halloween prep

[2008.08.28 17:58:49] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2008.08.28 17:58:49] shopaholicchick has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2008.08.28 18:00:03] steve d has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 18:00:55] SusanFaye has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 18:01:32] AngelaCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 18:01:57] Cyndi has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 18:03:17] BrittaCP: hey look at that it's 4:00pm
[2008.08.28 18:03:34] BrittaCP: How's it going everyone?
[2008.08.28 18:03:40] Cyndi: LOL Well, for some of us...
[2008.08.28 18:04:02] MageGrayWolf: ok
[2008.08.28 18:04:03] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 18:04:09] shopaholicchick: 7pm here
[2008.08.28 18:04:14] Cyndi: I'm not used to my new time zone...I thought I had missed it...
[2008.08.28 18:04:16] steve d: fine
[2008.08.28 19:04:16] maddynmedesigns has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:04:21] BrittaCP: great
[2008.08.28 19:04:48] BrittaCP: So today we've got a Shopkeeper discussion lined up... and it's all about prepping your shop for Halloween
[2008.08.28 19:05:02] BrittaCP: We’ve had “Shop Prep” chats before in the past, which I’m sure many of you have attended.
[2008.08.28 19:05:20] BrittaCP: lol... actaully... looking at the user lists I know many of you have attended
[2008.08.28 19:05:23] MageGrayWolf: first time here for me
[2008.08.28 19:05:30] BrittaCP: YaY
[2008.08.28 19:05:31] AngelaCP: welcome mage!
[2008.08.28 19:05:41] BrittaCP: Today we’re doing this an SK discussion where you guys drive the chat.
[2008.08.28 19:05:55] BrittaCP: Now is the time to share your past experiences with one another and talk about what worked and didn’t.
[2008.08.28 19:06:06] BrittaCP: And folk who are celebrating their first Halloween can ask questions on what to do, and learn from you.
[2008.08.28 19:06:25] BrittaCP: Who here is having their first Halloween with us?
[2008.08.28 19:06:27] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:06:32] Cyndi: My issue is that I come to them, learn tons of stuff and then never get a chance to use it and forget about it. Repeats are good for old folks...LOL
[2008.08.28 19:06:55] BrittaCP: Well... if it helps... we do have the transcripts archived
[2008.08.28 19:07:05] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:07:08] bzperson has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:07:09] BrittaCP: so you can always refresh yourself later
[2008.08.28 19:07:10] BrittaCP: http://community.cafepress.com/?cat=14
[2008.08.28 19:07:16] shopaholicchick: honestly halloween has never been a big seller for me
[2008.08.28 19:07:33] BrittaCP: hallween i will say is not one of the bigger holidays
[2008.08.28 19:07:41] armymom03 has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:07:42] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:07:50] BrittaCP: however... it's a fun one, and one worth getting doing something for
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[2008.08.28 19:08:21] BrittaCP: I like to think of it as more of a "decorating" occassion rather than a "gift giving" occassion
[2008.08.28 19:08:27] AngelaCP: even if it's not a big holiday, it's a great way to spice up your shop and make it relevant
[2008.08.28 19:08:28] JoeCat has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:08:31] AngelaCP: shop freshness is important
[2008.08.28 19:08:33] BrittaCP: Although when I was younger I did ask my mom if we could cancel xmas and just give each other Halloween presents instead.
[2008.08.28 19:08:38] TexasFiddler has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:08:43] BrittaCP: She wasn’t buying it. Anywhoo
[2008.08.28 19:08:48] SusanFaye: This will be my first H'ween with CP!
[2008.08.28 19:08:52] maddynmedesigns: I have been a SK before (years ago). This is my first Halloween as an active SK though and I am sooo excited!
[2008.08.28 19:08:58] shopaholicchick: cyndi there are chat logs on CP and on my blog cafechatter.blogspot.com
[2008.08.28 19:09:01] Dooni Designs: 10/30 marks my cp 5th year anniversary =)
[2008.08.28 19:09:06] BrittaCP: excellent
[2008.08.28 19:09:09] shopaholicchick: ok so i dont feel bad then
[2008.08.28 19:09:13] AngelaCP: wow, happy anniversary dooni!
[2008.08.28 19:09:21] steve d: supposedly halloween is next to christmas in reail sales
[2008.08.28 19:09:24] AngelaCP: yes
[2008.08.28 19:09:25] Dooni Designs: thanks!
[2008.08.28 19:09:43] BrittaCP: so really quick... chat rules
[2008.08.28 19:09:53] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:09:54] BrittaCP: for those who dont have them memorized by nbow
[2008.08.28 19:09:59] BrittaCP: *now
[2008.08.28 19:10:14] BrittaCP: the chat is moderated so you won't see your comments or questions pop up right away
[2008.08.28 19:10:28] matisse has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:10:29] BrittaCP: they go into a queue until a moderator reviews and pushes out
[2008.08.28 19:10:47] shopaholicchick: steve not for me - halloween is not close - there are 3 holidays ahead of it for me ...but i cant give aya all my secrets now;)
[2008.08.28 19:10:49] matisse: BOO!
[2008.08.28 19:10:55] AngelaCP: so even if halloween is not a big holiday for you, you can use this holiday as a way to create demand for cross items. Promote items such as buttons and stickers...
[2008.08.28 19:10:55] BrittaCP: not all comments make it, and it's usually just because there are to many
[2008.08.28 19:10:58] BrittaCP: lol
[2008.08.28 19:11:05] BrittaCP: we'll have a transcript up later
[2008.08.28 19:11:10] AngelaCP: cross sell
[2008.08.28 19:11:21] BrittaCP: and at the end of the chat, we'll open up the lobby for you kids to keep on playing in chatland
[2008.08.28 19:11:23] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:11:30] shopaholicchick: i use halloween season to prep and set up for the big shopping season which starts 11/1
[2008.08.28 19:11:34] BrittaCP: right.
[2008.08.28 19:11:53] BrittaCP: so as you tell... it's never to early to start prepping for these occassions
[2008.08.28 19:12:08] GalaxyGirl has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:12:33] BrittaCP: Have any of you already started your halloween prep?
[2008.08.28 19:12:54] TexasFiddler: Kind of making sure that the customers know you are there and remember you come mid November.
[2008.08.28 19:13:12] JoeCat: Halloween prep started in July :)
[2008.08.28 19:13:13] TexasFiddler: I was working on a Halloween design earlier today.
[2008.08.28 19:13:15] maddynmedesigns: I have started
[2008.08.28 19:13:16] MageGrayWolf: I have a few designs ready but there not up yet
[2008.08.28 19:13:18] sag: Finish with a lot of it.
[2008.08.28 19:13:20] armymom03: i stated last night. posted several new kids designs
[2008.08.28 19:13:51] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:14:20] BrittaCP: I was reading this intersting article earlier today... around this time of year, "costume" is one of the top searched for terms
[2008.08.28 19:14:32] brev87 has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
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[2008.08.28 19:15:06] TexasFiddler: But Halloween has never been strong for me
[2008.08.28 19:15:07] shopaholicchick: i am working on my xmas prep LMAO
[2008.08.28 19:15:18] BrittaCP: not in the marketplace I don't know what the top term is for tags) but in google
[2008.08.28 19:15:18] steve d: I started thinking of designs
[2008.08.28 19:15:31] shopaholicchick: yeah but in our line of designs that just makes for tag spamming
[2008.08.28 19:15:38] SusanFaye: Is there a special way to tag holiday items to make sure they show up in special categories on the CP marketplace front page?
[2008.08.28 19:15:53] BrittaCP: So it got me to thinking about the products that shopkeepers sell in and the way they are postioned...
