Ranking a retail opencart site

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rcriger

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Jun 29, 2011
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Hey all,

So I have been browsing the forums for sometime now, created a few Adsense sites and achieved some decent ranks. So I'm now onto my next project...

I recently acquired a local deal with a furniture company(good family friend) to build a site to sell furniture. I am narrowing it down to a specific niche in furniture like all modern furniture for example. After several weeks I am almost ready to start an seo plan. My budget is under 5k but with that being said I don't just want to rush to drop 5k either. I have picked out a list of roughly 200 keywords I am going to be targeting onsite that fits well within the niche. My next phase is to develop what backlinks to purchase, in what orer and point them to what links/keywords? I plan on putting together a image showing exactly the services i bought, where they were pointed, and rating them on a cost per result. I know one i have definently seen great results is riverrs sbb and that is where I'll probably start it all. Please let me know if you guys have any suggestions as I have been unable to find any threads about ranking A site like this. Stay tuned for updates on keyword rankings and profits from sales!
 


Do they simply want you to bring them customers? Sounds like a local affiliate job to me. If that's the case, then I would tie in the city in which you are targeting primarily. Also, as you noted, maybe go with a certain style and target a few of those if they are getting any searches.

You had a question mark about which backlinks to purchase and in what order. I would start out with higher PR backlinks. I think the lower end ones are easier to catch by Google and your site could be quickly slapped without gaining some notoriety with respected websites. I know this is where I prefer to start. I would look for some blog network links on sites with PR. You won't get the quantity you will need, but it will give you the quality. Let them rest for a few days before going for a social bookmarking package or something.

From there, if you have time to do it on your own, perhaps start looking where your competitors are linked from. At times they are linked from small directories. Obtaining similar links is a way to "catch up" then you can surpass them by those other backlinks you have outsourced. This is my personal philosophy of course. :)
 
Hey PHPGator,

It is kind of a 50-50 deal. I told him I would build out the site and get my own sales. I send him the orders and he processes them for me. He already owns 3 online site but he just doesn't know anything about SEO. He used to have a business partner that knew a ton and built him out a site but was extremely bipolar and ended up going crazy.

How do you go about checking your competitors links? I have been using SERPIQ to see if I should even attempt to rank in the market.

Thanks -
 
I do a bit of this work for clients. There is also a stickied thread somewhere here on WF I believe called "Local SEO" that you might find useful.

First thing is, don't plan EVERYTHING out before you even start. You are going to have to adapt as you go.

I start with a well built site, optimized, internal linking etc. Add lots of textual content. Of course if you are trying to rank for 200 terms you need a lot of pages.

As for link building I start with Google Place Page, Yahoo listing, FB, Twitter, Youtube, and a bunch of manual submissions to the top directories - Yelp, MerchantCircle, Manta, Hot Frog, etc. etc. ( I have a list if you would like) I do these main ones manually to make sure they are done correctly. Later when buying links I may buy some more directory subs.

Then just continue with linkbuilding and updating of the site. Just be sure to diversify your types of links and kw anchors as well as stay away from too many spammy weak links. As stated above in text high PR homepage links are good. Just be sure to check that the sellers aren't leaving footprints. (I can recommend some good sellers if you would like)

Always good to be extra careful when it is someone else's site that you could possibly tank.
 
rcriger said:
Hey PHPGator,

It is kind of a 50-50 deal. I told him I would build out the site and get my own sales. I send him the orders and he processes them for me. He already owns 3 online site but he just doesn't know anything about SEO. He used to have a business partner that knew a ton and built him out a site but was extremely bipolar and ended up going crazy.
Click to expand...

Okay, I do a lot of dropshipping and this is what yours sounds like too. I really enjoy dropshipping because you can market the products as if they are your own. If you have a 30% margin or more, you should do quite well.

How do you go about checking your competitors links? I have been using SERPIQ to see if I should even attempt to rank in the market.

Thanks -
Click to expand...
I simply go to backlinkwatch.com, I go through the list to see where they have backlinks at. A lot of times you'll see their sites listed in directories and such, and I just try to mimic those. Other times, you might see them advertising a sitewide link, you might try to contact the owner of that site (Do a WHOIS search, or use a contact form) and get your link posted there too.

I found that lot of websites want to post links to helpful sites that are related to their niche. These are great sites to get backlinks on, you just have to let them know you exist. :)

This is often time consuming work, so I tend to just copy those backlinks into an excel file and go through them as I have a few extra minutes here and there. I like serpiq as well, it's a good indication of how much work it is going to be. Don't let it scare you off though! :)
 
@rcriger - PM Sent. Here's a small list of some the main directories I do manual submits for. Depending on the type of site there are a bit more but this will get you started. Kind of a pain for verification with some but to me they are worth it for client sites.

Google Places
Yahoo local
Bing Business Portal
Hot Frog
yellowbot
yelp
whitepages
merchant circle
manta
mapquest
superpages
yellowbook
local.com
kudzu
jayde
topix
local.msn
whitepage.net
restaurantrow
mojopages
ibegin.com
magicyellow.com
brownbook.net
xomreviews.com
insiderpages
thumbtack
local.msn
restaurantrow
akama.com
 
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