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Thread: Your Website And Blog

  1. #1
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Your Website And Blog

    I am in the beginning stages of developing a website. Would you mind providing a link to your website or blog. I promise only to steal the best ideas!

  2. #2
    Master OptiBoarder keithbenjamin's Avatar
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    Here's one that I like: http://www.buenaus.com/

    Its easy to navigate, easy to read, contact information is easy to find, contains maps and directions, and doesn't look like it was built with MS FrontPage circa 1998.

    Make sure you keep content on your website current and relevant to your customers' interests.

    Take some time to read up on SEO (search engine optimization). Google is your friend and content is king.

    See if you can get local opticians associations, local business organizations you belong to, chamber of commerce, etc. to link to your site. Don't participate in link exchanges that are not relevant to your business. If you have a doctor onsite, get listed with all the "doc finders."

    I would also recommend using Google Adwords for search terms like zip + glasses, zip + optician, city + glasses, city + optician (i.e local search terms). Depending on your locale it shouldn't run you more than 5 or 10 cents per click.

    -Keith

  3. #3
    Master OptiBoarder Jedi's Avatar
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    Link is in the sig.
    "It's not impossible. I used to bull's-eye womp rats in my T-16 back home."


  4. #4
    Manuf. Lens Surface Treatments
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    Redhot Jumper Website.....................

    Go on as many search engines websites and subscribe to their newsletters. You will get enough reading material to do the right thing.

    It is not how your website looks what matters, it is the written content. Most search engines like text and not pictures. So keep pictures on a minimum.

    Update often so that there are changes when the crawlers go through your site. Make as many reciprocal links as you can, and it does not matter from which field of business. Search engines crawlers follow the net you have woven. It is all because of indexing the more often they get to your site the more interesting you become.

    When I made my Optical Web Site listing 2 years ago, Google did not like it and totally cut my site of their index were I was everywhere on a first page position. Thanks to the many reciprocal links I never lost out with the all the other search engines. After 3 month Google gave in and put my site back into their listing.

    As a local optician add a page with local blogs and or news, weather and so forth, that will promote you site locally.

    Good luck....................

  5. #5
    Bad address email on file Dougfir8's Avatar
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    Avoid heavy background colors. Some sites have too little contrast between text and background, so the viewer needs to tell their browser to ingore the colors on the web page.

    Charlie
    www.sweepoptical.com

  6. #6
    Master OptiBoarder TLG's Avatar
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    My site is heavy on content and not so much on appearance. I prefer simple layouts that don't distract from the message. Are you designing the site yourself or having someone do it for you?

    The Lens Guru

  7. #7
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Quote Originally Posted by TLG View Post
    My site is heavy on content and not so much on appearance. I prefer simple layouts that don't distract from the message. Are you designing the site yourself or having someone do it for you?

    The Lens Guru
    Thanks for all the links. I am looking into doing it on my own. I'm not opposed to having someone else do it for me. I'll see how bad my attempt is!

  8. #8
    Bad address email on file Dougfir8's Avatar
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    We had a company do it. They are trying, for two years now, to incorporate web site ordering with the billing department. They didn't understand optical, and our web site's ording process is not as good as VisionWeb or that from major optical software companies. If you also buy contact lenses, you might look at Optical Distributor Group https://www.opticaldg.com/. They provide a free web site designed for optical things.

  9. #9
    Master OptiBoarder keithbenjamin's Avatar
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    Sorry Chris, but CME4, I would suggest not taking advice from anyone that tells you Google will come running back to you after they've removed your site from their index because you've built a link farm or participated in other search engine spamming techniques. Chris may have gotten away with it, but if you do so, you are gambling with your business. Due to the ever-increasing number of websites out there and the growing size of search indicies, Google as well as other search engines are becoming less tolerant of these practices and will ban a site quicker than you can say "nose cheese" to help maintain the quality of their results. Once indexed, you'll likely find 70-80% of your traffic coming from Google, so it is best to stay on their good side.

    Furthermore, the "look and feel" of your site does matter. It matters to your (potential) customers. If your site looks unprofessional, is difficult to navigate, or if people can't find what they are looking for, they'll go elsewhere, no matter how much the search engines "love" your site.

