So considering that I already made my first sale, I should probably check where my website is ranking. How do I do that? Well, I could type in lots of search terms into google, then manually go through, page by page, until I find my website. This would be the most accurate way to do it. It’s also incredibly tedious, so I use an online ranking checker.
My favourite is a Firefox extension – SEO Rank Checker (you can download it here: http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker/ )
It’s accurate, quick and simple. Essentially you type in your url and a list of keywords you are trying to rank for, and it will run away and check google, yahoo and bing and tell you where you are ranking. You can also set it up to check Google Australia, which for me is obviously more useful, as most of my customers will be Australian.
So where is my pilates dvd site ranking?
Firstly, lets go back and see where it was ranking at the beginning of December. These are the keywords I was targeting and this is the report I ran with Ranking Checker on December 3rd, 2011.
| Domain | Keyword | Google.com.au position |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | best pilates dvds |
86 |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | buy pilates dvd |
58 |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | buy pilates dvds | - |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | pilates dvd | - |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | pilates dvds |
80 |
And today, 7th Jan 2012 – just over a month later.
| Domain | Keyword | Google.com.au position |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | best pilates dvd |
23 |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | best pilates dvds |
10 |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | buy pilates dvd |
7 |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | buy pilates dvds |
8 |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | pilates dvd |
16 |
| http://pilatesdvdsonline.com.au | pilates dvds |
18 |
So I’ve reached page 1 for “buy pilates dvd”, “buy pilates dvds” and “best pilates dvds”. I’m on page 2 for “pilates dvd” and “pilates dvds”. And Page 3 for “best pilates dvd”.
Not spectacular, but an incredible improvement in only a month with minimal link building work. My website is much more visible than I realised, and I should have been checking! Also, January is the time of the New Year’s Resolution, so I should have realised this was a good marketing opportunity. Many many people resolve to get fitter, and use fitness DVDs to do it. Another lesson learned.
The next thing I need to do is check Google Analytics, to see which pages/sources are bringing in the traffic.
I suspect I won’t get any more orders until I make the website look more professional and trustworthy tho. And it’s time that I tested the order process thoroughly and made sure it all works as it should. Those will be my next steps.