[2008.08.28 19:15:54] AngelaCP: Susan, there is no special tag...just make sure your tags are appropriate to your design
[2008.08.28 19:16:16] BrittaCP: how do you use the word “costume” when you may not necessarily be selling costumes in your shop (although I’m sure at least one of you are selling a costume type thing because you are very clever and creative)
[2008.08.28 19:16:17] tropicando has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:16:20] AngelaCP: we don't like sharing the tags we use because we have sks that will start usingn that tag even if it's not relevant to the design :(
[2008.08.28 19:16:41] matisse: I've been done for a while now ... probably add a few more designs. I do use costume in my key words seo.
[2008.08.28 19:16:43] matisse: I am a costume!
[2008.08.28 19:16:57] brev87: very true Angela, good point
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[2008.08.28 19:17:22] Karen has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:17:24] AngelaCP: if you guys are selling any type of halloween related designs on your shop, be sure to use the keywords in your shop for seo
[2008.08.28 19:17:35] BrittaCP: you wouldn't want to put "costume" in your keywords if it's a halloween themed doggy bowl
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[2008.08.28 19:17:45] BIGNUMPT has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:17:47] shopaholicchick: susan - tag them how you want them to appear year round DO NOT TAG THINGS HOLIDAY OR CHRISTMAS UNLESS THEY ARE ACTUALLY HOLIDAY OR CHRISTMAS DESIGNS...this is tag spamming
[2008.08.28 19:17:56] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:18:00] shopaholicchick: the only design of mine that is tagged costume is one that reads "this IS my costume"
[2008.08.28 19:18:51] AngelaCP: only put costume if your design can double as a costume
[2008.08.28 19:18:57] Karen has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 19:19:45] BrittaCP: but then thinking about it more... not everyone is looking for costumes. what they may be looking for is just something festive to wear to the company party
[2008.08.28 19:19:54] AngelaCP: charlie brown costume example http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/item/blockhead-yellow-tshirt/82022325
[2008.08.28 19:20:21] Cyndi: OMG that's funny.
[2008.08.28 19:20:26] Cyndi: Of course, I'm old.
[2008.08.28 19:20:44] AngelaCP: yes britta, there's costume...and there's halloween designs http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/item/maternity-pumpkin-smuggler-halloween-costume-shirt/175101438
[2008.08.28 19:21:20] MageGrayWolf: I have a seperate section in my shop just fro holiday designs that then breaks down further into each holiday..I also stuch the 2008 election stuff in there.
[2008.08.28 19:21:21] peon productions has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:21:42] BIGNUMPT: Sorry I'm late the Pubs have only just shut here! Hope this hasn't already been asked but are Halloween Party Invites big sellers?
[2008.08.28 19:21:43] BrittaCP: So there you go... a way that you can incorporate a relvant keyword like "costume" into your pdescritptions
[2008.08.28 19:22:03] AngelaCP: Let's ask the crowd... are halloween party invites big sellers?
[2008.08.28 19:22:23] AngelaCP: If you have a gift shop, it's a good idea to have one and keep it year around
[2008.08.28 19:22:41] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:22:53] brev87: I don't get invites to Halloween parties. :|
[2008.08.28 19:22:58] AngelaCP: me neither :(
[2008.08.28 19:23:02] BrittaCP: and relvance is key... a few others that could work for the products that you commonly find on CafePress are scary, decorations, party, fun. Which could work for somethign like invites
[2008.08.28 19:23:05] peon productions: I don't know about invites, but for some reason I feel like I heard that the yard signs are.
[2008.08.28 19:23:11] AngelaCP: Hmm, that's a great idea that I didn't think about
[2008.08.28 19:23:19] shopaholicchick: i dont customize insides of cards...so i dont know
[2008.08.28 19:23:30] BIGNUMPT: Not scary enough Brev He He
[2008.08.28 19:23:32] AngelaCP: Or maybe special banners to scare neighbors
[2008.08.28 19:24:11] steve d: kids get invitations to parties
[2008.08.28 19:24:35] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:24:55] Heni has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:25:14] AngelaCP: is anyone seeing SEO for halloween yet?
[2008.08.28 19:25:19] brev87: could use the yard signs to get trick or treaters to your house. if people are into that
[2008.08.28 19:25:21] shopaholicchick: maybe matching invites and a yard sign set up to be like a package might work.....
[2008.08.28 19:25:23] peon productions: I made a candy dish out of a pet bowl. It's got candy corn on it.
[2008.08.28 19:25:27] sag: I have all those in this section: http://www.cafepress.com/sagart/568106 - because you never know what will sell. Sales have begun for me.
[2008.08.28 19:26:11] BIGNUMPT: Did actually sell a Halloween Shirt to-day,think I better get my Xmas ones up and about!
[2008.08.28 19:26:51] AngelaCP: I'm not sure if Britta mentioned this, but Halloween is more of a decorating and fun holiday vs gift buying... so make sure the "angle" you have for halloween is around this
[2008.08.28 19:27:00] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:27:02] peon productions: I sold christmas cards today.
[2008.08.28 19:27:07] AngelaCP: wow, never too early huh?
[2008.08.28 19:27:13] shopaholicchick: you dont wanna out things up too early or they will be burried
[2008.08.28 19:27:17] MageGrayWolf: what about doing halloween birthday cards for people born on halloween
[2008.08.28 19:27:23] AngelaCP: That's a cute idea
[2008.08.28 19:27:28] AngelaCP: its very unique
[2008.08.28 19:27:36] AngelaCP: for SKs that update their shop often
[2008.08.28 19:27:38] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:27:49] AngelaCP: it's a great idea to feature something like this
[2008.08.28 19:28:00] AngelaCP: makes their shop fun and interesting
[2008.08.28 19:28:23] tropicando: Does anyone know if classrooms exchange cards for halloween the way it 's done for v-day? Do halloween cards sell?
[2008.08.28 19:28:35] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:29:36] AngelaCP: they typically don't do this for halloween
[2008.08.28 19:29:37] steve d: Depends on the classroom. I work for a school district. some do some don't
[2008.08.28 19:29:52] AngelaCP: but kids do have halloween parties
[2008.08.28 19:30:32] BrittaCP: Sooo... it was mentioned before about the candy dish/ dog bowl... does anyone else have ideas for alternative uses
[2008.08.28 19:30:36] BrittaCP: of products?
[2008.08.28 19:30:39] steve d: Yes, even more than trick or treating
[2008.08.28 19:30:52] BIGNUMPT: What are the best sellers for Halloween are they T-Shirts?
[2008.08.28 19:30:59] AngelaCP: t-shirts are big sellers
[2008.08.28 19:31:03] AngelaCP: buttons do well too
[2008.08.28 19:31:08] BrittaCP: dark, dark, dark t-shirts
[2008.08.28 19:31:16] AngelaCP: i think the idea is to buy them in packs and give them out
[2008.08.28 19:31:35] AngelaCP: or perhaps worn by by people who don't like dressing up
[2008.08.28 19:31:39] BrittaCP: make them part of a grab bag
[2008.08.28 19:31:42] peon productions: a 100pk of stickers to give out instead of candy
[2008.08.28 19:31:55] AngelaCP: Yes, we have people that are against giving out sweets
[2008.08.28 19:32:04] AngelaCP: we have seen suggestios for giving away stickers and mini-buttons
[2008.08.28 19:32:09] sag: Tote bags can be treat bags
[2008.08.28 19:32:23] peon productions: (as in, a sticker per kid - not 100 stickers per kid)
[2008.08.28 19:32:27] MageGrayWolf: yeah making shirts for people that don't really like dressing up was the idea I had in mind for this haliday
[2008.08.28 19:32:28] AngelaCP: We do see sales for totebags as treat bags
[2008.08.28 19:32:29] BrittaCP: right
[2008.08.28 19:32:31] AngelaCP: much bigger too!
