Help ranking for a keyword

[RyanKent]

Bill, I'll divide a response into two sections. First, allow me to respond to your direct SEO inquiries.

Regarding the redirects, when a page loads it provides header information to the browser. The header information includes codes such as 200 (all ok), 301 (page is permanently redirected), 404 (cannot find page) and numerous other codes. There are many methods to view this information. Since you are here at SEOmoz I would recommend installing the MOZbar on your Firefox browser. Analyze Page > Page Attributes then scroll to the bottom and you will see this information.

Regarding the content, you are absolutely correct. It is a common problem when a manufacturer provides a data feed then many vendors copy and paste the information from that feed. It is all duplicate content. In order to rank well you need to provide quality, unique content. Ideally you will spend some time with each product and share the details, some positives and negatives about the products. Any extra videos, images or other content you generate is great too as long as it is sincerely helpful to users.

Regarding cannibalization, that refers to when you have multiple pages on your website which are relevant to the same keyword. You have numerous pages which present "Nitro Monster Trucks" and even multiple pages with that exact same page title. Every page title on your site should be unique. It is perfectly fine to have one page titled "Nitro Monster Truck" and another page titled "Nitro Moster Truck Volcano S30". It is not ok to have two pages titled "Nitro Monster Truck" This subject gets complicated when you have similar content such as your products. You need to be careful with page titles, headers, ALT tags, etc. Internal linking should also be used to support the correct keywords on each page.

---

Regarding performing SEO in general, it is wonderful you wish to learn. The best place to start is the Beginner's Guide to SEO. The Google Guide is also recommended reading.

SEO, Web Development and being a car mechanic have one thing in common. You can learn pieces of it in less then a day and see the positive results of your work. The challenge is it takes years to really learn and understand these fields. There is formal training, informal training, experience and tools involved.

Using web development as an example, there are shopping carts and CMS software such as WordPress which allow a user to install site software, replace logos, add images and content then have their site up and running in under a day. The challenge is a professionally developed site which utilizes all HTML and SEO best practices would likely take a solid month to develop and customize for you. The month timeline assumes an experienced programmer who has the training, knowledge, experience and tools to do the job. If you are earning 80k/year on ebay, your site has a chance to do serious business. I would definitely employ a professional developer. Each month your site is not up you are losing sales.

As a final note, there are many developers who claim to be professionals but do not build quality websites. There is a long list of items to look for in a quality website. Be careful in how you select a developer. Treat it like selecting any other professional. Don't simply go for a flashy ad or the best price.

[bilsonx]

Thank you for all of that information. One thing that is bugging me though is that its not even showing up in the top 1000 for that keyword. Even with the problems I feel that it should atleast be in the top 1000? Am I correct?

[RyanKent]

Your content is very thin, your site is low quality, and to top everything else the content itself is duplicated multiple times. Your page would not necessarily be in the top 1000 under those conditions.

[bilsonx]

Do you think it would be a better quality site if I switched it to Magento Go? It seems like a lot of what is making it "Low Quality" is out of my control with 3DCart. The only thing I can really change myself is writing better content.

[bilsonx]

I guess I am kind of confused what you mean by "Low Quality" as well. Right now I am using Bing SEO Toolkit to correct the

[RyanKent]

If you want to offer a competitive store, you need to host it yourself. Hosted solutions have too many limitations in my experience. There are changes you will want to make and then be informed you cannot make them.

I am not personally familiar with 3DCart but it is likely you can resolve the issues but it will cost time and money.

What many people do not realize is the various "free" and low cost solutions are simply hooks to pull you in. Once you set up your site you will then want better performance and realize you need to step up and incur some costs.

If you desire a professionally developed store which incorporates current HTML best practices (valid code, mobile site, security enhancements, etc) and best SEO practices (internal linking, site map, 404 page, etc) then a Joomla + Virtuemart solution or a WordPress solution is somewhere around $3k.

You can go with Magento Go or stay with 3DCart but you will struggle hard to compete with others who have professionally developed websites.

