Question

Topic: SEO/SEM

Obviously Not The Best Printing Website ?

Posted by Anonymous on 5/27/2010 at 8:09 PM ET 250 Points
Hi Guys and Gals,

I'm trying to do some in-house marketing for our printing company and they gave me free reign to rework this really antiquated printing site www.fadaniels.com . The goal to make it SEO friendly and visually appealing is overwhelming. Need all the advice I can get it's like every time i start something another thing needs reworking. Key words like "business card printing los angeles" were able to land us on the 7 pack but nothing relevant in the organic listings. Your input is very much appreciated.
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by excellira on 5/27/2010 at 8:46 PM Accepted
    Hmmm. I looked briefly at the home page and I don't know how to say this delicately so please don't take offense by it. The 23/100 is grossly optimistic.

    To make this site work would take a lot of effort. I'd lean towards replacing it. Here's how I'd proceed in that regard from a SEO perspective:

    1. Keyword Targeting
    2. Content Plan
    3. Information Architecture
    4. Design
    5. Redevelopment & on-page optimization
    6. Deployment
    7. Off-page optimization
  • Posted on 5/28/2010 at 3:23 AM Accepted
    I'm guessing the site was originally created for the file uploading and wasn't really focused on the ability to sell online. That seems the case with a lot of print companies. I think you're very limited in terms of what you can do with SEO without a website redesign. If I landed on this page through search - I would bounce right off perhaps worrying that it was a fake website or scam and could have viruses etc. I know a company in LA that does SEO and website redesign for small business. You might want to contact them and get a price. If your biz is serious about gaining an online presence - you really do need to make a lot of changes. Cheers.
    K
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 5/28/2010 at 8:47 AM Accepted
    As a minimum, redo your home page to have text on it that search engines can see. Your current pricing picture is basically unreadable to search engines.

    Are you hoping to specializing in serving Hollywood or the whole world? If Hollywood, make that clear throughout your website. If the whole world, then you need to focus on shipping and keep an eye on how your services compare to the huge number of online printers.

    (Aside: shiny is spelled with a single "n", not "shinny")
  • Posted on 5/28/2010 at 11:20 AM Accepted
    You definitely have a number of challenges.

    One of the inherent conflicts is that of making the site searchbot-friendly vs. human-friendly. Searchbots like text they can analyze ... rich in keywords, etc. ... and they ignore pictures/images.

    Humans, on the other hand, like lots of visual stimulation and simple bullet-points with key information. Maybe even a video or two. And you're dealing with a visual medium as your business.

    While you clearly need to appeal to both kinds of audiences, it's very difficult to optimize for one without some give-up for the other. That's why a lot of companies use landing pages (for humans) and cater to searchbots with the main website.

    Maybe the thing to do is step back and ask yourself what it is you want your website to do for you. What are you trying to accomplish with the website? What does success look like for you? How will you know if/when you've achieved that success? What are you measuring to determine success/failure?

    How do people find your site today? Does this lend itself to landing pages that segment your market? Does the website actually close the sale for you, or does it just generate leads that you then close offline? Is this something you want to change?
  • Posted on 5/28/2010 at 12:21 PM Author
    Guys and Ladies,

    Thank you so very much for your insight and from the bottom of my heart I am really appreciative. Being new in this forum I honestly did not expect this much help and the quality of the advice is unexpectedly top-notch. I've just now realize there are still "good" people out there willing to lend a hand to someone in need. You are "awesome" :).

    Michael


  • Posted on 5/28/2010 at 1:25 PM Author
    @ Karen : That website grader is a wonderful tool and I concur 23/100 is stretching it . thumbs up to you Karen , I'm joining the webinar to learn more, hopefully someday to be half as good as you guys and gals.

    @excellira & aniketnik : Yes I concur it is a big challenge to rework this site. Due to your advice I realized that more planning is needed to address all these things that come up. i spend a lot of time doing something then skewing into something else.Planning is key. Survey Mokey's site is clean and easy to navigate will take notes . Will do more research based on your recommendations. Thanks. What are your thoughts on reverse engineering your competitors backlinks? Is this ethical?

    @kimberly_mccabe : Yes you assumed correctly this was meant for customers that we already have rather than reaching out to new ones. The bounce rate is rather high due to the look of the site. What are your thoughts on making the site look trustworthy?

    @Jay Hamilton-Roth : Great advice. Content "is" King. I was going to redo the whole website with more information for the bots to see. As for the "shinny" thing that's funny . I wasn't around when they created this site and for the next incarnation I will make sure grammatical errors are checked. As for choosing between local and nationwide I feel we have to start local and with more experience hopefully we can branch into statewide. We're showing up in the 7 pack for local on some keywords but not for our most desired any recommendations?

    @mgoodman : You nailed it. I think this is the dilemma that gives me headaches. The test site looks very "janky" in its current state but with these things considered I'm in a better position to understand the process. You are right we need to implement "S.M.A.R.T" tactics when tackling this project. I'm now thinking of making microsites for landing pages to appeal to humans with bits for the bots. Maybe I can place a slow looping .Swf file on 1/4 of the top page and text on the bottom portion of the site. I think the goal of the new site is that it will be more for generating leads and information than closing a sale for now to test the waters. Correct me if I'm wrong but closing sales online is by far a more difficult proposition than having them contact you?

    GUYS and GALS thank you again you are wonderful people.





  • Posted by excellira on 5/28/2010 at 1:54 PM Accepted
    "One of the inherent conflicts is that of making the site searchbot-friendly vs. human-friendly. Searchbots like text they can analyze ... rich in keywords, etc. ... and they ignore pictures/images."

    Usually a balance needs to be struck between search, users, and the organizations objectives. This can be done. While I agree that search engines value text highly, they don't don't ignore images.

    "What are your thoughts on reverse engineering your competitors backlinks? Is this ethical?"

    Sure. Though this may not be the ideal approach. Even if you obtain link-for-link every one in their portfolio, does this provide an advantage?

    Also, while linkage is vital to search performance, you frankly have a lot of other issues to address before the site will become link worthy.

    "We're showing up in the 7 pack for local on some keywords but not for our most desired any recommendations?"

    Include your service area on the site, your phone number, address, create content optimized for the keyword phrase that is appealing to your audience, etc...

    "I'm now thinking of making microsites for landing pages to appeal to humans with bits for the bots. Maybe I can place a slow looping .Swf file on 1/4 of the top page and text on the bottom portion of the site."

    Before putting resources into microsites and potentially burning your existing site in the search engines, it is highly recommended that you avoid these advanced and without sufficient knowledge, potentially grey or black tactics. Don't over think this. It's like wanting to go on vaction only you want to build the Space Shuttle to get to your destination. Well, how about just buying a plane ticket?

    Put out a good site and good content and your problems will be greatly diminished.

    After you've nailed all the basics then start looking for further advances. You'll still find that you'll get a better return on investment by generating some good keyword-optimzed articles, how-to's, or other information that your audience will appreciate.

    Keyword research guides the entire process. Everything else falls into place once you understand what your prospective audience is searching for. You'll also get some new product/service ideas in the process.
  • Posted on 5/29/2010 at 10:28 AM Author
    @excellira : again excellent advise and this puts my project in a clearer path on what to pursue and what to do for later.

    "Keyword research guides the entire process. Everything else falls into place once you understand what your prospective audience is searching for. You'll also get some new product/service ideas in the process."

    This is the advice I think summed it up. Thank you guys and gals will update you as soon as www.fadaniels.com is up and running.

    Cheers
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(SEO/SEM)