[2008.08.28 19:32:38] BrittaCP: office parties, or just folk who like being festive
[2008.08.28 19:32:47] tropicando: Britta I had some ideas for alternative uses of products, but I have not uploaded that to the string yet
[2008.08.28 19:32:50] peon productions: ooh - good one Sag!
[2008.08.28 19:32:55] coolcat has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:33:03] AngelaCP: http://bags.cafepress.com/item/maias-halloween-bag-tote-bags/162239525
[2008.08.28 19:33:12] brev87: The election this year is messing things up though. Everyone is thinking about Obama
[2008.08.28 19:33:16] BrittaCP: so incorporate him
[2008.08.28 19:33:19] AngelaCP: http://bags.cafepress.com/item/hand-over-the-candy-tote-bag/32369228
[2008.08.28 19:33:19] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:33:30] sag: If you have cute t-shirts that would work for a biker costume, or a retro look - feature those too.
[2008.08.28 19:33:39] BrittaCP: if you're anti obama... compare him to being scarey
[2008.08.28 19:33:52] sodashirts has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:33:54] AngelaCP: great idea sag. you have to be creative and find ways to feature your products that will get customers to buy for halloween
[2008.08.28 19:33:54] BrittaCP: or the same with McCain
[2008.08.28 19:34:04] shopaholicchick: i have sold custom tote bags for holiday gift exchanges - someone had me put her office name on the back side of one for her whole office!
[2008.08.28 19:34:10] tropicando: give out cool stickers and buttons with your URL
[2008.08.28 19:34:12] Rozine has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:34:19] AngelaCP: congrats on the sale shopa!
[2008.08.28 19:34:24] peon productions: lol - red splatters on the bbq apron might make for an interesting costume.
[2008.08.28 19:34:27] AngelaCP: Oh, how funny!
[2008.08.28 19:34:34] BrittaCP: yes... make sure that the sticker is halloween related and looks like it belongs in a grab bag of sorts
[2008.08.28 19:34:41] AngelaCP: so think of halloween for your shop as a way to bring some fun
[2008.08.28 19:34:48] BrittaCP: you don't want to just have a sticker with your URL on it mixed in there
[2008.08.28 19:34:50] AngelaCP: even if your shop isn't a big halloween seller
[2008.08.28 19:35:04] BrittaCP: then it becomes like candy spam... if there is such a thing
[2008.08.28 19:35:11] AngelaCP: consider it's a way to skin your shop to make it festive
[2008.08.28 19:35:14] BrittaCP: i would make a great design, and delicatly add the url in there
[2008.08.28 19:35:29] brev87: lol
[2008.08.28 19:35:37] BIGNUMPT: I sold a Cannibal BBQ apron to-day so you're on the button there peon
[2008.08.28 19:36:14] AngelaCP: the pet bowl idea audrie brought up is a good one
[2008.08.28 19:36:29] AngelaCP: take a photo of it w/candy and feature it in your shop
[2008.08.28 19:36:37] BrittaCP: and in your blog
[2008.08.28 19:36:39] AngelaCP: have you seen the large bowl? it's huge
[2008.08.28 19:36:54] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:37:05] shopaholicchick: the large pet bowl is a troth...
[2008.08.28 19:37:31] AngelaCP: does anyone have their shop finished for halloween? if so, anyone willing to share?
[2008.08.28 19:37:39] MageGrayWolf has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 19:37:59] BrittaCP: I've been looking around at all these "halloween" blogs today... a lot of things on decorating... and since there are so many things that you can sell in your shop for decorating, using this angle on your blog is a great way to promote
[2008.08.28 19:38:18] BIGNUMPT: Could use it as a bath for witches
[2008.08.28 19:38:19] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:38:27] AngelaCP: Here's a shop I found LOL http://scarealiberal.com/
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[2008.08.28 19:38:55] tropicando: what if the dog eats the chocolate
[2008.08.28 19:39:15] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:39:22] shopaholicchick: put it on the counter...
[2008.08.28 19:39:29] shopaholicchick: i have a halloween section i dunno that anything is every finished though LOL http://www.cafepress.com/celebratetoday/5110245
[2008.08.28 19:39:33] peon productions: haven't had any requests for Halloween templates yet. 'twould be fun tho. ;)
[2008.08.28 19:39:50] brev87 has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 19:39:57] AngelaCP: i guess most SKs find it temporary... but halloween is really fun
[2008.08.28 19:40:04] BrittaCP: and so we go back to the idea of skinning... while you don't need to make a majot overhaul
[2008.08.28 19:40:15] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:40:16] BrittaCP: you can just add a decorative element or tow
[2008.08.28 19:40:34] BrittaCP: so let's look at way to promote and really tapping into the those methods
[2008.08.28 19:40:59] BrittaCP: i mentioned blogging... which i know a lot of you already do... but what are clever ways of incormparting your hallopween merch in a daily blog?
[2008.08.28 19:41:01] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:41:11] shopaholicchick: i used to recolor my shops for holidays - but now that i have so many shops because of the limits it is really a lot of work to recolor them all
[2008.08.28 19:41:48] BrittaCP: you could always talk about throwing a party... and here are some of things that you would use to decorate
[2008.08.28 19:41:59] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:42:01] AngelaCP: color is an easy and good way to make it festive and relevant to the holiday
[2008.08.28 19:42:02] shopaholicchick: costume idea of the day
[2008.08.28 19:42:10] AngelaCP: maybe a halloween version of your logo
[2008.08.28 19:42:19] BrittaCP: Got a shop geared towards kids and family? Take a few pictures of your kids wearing your shirts or Halloween bibs and talk about them.
[2008.08.28 19:42:30] AngelaCP: if you had a holiday version of yoru logo for each holiday, it won't be much work once they are done
[2008.08.28 19:42:44] peon productions: if you have multiple shops, perhaps you could consider having them all reference one external stylesheet. Then you'd only have to edit one file to change them all at once.
[2008.08.28 19:43:05] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:43:08] shopaholicchick: peon they are all different themes only one has holiday designs now
[2008.08.28 19:43:14] GalaxyGirl has left the room (logged out)
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[2008.08.28 19:43:24] peon productions: doh! disregard then.
[2008.08.28 19:44:21] BrittaCP: have we talked about making sure you get the word out about your products as well? newsletters and emails featuring thwese new prods
[2008.08.28 19:44:24] tropicando: I don't have kids.
[2008.08.28 19:44:31] MageGrayWolf: if only one of your shops has holiday designs on it then just change that one
[2008.08.28 19:45:08] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:45:18] shopaholicchick: mage it is one shop but it is really 2 shops....i have a lot of cross linked sectins and redirects
[2008.08.28 19:45:23] tropicando: You know, my one t-shirt halloween design is so innocent; and I have trick-or-treaters showing up in lingerie.
[2008.08.28 19:45:38] AngelaCP: halloween is a great excuse to "scare" up some sales by contacting your customers ;)
[2008.08.28 19:45:40] sag: If you pull your halloween sections into your own outside domain you can hype it to the hilt with your products, decorating ideas, recipes, on and on.
[2008.08.28 19:45:53] BrittaCP: ooooh... i like that
[2008.08.28 19:46:01] BrittaCP: it's like a full party almost
[2008.08.28 19:46:29] sag: Add a feed for your blog and blog halloween for added wieght.
[2008.08.28 19:46:29] AngelaCP: Just send a newsletter/email with a halloween theme - then feature your normal products if your shop isn't typically halloween themed
[2008.08.28 19:47:17] AngelaCP: say, you have a political shop - maybe you design a special edition tote bag - making fun of the "other guy" for sale
[2008.08.28 19:47:21] sag: On Twitter you can post a Halloween Spook of the Day. Micro-blogging!
[2008.08.28 19:47:26] AngelaCP: what a way to get some interest
[2008.08.28 19:48:23] matisse has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 19:48:37] BrittaCP: by spook of the day do you mean someting similar to a "joke of the day" or is "spook" open to interpetation
[2008.08.28 19:49:04] sag: Ghoul or Goblin - whatever you want to title it.
