Jun 28, 2007
New boat propeller design. Our client in Timaru has come up with a way to make the traditional boat propeller a whole lot more efficient, meaning faster boat speed, better fuel efficiency and less noise.We would love to see one, but the design is confidential.
A new domain
We launched the revamped site onto a new domain name www.radicalboatpropeller.com rather than the old New Zealand domain that didn't say anything about propellers (nzinvent.co.nz). Google ranks sites far easier when the search phrase is in the domain name. However, this will mean the new domain will need to wait out the sandbox period before starting to rank well, but the shift was an important one.Getting indexed
Before we started optimising content, we got the new domain online and loaded the existing content onto the new domain. After pointing a few links at the new website, Google indexed the site within a few days. We like to tell Google about new domains before doing anything else, as this gets the site out of the sandbox that little bit earlier.On-page SEO
Our client is seeking interest in his boat propeller design, rather than retailing propellers. We picked phrases such as 'boat propeller design', 'marine propellers', 'ship propellers', 'outboard propellers' for the site and optimised each page accordingly.We also targeted the misspelling 'propellor' and registered the domain name with the misspelling. Having made the spelling mistake a few times ourselves while putting the site together, we figured others would be doing the same (which our keyword research also confirmed).
When optimising content, we ensure that titles remain shorter than 71 characters and meta descriptions less than 156 characters - the maximum that will show in a Google result before being shortened.
CSS changes
While we were in there, we couldn't resist turning the site into a CSS based design. SEO experts have mixed opinions as to whether this helps at all for SEO, but we consider it important for other reasons. Part of SEO is making sure the website converts visitors to leads, and part of that is designing a site that looks good, is accessible, and has all those other qualities that people expect from modern websites.We will be keeping an eye on rankings for this new site, and expect it to start ranking reasonably quickly for the less competitive phrases.
3 Comments
Dale - Apr 17, 2010
When you have multiple domains as in this article, how are you handling the extras for best SEO?
I see that nzinvent.co.nz and the misspelled domain redirect to the new domain. Have you experimented with "entry-page" domains, parking the domain as opposed to creating a new account with 301 redirect, or just using a paid-for redirect service from a registrar? Any method provide a clear advantage SEO-wise?
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Shane Wallace - seo consultants - Jul 31, 2008
I have been having a look through some of your case studies, your providing really good straight forward easy to implement advice to small and medium business owners. Well done - Kudos to searchmasters.