Rank Q for the gurus

[wcthrill]

Ive ben doing a little research on site rank. And Ive found some misleadin results. First off I checked 2 sites in MSN

http://www.tumi.com/ ranked #7
http://www.jesseloggage.com/ ranked #1
http://www.luggageonsale.com/ ranked #21

Links
Tumi 11188
Jesse 2454
Luggage 3028

Although Tumi has 4 times as many links than Jesse they are ranked lower. Also these sites are not content rich, dont use amy H1 tags, only Tumi has footers. Tumi also has more actual retail stores nationwide. Jesse only has 1 location. So why is Tumi rated lower?

Would be real interested in knowing the answer.

[Bethers]

First, you need to copy and paste url's - or make sure you get them right :lol:

Footers are necessary for stores using java for their navigation - not for all stores.

Their are many variables for how a store gets ranked. You don't give the keyword phrase you were using to bring them up. How many links, doesn't mean that keyword phrase is in all the links, etc.

And I don't know why you're even looking at how many stores they have - that doesn't fit into the equation at all.

[wcthrill]

actually the number of stores should make a diff..especially if theyre known nation wide...dont you thnk a com. like coca cola will rank higher even if they dont follow the SE guidelines?

Im just trying to make a point that sometimes it doesnt matter if you follow the guidelines in certain circumstances. The site that deserves to be on top wont always be.

Unless you can convince me otherwise.

The keywords I used was luggage

actually the number of stores should make a diff..especially if theyre known nation wide...dont you thnk a com. like coca cola will rank higher even if they dont follow the SE guidelines?

Im just trying to make a point that sometimes it doesnt matter if you follow the guidelines in certain circumstances. The site that deserves to be on top wont always be.

Unless you can convince me otherwise.

Ok first, each site is ranked on its own. PERIOD. Yep I raised my voice a bit. I know of someone that has six sites that sell the same products, right down to the product number, and exact same text, pics..and so on.

The only difference is the anchor text in his links and the urls. The Only difference!

He sells patio furniture, all use the same template, same codes, same everything....

Six sites, six vastly different rankings. Geuss what....that is his intention!
He ranks differently for almost all the variations of outdoor furniture.

But he is getting visitors and customers, guess what he thinks of the search engines? He doesn't give a hoot now....in the busy season he recieves about 2000 vistors a day (so he told me) on each site, how he does this I still don't know for sure.


coca cola will rank higher even if they dont follow the SE guidelines?

If I searched for coca cola yep. If I searched for Soda Pop on google they aren't even on the first page...let me try Cola yep they came up #1, #2 then came pepsi
How about cold drink? Not on the first page.
hmmm...what else can we call a Cola Drink? Oh cola drink...duh Not on the first page but jimbeam is??? hmmm

Optimize for your selected keywords. You will not be able to go head to head with the 'big' names or should say branded names. I want to go to Walmart.com...I type in walmart.com. I want a drill I type in drill and see the results. Now I am not going to use keywords such as walmart or target because I am not them...and would get sued...LOL

Not to be rude but this will sound rude...stop thinking about search engines, think customers first! Link trade using your chosen keywords and the search engines will find you.

Now I hope I didn't upset anyone, but anything more than that is a relative waste of time.

my 1/2 cent worth. :wink:

[wcthrill]

ok bruce you made a point...lol..( 4 today)....but be fore warned Ill have more intriging questions...hypothetical examples....and more theories.. so you better watch your P's n Q's


:)

[Bethers]

How does the search engine know someone has more stores and why should that rank the persons store higher? What if they are all bad stores? The search engines don't know Best Buy from a fly by night store selling the same products - they only know what information they are given on the website to judge - and the se's do not judge you against anyone else - it's all done on an individual basis.

That does not mean that there are not things to do to help - all we are trying to do here on this forum is help people use the templates we are given - and make them the best we can.

BTW, how does a se know that coca cola is different than joe brown's cola? Only because coca cola most likely uses their own name more - and it is probably their domain name also - which will give it points.