[2008.08.28 19:49:06] BrittaCP: ahhh got it
[2008.08.28 19:49:10] tropicando: I have an inauguration day design of bush and cheney shapeshifting into a swarm of bats
[2008.08.28 19:49:29] BrittaCP: love it
[2008.08.28 19:49:33] sag: That ought to sell tropicando
[2008.08.28 19:49:55] BrittaCP: I've seen a few designs comparing political figures to spooky monsters
[2008.08.28 19:50:21] tropicando: I'll be re-organizing my shops today though, hopefully
[2008.08.28 19:50:39] MageGrayWolf has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 19:50:44] lovejml has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.28 19:50:49] BrittaCP: You deifinetly want to make sure that you're designs are within your niche if you make halloween themed ones
[2008.08.28 19:51:04] BrittaCP: the niche of your shop, i mean
[2008.08.28 19:51:11] sag: Also, around many parts of the country they hold fall festivals which are for celebrating Halloween, so include fall festivals and products for those events.
[2008.08.28 19:51:24] BrittaCP: and these are great opportunities to promote
[2008.08.28 19:51:28] AngelaCP: Hmmm, like oktoberfest?
[2008.08.28 19:51:30] BrittaCP: bring your cards... talk to vendors
[2008.08.28 19:51:31] AngelaCP: steins!
[2008.08.28 19:51:55] BrittaCP: or... set up a booth and sell your own
[2008.08.28 19:52:09] tropicando: here it behttp://www.cafepress.com/zartanga/5830299
[2008.08.28 19:52:17] sag: Some school districts won't title events Halloween because of a bias of the community - therefore they are Fall Festivals.
[2008.08.28 19:52:23] BIGNUMPT has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 19:52:32] AngelaCP: mixing politics with halloween is a really good idea.. it's so relevant
[2008.08.28 19:52:34] BrittaCP: other things to think about... if you really want to get into it
[2008.08.28 19:52:39] BrittaCP: day of the dead,
[2008.08.28 19:52:40] AngelaCP: with the elections just a few months away
[2008.08.28 19:52:45] BrittaCP: all hallows eve
[2008.08.28 19:53:30] peon productions sent a picture:
[2008.08.28 19:53:31] BrittaCP: those are some altrenatives if you want to break from the norm of jack-o-lanterns
[2008.08.28 19:53:36] tropicando: in theory I could apply that concept to everyone in congress
[2008.08.28 19:53:44] AngelaCP: how cute is that aud
[2008.08.28 19:54:13] AngelaCP: so this is the halloween and holiday version of your logo?
[2008.08.28 19:54:45] tropicando: this has like a Dia de los Muertos feel
[2008.08.28 19:55:05] peon productions: oops
[2008.08.28 19:55:10] sodashirts: is there still a newsletter system in cafepress?
[2008.08.28 19:55:13] BrittaCP: yes there is
[2008.08.28 19:55:15] AngelaCP: Oh, was that not meant for us?
[2008.08.28 19:55:17] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 19:55:18] sag: Audrey dresses a lot of shops for the holidays including mine. She is fantastic!
[2008.08.28 19:55:23] AngelaCP: i agree sag
[2008.08.28 19:55:28] shopaholicchick: i sell more dia de los muetros then halloween
[2008.08.28 19:55:47] BrittaCP: it's under the promote your shop section of your account's main page
[2008.08.28 19:56:08] BrittaCP: then that's what i would run with shop
[2008.08.28 19:56:21] peon productions: sorry guys - are the images not moderated? I wanted to make sure this was okay before I plastered it up there
[2008.08.28 19:56:25] peon productions: I haven't done any halloween dress-ups. Is there a demand for that then?
[2008.08.28 19:56:37] AngelaCP: no worries aud
[2008.08.28 19:57:13] sag: Aud, I think people simply don't know it's available - get out there girl!
[2008.08.28 19:57:59] AngelaCP: so we have about 10 minutes left and it looks like everyone thinks halloween is fun but isn't really a big focus for them. So let's do a quick recap. Even if you don't think halloween is a big seller for you, focus on the idea of decorating (your house, cube, car, yourself - shirts, buttons, cap) and making your shop festive for the holiday. Use the holiday to talk to your customers...
[2008.08.28 19:58:18] BrittaCP: lol... and with that i'll open up the lobby in a few and you can all start placing your oders with Aud
[2008.08.28 19:58:27] BrittaCP: *orders
[2008.08.28 19:58:28] coolcat has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 19:58:36] peon productions: I get on out for xmas - I just didn't think so many people were looking to pimp their shops for hallowwen
[2008.08.28 19:58:51] AngelaCP: add some SEO to your shop, that will not hurt. Add words such as halloween, costume, decorating, party, fun in your shop
[2008.08.28 19:58:53] BrittaCP: i think it's more if just having nice accents to add... rather than a full makover
[2008.08.28 19:58:57] sag: oders is good too! :-D
[2008.08.28 19:59:03] AngelaCP: use these top keywords to make it work for your shop.
[2008.08.28 19:59:04] BrittaCP: halloween oders
[2008.08.28 19:59:11] peon productions: thanks for fixing that Brit - I have enough oder of my own...don't need anyone else's
[2008.08.28 19:59:15] bzperson has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 19:59:30] AngelaCP: does anyone have a specific question they want to ask?
[2008.08.28 19:59:33] tropicando: i suppose banners and yardsigns could make good tombstone decorations
[2008.08.28 19:59:40] BrittaCP: now you're thinking
[2008.08.28 19:59:44] AngelaCP: oh, and great idea for using banners and yard signs to decorate your yard
[2008.08.28 19:59:48] AngelaCP: i haven't thought of that
[2008.08.28 20:00:03] peon productions: usually for holiday pimping, I do just the logo and the background. Quick and easy, and easy to take down after the holiday
[2008.08.28 20:00:17] AngelaCP: http://signs.cafepress.com/item/werewolf-crossing-yard-sign/180888571
[2008.08.28 20:00:29] AngelaCP: cute! http://signs.cafepress.com/item/pirate-yard-sign/207849621
[2008.08.28 20:00:45] BrittaCP: and that really is the easy route to go. I'm sure you don't want to redo your whole storefront in such a way that people no longer recoognize it and get confused
[2008.08.28 20:00:54] AngelaCP: okay, last one: http://signs.cafepress.com/item/happy-halloween-penguin-yard-sign/179029469
[2008.08.28 20:00:58] BrittaCP: especially around the busy season
[2008.08.28 20:01:04] peon productions: love those subdomains, by the way. very cool
[2008.08.28 20:01:24] peon productions: I agree - you should really be looking to simply enhance your shop - consistence is still as important as it is any other day of the year
[2008.08.28 20:01:30] tropicando: the banners could also make good carnival games for halloween or other holidays, like if you put a hole in there for a target
[2008.08.28 20:01:46] BrittaCP: posters too
[2008.08.28 20:01:49] AngelaCP: cute idea tropicando
[2008.08.28 20:02:27] BrittaCP: Alrighty... i hope some of you are walking away with a few new ideas... despite the hapharzard nature of the chat... lol
[2008.08.28 20:02:30] peon productions: noose around the teddy baear maybe? I think I'm reaching now...
[2008.08.28 20:02:32] AngelaCP: how's this poster for your door? http://art.cafepress.com/item/angry-johnny-quotget-down-on-them-prayin-bonesq/243101604
[2008.08.28 20:02:41] tropicando: I did that with plywood once, but a banner would be more lightweight
[2008.08.28 20:02:50] sag: Halloween yard signs are a big thing in my area. We southerners love those dang things! http://www.cafepress.com/sagart/3830303
[2008.08.28 20:03:12] AngelaCP: these are wonderful sag!
