# Free Website Advice



## Clayton_L (Jul 5, 2011)

I need a break from a big project I've been working on, so if you have a question about your website, go ahead and ask it. My full time job is coding, but I also do a fair bit of marketing and strategy as well. I'm not here to sell anything, just offering a bit of help.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

seo? how to better your sites seo?


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## Clayton_L (Jul 5, 2011)

Realtor said:


> seo? how to better your sites seo?


SEO is certainly a giant topic. The super short answer is to get links to your site that send visitors on their own. In Google's (or Bing's) ideal world, their algorithm would reflect the chance that a random web surfer would end up on your site through links. The exception being, links that a webmaster has tagged as "no-follow" which tells the search engines not to count those links. You'll see a lot of links that you can create yourself, like forums posts, twitter updates, etc are no-follow.

I recommend this guide as a starting place for anyone wanting to learn seo. Also, if you own a local business, be sure to research 'local seo'. Local seo is all about improving your listing in the 6 or 10 address listings that Google will sometimes return with a search.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

thanks,
Jim


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## slabhunter (Jan 21, 2012)

Could you recommend a near-idiot proof internet store set-up?

I'm finalizing the details for marketing customized apparel directed to fishermen's needs. Quite naturally, there are a number of fields needed for such a wide variety of factors and for a short time, I can advertise for free on a major (50k+) paid member site.

I'd appreciate any input and advice you can offer. Tia.


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## Clayton_L (Jul 5, 2011)

A few years ago I would have recommended ProStores. Lately, I really like Shopify. There really are a lot of simliar services, and most have pretty good reviews. If your website really catches on, you might switch to a custom made solution some day, but starting out I would stick with the hosted solutions like those I mentioned. Also, remember that if you want to add more features to your websites, like a blog, you can have your main www.whatever.com site hosted at a $90/yr host like HostGator and then use shopify for your store at shop.whatever.com


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## Clayton_L (Jul 5, 2011)

I can't stress this enough. If you're a local business, claim your business listing with Google and get at least 5 reviews on there. We're seeing owners doubling the number of calls and website visits they get from local searchers.


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