    Remember, the whole purpose of SEO is to get RELEVANT traffic to your site. You can have all the traffic in the world, but if that traffic is not relevant to your business, it won't amount to a hill of beans. But, getting traffic there is only half the battle. Once you have search engines referring interested visitors, it is up to your site content and design to keep them there, guide them to a purchase, and get them to return.

    -Keith

  10. #10
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Thanks Keith. Will you take a look at my thread in the Professionals forum.
    Thanks Terry

  11. #11
    Manuf. Lens Surface Treatments
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    Redhot Jumper Link farm.................................

    Quote Originally Posted by keithbenjamin View Post
    .............................because you've built a link farm or participated in other search engine spamming techniques. Chris may have gotten away with it, but if you do so, you are gambling with your business.-Keith
    I believe that this was an irresponsible post. You should first know what a link farm is before making such statements.

    In my case I have never asked anybody to exchange links. I invite others on my links pages to make a reciprocal link and wait to get a proposal.

    A link farm is something you purchase on the net already coming with the links from the other side. In my case links come in at the rate of 2-10 a week and are posted and then counter posted.

    There I did not get away with a link farm I got away with a genuine setup of thousand of link that have gotten up because of mutual agreements............one by one........and it represents quite some work a a few years of your time.

    My optical website listing is also no link farm............because there is no counter links asked for nor posted. It is purely and clearly an informative site for the optical profession.

    Keith.....you are dead wrong and off way the track on this one.

  12. #12
    Master OptiBoarder keithbenjamin's Avatar
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    There is nothing irresponsible about offering responsible advice to someone asking for it, Chris. I'm not sure how you think pages and pages of links to viagra, pharmacy, insurance, and gambling sites would not be considered a link farm. If you are not getting links in return, it makes even less sense. Regardless, if that is the method you choose, I really don't have a problem with it. I am simply providing Terry with a different point of view.

    From Wikipedia

    Although some link farms can be created by hand, most are created through automated programs and services. A link farm is a form of spamming the index of a search engine (sometimes called spamexing or spamdexing). Other link exchange systems are designed to allow individual websites to selectively exchange links with other relevant websites and are not considered a form of spamdexing.

    More info on linking

    -Keith

  13. #13
    Master OptiBoarder DrNeyecare's Avatar
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    Okay, retarded question....
    How do I get my website listed on Google? and Yahoo?

  14. #14
    Manuf. Lens Surface Treatments
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    Blue Jumper

    Quote Originally Posted by keithbenjamin View Post
    Chris. I'm not sure how you think pages and pages of links to viagra, pharmacy, insurance, and gambling sites would not be considered a link farm.
    -Keith
    In order to get ranking and good listings you either pay or you get links. The better ranking the linked page has the more value for the one linking the reciprocal link. It does not matter if it is Viagra or Milk. Limiting is a personal choice. However the the place of listing specially on Google is depending on links............links...........links.

    I just made a little study Google of what makes the ranks and what Keith calls links farms:

    Results 1 - 10 of about 81,200 for links to essilor. (0.11 seconds
    Results 1 - 10 of about 81,200 for links from essilor. (0.11 seconds

    Results 1 - 10 of about 1,470,000 for links to zeiss. (0.04 seconds
    Results 1 - 10 of about 1,470,000 for links from zeiss. (0.12 seconds

    Results 1 - 10 of about 291,000 for links to opto chemicals. (0.10 seconds
    Results 1 - 10 of about 291,000 for links from opto chemicals. (0.13 seconds

    Results 1 - 10 of about 82 for links to laramy-k. (0.14 seconds)
    Results 1 - 10 of about 82 for links from laramy-k. (0.17 seconds)

    Results 1 - 10 of about 223,000 for links to luxottica. (0.05 seconds
    Results 1 - 10 of about 223,000 for links from luxottica. (0.09 seconds

    Above results show that what Keith calls link farming, is practised by the worlds largest optical corporations as well.

    However what every website owner wants and desires are good listings on the large search engines and linking to good websites, whatever they promote and sell, with the exception of adult and sex related ones are the key.


  15. #15
    Forever Liz's Dad Steve Machol's Avatar
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    Please take this argument to private channels and stay on topic. Thank you.


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  16. #16
    Master OptiBoarder rbaker's Avatar
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    It seems to me that a web commerce site should have two characteristics:
    Not force the customer to scroll through endless crap to find something.
    Allow the customer to order and pay for merchandise on line.
    Hits aint no good if the potential customer leaves the site without ordering anything.

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