www.muellertime.com

muellertime · #1 (**permalink**) 12-10-2005, 09:04 PM

I am new here and in need of some help, please. My website http://www.muellertime.com was gaining some traffic momentum and a so-called "seo expert" made some changes to increase the visibility.
What he did was basically kill my rankings and I don't know how to get it back. I have made some minor changes, and purchased some Google AdWords, but I really need to jump-start this site so that the phone will start to ring again.
Before he took over my Alexa ranking was about 680,000, and now it is 1,850,000. I was getting about 60-70 visitors a day, and now I am lucky to get 6.
I followed the TIPS at the beginning of this forum to optimize the page as best I could, but still can't figure out the VALIDATOR site.
Any help, suggestions or directions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

SnerdeyWebs · #2 (**permalink**) 12-10-2005, 11:50 PM

Well, not sure cause I'm not able to see what your site had before the changes. But, I would say your website needs to be cleaned up, dressed up and more changes made for the eye.

Bring all the visitors you want to your site.. but it does not mean sales. In my view on ad's. Don't spend a dime until your website is ready.

We have some affordable website templates that you might consider to give your site a professional look and feel.

Then, get our SEO software to help you promote it.

As well as our ad tracking report software to help you monitor your ads and site.

Good Luck!

muellertime · #3 (**permalink**) 12-12-2005, 09:35 AM

Snerdy,
Thanks for the comments. It basically looks the same as it did before he messed it up. It's the code and the tags that got me kicked out of the rankings and lost traffic.
I checked out your web templates and such, and they are really great, it has been what I have been looking for to do a makeover. And I agree with you, I do need one. I downloaded a couple to play with, but I use Yahoo's Sitebuilder program, and it doesn't "play well with others". I would like to use something else, but this software is too finicky when it comes to outside sources. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Thanks!

SnerdeyWebs · #4 (**permalink**) 12-12-2005, 09:58 AM

I suggest you spend a little on your own web editing software that will allow you to do what you want instead of what the online builder allows.

We use Macromedia Dreamweaver for the most part. But, Microsoft Front Page might work well for you and it cost less.

You can PM me for more details and if you like we can put a plan of action together for you that will fit just about any budget.

Thanks for the comments. We complete about 4 sites a day now and with over 8,000 to choose from the templates allow us to knock out sites asap =)

Anytime you need assistance.. just let us know.

Paul B · #5 (**permalink**) 12-13-2005, 12:22 PM

SEO isn't cheap. I trust you asked your "seo expert" for an explanation and your money back.

You don't mention how your rankings have changed, just that your visitors have dropped. The obvious answer is to reverse the work the expert did.

The code of your home page is not SE friendly and 450 lines of code is excessive. No alt atributes for some images and no use of <H> tags.

Nothing seems to work on your shopping page...

ran_dizolph · #6 (**permalink**) 12-14-2005, 11:35 AM

Hi there...I'm gonna hafta agree about getting your code cleaned up...that'll help.

Regarding the WYSIWYG editor, i would advise against getting frontpage...it'll end up just creating a bunch of junky code.

SEO in your industry is tough...believe me, I've been the web guy for a promo. product supplier (basically same stuff you do) for over a year now, and it ain't easy. There's a lot of competition. My site's here...take a look. It took me 8 months to get the number 1 google spot just for our name alone!

I'm not sure how much of your 60-70 visitors a day came from your 600 000+ ranking in alexa, but it can't be much.

At any rate, definately work on your page layout first, then work on getting people there.

Just a couple of examples of things that could use work;
optimize your graphics...use thumbnails!!!! don't just cram a huge image down to size in the image tag. They look skewed and I can hardly make out what some of the images are.
ditch the 'comic sans' font...it shouldn't have ever been created in the first place, and stinks of amateur-ism.
Why does the picture of the dog link to a different site? I, as a user, do not appreciated being whisked off to some mystery site by clicking on something that doesn't indicate I will be leaving.

Also, as mentioned, you have a huge amount of code, much of which doesn't do anything. It look like you have almost 200 lines of just spacer images! No good.

Good luck!

muellertime · #7 (**permalink**) 12-18-2005, 02:35 PM

"Paul" & "ran" - Thanks for the input!
I appreciate your comments and suggestions. I have begun using Dreamweaver, and hope that will help with the excessive code issue that was created with "SiteBuilder". I am also hopefull that it will solve my images/thumbnails situation.

You mention that 450 lines of code is excessive - so how many is normal, or acceptable? And I will change the Font to something else, (any suggestions??) it was just easier for me to read as I built the pages, not realizing that it casued other problems.

As for the "seo expert", I have never heard from him again because he knows he did wrong. And my rankings before he altered my pages - I could google "embroidery aurora" and be number 1 - 3 on the first page. Now I am at the bottmom of page 12.

You ask about the "dog" - yes it is another URL, but a sub-domain of our site. It is a place that was created to sell our closeouts and extra prints at a reduced cost. It is an area that we have to finish, but wanted to get the main page corrected first. I am gald that you mentioned it, I had a hard time finding it myself.

Thanks again!

MarcieZoob · #8 (**permalink**) 12-19-2005, 06:21 AM

I looked at your code and it really needs to be cleaned up - it looks like SiteBuilder adds lots of junky code kind of willy-nilly. Here's an example of some BLOATED code:

MuellerTime Designs is located in Aurora, Colorado, and serves the entire Greater Denver Metro area.

All that code just to say "MuellerTime Designs is located in Aurora, Colorado, and serves the entire Greater Denver Metro area."

You also need to declare a DOCTYPE and move all of your styles to your stylesheet. Many of your external links could not be checked by Site Report Card so the SE's might be penalizing you for that.

Your background is repeating itself on my widescreen so I get your logo twice. The "millers1.gif" is HUGE - 1233 x 975 and weighs in at a hefty 630 kb. Size your images for the space on your page for smaller file size and clarity.

Serious · #9 (**permalink**) 12-19-2005, 07:09 AM

Some suggestions:
1) remove all these banners, headlines and ads at the bottom of the main page
2) improve the four graphics at the top, they are ugly and not well layout.
3) is the ring usefull?
4) don't display big pictures as small ones. It makes your site slow. Reduce them first.
5) avoid empty pages like http://www.muellertime.com/monogram1.html
6) choose carefully the way you advertize ;)

majesticoncall · #10 (**permalink**) 12-19-2005, 03:40 PM

Okay...I'm new to this, so I thought I'd take the approach of a "would-be" customer. My thoughts about your site from (that perspective) are as follows:

1. Your homepage seems to be lacking a bit of "polish". Perhaps you could re-address the general layout of this page and give it a more professional look.
2. Your links at the bottom look a little haphazard, as far as placement. Would you consider having a separate webpage for links by themselves?
3. Load time for some of your pages might cause me to leave the site entirely if I was looking for the products you sell.
4. Digitizing webpage needs to be broken up a bit. All that text makes for the appearance of too much reading. Remember, your customer doesn't want to spend too much time trying to figure out what you have to say. Unfortunately, we do live in a society that wants everything spelled out to us as quickly as possible, otherwise we lose interest.
5. What happened to your graphics on the Monograms webpage?
6. Consistency. Consistency with the type of text used on the various webpages, speaks volumes with regards to professionalism. The text on your homepage, in my opinion, is great for conveying professional services being offered. The text used on screenprinting and digitizing leave me uncertain as to whether or not I can trust your services. Remember I'm commenting from the perspective of a would-be customer. I like what you started on your homepage and would prefer to see that all the way through your website.

Good luck with your changes!
www.majesticoncall.com

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