Summary of Website Analysis and Desired

PEDDLERSPACK.COM
WEBSITE ANALYSIS AND UPDATE PROPOSAL
This is a summary of interviews with owner, Joyce Kurtz, and employees of The Peddler’s
Pack in Beaverton, Oregon and proposed changes to renovate the website to include a new
password protected subsite for wholesale, a new look and feel, search engine optimization,
increased tutorial functionality for customers, and incorporating social media.
PEDDLERSPACK.COM
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REGAIN
WEBSITE ANALYSIS AND
CONTROL
UPDATE PROPOSAL
OF YOUR
Develop a totally new layout and CSS for the existing
content
Mentor questions about the existing site that need to be
answered:
Can we change the look, feel, and some functionality
while for the most part keeping the existing Javascript
intact?
WEB
PRESENCE
Strategy for
reinvigorating
peddlerspack.com
If yes, proceed with all aspects of designing and readying
content.
If no, what would it take to make sure that it is still truly
secure? Are there any almost OTS ecommerce software
solutions or would this require $$$ in custom
development?
If no, reconsider WordPress and start researching eCommerce plug-ins in earnest.
Organize external website content to:







Comply with accessibility laws
Maximize search engine optimization
Be easier to see and find products
Be more educational for customers (add tutorials via
YouTube)
Integrate social media (especially Pinterest and Facebook
accounts)
Develop product kits for the featured projects
Develop a wholesale sub-site accessed through the lower
navigation
Organize internal website content to:


Make the form interface for entering new product
information larger (the same or larger than the edit page)
Add a field for tags and for company information
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Inspiration Sites
GENERAL FUNCTIONALITY
Art Impressions (Artimpressions.com) (not-so-exciting design, thorough metadata)
Hero Arts (Heroarts.com) On the homepage, the lower navigation contains the link to the retailer site.
JustRiteStampers.com had some features that I noted to avoid. The main one was that a slide show
should provide adequate time for visitors to read the text and admire the artwork. The images in their
slideshow are only shown for 2 seconds; we decided that 4 seconds was the minimum amount of time
we would consider.
Product Performers (productperformers.com) is a distributor for many paper arts companies, so all of
their customers are wholesale customers. This is an excellent example for a wholesale e-commerce
site. It uses email address for retailer log-in and provides an account dashboard that includes view
orders. Product Performers is using a Magento Ecommerce platform called Ultimento.
Tim Holtz is using WordPress. He is not selling anything from his site directly—product
inquiries/ordering takes you to the Simon Says Stamp site.
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Inspiration Sites
PAGE DESIGN
The Funkie Junkie on blogspot had a collage header and a parchment background that we liked.
Becca Feeken’s site AmazingPaperGrace.com has an elegant look and feel that appeals to Joyce.
I think that the Peddler’s Pack image has really been impacted by Karen Meder’s artwork. I think that
having seasonal backgrounds featuring Karen’s background stamps would be a wonderful idea.
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Inspiration Sites
WEBISODES/YOUTUBE TUTORIAL CHANNELS
PaperWishes.com in Canby, Oregon has a beautiful “Webisodes” page to display their tutorial videos. It
looks like a Hollywood premier. (Paper Wishes also offers “MoneySaver” kits of the items featured in
the videos for a very small discount –2 to 3% off. Joyce is considering doing something similar.)
Jennifer McGuire creates great YouTube videos.
Kristina Werner also has great videos (541).
SimonSaysStamp.com has 270 videos, e.g. Embossed Window Card.” We noted that they have well
known people create content for them. Other notes: advanced search option on navbar, e-gift cards,
wishlist (Joyce nixed this idea), my account with history. Their videos are not promoted on their site.
Strategies discussed for filming videos:
Joyce will record most of the videos along with other instructors from the store.
Manicures? Reference Kristina Werner…
Rings a distraction? Reference Tim Holtz
Close up views of the mat surface should include a Peddler’s Pack contact info header similar to
ChiknScratch.
Music in the intro—reference Tim Holtz—maybe 3 seconds.
Add text to the webisodes. Title, date, instructor, YouTube channel name…make transcript PDFs
available on website—that will make everyone happy to be able to print.
