Hello a1agifts,
This is a great question. I must firstly note, that a good PageRank
with Google, is effectively a good 'PageRank' with Yahoo, as they
utilize Google search results for their search queries, in addition to
sites in their own directory.
Google PageRank is not a complex system to figure out. In short, here
is what you may need to do:
1) Exchange links with sites that are listed in the Google engine,
that have good PR. These should definitely not be competitor sites,
rather sites that might complement yours. I took a look at your site,
and I came up with a few areas that you might want to explore
exchanging links in:
- Shopping Mall sites.
- Gift Shop link collections
- Wholesale supplier links (to your wholesale section)
- Free stuff sites (free gift with purchase)
2) Start your own link section. Require a mandatory link back to your
site in order to stay listed. Now comes the twist : Offer them a logo
or banner on the same page, for a searchbox or large logo from their
page.
What does this do?
When done effectively, it builds a large link network. My 'personal'
sites have thousands of links built in this manner, and have average
Google PageRanks of 5-7, varying with the amount of effort I put into
staying on top of it all. I try to offer link swaps with sites that
carry a larger PageRank than mine. This essentially tells the Google
crawler that my site is indeed important to the sites that are linking
in, because many of them have similar - high PR with Google.
As far as your meta-tags are concerned - Google tends to stay away
from them. They don't use them for ranking or indexing. I did notice
that you may have changed your title on your site. This could be a
heavy factor with concern to the amount of traffic you are getting
now. Did you change this for the holiday season?
A final note to ponder - Google indexes every month, sometimes twice a
month. If you change your site every two weeks, you can play with the
wording of your title, and wording of your main content pages to see
where the changes get you. It's all a placement game, using variables.
Some of the sites that linked to you before may have been dropped from
Google as well. If they get dropped, then there is no longer a link in
- traced to your website. This is can only be found out by knowing
where your site has been linked from, and checking to make sure those
sites/your links still exist.
Here is the page explaining Google Page Rank. It is an invaluable
resource. Below it I have listed some sites that may/may not help you
get back to where you once were.
://www.google.com/technology/index.html
Some sites that may help you:
PageRank Explained
http://www.iprcom.com/papers/pagerank/
Topsites Pagerank help
http://www.topsitelistings.com/optimization_strategies/googlepagerank.htm
Please note that none of the sites listed are endorsed by Google.
In closing, it's safe to assume that increasing your PR with Google
will increase your listing with Yahoo for certain search terms. It
will not however change where your site is listed in the directory, or
it's position within the placed category.
I hope this helps you get back up in the rankings. If you desire
further clarification, please ask before rating this answer as I would
love to be of more assistance.
To help with this answer I searched for:
google page rank
Thanks for the great question!
SgtCory
PR = RageRank |
Clarification of Answer by
sgtcory-ga
on
28 Oct 2002 08:03 PST
Hello a1agifts,
Yes the title of your homepage. I should have stated it more clearly,
so here is what it currently says:
........
Nevermind :-)
Seems you just changed it. That is exactly what I was referring to.
Now when Google users search for, let's say.....Gifts, you will have a
much better chance of showing up, as the word is in your title. Before
when I looked it was about a 'free gift with purchase'. That method
would essentialy get that text indexed with your site, and only be
possibly found when users search for:
free gift with purchase
Of course you already noted that your traffic has slipped a bit, and
if you had changed this title before, it may have been part of the
problem.
My suggestion now is to analyze the next month, after you get
re-indexed by Google, and see which keywords are sending visitors to
your site. If you don't notice a change, then simply keep 'tweaking'
variables we have outlined to better position yourself.
One more method to increase your Google Page Rank is to try and submit
your site to the Open Directory, run by Netscape. Google uses a copy
of this data in their directory, and acceptance into this directory
will give you a Google directory listing as well. Here is the site:
http://www.dmoz.org
Getting into that directory is not the easiest or quickest in the
world. It will however get you much more exposure, and does play a
small role in the Google Page Rank analysis.
Please let me know if you need more clarification -
Thanks again!
SgtCory
I almost forgot that you asked for some personal suggestions. No
problem. Here is what I suggest:
1) Add more text to your main page describing what it is that your
site actually does. Refrain from claims like ' We are the #1 Gift
shop' etc.... Try something like this:
We offer gifts and collectibles for every gift occasion. Not sure
where to start? Click here to view all of our gifts on one page:
This does a few things:
- Uses the keyword 'gifts' a few times, without overdoing it. You are
still telling the truth about your site, without over-inflating the
keywords to the point of annoying.
- You would have to build a page with a link to all gifts. This page
could also be indexed by Google, which in turn may index every single
gift page that you offer, and at the same time allow visitors to do
browse of all your items categorized on one page should they decide to
do so.
2) Try to stay away from animated gifs when not needed. The bells n'
whistles are indeed handy, but not when running a shopping site. They
take longer to download, and can often lead to a disgruntled visitor.
I doubt you would lose any visitors to the fact that you didn't have
animated gifs. See what I mean here?
Other than that, it's a good looking site in general. I can say at a
minimum, you would already be ahead of the pack because you are taking
the time to make sure your site is properly indexed - which most
webmasters know nothing about.
SgtCory
|
Clarification of Answer by
sgtcory-ga
on
28 Oct 2002 08:14 PST
Forgot the pop up question too.
This is entirely up to you. There are sites in Google that have many
popups. I would tell you however to refrain using them when not needed
as they have come to a crossroad in advertising again, and are seeking
safer alternatives to popups. They cause alot of users problems with
their PC's, and oftern associated with low quality sites.
I am unaware of the effects of PR with respect to popups. I know of a
few 7+ PR sites, that have popups. I would assume it's all in the way
they are presented, as a site with 400 popups is sure not to be
included in Google :-)
As far as your mailing list is concerned, I would offer a drawing for
say...a t-shirt or something for all new sign ups, and make the signup
form static on your main page. You could then add links to contest
sites - who will often send many contestants your way, and in the
process - you would sign up many newsletter subscribers, and potential
customers.
Hope that helps a bit!
SgtCory
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