[bilsonx]

So just to verify, your recommending Joomla + Virtuemart if I want to do it myself and Wordpress if I want to pay someone else to do it?

[RyanKent]

No, I would recommend a developer for either choice.

If you are here at SEOmoz, I have to assume SEO is important to you. There are some people who put up a shop and live with obtaining 3 - 4 sales per month. If that is you, then a GoDaddy store or your current cart is fine.

If you desire a store which ranks on the first page of Google results and can handle volume, you need to go with a professionally developed solution.

I spent 7 years working for Verizon Wireless as a database administrator working with and leading a team of programmers. I have taken courses related to web design and have built numerous sites. I also have an analyst working for me who is close to finishing her certificate in web development. Even under those circumstances I would not build my own website.

Why? I am not a professional web developer. I do not have the formal training, the passion, the experience nor the tools to build a high quality website. If I had to do it, I am sure I would get it done but the amount of time it would take would be several times what a good programmer would take. Additionally, during that time I would not be earning revenue from my core job functions. Lastly, there is the opportunity cost which would be lost. It would take me a lot more time then a professional and all the time my site was not up I would be missing out on sales.

The question to ask yourself is...how serious are you? Is this website business something you are passionate about? If you love RC vehicles and feel you have found a new career, then I advise you to invest in that career. That effort begins with a professionally designed site. You will need thousands of additional dollars to set everything up correctly: Verisign for SSL, TRUSTe for your privacy policy, join the BBB, a locally hosted shopping cart, bank set up fees for accepting MC/Visa/Discover/AMEX, etc etc.

What drives SEO is passion. There are people in each state who want to have a site like yours. They set up the site, use a data feed from a vendor so they do not have to carry inventory, drop ship products, etc. etc. That is not the quality way to run the business. At most, it is the shoestring way to get started. At some point you need to make the transition if you wish to run with the big sellers.

[bilsonx]

Hey thanks a lot, that was very informative and helpful. I don't know that I "Love" RC Vehicles but I do know that I love to make money and run a business, and RC Vehicles have a nice markup value for a good profit. That is actually how I am doing business right now is drop shipping through eBay. My plan is to succeed selling RC Hobby products so that I will have the experience to be able to expand and sell other products as well. I think of drop shipping as advertising for a company and I think that once I am more successful with this product I will have the knowledge to move onto the next. Maybe 10-20 years from now I will own 8-10 different websites selling different companies products. Maybe even have some employees by then. I don't know exactly where I am headed but I do know that I do have a huge passion for all of this because I sit here 8-10 hours a day doing research and trying to better my current business. So what would you say a good budget amount would be to start out having my first website built? Also, something else that was confusing me, will the website builder I choose do the SEO as well, or should they be separate people? Thanks so much again, your information has really helped me.

[RyanKent]

Right there is the challenge Bill.

Some site owners are passionate about their products and services. I have one client in England who sells packing boxes. You are probably asking...how can a person be passionate about packing boxes?! Well, this client has run a family business for 30 years. He will go into detail on the differences between a "cardboard box" and a "packing box". When he speaks, you can hear the enthusiasm in his voice. He expects his family will be in the same business 30 years from now.

Meanwhile, there are dozens of other similar sites which sell packing boxes, but from examining the competitors I get the impression these companies just throw up sites selling various products and really don't have any commitment to the business. They may sell packing boxes on one site, watches on another, and radio controlled cars on a third site. They don't care and are just in it for the money...and it shows clearly! That's the difference.

If you are focused on one site, you commit to that site's success. Your articles are much higher quality, the site's look and feel is better, the customer service is better and so forth. Many of the Google changes over the past two years are helping to separate the authentic businesses from the people who run a dozen websites. It is getting easier and easier to help legitimate businesses rise above their competitors.

If you are selling well on eBay, that's great. Selling on your own website puts you in direct competition with the other sites who are doing the same thing as you. It then becomes a pure competition. The more committed site owner wins (assuming they also work smart).