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
INTRODUCTION
Google and other search engines are constantly trying to improve their algorithms in order to provide
the best data possible in their Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Google Analytics provides some
recommendations to improve SEO and refers visitors to a site which provides an analysis of a website’s
SEO. Here is the analysis of www.peddlerspack.com:
www.checkpagerank.net gives peddlerspack.com 3 out of 10.
External Backlinks: 239
Referring Domains: 63
Backlinks EDU: 0
Backlinks GOV: 0
PR Quality: Weak
DMOZ.org listed: Yes
Google directory listed: Yes
Yahoo! directory listed: not listed
Domain age: 16 years 9 months 17 days (as of July 2, 2013). Whois notes it was created
September 14, 1996.
Domain history? Yes
www.prchecker.info also gives peddlerspack.com 3 out of 10.
To put this into perspective for the stamping industry: heroarts.com received 4/10 and
paperparachute.com scored 1/10.
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SEO STRATEGY
LINKS/BACKLINKS
Objective: Increase the number of valuable one-way or two-way links.
How do we achieve that?
Why not write a Wikipedia article?
Links from YouTube Channel, Facebook, Pinterest…
Why not have a very small trial pay-per-click campaign in some online stamp community site?
(Rubberstampmadness, Cloth Paper Scissors? Split Coast Stampers?)
We could also send samples of new stamps to tastemakers in the stamping/cardmaking world in hopes
that they might mention them favorably or feature them on their own blogs or websites.
Joyce said the Peddler’s Pack does give sample products to bloggers to create cards for them. “One of
the ladies that is doing that for us is coming to the end of her contract. We should form another design
team. The design team would be made up of stamping and card-making bloggers who agree to create
a certain number of card samples and post them on their blogs crediting the makers of the products
that they use. In return, each month we would send the stamps that we would like them to feature.” (N:
This could create quality backlinks.)
Searching for Peddler’s Pack on Google, I found many sites showing off cards made using Copic
markers and Peddler’s Pack stamps designed by Karen Meder. Here are a few:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ8qP_CaHCU (YouTube video from a stamp shop)
http://stacysscrapshack.typepad.com/stacys-scrap-shack/2011/09/peddlers-pack-backgroundstamps.html
http://bellacartaatartnsoul.blogspot.com/2011/04/winning-combo-peddlers-pack-paper.html
http://jans-gonestampin.blogspot.com/2012/03/peddlers-pack-apple-background.html
http://lindamariedesigns.wordpress.com/tag/peddlers-pack/ (Copic Crafters Yahoo group)
http://pinterest.com/windygem/cards-peddler-s-pack/ (mostly Copic cards)
blog.papermonkey.org/index/peddlerss_pack/ (snowflake stamp/revisit and check out her links)
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Interesting note:
Yahoo pulled up the Creativity Central page:
The four pages listed here in the navigation above “Creativity Central” are shown as residing at
peddlerspack.conquent.com.
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SEO STRATEGY (CONTINUED)
OPTIMIZE YOUR META TAGS: TITLE, DESCRIPTION, KEYWORDS
Current content for Peddlerspack.com/:
<title>Welcome to Peddlers Pack</title>
There are no metatags on the index page.
Current content for Peddlerspack.com/catdef.cqs:
<title> Peddlers Pack-Products</title>
There are no metatags on the products page.
Current content for Peddlerspack.com/project_list.cqs:
<title> Peddlers Pack-Products</title> (Yes, it really says products.)
There are no metatags.
Current content for Peddlerspack.com/catalog.cqs:
<title> Peddlers Pack-Products</title> (Yes, it also says products.)
There are no metatags.
Current content for Peddlerspack.com/schedule.cqs:
<title> Peddlers Pack-Products</title> (Yes, it still says products.)
There are no metatags. Note: page links to an external calendar PDF on a different
site: peddlerspack.webs.com/calendar.pdf
Current content for Peddlerspack.com/newsletter.cqs:
<title> Peddlers Pack-Products</title> (Yes, it still says products.)
There are no metatags. Note: this is a page that does get frequent updates.
It also has an addition navigation bar dealing with card contests, “creativity
central” (home), blog, and class calendar.
Current content for Peddlerspack.com/find.html:
<title> Peddlers Pack-Find Us</title>
There are no metatags on the About Us page.
