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Beadseller on Search Engine Optimization January 16, 2006

I have spent a great deal of time since my last blog researching in order to be able to present the best possible information regarding website ranking. What information follows is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg and if I keep researching, I will never get this dang article written. So, without further adieu...

I actually launched my own website on August 18, 2005. At that time my site's page rank was somewhere about 570,000. Truly laughable! *HA HA HA* Not exactly a get rich quick scheme! If you hear someone say, you can get rich quick on the internet, don't merely do a double take...turn to them and laugh. And not just an everyday sort of chuckle but give it your all! LAUGH OUT LOUD! *HA HA HA* Too funny!

I am sure that there is someone out there making money selling products on the internet. Me... I am not one of those fortunate few. I think these so called people are either family members of the google enterprise or family members of other important search engines. Needless to say, I am not related to anyone working for any of the search engines on the internet so I struggle on.

My research brought me upon some very important information on getting one's website ranked.

#1 Reciprocating links. Not just reciprocating links with just any website out there, but reciprocating links with sites who sell similar type products. Yep... you want to link with your competition! Not just any of your competition... but it would be preferable to link with the top ranked sites in your competition! The higher the reciprocating link site is ranked, the more you should link with that site!!! I might add that since my last blog I now have well over 2,000 reciprocating links to my site.

2,000 reciprocating links you say?!?!? And they didn't cost me anything! Well... at least not anything in actual DOLLARS!

Now if you consider the fact that no one works for free then let me dispel this myth as well! Yes... anyone who is trying to launch a webstore online IS working for FREE! I work every day on my site and believe you me, no one... and I do mean no one... is paying me a weekly paycheck! Yes.... according to my bank account... I am working for me for FREE!

#2 Reciprocating links are best obtained when you join a reciprocating link service! FREE reciprocating link service! FREE reciprocating link SERVICES. Dontcha just love my use of the word FREE! *HA*

Here are just a few that I have found that have been rather helpful in my reciprocating link endeavor:

http://www.linkmetro.com

http://link2me.com

http://www.linkmarket.net

#3 I found that when you list your site with the different search engines, that sometimes it feels as though you didn't do anything. You do a search to find where you wound up and spend hours, days, months unable to find where your listing ended up. Here's another pointer.... Search engines put a bit more importance in sites who are also listed in such things as Superpages.com, yellowpages.com and other such listings.

WHY? Did someone say WHY? Well... when you list with superpages.com, they ask you for your personal information.... name, address, city, state, zip, telephone number, email address... website address.. name of your first born... Oops... forget the last... I get carried away at times!

This information should invariably match the information you provide on your website. Now... if you don't have that information provided on your website... then give me ONE reason why anyone would want to spend their hard earned money at your site?!?! I can't begin to tell you how many telephone calls I have received from people asking for directions to my store. Well... since my store is online, answering that question is easy!

Personally, I believe that the person called to make sure that my phone number that is listed on my site really is my phone number. After all... one of the first things the person calling asks is... is this beadseller? YEP.... THAT BE ME!

Superpages.com was free. Yellowpages.com... that was another animal all by itself! Like I told the young man who called me to offer me a special listing price for getting my site into yellowpages.com.... I'm BROKE! I have NO money! I cannot afford your special offer even if it were $1 for one year! But give me a break... where did he think I was going to get over $200 to list my site for a year? WOW... One whole year!!! Only $200+ for one whole year! I feel all warm and fuzzy now! *HA HA HA*

If I have learned anything since beginning my venture, it is this.... you MUST, I REPEAT, YOU MUST have a GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR! Especially with all the salespeople who call and tell you how they can help. Especially with all the marketing firms who call to say, we can make your site number one!

Speaking of marketing firms .... we can make your site number one.... If you receive this type of call.... don't forget to ask them... hmmm... really? WOW... that's great! And tell me... how much will it cost and how long will this take? Before you make my site number one that is! What? Only $1,200! WOW... what a bargain! Only $1,200 and you guarantee that you will make my site number one in the top ten search engines within 180 days! Let's see... it will only take you 6 months to complete this promise AND you guarantee that you will make my site number one! hmm...

okay... so tell me this... number one where?

What search engines? In the top 15 search engines!

What are they again? Google, Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, AOL, AlltheWeb, Dmoz, DirectHit, HotBot, IWon, LookSmart, Lycos, Netscape, Inktomi, and WhatUSeek.

hmm... now that is interesting.... well... John Doe Marketing tells me that he will make me number one in the top 15 search engines too and he can do it for $875 and guarantees that my site will be number one within 90 days!

Oh... and Suzy Smith Marketing tells me that she can make my site number one in less that 90 days for $700 and guarantees I will be in the top 10 search engines. WOW!

