Here’s what I’ve been working on (and why I haven’t posted in a while)…
NEW WEBSITE FOR TOY HOUSE
Our old website wasn’t mobile-friendly and needed a few upgrades to make it responsive to different platforms (computers, phones and tablets). Google is telling people that non-responsive sites are going to get knocked down in the search rankings soon.
Since we don’t sell online, I also wanted to focus the site more on making people to want to visit the store. More pictures of what you’ll find when you visit. More descriptions of the in-store services and events. More content telling you how much fun you’ll have when you get to the store.
To get the most out of your website, you have to know what you want your website to do.
Finally, I wanted a website that I can change and update regularly. I spent the last several months learning how to use WordPress and built the site using their system.
The new site is up and working. The early returns have been promising. More tweaks including video are coming soon.
NEW WEBSITE FOR PHIL’S FORUM
This one isn’t done yet. Originally, I thought that after building the new Toy House site this one would be easy. I was wrong.
One of the key elements of building a website is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). With the Toy House site that was fairly easy. My goal was to make sure you find us in any search related to toys and Jackson, MI. Go ahead and search “toys Jackson” and see where you find us.
But PhilsForum.com is a different beast playing in a different sandbox.
If you search on such terms as…
- RETAILER ADVICE
- RETAIL SUCCESS
- HELP FOR RETAILERS
- RETAIL SPEAKER
- RETAIL COACH
- INDEPENDENT RETAILER
…you won’t find me on the first two to three pages in Google.
One of everyone’s favorite pages from my current site is the Freebies page. Yet if you search on RETAILER FREEBIES, you get fourteen pages of coupons before you find all the articles and notes I’ve uploaded for you.
If you search on RETAIL SPEAKER you won’t find me until page four behind a number of sites that won’t even get you a top-level, in-the-trenches retail speaker that routinely gets high praise for the talks he does.
Before I can build the new site, I have a lot of SEO work to do including coming up with a new name for the Freebies – something based on the words you would likely use to search for that information.
Some of those Freebies are ready for an upgrade, too. Stay posted and I’ll let you know here when the new site goes live (and where you can find the new Freebies).
NEW BOOK ON ADVERTISING MESSAGES
Back in the spring I asked for your submissions for a new book I planned to write this summer. I didn’t get as many submissions as I hoped, but I did get enough to put the book together, albeit in a slightly different format than originally planned. (You can still submit your business for inclusion.)
As soon as I get the new PhilsForum.com site up and running, I’ll tackle this project. (Believe me, I’ve already been formatting chapters in my head on this and am getting excited at how the finished product is going to turn out.)
I’ll be back to blogging soon. In the meantime, start asking yourself these questions…
- What do you want to accomplish in the next twelve months?
- What is holding you back?
- What are your competitors doing better than you?
Those are the questions I hope to explore with you this fall.
-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com
PS When the new PhilsForum.com site is done, this blogspot blog will go away. I’ll archive all the old blogs onto the new site so the content will still be there. If you’re a subscriber, don’t worry. I’m already looking at how to seamlessly transfer you over to the new blog so that you continue to get this info in your inbox. But if you’re getting this through your RSS feed, I’ll let you know when it is time to change over to the new feed.
PPS Also get ready for a discussion about your online presence. I’ve learned a ton over the last few months building new websites that I look forward to sharing with you.