Also, on luggage - I grew up with Samsonite luggage - they don't show up on page one of a search on luggage. Guess what - they probably don't care. Why? Because their name is branded - and they probably get enough people who search for "samsonite".

As Bruce said - you need to make your store the best you possibly can for your customers - that is really what is important.

[Shoshana]

Will, is that full head of hair weighing you down? Big companies don't have to optimize their websites for the search engines.

Storkcraft Baby is probably the largest baby furniture manufacturer in the US and Canada. They have warehouses all over the North America. But somethimes I come up ahead of them for "Storkcraft." Why, because I've optimized my site for that word. They haven't.

Large companies are household names. The rest of us have to optimize. If you find a better way to do it in your research, we seriously want to know. And I'm not saying that there isn't sometimes, if not better, then another, way. We're all here to help and to learn!

[wcthrill]

Im not arguing with your points. The more I research the more different opinions I hear. Some say SEO is the most important , others say relevants links are the way... then you have guys pushing RSS, and blogs,,press releases. Makes your head spin as to what to concentrate on. Ive done as much optimizing on keywrds as I can. Now Im trying to cocentrate on links with the help of Zeus. What gets me is Im doing well on several search terms on MSN. But it seems Im non existent on Yahoo & Google. It just gets a bit fustrating.

[Shoshana]

Now Im trying to cocentrate on links with the help of Zeus. What gets me is Im doing well on several search terms on MSN. But it seems Im non existent on Yahoo & Google. It just gets a bit fustrating.

Keep doing what you're doing. It took 6 months for Google to find A Baby's World but now they send me the majority of my visitors, mostly searching for Storkcraft! I also get lots of visitors from linking and free directories so everything you do helps. Patience is difficult I know, but while we're practicing it, we can be linking like crazy! :D

Patience is difficult I know, but while we're practicing it, we can be linking like crazy!

This one line really sums it all up.

I think of my Grandparents (both sides), I have friends that are "older than dirt". The overwhelming opinion I hear from them is, 'you young folks have no patience'. (that is not an exact quote, but close)

I spent the day letting Zeus run, while I worked on checking one of my suppliers inventory and making some small changes to the home accents store. Later after some sleep I might link trade.

Patience is a virtue. Link trading takes the SE's out of the picture.

So, you tell me, what is important?

Oh I will watch my P's and Q's no one else will. :wink:

[wcthrill]

and one day I will be able to snatch the pebble from your hand..

[candvproducts]

I have to agree with both Sho and Bruce.
Patience is a very important thing in what we are doing.
I'm not the most patient soul, just ask anyone who knows me, however, I have learned in the last couple of months that if you don't exercize some patience you will go crazy. Not only being patient with the amount of traffic coming in, but being patient with storefront customizations.
Will, this is not a get rich quick overnight affair, some of these people have been at it for years. Take their advice, it speaks volumes. I know that I have, and will continue to do so, for as long as that advice is available. The administrators and moderaters here are genuinely kind and forthcoming with what is real, and they want to see all of us succeed.
That is what is so great about this forum, people helping other people with no agenda of their own getting in the way.
Just my 2 cents, I'll get off the soapbox now. :roll:

[Bethers]

Good soapbox, Cliff - couldn't say it better myself.

And link trade, link trade and link trade.

And believe me, link trading is my least favorite thing to do! But a little time everyday - or a lot of time one day a week - whatever works for you - and it will increase business.

[candvproducts]

'Tis easy to wax eloquently when one has passion for the subject.
Which reminds me, passion for what you are trying to accomplish is another key factor in anything you are wanting to succeed at, but is especially true with what we all are doing here.
Are you listening Will? :)

[ncope]

I believe you have to try a combination of things to get your website high rankings. What works one day may not work the next time the search engine changes their algorithm. You need to use a combination of on and off page optimization. This includes optimizing your pages for your keywords, link trading, blogs, rss and offline advertising.

Nancy