Proposed:
Add a favicon. Title each page appropriately. Include an appropriate description and tags for each
page. Google may be downplaying the role of the metatags due to spamming, but it is important that
the true scope of the inventory and classes is represented in the website content. Examples: art
stamps, paper, ribbons, paper punches, stencils, dies, embellishments, Copic Markers, custom
stamps and classes, etc. See Appendix A for more papercrafting industry related tag examples.
(Product Performers)
(rubberstamp idea taken)
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SEO STRATEGY (CONTINUED)
SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION
Joyce would like to incorporate social media into the new site especially Pinterest and Facebook
(possibly Instagram as well). Every stamp, YouTube video, and card sample should have a “Pin me” or
“Like This” opportunity.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peddlers-Pack/159045944126099
A FaceBook account was opened, but not developed. There are 37 followers/likes and 16 “been
there”…
Social media use of the Peddler’s Pack name by the other Peddler’s Pack businesses:
http://thepeddlerspack.tumblr.com/ (by the Peddler’s Pack Etsy store owner)
https://twitter.com/peddlerspack (by the soap making Peddler’s Pack)
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APPENDIX A: SAMPLE OF METADATA FROM ART IMPRESSIONS
<meta name="WebsiteSpark" content="hx7wyh3ohb" />
<META NAME="AUTHOR" CONTENT="Sam Striano">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Copyright" CONTENT="Copyright 2000-2010 Art Impressions. All
Rights Reserved.">
<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="ALL,NOIMAGECLICK">
<META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" >
<meta name="keywords" content="stamp companies, Art impressions rubber stamps,
Artimpressions rubber stamps, Art impression art stamps, Artimpressions art stamps,
rubber stamps for sale, rubberstamps for sale, unmounted stamps for sale,
rubberstamping, unmounted rubber stamps, unmounted art stamps, rubber stamping
supplies, rubberstamping supplies, h.a.l.o.s., halos, hook tape, loop tape,
rollataq, rubberstamp accessory, rubber stamp accessory, rubber stamp accessories,
rubberstamp accessory, rubberstamp accessories, collageing, collage stamps,
artistic rubber stamps, arts and crafts, craft rubber stamps, craft stamps, craft
stamping , fabric stamps, fabric stamping, tamps, stencils, stationery, decorating,
card examples, stamping tips, stamping techniques, stamp pads, embossing powder,
markers, Memories, custom stamps, retail quality stampers, mounted, unmounted,
supplies, ink, scissors, edgers, wood mounts, foam mounting cushion, alphabet
numbers sets, letters, cutting ,craft knife, mat liquid applique, Glue,1/8 1/4 1/2
1/8 hole punch, circle cutter, corner rounder, sponges, stamp alignment tool,
online stamping, Salem Oregon, Portland, Keizer, Bend, Eugene, Oregon art supply
stores, small Oregon business, stamping supplies Oregon">
<meta name="description" content="Art Impressions is your one stop shop on the web
for rubber stamping supplies and discounted rubber stamps. We also carry art
stamps, rubber stamps for sale, rubberstamps for sale, unmounted stamps for sale,
rubberstamping, unmounted rubber stamps, unmounted art stamps, rubber stamping
supplies, rubberstamping supplies, h.a.l.o.s., halos, hook tape, loop tape,
rollataq, rubberstamp accessory, rubber stamp accessory, rubber stamp accessories,
rubberstamp accessory, rubberstamp accessories, collageing, collage stamps,
artistic rubber stamps, arts and crafts, craft rubber stamps, craft stamps, craft
stamping , fabric stamps, fabric stamping, tamps, stencils, stationery, decorating,
card examples, stamping tips, stamping techniques, stamp pads, embossing powder,
markers, Memories, custom stamps, retail quality stampers, mounted, unmounted,
supplies, ink, scissors, edgers, wood mounts, foam mounting cushion, alphabet
numbers sets, letters, cutting ,craft knife, mat liquid applique, Glue,1/8 1/4 1/2
1/8 hole punch, circle cutter, corner rounder, sponges, and stamp alignment tools">
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APPENDIX B: OTHER PEDDLER’S PACK WEBSITES
http://thepeddlerspack.wix.com/the-peddlers-pack (made using “Create Your Own Site for Free”)
Under construction sign at thepeddlerspack.com:
Not to be confused with the alpaca ranch website, www.thepeddlerspack.com:
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