[2008.08.28 20:03:14] AngelaCP: how do they sell?
[2008.08.28 20:03:33] AngelaCP: i bet if you put them in your yard, you have neighbors asking where you got them
[2008.08.28 20:03:38] sag: They sell well as instant decorations.
[2008.08.28 20:03:54] lovejml has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.28 20:04:04] BrittaCP: And there you have it... a decorating occassion
[2008.08.28 20:04:46] BrittaCP: And on that note... the it's 5
[2008.08.28 20:04:56] peon productions: good chat guys! It's always nice to hear from the CP Community warriors
[2008.08.28 20:05:00] BrittaCP: thanks for idea storming
[2008.08.28 20:05:03] tropicando: you can even use posters as window displays, a witch watching incoming trick-or-treaters
[2008.08.28 20:05:06] peon productions: I'm out - gotta go see if Obama gave his speech yet.
[2008.08.28 20:05:07] tropicando: byeee
[2008.08.28 20:05:09] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.28 20:05:11] BrittaCP: lobby is open

SEO chat

[2008.08.21 18:05:29] Welcome to the CafePress Chat Room
[2008.08.21 18:05:29] shopa... has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:05:29] All users in this room have been allowed to talk
[2008.08.21 18:05:37] LauraCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:05:49] BrittaCP: Good afternoon everyone!
[2008.08.21 18:05:53] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:06:00] BrittaCP: We'll be ready in just a minute
[2008.08.21 18:06:07] dreamup has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:06:45] Amere has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:06:45] mydeas has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:07:04] armymom03: good afternoon britta
[2008.08.21 18:07:05] jonbaas: Good afternoon to you too Britta!
[2008.08.21 18:07:10] BrittaCP: Hi everyone
[2008.08.21 18:07:22] BrittaCP: Thanks for showing up for another fun filled chat
[2008.08.21 18:07:25] tropicando: :)
[2008.08.21 18:07:58] BrittaCP: Many of you were with us a few weeks ago when we had Laura talk to us about the basics of SEO
[2008.08.21 18:08:01] TexasFiddler: If it's as informative as the last SEO chat, it's gonna be a good'n.
[2008.08.21 18:08:06] Karen has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:08:17] BrittaCP: Well.... this one will be as well
[2008.08.21 18:08:19] twiligtsdesign has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:08:51] jentwoomey has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:08:56] BrittaCP: Today Laura is with us again, and she'll be talking about how to improve your rankings in search engines. I'll let her expand upon that in a minute
[2008.08.21 18:09:09] BrittaCP: first... I need to go over those lovely chat rules for those who are new here
[2008.08.21 18:09:11] raghu has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:09:12] wingedturtle has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:09:20] BrittaCP: This chat is moderated
[2008.08.21 18:09:27] matisse has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:09:50] BrittaCP: That means you won't see your comments or questions right away, because they are sent to a queue
[2008.08.21 18:10:01] SilverHandPrint has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:10:10] BrittaCP: Once a moderator reads and approves, it will be pushed out to the public for all to see
[2008.08.21 18:10:19] PeggyWvB has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:10:45] BrittaCP: At the end of the chat the Lobby will open up again for you all to continue chatting, and we'll have the transcript up on the site for everyone to read in a few days
[2008.08.21 18:10:56] Jaenne has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:11:05] BrittaCP: Okay... so without further delay... I give you Laura!
[2008.08.21 18:11:15] twiligtsdesign: yay!!
[2008.08.21 18:11:16] TexasFiddler: YAY
[2008.08.21 18:11:22] jonbaas: Hi Laura. :)
[2008.08.21 18:11:22] LauraCP: Hi everyone! Glad to see you all!
[2008.08.21 18:11:25] LauraCP: :)
[2008.08.21 18:11:47] LauraCP: I just got back from a Search conference in San Jose, CA.
[2008.08.21 18:12:01] twiligtsdesign: sounds interesting
[2008.08.21 18:12:23] LauraCP: It was very interesting. The best part is getting to talk to the representatives from the engines.
[2008.08.21 18:12:26] PeggyWvB: Did you have trouble findiing it?
[2008.08.21 18:12:39] BrittaCP: it's so close to us, everyone knows the way
[2008.08.21 18:12:44] jonbaas: There's a Conference for online search techniques!? Fascinating!
[2008.08.21 18:12:48] SilverHandPrint has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.21 18:13:02] LauraCP: The two main conferences for search are SES and SMX Advanced.
[2008.08.21 18:13:08] briosa has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.21 18:13:09] LauraCP: They happen around the world.
[2008.08.21 18:13:27] LauraCP: The next version of SES is in December in Chicago. Burr!!!
[2008.08.21 18:13:28] twiligtsdesign: who knew
[2008.08.21 18:13:28] briosa has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:14:07] LauraCP: You can sign up in advance and attend the "expo" part for free or a very limited amount of $ usually.
[2008.08.21 18:14:31] LauraCP: So, just a quick tip, in case you want to see the world of search engines up close.
[2008.08.21 18:15:02] ddjdij has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:15:09] LauraCP: www.searchenginestrategies.com is the URL for SES. (Search engine strategies).
[2008.08.21 18:15:34] jonbaas: Ah. I'll have to look into that. Thanks!
[2008.08.21 18:15:36] Amere: Thanking you :)
[2008.08.21 18:15:41] LauraCP: searchmarketingexpo.com/advanced is the URL for the second major conference.
[2008.08.21 18:15:46] Ne' 1512BLVD: thank you
[2008.08.21 18:15:57] LauraCP: OK, so onto my main topic of the day...
[2008.08.21 18:16:01] twiligtsdesign: yay!
[2008.08.21 18:16:14] LauraCP: SEO: Improve your ranking
[2008.08.21 18:16:45] LauraCP: So you know Google has picked you up, and customers can find you on the 11th page. How do you help them find you on the 1st page? Let’s continue our SEO discussion by chatting about how to improve and keep your ranking in popular search engines.
[2008.08.21 18:17:28] LauraCP: There's a difference between Indexing vs Ranking
[2008.08.21 18:17:28] twiligtsdesign: good idea. :)
[2008.08.21 18:17:54] LauraCP: Indexing – means being included in the search index. It means that spiders or crawlers have found your URL, “read” the page contents and decided it is unique enough to add the search engine database
[2008.08.21 18:18:11] LauraCP: It does not mean the URL will show up in search results.
[2008.08.21 18:18:34] LauraCP: How do you tell if a URL has been indexed?
[2008.08.21 18:18:49] twiligtsdesign: thats what I want to know
[2008.08.21 18:19:16] LauraCP: Typing "site:www.cafepress.com" will show what pages Google has indexed under the www.cafepress.com domain.
[2008.08.21 18:19:30] LauraCP: Here's an example
[2008.08.21 18:19:34] BrittaCP sent a picture:
[2008.08.21 18:19:54] BrittaCP: If you can't see the image, you can click on it and it will open in another tab
[2008.08.21 18:20:24] HaHaShirtShop has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:20:34] PeggyWvB: If you have statcounter, the spiderbot will show up there
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[2008.08.21 18:21:14] LauraCP: One thing to be aware. Engines spider more than they actually index. Yahoo is notorious for this (IMO).
[2008.08.21 18:21:51] LauraCP: Or you can search for the exact URL. Here's an example.
[2008.08.21 18:21:54] BrittaCP sent a picture:
[2008.08.21 18:22:12] twiligtsdesign: what do you mean by they spider more than they index?
[2008.08.21 18:22:17] susanfaye has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:23:12] LauraCP: So a spider (also called a crawler) may visit a page but not add it to the search engine index. It might also visit a page many times through various URLs but only index one copy of the page.
[2008.08.21 18:23:44] LauraCP: For example: www.cafepress.com and cafepress.com and http://www.cafepress.com are all URLs that could be spidered, but there is only one page to index.
