Link Popularity Checker

[Chell]

DP has downloaded a Link Popularity checker. You can add sites to it and it will total the number of links there are to any site on the net. I'm sure its lying to me as my number of links is all of a sudden very, very high. Its higher than the big names in Baby Signing yet Google doesn't want to know me yet.

I have been going posting like mad to get my linke evrywhere but the figure seem too high, I would love to think they are accurate. Does anyone know of ay software like this (free) which gives true figures?

[Ravenfire]

Try the one on here:-

http://www.submitexpress.com/

[MrTempleDene]

You could use the alta vista search engine

and do

link:www.mumszone.co.uk

for example, which return all the links to mumszone

[Chell]

Try the one on here:-

http://www.submitexpress.com/

Blimey, that gives me even more. The one I had said 1474, that one says 1743!

[Chell]

You could use the alta vista search engine

and do

link:www.mumszone.co.uk

for example, which return all the links to mumszone

That one says 667shrugshoulders111

[tracey2756]

mmmm, That's very interesting

[MrTempleDene]

that's only the sites altavista knows about, or maybe you only did a UK search?

google does the same thing, same syntax

but that returns zero :unsure: for chelltune.co.uk

and only 1 for my site

[Chell]

I have Google ad words so surely it should find me from that if nothing else? I don't think Google likes me. The site has been online just over a month. Everyone seems to say that Google takes months so I won't give up hope yet.

[mcarp555]

Have you submitted a sitemap to Google? My shop's been up for about six weeks and has lots of pages indexed.

[Chell]

Have you submitted a sitemap to Google? My shop's been up for about six weeks and has lots of pages indexed.


Yes, thats all been done. We are on there, just not where we will be found.20061008

[MerrilyMe]

Chell,

having done mine on the submit express site, i'm missing a vast quantity of tag levels - i guess it must be an osc foible, so no wonder google doesn't know we are there!

merry
xxx

[Al1x]

Cheltune... according to my link checker this is your stats:

DOMAIN = www.chelltune.co.uk
Alexa Traffic Ranking = 2,949,060
Present in DMOZ = No
Present in Zeal = Yes

AlltheWeb = 702
AltaVista = 708
Google = 0
HotBot = 0
MSN Search = 86
Yahoo! = 261
Total = 1,757

[Tess]

Have you submitted a sitemap to Google? My shop's been up for about six weeks and has lots of pages indexed.

just noticed your link for your site..it looks fab and good prices too...im sure the lazy town fans will be in there soon..of for another look,x

[feistygal]

I have Google ad words so surely it should find me from that if nothing else? I don't think Google likes me. The site has been online just over a month. Everyone seems to say that Google takes months so I won't give up hope yet.

I think you're getting confused over exactly what you are checking.

Doing a "link:www.chelltune.co.uk" in google or any other search engine or link checker will bring up what sites have links to your site that the SE has indexed It will take time for those indexed links to filter through. You can expect to be in the Google sandbox for anything up to a year or so. It will also take a while for all the bots to index all your pages.

I did a link check on the submit express site and it showed that google has indexed 5 of the sites that link to mine and 13 that another SE has indexed. Some of those will obviously be the same site so you're not supposed to add the numbers together.

You can't force google to index your site any quicker so concentrate on keyword rich content on each page and making sure you don't link to too many unrelated sites.

[Lemon]

I use www.marketleap.com

not sure how accurate it is ? I am off to check out what the other's say.

[Chell]

:blusingan :blusingan Chell,

having done mine on the submit express site, i'm missing a vast quantity of tag levels - i guess it must be an osc foible, so no wonder google doesn't know we are there!

merry
xxx


I have no idea what that means:blusingan :blusingan

I notice your site doesn't have the product in the URL for each item. Mine is the same. I showed DP the OScommerce contribution to correct this but he wasn't sure if we could change it. We use freeola to host the site which is free. He said it changes the way the server reads things. We have had problems with the HT Access before so he is reluctant to fiddle.

[Chell]

Thanks Feisty, I have read so much about Google in the past 3 weeks that my brain is pickled with it all.

I've been posting on forums like mad to get people to know about the site as I don't really want to be paying to advertise.

All the Google jargon mashes my brain with all their terms. I read a word and have to stop and think what they actually mean. I then completely forget the terms when I try to relay the info to someone else.

I think I understand Adwords but am only paying a few pence per day for it, I am not prepared to spend a fortune. I could pay 15p per click for 'Baby Sign Language' but it would be continually clicked. I am trying to use less obvious terms IYSWIM in the hope that it is more targetted to the type of person who would actually buy my products.

The popularity checkers say I have slightly more links than Tinytalk and approx five times more than Sing and Sign.

[feistygal]

I think I understand Adwords but am only paying a few pence per day for it, I am not prepared to spend a fortune. I could pay 15p per click for 'Baby Sign Language' but it would be continually clicked. I am trying to use less obvious terms IYSWIM in the hope that it is more targetted to the type of person who would actually buy my products.

That is a very good marketing step to take - to target the less obvious keywords will mean you get a far more targeted customer base arriving at your site which eventually will mean more sales as you will offer exactly what they want.

