Wizard's Place

Archive for May, 2010

From time to time I take on SEO projects and Dog Lover Store is a recent one. This is a ProStore site which is not the best for SEO and has a custom design by someone else. Of course it is easier to optimize a site I design and which is on a stand-alone host but, hey, that’s what they pay me the big bucks for!

When I started the site was nowhere to be found on the SERPs. We typically check the first 100 pages. Of course, if your site isn’t in the first ten it probably doesn’t matter. We just like to get a base line. As originally designed the site had about 20% of the good factors that would rank it on the first page and a lot that would keep it off. This contract was going to be a challenge.

At the time of this writing we have begun the process of updating code and content and already have more than 50% of the factors in place to get it to the first page. There is lots more work to do and I’ll post here again with an update when there is good news to share.

The Dog Lover Store features a wide selection of dog gifts, dog ornaments and figurines, dog clothes, collars, leashes, and custom dog items. It’s worth a look.

Over the years I’ve installed a few websites. A few hundred actually. And in those years, with all the different packages, pre-configured, and custom sites I have done, when it comes to features, flexibility, ease of use, and shopping cart, I have to say that this is the very best. I am now offering this package as my primary e-commerce solution for many online sellers.

Built on a WordPress foundation, using the Templatic WPShop e-commerce theme (shown below), this website offers as complete a range of features and functions as any I’ve seen and allows for extensive customization.

Because it is built on WordPress it has, of course, an integrated blog. And, because of the new WordPress structure, it has the ability to easily add pages which appear, as if by magic, in the already established menu structure. No confusing HTML, CSS, or JavaScript coding here. And adding content is easy too. Post a blog, add a page, type in text, drop in pictures, upload and re-size — it’s all controlled from the built-in control panel called a dashboard.

And the WPShop theme integrates a complete inventory management, shopping cart, and payment processor system. It’s feature rich yet not over-loaded. It offers the things you need but not a lot of fluff you don’t. And, best of all, it uses the familiar blog/page posting process to list items. Listing is as easy as posting a blog entry! Nice.

Here’s a screen capture of the home page of a recent installation: