so despite a slight setback in that my yahoo directory listing put my site under an incorrect category and a few other links from sites being a little slow to come through, my emarketing is still going pretty much to plan. Ive spent over the planned budget, but this year is an experiment, so i can really see where traffic comes from, then once i know, i can start cutting back on listings.
I've made page one of google which is awesome, its been really quick, maybe 2 weeks at most to do this, so pretty cool really. I guess the site will shoot up even further as there are still many more links to come and the longer it exists, apparently the more google 'trusts' the site.
Once that milestone is accomplished i think i will have to have a serious look at what people are searching for, then optimise the site accordingly, for example, we are nowhere to be seen for b&b searches. I guess link to the site like this hadrian's wall b&b would do alot to help! but we'll see... time is taking its toll and i have other projects to work on...
Thursday, 30 August 2007
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
switching over site
Switching over from my old domain tantallonhouse.co.uk to the new one hadrians-wall-bed-and-breakfast.co.uk has proved successful so far. There werent too many problems in changing a few listings and setting up a forwarding system from one domain to the other.
The bad side is that although google indexed my site a couple of days back, the changes still haven't shown up the SERPS yet, so there is still a link to my location page, instead of the new Hadrian's Wall optimised page. I have included a new section on that page with more specific info and of course lots of relevant keywords. Although i know in reality most people don't read half of what i put on there!
There will be more detailed sections to follow on local attractions and extra bits for walkers, cyclists and bikers. And once they are done, i will begin listing our site on relevant portals etc.
The bad side is that although google indexed my site a couple of days back, the changes still haven't shown up the SERPS yet, so there is still a link to my location page, instead of the new Hadrian's Wall optimised page. I have included a new section on that page with more specific info and of course lots of relevant keywords. Although i know in reality most people don't read half of what i put on there!
There will be more detailed sections to follow on local attractions and extra bits for walkers, cyclists and bikers. And once they are done, i will begin listing our site on relevant portals etc.
Thursday, 23 August 2007
website feedback
Ok so i was skeptical about blogging to begin with, as i think said before it was more an experiment than anything else - but ive seen some great benefits from it already...
1. its a record of whats happening for myself if no-one else on my website if nothing else. With so many little changes being constantly made, most of them 4am inspirations - its hard to keep track of what I am actually doing. This info could be very useful for future sites i make, its one big learning curve i guess.
2. Increased traffic. With the ability to write specific anchor text for links, its very easy to be specific for users and search engines exactly what is on your site, when you register for directories 99% of the time all you receive is a basic link or 'click here' which adds no value to your 'vote'.
3. User feedback - I started writing this mainly through reading this blog by Chris Tomkins. I added a couple of simple comments stating that i was interested in what the guys were discussing about - what people look for in a bed and breakfast - and have ended up with a review of my website with very useful information that is completely objective, something that is hard to come by when people you show initially tend to be friends and family.
1. its a record of whats happening for myself if no-one else on my website if nothing else. With so many little changes being constantly made, most of them 4am inspirations - its hard to keep track of what I am actually doing. This info could be very useful for future sites i make, its one big learning curve i guess.
2. Increased traffic. With the ability to write specific anchor text for links, its very easy to be specific for users and search engines exactly what is on your site, when you register for directories 99% of the time all you receive is a basic link or 'click here' which adds no value to your 'vote'.
3. User feedback - I started writing this mainly through reading this blog by Chris Tomkins. I added a couple of simple comments stating that i was interested in what the guys were discussing about - what people look for in a bed and breakfast - and have ended up with a review of my website with very useful information that is completely objective, something that is hard to come by when people you show initially tend to be friends and family.
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
google analytics
So google's free analytics software is possibly on of the most useful sites around. Firstly its free which is always a bonus, but its just so useful. It enables me to track exactly who is coming to the website, how they are reaching it, how long they spend on each page.
Also importantly analytics includes the 'bounce rate' which is how many people leave the site straight away after seeing the landing page. Image is still everything, Good content is great, especially for the search engines, however we all know that people browse sites in moments - and if the site doesnt measure up, people simply click back and continue searching. Im hoping the investment that was made in good quality photos will pay off, they load fairly quickly which is also very imporant...
Anyway i guess time will tell how successful the site gets, but its only due to analytics that i will really have any idea how my site is actually doing!
Also importantly analytics includes the 'bounce rate' which is how many people leave the site straight away after seeing the landing page. Image is still everything, Good content is great, especially for the search engines, however we all know that people browse sites in moments - and if the site doesnt measure up, people simply click back and continue searching. Im hoping the investment that was made in good quality photos will pay off, they load fairly quickly which is also very imporant...
Anyway i guess time will tell how successful the site gets, but its only due to analytics that i will really have any idea how my site is actually doing!
Monday, 20 August 2007
search engine result
to my surprise my new site has shown up in google, sadly only for a very specific search, and even then on page 2, however its a start, especially as im still waiting for various big hitting sites to change our website details. Once the spiders get through their sties again i think we will be in business!
Im having issues with the the open directory, arguably one of the most important sites to be listed on, as their quality control is so tight. The thing is i listed my old site tantallonhouse.co.uk a month back with them, and have now changed domains, but i don't want to submit my new site, as their terms clearly state that mirrors should not be submitted, i do not want to get penalized, especially from such an important site... I guess i have to find a way to resolve this. With such a long wait though to get listed, this could prove annoying!
Im having issues with the the open directory, arguably one of the most important sites to be listed on, as their quality control is so tight. The thing is i listed my old site tantallonhouse.co.uk a month back with them, and have now changed domains, but i don't want to submit my new site, as their terms clearly state that mirrors should not be submitted, i do not want to get penalized, especially from such an important site... I guess i have to find a way to resolve this. With such a long wait though to get listed, this could prove annoying!
Sunday, 19 August 2007
Waiting for google
Ok, so i now have to be patient as i sit back and wait for google to find my new site, as i have switched over domains in the hope of having more precise anchor texts for the various links that i will have put on the existing business and accommodation directories.
some of the important listings are hadrians-wall.org as well as the national trail site, we have a listing on the latter - here which has already provided a few referrals to our site. These sites are the top two hits in the SERPS for the search 'hadrians' wall' on google, so it is very important we are given a 'vote' by these sites...
Friday, 17 August 2007
Blogging about Hadrian's Wall Bed and Breakfast
OK so this is my fist crack at starting a blog. Why do it? Curiosity i guess, but it a useful way of tracking my progress in my little experiment that is e-marketing and SEO for a bed and breakfast business based near Hadrian's Wall on the border of Cumbria and Northumberland.
After overhauling the site again today, I have now setup a forwarding address from tantallonhouse.co.uk to the new better optimized site www.hadrians-wall-bed-and-breakfast.co.uk.
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