For example you don't want people clicking on your ad looking for Sing and Sign classes as you don't offer them so by targetting your keywords more specifically you will get a better ROI. Does that make sense?

Remember inbound links are only one way of improving ranking so try not to place too much emphasis on that. Keyword rich content - without over use, relevant content, relevant good quality outbound links and relevant landing pages for your Google Adwords are all equally (if not more) important.

hth

Claire

[Chell]

Thanks, I think Adwords goes to my home page rather than the catalogue page, should I change that then?

I actually have Sing and Sign as one of my words but my ad clearly states that my site offers the products to sign at home. I stock Sing and Sign products. I am waiting for Sing and Sign to decide if they will let me sell more of their range :crossfing

[mcarp555]

I did a Google search for "chelltune" and got plenty of hits, but all of them seem to be either ebay or forum posts. I agree that having the product mentioned in the URL is much more search engine friendly. Even if it's a difficult thing to do, it might still be worth another look. Better now after a month to change it then after a year, when there's a lot more work and re-indexing to do.

Also, I think you're headed in the right direction in some areas, like trying to get the word out, but link popularity will only go so far. You might want to consider some content, like articles about signing on your main landing page. Ask yourself: why would anyone want to shop at my store? What difference do I have to offer? If you put in enough time and effort, these things eventually trickle down and start to pay off. I've been doing a lot of the same things you're doing, but it's only been in the past week that I've seen a real jump in pageviews. I think you'll also eventually see the results of your time spent flogging your site.

[mcarp555]

Oops - feistygal said it better than I did, while I was typing it!

[Chell]

Also, I think you're headed in the right direction in some areas, like trying to get the word out, but link popularity will only go so far. You might want to consider some content, like articles about signing on your main landing page. Ask yourself: why would anyone want to shop at my store? What difference do I have to offer? If you put in enough time and effort, these things eventually trickle down and start to pay off. I've been doing a lot of the same things you're doing, but it's only been in the past week that I've seen a real jump in pageviews. I think you'll also eventually see the results of your time spent flogging your site.

I totally agree, my site is very unfinished. DP is in the process of doing another site then is back to mine. I am having a new banner/logo with a symbol rather than pics, several new pages with pics/information. I have other products to order once my sales start to roll in, lots of parents quotes etc. At the moment it is a shop, people have no reason to come back. I want it to be a resource that people will want to return to.
My site just happened, it wasn't really planned, one thing led to another and here it is. Thanks for your advise, it is most welcome:yes:

[Chell]

At the moment forum posts are what is getting people to the site, if I didn't do those then people wouldn't be viewing my pages at all. I also have hits from my competitions but that could be compers and not parents who wish to sign.

[mcarp555]

Also, if you don't have one, get a counter. Someplace like www.statcounter.com (which is FREE); You can track what people are looking at on your site, and where they came from. It can be a big help in determining which way to go on some things. And help with keyword selection for Adwords.

[feistygal]

The Adwords ad should arrive at the precise catalog/product page that the ad mentions that will give a better ROI.

[feistygal]

TBH I would also get rid of your landing/home page - people should land right at the shop not have to click to enter the shop. All the info on your home page should be in your About Us or in an articles section page which is where customers will expect to see it.

You've got a rare opportunity with your site to actually really use an article section - eg I could write articles about wooden toys/ learning development etc but with your siteit would make much more sense for you to write articles about signing, communication, sing and sign etc and use your expertise in that area. Again that will improve ranking and more importantly, improve customers sales no end.

[Chell]

Also, if you don't have one, get a counter. Someplace like www.statcounter.com (which is FREE); You can track what people are looking at on your site, and where they came from. It can be a big help in determining which way to go on some things. And help with keyword selection for Adwords.

I have PHP Webstatik on the Homepage but not the PHP pages. I have statcounter.com on something but am not sure if its all pages or just the homepage. I think it may just be the homepage too.

[Chell]

TBH I would also get rid of your landing/home page - people should land right at the shop not have to click to enter the shop. All the info on your home page should be in your About Us or in an articles section page which is where customers will expect to see it.

The plan was that the first page would all change. There would be links to other pages such as (names will change but rough ideas):

Shop
Terms
Forum
Competitions
Newsletter
Specials

I didn't want people to get to the site and think its just a shop. I want people to get there and realise that they can learn about signing for babies/children but also for Deaf families. Yes, I want to sell my products but I want them to feel that the site has a whole lot more to offer. Does that make sense?

[feistygal]

That absolutely makes sense and I can see why you planned it that way - you want to offer more than a shop which is why I using your expertise in articles etc.

If you look at Merry's site - www.beadmerrily.co.uk - you'll see that she does pretty much what you mention - she sells products but also has loads of other resources on her site - news, design gallery and patterns etc, and she does all that from one page so you are already in the shop and because of this most of her site adheres to the 3 click rule.

I only mentioned because as I understand it, the landing page/home page as you have it can interfere with SEO and page ranking. Just a thought.

[Chell]

Thanks, I do appreciate the help. I see what you mean from Bead Merrily. If the links at the top for the forum etc were bigger/more obvious then it would be more like how I see mine looking.

I see how I want it but am relying on my DP to do the actual work, poor bloke!