What none of them mention in their marketing schpeal is this and believe me when I say it, here is the KEY - KEYWORDS!

They will guarantee you anything to get you to sign the bottom line... but if they are only going to make your store number one using some obscure keyword... then you may as well have a page rank of 570,000!

WHY? Because - NO ONE IS GOING TO FIND YOU unless of course he or she happens upon that exact keyword that made your site NUMBER ONE! *UGHHHH*

So... if you search "bead string materials" in MSN, YAHOO, and ALTAVISTA WOW... http://www.beadseller.us/ is NUMBER ONE! WOW! WHOOPIE! YAHOOOOO!

Now all I need to do is find a couple thousand people who will bother to search "bead string materials" to use those exact words and VOILA... they'll find me!

What I don't understand is this.... since I have opened my store, you can search the word.... BEADSELLER.... and it will bring up so much cruft on me it is simply amazing! Now did any of the marketing companies suggest BEADSELLER as one of my keywords? NOPE! Now don't get me wrong... only people who know me and know my store would think of searching Beadseller! But at least my current customers could find me!!! SO WHY NOT?!?!? *geez* I would love to have a search word that would enable 300+ people to be able to find me! Even if each of these 300 wonderful customers spent $10 a month... that would no less than generate $3,000 a month in sales! WOW... one might actually think I was in business!

Back to SEO.... I mean... search engine optimization....

One of the best things I have done now since starting this endeavor of making my small nickel in this corner of my universe is join up to receive FREE SEO information. I even added a special section on my site that gives this information away FREE! For those of you who would like to learn some of the wonders I have learned about search engine optimization, go to my site....

http://www.BEADSELLER.us

Next... in the top row of the products table you will see SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION LESSONS. Click on that link and it will take you to 30+ lessons all in PDF format! These are fabulous and again FREE! Yes... the author Brad Callen did state many times in emails that I have received that we... meaning everyone else who also received the emails, could give this information away for FREE! He provides you will a ton of other places for things such as reciprocating links... how to optimize keywords and much much more!

Where is my site now you ask? January 2006 Current category: shopping / arts and crafts / crafts / beading CategoryRank - 1 WebRank - 1,145 Domain (click for details) - beadseller.us TrustGauge - 6 Unique Visitors - 4,767 Visits 7,245 Page Views 21,339 Links 1,300

April 2006 Current category: shopping / arts and crafts / crafts / beading Category Rank - 1 WebRank - 385 Domain (click for details) - beadseller.us TrustGauge - 8 Links 2,883

Beadseller has moved up in WebRank - 760 positions

What does any of this have to do with web traffic? hmmm...

As you can see... this is not just any category... it is a category that ACTUALLY deals with what I sell! WOW!

It only took me just over 3 months to get 18 of my customers to rank Beadseller, which involved sending monthly emails out to 300 customers for three months.

Come on.... surely you want the bead store where you buy your beads and beading supplies to be the number one store on the internet! HELP MAKE BEADSELLER NUMBER ONE!

But then again, the only thing I was offering at the time was free shipping on orders over $30.... buy one get one free sales on special chandelier findings, 25 pair of silver plate ear wires free with orders of $25 or more.... I might add... 25 free pair of silver plate ear wires for every $25 spent! If you spent $50 you got 50 pair free AND free shipping! All this and I managed to get 18 customers to rank beadseller. WOW... makes you wonder what I would have to do to get 30 customers to rank beadseller... or 50.... or.... never mind! This one cost me enough thank you!

I wonder on a daily basis why I continue to do this. Why I continue to try to sell products at the best possible price with the best possible shipping costs and fastest shipping.... why do I keep banging my head against the internet wall?!?

Well... I DON'T WANT TO SAY BECAUSE I LOVE WHAT I DO.... I would be seriously concerned that the white coats would soon arrive at my front door to take me away HA HA.... to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time and I would be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they're coming to take me away HA HA....

But in reality... I LOVE WHAT I DO!

I love it when a customer emails me to say how happy she was when her order arrived and how surprised she was that it arrived in such record time! How beautiful all of the products are.... how she is so happy she found my store! How I can count on the fact that she will be buying all of her beads and beading supplies from me from now on.... And I love it even more when she buys again! WOW! It feels like I am finally getting somewhere!

I still find myself listing products on Overstock Auctions.... And why not! These are new auction buyers... most of the wonderful customers I have met through Overstock do not buy from that other Auction Site.... they never have... and probably never will! They found me! They found what they were looking for!

A store that sells everything they need for their jewelry making supplies! And what's more... a store that even comes equipped with LESSONS on making jewelry too!

And when you send beadseller an email asking how to do something, if I don't already have a lesson on how to do it, I create one just because you, my valued customer wanted to know!

You gotta love a store owner who truly does go leaps and bounds above the rest!