Hi, I'm new to this forum. For the past few weeks I've been learning how to optimize my website. I just came across this forum and I thought I would finally ask for help. I'm sure someone knows the answer, but I feel like I have a set of tough questions. I created my website myself, design and optimization....and considering I wasn't even indexed in Google a few weeks ago and I couldn't even find myself in Yahoo (but I was and am indexed), I think I've done pretty well. I'm #75 in Google (it varies) for keyword "handmade jewelry", but in Yahoo, I was all the way up to #220, then I started to plumit in the rankings during the last week. I'm now at #813 in Yahoo for "handmade jewelry"! So, I have a few questions:
My website:
http://www.kincaidesigns.com
1. I didn't know that submitting your site to a Search engine frequently was considered spamming. I just thought that I was supposed to submit my site whenever I make significant changes. So, I submitted my site 3 times in 2 weeks of major optomization changes. Oops...I learned the hard way. So, I'm not blacklisted, but...was I skipped or punished? Will I recover during the next crawl? Or is this the "no one really knows" answer?
2. I made changed to all the file names and titles to all my pages, but the new names aren't showing up in the Yahoo index...only the old ones. I've submitted my new site maps. Actually, I didn't have site maps until a few weeks ago, so the site maps are ONLY for the new pages. Why aren't my old pages disappearing and the new pages being indexed?
3. Links- What is considered a "relevant" link. You can see my link page at:
http://www.kincaidesigns.com/Links.html
As you can see I cover a wide range of topics, all of which one of my customers might be interested in. Are my topic considered "relevant" or are only "jewelry" sites considered relevant?
4. Links continued: Should I try and exchange links with the #1 ranked site for keywork "handmade jewelry"? Do I need to bother with "linking to as many sites as possible" or will 1 highly ranked site boost me significantly. At first I didn't want to exchanwas being original, but it turns out I'm not the only one. I'll try and makge with competitors, but I'm starting to think about letting the customer choose who they want to buy from.
5. I have a blog,
http://unique-handmade-jewelry.blogspot.com
The only problem at this point is- It isn't indexed yet. I just started this blog and I'm hoping it helps me out. I'm just stating that I have a blog becuase I don't want anyone to suggest for me to get a blog to help me. I have one, I'm just waiting for it to be indexed.
6. As you can see from my scripts (if you've taken a look), I've named my image files, alt names, page titles (unique and different), meta tags, I've named rules and tables, etc. I feel like I've done all that I can....I've even studied my competition and as far as optomization goes, I've blown them away. (Except they have a huge number of incoming links and link exchanges...which I'm working on.)
Any suggestions or encouragement? What is the difference between Google and Yahoo crawlers? Why I am I 813 in Yahoo and staying at 75 in Google. Google obviously likes what I've done...how can I make both crawlers happy?
I'm not breaking the rules (that I know of), I'm not trying to be sneaky, and I've worked hard on optimizing my site. I'm made a lot of design compromises...which is hard for me because I'm a graphic designer (during the day, jewelry designer at night).....help!
Thanks! I can use any help you all can give me!