[2008.08.21 18:23:45] twiligtsdesign: oh
[2008.08.21 18:24:43] LauraCP: So I showed how to see what part of site is indexed with Google site: and how to see if singe page is indexed. But there is another tool you can use.
[2008.08.21 18:25:27] LauraCP: At the SMX Advanced conference, I even heard some former Google employees mentioning that they liked this tool better than what Google offers.
[2008.08.21 18:25:41] LauraCP: It is yahoo site explorer.
[2008.08.21 18:25:55] LauraCP: You can use Yahoo Site Explorer to examine your site:
[2008.08.21 18:25:58] BrittaCP sent a picture:
[2008.08.21 18:26:18] LauraCP: Has anyone used this tool before?
[2008.08.21 18:26:44] twiligtsdesign: nope, never seen it before
[2008.08.21 18:26:45] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:26:47] shopa...: i use site explorer
[2008.08.21 18:26:50] twopurringcats: I haven't
[2008.08.21 18:26:52] twiligtsdesign: or heard of it
[2008.08.21 18:26:53] PeggyWvB: news to me
[2008.08.21 18:27:02] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:27:03] TexasFiddler: couple times
[2008.08.21 18:27:06] shopa...: i have been using it for a little over a year for all my shops and offsites
[2008.08.21 18:27:53] LauraCP: @shopa... How do you use it?
[2008.08.21 18:28:18] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:28:28] twiligtsdesign: what is the url for this site?
[2008.08.21 18:28:30] LauraCP: iteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
[2008.08.21 18:28:44] shopa...: it also offers a small tracking box you can out on your website to show how many inlinks you have - i have that box on my sidebar
[2008.08.21 18:28:53] LauraCP: Very interesting!
[2008.08.21 18:28:53] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:29:09] LauraCP: I use it to see where competitors are getting their backlinks from.
[2008.08.21 18:29:12] LauraCP: hint hint
[2008.08.21 18:29:16] LauraCP: ;)
[2008.08.21 18:29:22] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:29:32] jonbaas: Creative!
[2008.08.21 18:29:39] shopa...: it lets me track people linking to me - i can see affialites - helps me set up reciprocal links
[2008.08.21 18:29:52] shopa...: you can see what i mean witht he sidebar box on www.cafepress.com/shopaholicchick at the bottom fot he sidebar
[2008.08.21 18:30:34] matisse: I can find some affiliate links by googling my shop ID
[2008.08.21 18:30:46] Ne' 1512BLVD: Shopa, you have almost 9,000 links to your main page? wow!
[2008.08.21 18:30:48] twiligtsdesign: whats a backlink?
[2008.08.21 18:31:07] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:31:25] LauraCP: A backlink is another word for an inbound link.
[2008.08.21 18:31:38] LauraCP: sometimes in forums you will see it called IBL
[2008.08.21 18:31:41] Ne' 1512BLVD: Laura, can you explain further how you use it in that way?
[2008.08.21 18:31:42] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:32:15] LauraCP: You can see who is linking to your competitors. Then you could ask those sites to link to your site too.
[2008.08.21 18:32:24] shopa...: you can show the report excluding your domain or subdomain links though....the # however includes each sub page of my shop that links back to the main page...
[2008.08.21 18:32:55] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:33:02] LauraCP: Make a list. Slowly try to get links from those same places. Slow and steady link building is key. You don’t want 100 links in a single week. That looks suspicious.
[2008.08.21 18:33:14] brev87 has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:33:52] Ne' 1512BLVD: Thanks you Laura!
[2008.08.21 18:34:00] LauraCP: More is not better. More links is nice. But more links from places with high page rank and high search engine trust values is way Way better. PageRank will be discussed in just a few minutes.
[2008.08.21 18:34:13] jonbaas: Fascinating tool!
[2008.08.21 18:34:32] LauraCP: Yes, the tool is very cool.
[2008.08.21 18:34:51] LauraCP: If you authenticate your site, you can get more info and have a bit more control.
[2008.08.21 18:35:14] ac has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:35:42] LauraCP: The instructions are in Yahoo site explorer .... (this won't work for a basic shop because you won't have the ability to add the meta data they will ask for.)
[2008.08.21 18:35:51] HaHaShirtShop: How do you decide which offers for linkbacks you accept?
[2008.08.21 18:36:01] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 18:36:06] LauraCP: Great question!
[2008.08.21 18:37:03] LauraCP: You want to link to sites that are relevant to your customers, the page the link will be on, and in moderation.
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[2008.08.21 18:39:28] LauraCP: Ask yourself if the site provides useful info for your visitors. It is like introducing someone. You usually try to avoid introducing someone you like to someone you don't like. But you would naturally like to introduce someone you like to someone else you like and that you think they would enjoy meeting.
[2008.08.21 18:39:49] Ne' 1512BLVD: How do you get the websites to link to you? Do you just use their contact us form and ask? Or do you try to sell why they should link to you?
[2008.08.21 18:40:28] peachgeek has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:41:34] LauraCP: Using their contact forms is a good start. Ask politely. Give a reason why you think their site and yours are a good fit. Indicate you have read and valued their content. Say on the specfic page example.com/i-like-this-page.html, you enjoyed their photos and stories of "cats" and you have made designs that feature similar cats.
[2008.08.21 18:41:47] tropicando: what about suspicious sites that link to you, can that harm you?
[2008.08.21 18:42:26] LauraCP: A few suspicious links to you should not hurt. Lots of suspicious links to you could hurt your ranking if they are not balanced by enough normal links.
[2008.08.21 18:43:24] tropicando: ok
[2008.08.21 18:43:43] Jaenne: What other SEOs have you to tell us about?
[2008.08.21 18:43:45] LauraCP: So onto "ranking"
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[2008.08.21 18:44:10] LauraCP: Ranking is what position your indexed URL appears in when someone searches for keywords related to your content.
[2008.08.21 18:44:25] LauraCP: Everyone’s goal is to appear on the first page of search results for the keywords they think their pages are relevant to. This is ranking in positions 1-10. Ranking in positions 1-5 are the most desired because they are “above the fold.”
[2008.08.21 18:45:20] LauraCP: Almost all clicks from searchers go to page 1. And only about half of the searches result in a click at all. Many searches don’t result in any clicks because the searcher doesn’t like the results and abandons the search or tries a different keyword.
[2008.08.21 18:45:43] LauraCP: It is also possible that he can get the answer he is looking for right from the search results page (known as a SERP) and does not need to go to the actual Web page.
[2008.08.21 18:45:57] LauraCP: Here’s how SEO Researcher estimates the distribution of clicks on page 1:
[2008.08.21 18:46:11] BrittaCP sent a picture:
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[2008.08.21 18:46:50] LauraCP: source: seoresearcher.com
[2008.08.21 18:47:14] LauraCP: See how quickly the clicks drop off as you move down the page?
[2008.08.21 18:47:26] twiligtsdesign: yeah
[2008.08.21 18:47:31] LauraCP: We’ll talk about techniques to rank highly for relevant keywords in a minute, but first I want to address a related term.
[2008.08.21 18:47:51] cyi has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:47:54] LauraCP: PageRank is a Google term people use a lot
[2008.08.21 18:48:11] LauraCP: .” Pagerank is the publicly posted value Google shows for individual web pages. The CafePress homepage currently has a PageRank of 8. 10 is the maximum possible.
[2008.08.21 18:48:25] LauraCP: This is very rare. Google gives it’s own homepage a PR of 6. CNN.com and Amazon have a PR of 9 for their homepages. eBay.com has a PR of 8.
