SEO for a new website, Whats our options

[Tbozz]

We are a hair extension supplier based in Norfolk and looking to do SEO work on our new website. kisshairextension dot co dot uk

A friend advised us on two options:

1) Hire an SEO expert to work on the site

2) Hire a good copywriter to write SEO optimised/google friendly contents for the site.

Being a novice to the world of online marketing, we want to make sure we are doing the right stuff.

Any ideas and suggestions please

 

[HobbyMounts]

First off, who made the website? Do you have access to the HTML code, if so, you can make some simple SEO changes yourself, free.

SEO is expensive if you get so-called experts to do it.

Spend and hour or two reading up and the basics and if you're able to, add some simple SEO to the website yourself.

 

[Ali-v-8]

I optimised a website for easilocks hair extensions (modehairdesigns)- it isnt difficult as this is a niche market at present - took less than 4 weeks to get to page 1.
search the term you want to target and check out your competition first.

 

[fisicx]

You are using wordpress. Which makes it really easy to do most of the wrok yourself. But you need to fix all sorts of thing first - like clear out all the baggage and make it easy for the search engines.

You then need content. Lots of it. Google can't do anything with images, it needs words.

Next up is to get one of the SEO plugins installed. This will let you do some basic SEO fiddling.

So while your friend it right, it's not something you need to pay money for just yet.

 

[telemarketer]

If you hire any local company or SEO specialist you have to have big amount in your hand so I will suggest tat you can outsource this to anyone in Philippine, India or Pakistan. You can try our virtual assistant, free trial available with no obligation. PM me if you need cheap and best solution.
Thanks

 

[JonathanSEO]

You don't need SEO here I'm afraid as rankings won't result in anything for you so paying someone to optimise it would be madness.

You have a 4 page brochure website, it could rank for everything under the sun and will still bring zero enquiries.

I would recommend starting from scratch.

 

[fisicx]

If you hire any local company or SEO specialist you have to have big amount in your hand so I will suggest tat you can outsource this to anyone in Philippine, India or Pakistan.

Have you even looked at the OPs website? You are wrong in every possible way.

 

[JonathanSEO]

SEO is expensive if you get so-called experts to do it.

Yes, it is, but they'd make sure your homepage didnt redirect to /home or be accessible under multiple URL's

 

[JonathanSEO]

it isnt difficult as this is a niche market at present

Hair Extensions a niche market? :|

 

[Tbozz]

You don't need SEO here I'm afraid as rankings won't result in anything for you so paying someone to optimise it would be madness.

You have a 4 page brochure website, it could rank for everything under the sun and will still bring zero enquiries.

I would recommend starting from scratch.

Thanks for your opinion, could you please explain a bit further what you mean by "starting from scratch"
We are in the process of converting the website to an Ecommerce website to enable our clients to place orders via the website and also for end users to find stockist of our products.

 

[JonathanSEO]

Thanks for your opinion, could you please explain a bit further what you mean by "starting from scratch"
We are in the process of converting the website to an Ecommerce website to enable our clients to place orders via the website and also for end users to find stockist of our products.

Can't do site reviews when you're not a full paid member so I can't go into detail here but generally I meant that your site is not up to scratch. It has no purpose.

 

[fisicx]

Thanks for your opinion, could you please explain a bit further what you mean by "starting from scratch"
We are in the process of converting the website to an Ecommerce website to enable our clients to place orders via the website and also for end users to find stockist of our products.

To answer that question you would need a website review - and that's only for full members.

But what he is suggesting is that even if you ranked #1 for hair extensions there is nothing on the site to encourage someone to buy from you. An ecommerce site won't change this - in fact it may even make it worse.

 

[Tbozz]

To answer that question you would need a website review - and that's only for full members.

But what he is suggesting is that even if you ranked #1 for hair extensions there is nothing on the site to encourage someone to buy from you. An ecommerce site won't change this - in fact it may even make it worse.

We are working on contents for the every page of the website and will be implementing a blog on the website, this will be updated periodically.

 

[fisicx]

We are working on contents for the every page of the website and will be implementing a blog on the website, this will be updated periodically.

What is the point of this? How are blog posts going to get people onto the site and buying the products?

You say you are getting an ecommerce site built but have you carried out any market research and tested to see if this is how hairdressers and salons actually buy extensions? The shop down the road from us buys theirs from a rep who brings samples.

You don't even need a website at the moment, you need a marketing plan. This will then deteremine the type of website you need.

 

[Ali-v-8]

Yeah - its not major at all - like loans,flights, travel, mobiles, insurance property etc. Its not as popular as fashion, clothing. The most conversions come from local searches.

Popularity isnt as high as it could be as the market isnt saturated yet - hence i call it niche or easy to rank.

Hair Extensions a niche market? :|

 

[Leather Briefcase Company]

Suggest first option is spend £10 on "How to get to the Top of Google".
You'll be surprised how much you can do yourself.
And if you do pay someone, you'll have an idea what they should be doing.
Good luck.

