommend that your keep this text...

Which I assumed is a google generated text rather than something scraped from your site.

Just discussed with my son and he tells me that this text is on your site but not seen. So if that is the case, you should change this immediately to be more meaningful and related to your business.

As XBenx has already mentioned you need to find somebody on oDesk who can improve your web site and also work out all the SEO issues that you have inherited with your generic site.

By the way do you realise that every skate site looks exactly the same as yours.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Yes, I know about the Danish one. Apparently they are targeting the Aussie market. I'll have to find that text on the site & delete it.
hobo-jo said:
If you need to have explained what a H1 Header is (99.9% of the population would be in the same boat) then don't bother doing it yourself, do this:

Start here: https://www.odesk.com/contractors/sales-marketing/sc/seo-search-engine-optimization/

I would narrow down to only those with:
4.5-5 stars feedback
large number of hours billed on odesk
5 out of 5 English level

Then give a few trial runs to those priced around $5 an hour and see how you go.
Click to expand...
Yes, $5 per hour is a lot more doable than what I've been quoted. Thankyou.

chindonly said:
Have you tried Google adwords?

Not quite SEO, but can drive traffic there which I think can increase your rankings?

Can be just a few cents a click through.
Click to expand...
No, I haven't. Again, not sure where to look. Been thinking about some of the places like GetPrice etc. They work on cost per click too.


Thankyou everyone who has given me some tips so far. So much to take in and it's getting late. Time for bed & rethink tomorrow.
 
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