Improving my web site

Dilly

Hi
I'm not sure if I'm posting on the correct forum, so please move to a more appropriate place if need be

I have a website which sell items foir Dolls Houses. I did an OU course for the web design and I am quite pleased with it annd it works well

However it does not get much traffic and certainly none from people who do not know me. I need to raise its profile to generate more income, but can't find any courses about this side of the design. I know I need keywords, but suspect theere is far more I can do to get more traffic. I don't want to advertise or pay for adwords and the like

I would also like to install a shopping cart. I have looked at zen cart but find it all a bit confusing. Can anyone recommend a course, preferably one which doesn't cost a fortune, free would be best

Thanks for your help

InsideInsurance

There are plenty of websites that give advice on both SEO and online marketing

Dilly

Thanks I have found more than sufficent but I am asking for an opinion as to a good one or two to use. I'm not an expert and don't want to waste a lot of time on the project if it ends up being abandoned, because I don't understand or can't follow the advice

InsideInsurance

Unfortunately the above type of comments tend to come from bedroom web designers who've read a couple of articles and then claim to be world experts - often followed by the offer of getting you to page 1 of google for £99.99

SEO is an art not a science and in principle is not difficult at all. The challenging part is balancing all the elements correctly - do you go for long tail or short tail terms? How much time do you spend creating link bait -v- spider copy -v- content actually intended for your human visitors for your sites primary purpose.

The other key is that it is a matter of relativity. You don't need to be the best in the world, you just need to remain better than your competitors. Getting high rankings for a long tail keyword is relatively easy. Getting high rankings for a hot keyword can be exceptionally difficult.

Experts in SEO will talk about your strategy, your targets etc, basic designers will talk about HTML tags.

kayteedee

As Inside Insurance said, SEO is an art and you need a multifaceted approach. A lot of things are involved including the wording on the site and how that relates to the keywords you are wanting to target, along with how established the site is and how popular the site is. There is a tool for finding out which search words/phrases are popular. I have helped a couple of friends get their website ranking improved and found a good starting place was the book - The Art of SEO by Eric Enge et al which I found very useful. Google have over 95% of the search market in the UK and as they constantly change their algorithm that determines the order websites are listed in, it is a constantly developing field.

jillybaby

Greetings,
Can I recommend ebussinessclub (not allowed to put website as am new poster) as a great source of training courses. This website only features courses for the East Midlands, and I can't remember how I got on to them but I think it must have been via Business Link? So perhaps with a little detective work you could track down an ebusiness club local to you. They work with local Chambers of Trade and offer loads of support.
Luckily I was able to get on some courses prior to the latest round of government cuts and so the courses were free. I understand that the courses have become rarer and they now charge a fee (£25).
The tutors are professional and very knowledgable re SEO, website design etc., and you get the opportunity to meet other small and potential business owners most of whom are happy to share their knowledge, and perhaps share your knowledge with them (You probably know more than you think you do).
I found the course I attended very valuable, as it helped me to realise that if I wanted a really swish website with all the bells and whistles, shopping cart and optimized for mobile users I had better put my hand in my pocket and pay for it! If I was going to open a bricks and mortar shop I wouldn't attempt to fit the shop out myself I'd get the shop fitters in. So that's what I've done and am now patiently waiting for my web designer to submit his designs.
Recommended reading - not SEO but general web design - Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug a short read portions of which are freely available online. This book really opened my eyes and was recommended by ebusiness.
Hope this helps and good luck for the future.
PS Nearly forgot get on Twitter, social media can really be leveraged to drive traffic to your website.