 

[Thomas Smith SEO]

I swear you guys are mentally unstable. This is UKBF, not warrior forum so let's help the guy out instead of slating him, ok?

Admittedly, you do need a marketing plan instead of thinking "this blog here, this feature there" since without working out a marketing strategy you won't be able to use this in a productive way. Secondly, depending on the scale of what you want to do depends on how much you should spend on SEO. Notice how I said it as a definitive choice.

Believe it or not, local SEO will work wonders for you, despite what other people say. Oh, and I definitely DO NOT recommend outsourcing to "our friends overseas", since they'll take your money and run.

Finally, I've PM'd you with a few key points that I'm unwilling to share on here since it's personal to you and your business.

Regards,
Thomas

 

[JonathanSEO]

I swear you guys are mentally unstable. This is UKBF, not warrior forum so let's help the guy out instead of slating him, ok?

Admittedly, you do need a marketing plan instead of thinking "this blog here, this feature there" since without working out a marketing strategy you won't be able to use this in a productive way. Secondly, depending on the scale of what you want to do depends on how much you should spend on SEO. Notice how I said it as a definitive choice.

Believe it or not, local SEO will work wonders for you, despite what other people say. Oh, and I definitely DO NOT recommend outsourcing to "our friends overseas", since they'll take your money and run.

Finally, I've PM'd you with a few key points that I'm unwilling to share on here since it's personal to you and your business.

Regards,
Thomas

We did help, it's called being honest and not simply believing that SEO can help every single business and website on the planet. Next.

Local SEO will work wonders? How?

 

[Thomas Smith SEO]

I apologise, it seems I've hit the "SEO sucks" part of the internet, forgive me.

Do you read blogs and articles by the main influences in SEO? Maybe that might help your understanding of local SEO...

 

[Tbozz]

Thanks everyone for your constructive/harsh/ empathizing opinion

What we did realize lately is that we need web presence which we never had before and the buying habits of our core clients is gradually changing.

Also we are looking at targeting the individuals that buy their hair choice online and get it done at their local salon.

I have read all comments and have taken everything on boards most especially, reading up about SEO

 

[Andy Harris]

It's not uncommon for businesses to dive in with a relatively basic website, want to focus on SEO etc. ... and then hit problems/criticisms etc.

Something that we find works quite well (as a suggestion) is this ...

1. Work out what keyword phrases you'd ideally be visible under (whether organic or paid listings in Google).

2. See what search results come up. Go into each website and pull out every positive aspect there is about each.

3. Combine those positive aspects (not copy - just learn from them) into your website.

4. In theory, your website would then be strong enough to beat others that appear under your desired keyword phrases when you get to the point of actively promoting the website.

I know, I've simplified a hell of a lot of work into one suggestion, but by focusing on what the potential buyers are going to think when they see your website, and how that compares to other sites, will work in your favour.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

2) Hire a good copywriter to write SEO optimised/google friendly contents for the site.

I wouldn't recommend that.

If you want good copy, hire a copywriter. But if you want search engine rankings, hire an SEO.

Steve

 

[directmarketingadvice]

If you hire any local company or SEO specialist you have to have big amount in your hand so I will suggest tat you can outsource this to anyone in Philippine, India or Pakistan. You can try our virtual assistant, free trial available with no obligation. PM me if you need cheap and best solution.

I'm not an SEO, so this may be a dumb question, but here goes...

Given Google uses the words on a page to decide what the page is about, don't SEO's have to be able to write in English in order to SEO a British website?

Steve

 

[HobbyMounts]

I wouldn't recommend that.

If you want good copy, hire a copywriter. But if you want search engine rankings, hire an SEO.

Steve

Surely there's no reason why people can't be good at both?

 

[fisicx]

There will be some who can do both but they are rare beasts.

The OP is heading totally in the wrong direction. Having a web presence is good but it needs to be the right one. The ecommerce site they are having built may be the wrong thing. They could end up spending a whole load of dosh on something that doesn't meet the needs of a potential customer. They need to do their market research first and then decide what type of website they need.

 

[Tbozz]

There will be some who can do both but they are rare beasts.

The OP is heading totally in the wrong direction. Having a web presence is good but it needs to be the right one. The ecommerce site they are having built may be the wrong thing. They could end up spending a whole load of dosh on something that doesn't meet the needs of a potential customer. They need to do their market research first and then decide what type of website they need.

So what's your professional opinion?

Sent from my TECNO F7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[HobbyMounts]

He's saying you could spend £££'s on a website that doesn't fit your customers buying methods and that you need to conduct some market research about how your customers currently buy or would prefer to buy.

How do potential customers search for new suppliers?
Where do they search for new suppliers?
How do your existing customers currently buy?
Would they like to buy differently?
How would they like to buy differently?
What is your USP?

There are a load of questions you should really be asking your customers and potential customers before deciding on the best way of selling your product. If you choose the wrong method, they won't buy.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Surely there's no reason why people can't be good at both?

I know SEO people who can write copy... but they do SEO because (a) they prefer it and, (b) it pays better.