[2008.08.21 18:48:34] BrittaCP sent a picture:
[2008.08.21 18:49:03] PeggyWvB: wow! that's a dramatic difference between the top listing and the 6th
[2008.08.21 18:49:21] LauraCP: (the green bar if you enable the google toolbar)
[2008.08.21 18:49:26] LauraCP: Here’s what Google has to say about PageRank
[2008.08.21 18:49:40] LauraCP: Google PageRank - http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html
[2008.08.21 18:49:54] LauraCP: • PageRank Technology: PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.
[2008.08.21 18:50:16] LauraCP: PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. We have always taken a pragmatic approach to help improve search quality and create useful products, and our technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a page's importance.
[2008.08.21 18:50:45] LauraCP: So we're back to the "friends" concept we were talking about...
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[2008.08.21 18:51:07] LauraCP: Here's a bit of technical background... a tiny bit
[2008.08.21 18:51:09] LauraCP: ow does Google actually process a search? – content copied from http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html
[2008.08.21 18:51:32] LauraCP: The life span of a Google query normally lasts less than half a second, yet involves a number of different steps that must be completed before results can be delivered to a person seeking information.
[2008.08.21 18:51:37] BrittaCP sent a picture:
[2008.08.21 18:52:24] twiligtsdesign: interesting
[2008.08.21 18:52:53] LauraCP: Does ranking vary with different search engines?
[2008.08.21 18:53:01] LauraCP: Yes. You will find differences between Yahoo, Google, and MSN. You can even find differences between AOL.com and Google.com even though Google powers AOL.
[2008.08.21 18:53:29] TexasFiddler: It even differs between different flavors of Google
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[2008.08.21 18:54:39] LauraCP: True, it does. It varies if you are logged in or not too..
[2008.08.21 18:54:48] LauraCP: So, How do I rank highly for my keywords?
[2008.08.21 18:55:03] LauraCP: Select your topic areas carefully. It is easier to rank highly for longer tail queries like “Ladybug designs on t-shirts” than “T-shirts”.

http://www.google.com/trends and http://www.google.com/insights/search/#

-Delete or consolidate pages with duplicate content.
-Don’t forget all the SEO basics like titles, text, meta data, alt text.
[2008.08.21 18:55:36] LauraCP: One Key to Ranking well is good Linking
[2008.08.21 18:55:45] LauraCP: • If you don’t provide a link to a page, the search engines cannot find it. Therefore it will never be indexed or rank well.
[2008.08.21 18:56:04] LauraCP: No more than 100 per page. Fewer is better
[2008.08.21 18:56:55] LauraCP: No more than 100 "links" per page ... Fewer is better.
[2008.08.21 18:57:04] LauraCP: • Inbound Links from sites related to your content will help. Ask for links to pages other than your homepage.
[2008.08.21 18:57:19] LauraCP: •Outbound links to lots of unrelated sites or pages can hurt by making your page look less focused.
[2008.08.21 18:57:41] LauraCP: Webrings are of questionable use. Linking to them can make your site look less focused and it can lead you to link to sites you wouldn’t normally want to be
[2008.08.21 18:57:50] LauraCP: associated with. Think carefully if you are getting what you want from them
[2008.08.21 18:58:01] LauraCP: Ask for links from topically related sites. Again, ask for links to pages other than your homepage
[2008.08.21 18:58:18] LauraCP: Topical inbound and outbound links make your site an authority. It is the idea of becoming a “hub.”
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[2008.08.21 18:59:01] LauraCP: Don’t buy links - or at least beware that if you are caught your entire site could be deleted from the index.
[2008.08.21 18:59:19] dan has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 18:59:27] LauraCP: Don’t sell links - same caution as above...
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[2008.08.21 18:59:43] LauraCP: Use descriptive “anchor text”. Example “See great stuff here.” Compare to “See great ladybug t-shirts.”
[2008.08.21 19:00:04] LauraCP: •Surround links with topically related text. See great ladybug t-shirts. LadyBug designs on long sleeve t-shirts, girls tees, and plus size t-shirts are all available here.”
[2008.08.21 19:00:18] dan has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.21 19:00:19] Ne' 1512BLVD: I thought we did not want outbound links because they were leaks?
[2008.08.21 19:00:23] BrittaCP: It’s an act of balance. On the one hand you can add links if you want to improve your ranking (which is one of the ways that Laura has suggested). On the other hand, if you are concerned about affiliates, you may need to rethink. It’s really a question of what is right for you, as an individual Shopkeeper.
[2008.08.21 19:00:37] LauraCP: How do you get from page 3 to page 1?
[2008.08.21 19:00:53] LauraCP: This is O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y ! If you are on page 2 or 3, then moving to the next highest page is probably one of your biggest opportunities. Trying to move from position 8 to position 3 is hard.
[2008.08.21 19:02:10] BrittaCP: hang on gang... laura seemed to freeze up
[2008.08.21 19:02:53] BrittaCP: she's lost her internet connection, so let's give her a minute to try and get reconnected
[2008.08.21 19:02:55] twiligtsdesign: how sad :(
[2008.08.21 19:03:03] BrittaCP: It happens... silly wi-fi
[2008.08.21 19:03:09] TexasFiddler: Is there a way to contact Laura after the chat?
[2008.08.21 19:03:27] BrittaCP: Texas... you're welcome to email a question to communityteam@cafepress.com
[2008.08.21 19:03:36] BrittaCP: I'll forward it off.
[2008.08.21 19:03:52] BrittaCP: We'll also be having a special Q&A chat in september with laura
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[2008.08.21 19:04:02] twiligtsdesign: taking notes here...just like high school
[2008.08.21 19:04:07] TexasFiddler: thanx
[2008.08.21 19:04:08] TexasFiddler: yay
[2008.08.21 19:04:56] BrittaCP: We have one more strutured chat with her in a few weeks and then the Q/A
[2008.08.21 19:05:20] jonbaas: Yep. Notes are a must in chats like these!
[2008.08.21 19:05:23] TexasFiddler: the chats we've had with her have been some of the most informative i've attended!
[2008.08.21 19:05:25] tropicando: feels like a college lecture actually
[2008.08.21 19:05:25] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 19:05:33] shopa...: you can stick around after chat in the lobby and ask some things to othe rshopkeepers who stck around too
[2008.08.21 19:05:35] Jaenne: I appreciate all the help you give. Cafe Press is wonderful to it's shopkeepers....
[2008.08.21 19:05:54] twiligtsdesign: are there archived chat transcripts on things she has talked about that we may not quite understand like inbound and outbound links
[2008.08.21 19:06:04] BrittaCP: we have many chats archived
[2008.08.21 19:06:27] BrittaCP: http://community.cafepress.com/?cat=14
[2008.08.21 19:06:32] BrittaCP: you can flip throough them here
[2008.08.21 19:06:47] Message sent to moderator(s)
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[2008.08.21 19:08:07] Amere: You know you can click on the "view chat transcript' button and copy and paste the whole chat twiligtsdesign.
[2008.08.21 19:08:08] shopa...: there are a lot of chat logs on cafechatter.blogspot.com also
[2008.08.21 19:08:29] twiligtsdesign: can we like do a search on a certain topic or do we have to read though each chat till we find what we need?
[2008.08.21 19:08:42] BrittaCP: you do for right now
[2008.08.21 19:08:46] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 19:08:57] tropicando: hello room by the way
[2008.08.21 19:08:59] shopa...: this chat will be on my blog the moment it ends
[2008.08.21 19:09:20] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 19:09:41] jonbaas: I appreciate the promptness of your transcripting, Shopa.... :)
[2008.08.21 19:09:47] TexasFiddler: btw, good to see you back, shopa. i sent you a couple transcripts, but never knew if you got them
[2008.08.21 19:09:54] Message sent to moderator(s)
[2008.08.21 19:10:02] LauraCP has left the room (logged out)
[2008.08.21 19:10:09] BrittaCP: alright!
[2008.08.21 19:10:22] LauraCP has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 19:10:29] BrittaCP: i think we've made contact!
