Looking for Help / SEO Advice

[Candlelight]

I have created an e-commerce site that has been up for about 9 months. Reading what search engines look for, I tried to use all text links and basic plain html code. Everything was going ok until about 1 month ago when Google changed somthing. Before the change I had 123 pages in link popularity from Google and now I only have 9. The other search engines dropped off as well and I seem to be sliding backwards. Right now I'm not looking to be in the number 1 slot. I just need to be listed at this point.
I use IBP software to check my site and the results are comparable to the top 10 other sites on Google. I have been talking to a few SEO companies and so far none of them can help me for less then $3000 a month. I find this very hard to swallow and other SEO compianies want to optimize my site for off the wall keywords because "I will be ranked #1 with them". This as well is hard to swallow for if no one searches the keyword, being #1 does not do me any good. And my favorite SEO told me lastly "It does not matter if the other sites done everything wrong, they have been around the longest and that why they are ranked #1"

I have added a sitemap.xml file with Google. This has not helped at all and I found that DMOZ has my site listed as an adult site for some unknown reason.

Can anyone please give me some honest advice. I know I need more link popularity but I do not think this is the only issue.

The main questions I have are

1 has my site been banned?
2 is IBP giving me wrong information about my site.
3 is it just a waiting game?
4 are the engines dropping my site because I renew the domain on an annual basis?

My site address is Http://www.candlelightfashions.com

I welcome any and all information one could give me.

[brian.mark]

Well, I've got good and bad news for you.

Good news: Google knows of 839 pages in your site, Yahoo 774, and MSN 217. The MSN count is probably easy to fix, just by getting rid of the following:

<meta name="rating" content="General">
<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="INDEX,FOLLOW">
<meta name="distribution" content="Global">
<meta name="Generator" content="Candlelight High Heels Tag Generator">
<meta name="revisit-after" content="7">
<meta name="classification" content="Shopping">
<meta name="copyright" content="CandlelightFashions.com">
<meta http-equiv="reply-to" content="admin @ candlelightfashions.com">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="English">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">

None of those mean much of anything, and I've seen the revisit-after tag cause the MSN bot to go really slowly on several occasions.

Bad news: You've got a lot of changes to make that will take some time.

Looking at http://www.candlelightfashions.com/teddies.html (or maybe I shouldn't), the title is High Heels, Sexy Shoes, Boots, Gothic Shoes, Ballets, Lingerie at CandleLight Fashions. That page is about Sexy Teddies, but that phrase isn't used at all in the title or on the page. Most of your categories are this way.

I figure you know this next line alrady, but I want to make sure it's very clear.

YOU HAVE TO USE YOUR KEYWORDS TO RANK FOR THEM

Ok, you don't have to. You can get 1000's and 1000's of links with the phrases you want to rank for as the anchor text to every one of your pages, but it's much easier to use them.

If you look at your keywords on that page, you don't have much that is really specific to that page. You need some focus.

What I'd recommend for a title on that page is "Sexy Teddies and Sexy Lingerie". The site name doesn't matter to anyone looking for those items, so there is no need for it to be in the title. That page has next to nothing to do with shoes, other than most of the models are shown in shoes, so don't bother mentioning them.

You should also look at adding a headline and breadcrumb links. Right now, I can't tell if that's one click from the homepage or 10 by looking at it. If I click on something else, will I be able to find my way back? People want to know where they are, and it helps with cross-linking as well.

The products aren't really saying what they are either. Probably the best one on that page is "Lace Teddy w/ Thigh Highs". What it doesn't say is the color. On the product page it's a little better, calling it "2 Piece Floral Lace Teddy w/ Snap Closure and matching Thigh Highs". Even so, there isn't any other text on the page other than "Click image for larger view". Why not talk about it. Sure the picture is worth 1000 words, but you need to use those words for the search engines to know what your page is about.

Titles on the product pages are lousy at best. Instead of the product name, which is what that page is about, you've got "Teddies LA8647 - Sexy Lingerie, Teddies, Clubwear & Stockings". Where does it tell me that the page is about a 2 piece floral lace teddy w/ snap closure and matching thigh highs?

Also, I didn't notice this on other pages, but your product pages are structured weird. The title should be the first thing after the head tag. Instead, you've got a bunch of metas, several long JavaScripts (those could be external to make the pages lighter) and the title is the last thing in the header of the page. In fact, you've got your first script before the head section.

As for the DMOZ category, that could have to do with your forum and the disclaimer of "The pages that follow may contain nudity or offensive language". That sounds Adult to me, so I'd guess that you got categorized according to the guidelines. Just be happy that you're listed.

Link popularity is important, but since Google, MSN, and Yahoo don't ever show all your links you can't really gauge them. Google got rid of a lot of the DMOZ clone directories recently, so many sites lost some link popularity there.

You've got a lot of work to do if you really want some visibility. You need to look at every page as a potential doorway, not just the homepage. Give it a go and see what you can do. You may surprise yourself.

Brian.

[Candlelight]

I would like to thank you for your honesty and insight.

Some of the things you mentioned I am working on, such as the java scripting and page titles. I was just concerned with making too many changes too fast as it may be seen as search engine manipulation. I read somewhere I believe in a different post on this forum, that according to Google's patents, they store a record of all your site changes.

There are a few things you brought up that I had never given any thought to, such as the breadcrumb navigation bar and each page as being a gateway. I have been gearing everything toward the main line of the site and towards the .com . I also never gave the gallery a thought when it came to DMOZ. "Maybe because there havent been any posts in it and not sure if I am going to keep it".

I will try and take every word you said and put it to good use. Yes I have an awful lot of work to do.
But if you want to make a page work, it takes alot of work.

Thank you again for your insight and your shoot from the hip mannerism is deeply appreciated also.

[brian.mark]

Originally Posted by Candlelight

I will try and take every word you said and put it to good use. Yes I have an awful lot of work to do.
But if you want to make a page work, it takes alot of work.

Thank you again for your insight and your shoot from the hip mannerism is deeply appreciated also.

You've got the right attitude to succeed in this business and you seem to have the humility down. The people that get advice and then argue are the ones that I see fail.

As for the shoot from the hip mannerism, that's the only way I know. I don't like sugar coating things because people tend to read that as I don't really need to do those things or they're not important. I've been doing this stuff for 8 years now, so I just give a quick honest opinion and let you do what you like with it.

Brian.

[ctabuk]

Amen that that. Yes there is nothing like giving the right advice and getting a thank you. Candlelight, you mentioned IBP are you using the free download or the pay for?

[Candlelight]

I'm using version 8.0.1
It seems to work pretty good for optimizing a site.
I would recommend it for any small business or someone who does not have the capital to hire a SEO firm.
The only thing I do not like about it is the site submit. It only lets you submit your URL and some search engines let you add a category that your site falls under and a description, but hopefully they will add this. Out of everything it does, the reports are what I find most useful in comparing my site to others to see how mine stacks up to them as far as link popularity, keyword denisty and what they "think" the search engines are looking for.

[ctabuk]

Ok, just remember one thing, you can overoptimize. I've had IBP for 5 years now and sing its praises everyday. But you are correct it is a great guide.