The kind of copywriting that pays well is sales copywriting. That tends to appeal to one sort of person, SEO tends to appeal to another sort.

Just my 2p,

Steve

 

[Annoying Donkey]

There are a load of questions you should really be asking your customers and potential customers before deciding on the best way of selling your product. If you choose the wrong method, they won't buy.

Well that's one way... Another way is to educate your customers on a different way to buy...

 

[fisicx]

Market research. Find out how salons normally source extensions. Investigate how they hold stock, order and pay. Go to hairdressing shows and talk to people. See of there are wholesaler a who will sell on your behalf. Maybe you could offer a next day delivery service or a van that travels the county.

You need to get out and investigate. Once you know what needs to be sold and how you can then sort out how you are going to do this. And it may be that you don't even need your own website.

 

[Tbozz]

Market research. Find out how salons normally source extensions. Investigate how they hold stock, order and pay. Go to hairdressing shows and talk to people. See if there are wholesaler a who will sell on your behalf. Maybe you could offer a next day delivery service or a van that travels the county.

You need to get out and investigate. Once you know what needs to be sold and how you can then sort out how you are going to do this. And it may be that you don't even need your own website.

We have already done the above before we started trading and offer same day delivery round Yarmouth, Norwich, Lowestoft area.

1) Salons don't stock human hair extensions cos they are expensive, they only order according to their clients request.

2) They buy their stock mostly from suppliers/distributors.
Generally via phone or web order ( we already have local shop selling our brand).

What we did find out within the last year is that most women buy their extensions from online shops and get it done in salons hence the volume of orders from our clients have decreased prompting us into having an ecommerce site.

 

[fisicx]

Ok, so maybe you could sell to existing online stores rather than go to the expense of your own website.

If you do want your own site it shouldn't look or feel like an ecommerce store. You need to have all the galleries and descriptions of a smart website that also sells those products. Change the focus of your business. In fact it's not even hair you are selling, it's how an extension can make a woman look different. Selling the sizzle not the sausage.

 

[JonathanSEO]

If you do want your own site it shouldn't look or feel like an ecommerce store. You need to have all the galleries and descriptions of a smart website that also sells those products. Change the focus of your business. In fact it's not even hair you are selling, it's how an extension can make a woman look different. Selling the sizzle not the sausage.

Can't agree with this.

The OP just said he noticed a distinct drop in orders because more and more women are buying hair extensions online and then taking them into salons.

So it should look exactly like an ecommerce website because that's looking like its main job as this thread has developed - to sell hair extensions.

The OP needs to figure out the primary purpose of their website.

Create the content around that with a clear value proposition, choose the right platform and then get it designed.

 

[dazzletech]

SEO SMO is not a rocket science. There are many tutorials and information available on internet. Couple of hrs a day and you are good to go

 

[fisicx]

So it should look exactly like an ecommerce website because that's looking like its main job as this thread has developed - to sell hair extensions.

Ok, let me rephrase my suggestion. If an ecommerce site is the best option it shouldn't be a bog-standard solution. Women want to browse products so the imagery is really important. Because many now use smartphones and tablets you need swipe guestures to scroll the listings, multiple categories, strong search filters and so on. Once they have found the extension they want then they can buy. If you make the shop the focus of the site it won't convert as well as if you make the products the focus.

 

[JonathanSEO]

Ok, let me rephrase my suggestion. If an ecommerce site is the best option it shouldn't be a bog-standard solution. Women want to browse products so the imagery is really important. Because many now use smartphones and tablets you need swipe guestures to scroll the listings, multiple categories, strong search filters and so on. Once they have found the extension they want then they can buy. If you make the shop the focus of the site it won't convert as well as if you make the products the focus.

Agreed

I think there's an SEO on this forums who works on a hair extensions website posted a while back about link building. He should drop some advice here if he sees it.

 

[Ali-v-8]

Hair extension suppliers should be able to get links from hair salons that they supply to. Also the "main" wholesaler or manufacturer will also provide links as you are selling their product.

 

[ProjectOcto]

One very important element to look at right now is your .co.uk/.com redirect.

Google are currently indexing BOTH as different websites, yet with them having exactly the same content, you risk one or both losing rank for 'duplicate content issues'. Also, which domain are you promoting on your business cards/adverts etc - go with that one (e.g. .co.uk) and have the other (.com) redirect.

Best wishes!

 

[Tbozz]

One very important element to look at right now is your .co.uk/.com redirect.

Google are currently indexing BOTH as different websites, yet with them having exactly the same content, you risk one or both losing rank for 'duplicate content issues'. Also, which domain are you promoting on your business cards/adverts etc - go with that one (e.g. .co.uk) and have the other (.com) redirect.

Best wishes!

We have two domains .com and .co.uk but only one website .co.uk
.com just redirects to .co.uk and we only promote .co.uk

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 4

 

[ProjectOcto]

It doesn't redirect for me. When typing your .com (with and without the www's) into the address bar, it just stays there.

What do you see?