[2008.08.21 19:10:31] LauraCP: whoo hoo!! I'm baaack
[2008.08.21 19:10:31] Ne' 1512BLVD: welcome back!
[2008.08.21 19:10:37] LauraCP: so sorry everyone
[2008.08.21 19:10:37] twiligtsdesign: welcome back
[2008.08.21 19:10:48] jonbaas: No worries. It happens. :)
[2008.08.21 19:11:13] LauraCP: :') so I'll be quick to try to get us finished. thanks for hanging in there.
[2008.08.21 19:11:35] LauraCP: There is so much competition for top 1-5 those slots. But if you are on page 3 and can move to page 2 you will double your chances of getting a click
[2008.08.21 19:12:03] LauraCP: Consider your internal linking. Look at which pages have the highest Google PR. Links from those pages are high value links. But don’t link to every page you have from your homepage or other higher ranking pages.
[2008.08.21 19:12:17] LauraCP: Link to the pages you most want to boost. The pages you provide the most and best links to yourself are a clue to the engines of which pages you think are most important.
[2008.08.21 19:12:30] LauraCP: Submit your site to related vertical directories. Got a store about LadyBug designs? The Yahoo directory is always a good start.
[2008.08.21 19:12:47] LauraCP: . Best of the web also works : http://botw.org/helpcenter/submitcommercial.aspx But look for smaller dedicated directories.
[2008.08.21 19:13:00] LauraCP: See http://www.celticbug.com/Buggy/Links.html as an example.
[2008.08.21 19:13:04] BrittaCP sent a picture:
[2008.08.21 19:13:23] LauraCP: Find blogs that are about your topic area. Write useful informative comments. If they allow, post a useful link to your store.
[2008.08.21 19:13:41] LauraCP: Comment in your blog and link from your blog to your products. Use relevant anchor text that contains the keywords that are relevant to your products.
[2008.08.21 19:13:49] TexasFiddler: One of the things that I have read is that it is very valuable to become listed in Directories...especially DMOZ. How do you do that? I've requested my website be included several times over the last couple years. Since they don't answer or give reasons why they don't list a site I feel like I'm talking to the ether!
[2008.08.21 19:14:21] LauraCP: DMOZ is really hard to get into. And they don't update info much.
[2008.08.21 19:15:33] LauraCP: There is even an "oopd" tag to keep your site from having its title and description over written in search results by the DMOZ info.
[2008.08.21 19:16:26] LauraCP: They do take volunteer editors. If you really want to be listed, then ask about once a quarter and try to present a very compelling case. You can also become an editor...that could help.
[2008.08.21 19:16:54] TexasFiddler: been there, tried that
[2008.08.21 19:17:06] LauraCP: Another way to help go up in ranking
[2008.08.21 19:17:10] LauraCP: Start a MySpace page and FaceBook page. Add a feed to your products through “share it.”
[2008.08.21 19:17:25] BrittaCP sent a picture:
[2008.08.21 19:18:44] LauraCP: @TexasFiddler: It was extrodinary hard to get changes in DMOZ for HP.com. We only managed a very few...
[2008.08.21 19:19:03] Ne' 1512BLVD: I have done that on Facebook. But, I forgot all about it and haven't done it recently! Thanks for the remind. I also try to add to Kaboodle. Is that a good site to add your products to?
[2008.08.21 19:19:11] twiligtsdesign: i've joined lots of facebook groups on one of my topics and have a running discussion board topic and update whenver I add a new shop/section
[2008.08.21 19:19:19] LauraCP: Once you climb in rankings...How do you stay there?
[2008.08.21 19:19:27] LauraCP: - Keep your content up to date.
[2008.08.21 19:19:51] LauraCP: - Add new content regularly. Keep it focused on the same basic contents/topics...
[2008.08.21 19:19:59] LauraCP: - Delete irrelevant content, outdated content
[2008.08.21 19:20:14] LauraCP: Try to get one new inbound link per week.
[2008.08.21 19:20:27] LauraCP: Add or edit one outbound link once per month
[2008.08.21 19:20:37] LauraCP: -Add a sitemap with links to your newer pages
[2008.08.21 19:20:49] LauraCP: Consider adding an XML sitemap and providing it to the spiders. https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/docs/en/sitemap-generator.html
[2008.08.21 19:21:04] LauraCP: Check for broken links and fix them. Sites with lots of broken links are a warning sign of low quality
[2008.08.21 19:21:15] LauraCP: Add links to your homepage in all of your emails
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[2008.08.21 19:21:27] LauraCP: Bookmark in social sites like Digg and Delicious
[2008.08.21 19:22:04] LauraCP: Twitter about your products when you release a new design
[2008.08.21 19:22:32] LauraCP: twitter.com
[2008.08.21 19:22:56] PeggyWvB: How do you bookmark?
[2008.08.21 19:22:56] LauraCP: What not to do?
[2008.08.21 19:22:56] BrittaCP: Many sites have a button on thier page whihc will let a user automatlically bookmark to whereever they are joined up with
[2008.08.21 19:23:09] BrittaCP: that was peggy
[2008.08.21 19:23:26] LauraCP: •Don’t spam
[2008.08.21 19:23:38] LauraCP: Don’t try to fool the engines
[2008.08.21 19:23:48] LauraCP: •Don’t link to link farms
[2008.08.21 19:24:02] LauraCP: Don’t put too much content on a single page. About 150 -300 words is ideal.
[2008.08.21 19:24:17] LauraCP: Don’t put too many links on a page. Try to keep it to less than 100. Much less.
[2008.08.21 19:24:46] LauraCP: And to answer a question that got dropped when I lost my connection:
[2008.08.21 19:25:02] LauraCP: What about page 2, position 1 vs. page 1 position 10?
[2008.08.21 19:25:10] LauraCP: Here's an industry estimate
[2008.08.21 19:25:25] LauraCP: 89.73% of all clicks go to page one
[2008.08.21 19:25:42] LauraCP: 4.38% go to page 2
[2008.08.21 19:26:39] TexasFiddler: gulp
[2008.08.21 19:26:41] PeggyWvB: good to know!
[2008.08.21 19:27:11] LauraCP: On a page ~46% go to position 1. And 3% go to position 10.
[2008.08.21 19:27:39] LauraCP: This is all "approx" - not published anywhere in exact refutable data...
[2008.08.21 19:28:07] jonbaas: Still... it's a helpful approximation. :)
[2008.08.21 19:28:38] LauraCP: but 3% of 89% is still larger than 46% of 4.38%... so page 1 position 10 is likely to get more clicks than page 2, position 1.
[2008.08.21 19:29:05] Ne' 1512BLVD: Do you have to ask them or do they list stuff they find useful?
[2008.08.21 19:30:02] LauraCP: The editors of directories find stuff and take requests. The last time I talked to a manager at Yahoo who was responsible for the Yahoo directory, the team editing it was really small!
[2008.08.21 19:30:37] LauraCP: So, it is a big challenge to get added or edited. But it is possible.
[2008.08.21 19:30:52] BrittaCP: So as you can tell… we’ve gone past the hour mark. There were a lot questions coming through… and again we apologize for not getting to them all. Don’t forget, we’ll be having a Q&A so save those questions. September’s chat schedule will be up on the 1st.
[2008.08.21 19:31:23] LauraCP: Thank you all for your questions, patience with my technical problems, and all the enthusiasm. I really enjoyed talking with you all.
[2008.08.21 19:31:31] Amere: cool. Thanks Laura, thanks Britta
[2008.08.21 19:31:34] TexasFiddler: Laura, it has been a plasure!
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[2008.08.21 19:31:40] Alex has entered the room "CafePress Chat Room"
[2008.08.21 19:31:43] twopurringcats: thanks
[2008.08.21 19:31:45] TexasFiddler: pleasure
[2008.08.21 19:32:03] BrittaCP: Thanks for joining all!