Two big announcements:
First, after some trial and error, a huge battle with my web host, a NEW web host, 300 bounced emails, a mail server replacement and a bout of gout, Audrey and I managed to launch a new version of our web site.
We've renamed out site "Online Store Profits - Build an eCommerce
web site with a Yahoo! Store".
I know that it's a mouthful, but after tons and tons of feedback, I
don't think people got what we were trying to do.
So, we re-designed the site and altered the message slightly to
reflect what we're trying to help people do - Profit from an online
store.
So, please take a look and let me know what you think.
Send your comments to: andy@online-store-profits.com
Next - I'm nearly done with my Brad Fallon Interviews, and I have to
say, I think they're awesome. Honestly, I thought I knew a lot about
SEO, but the stuff Brad and I talked about made me feel like a
chump.
I mean, we talked about using Overture in ways that I hadn't thought
of, even though I use it every week.
We talked about the myths of keyword density, meta tags, title tags,
link text, page rank, shared hosting...
We talked for 8 hours, and we've still got another session to do.
Still, I've been editing the sessions as we go, and I've got most of
it done. Hopefully, by later next week, we'll have it ready to go.
I'll be honest, I really thought that we'd end up with a 2 or 3 hour
product - not 8 hours of edited material.
At the end of 2 days, as I rushed Brad back to the Airport, I said
"All right man, what didn't you tell me while the tape was rolling?"
He said, "If you listen to that stuff, you'll know everything I
know, and be able to do everything that I do - as far as search
engines are concerned."
I believe it. Brad took a 5 minute-look at a new site that Audrey
had been having issues with and made 3 suggestions (hint: be careful
of JavaScript links). 4 days later, the Page Rank of that site shot
up 3 points.
It's like some sort of magic - but it's not. Its just good old
common sense, mixed with a ton of daily search engine experience.
I can say a lot more about this stuff, but let me just close by
saying this:
- Our Store competitors (Especially our Wall Tapestries and Sports
Collectible Store) are going to have NO idea what hit them. We're so
confident, we hired Audrey's little sister Krista to become our
customer service rep for our stores. We're paying her $25,000 a year
and she just graduated from Penn State. She's totally psyched to be
working for her big sister!
That's how confident we are in Brad's information, and how confident
we are in our future business.
Mid July, Krista starts answering the phone here at A Squared, and
Audrey and I are going to take a long deserved vacation - without
our laptops, but with our kitties.
Thanks Brad.
You can still download the first 50 minutes of an interview I did
with Brad 2 weeks ago. That's before he broke the $130,000 a month
barrier in his Yahoo! Store, but it's pretty good despite the fact
he only had $83,000 on the books when we did the interview.
Interview with Brad Fallon
That's it for now. Please do send me your comments about the new
site - we're anxious to get some feedback.
Thanks a bunch!
Andy Jenkins
