So, I had my sitemap.xml file recreated (I like http://www.xml-sitemaps.com) and I resubmitted today to Yahoo, Bing and Google and we will see if it makes any difference in the next month.  For now, my SEO rankings for the search term ‘Seattle Web Designer’ are as follows:

• Google = Page 6 (down from page 5 last month)
• Bing = Page 8 (up from page 9 last month)
• Yahoo = Page 8 (up from page 9 last month)

I get excited about domain names and up until recently, could get a domain name search sparked from a random conversation, TV show, movie line, dream, thought, bumper sticker,.. the list goes on.  Now, I’m not a recovering addict, I love and embrace my addiction and if anything, have been neglecting it lately due to all of the cool stuff I’ve been working on at my day job.

Let’s be clear, there is a difference between being a URL addict vs. a cyber squatter.  I don’t buy domain names in the hopes that someday I can sell them at a greater price.  I also don’t buy them with the intent of putting a bunch of Google ads and making $5 a month off of random searches.  The reason I buy them is simple, I have an idea for a website that I’d like to make someday, and I want to get the domain name that fits while I still can.

Here’s a rundown of what I own right now:

• campaigntreasuryservices.com (production client site)
• flogbots.com (future project)
• fonttest.com (future project)
• globalthermonuclearwar.net (production project site)
• golfcheater.com (future project)
• golfzombie.com (future project)
• greggrichter.com (production)
• hexcolor.info (future project)
• mattcordier.com (production client site)
• moneygreenleathersofa.net (future project)
• nerdalerts.org (future project)
• nerdfight.org (future project)
• nerdytee.com (future project)
• originalpong.com (future project)
• richterwebdesign.com (production)
• richterwebdesign.net (production)
• richterwebdesign.org (production and also future project)
• seattlewebdesigner.biz (future project)
• thechicagodrummer.com (production client site)
• urladdict.com (future ironic project)
• websiterequirementstemplate.com (future project)
• yulelogs.net (future project)
• yulelogs.org (future project)
• Plus about 10 more that I am not ready to share (personal sites, sites in production, etc)

Feed the addiction

Gregg

Search on ‘Seattle Web Designer’ and http://richterwebdesign.com comes in with the following rankings:

• Google – Page 10
• Yahoo – Page 20
• Bing – Page 21

Now, don’t get me wrong.  SEO results for my clients are very important to me and I implement all the necessary actions when creating a client website to promote organic Search Engine Optimization.  Ex, if you google, ‘Chicago Drummer’, you will get the site I created http://thechicagodrummer.com on the 1st page of search results.  Granted that is a pretty damn nice URL, but landing on the 1st page of Google search results is nothing short of the Holy Grail. That URL is actually an alternate landing page to the site http://mattcordier.com and all the links within thechicagodrummer.com will send you on to Matt’s main site.  A deliberate effort to increase site visibility.

I am fully committed to the future of Richter Web Design and I see myself 5 years from now making the transition of Full-Time Starbucks partner / Part-Time RWD to Full-Time RWD / Part-Time Starbucks partner (I’ll work there as long as they’ll have me). So then, perhaps the time for me to be making efforts and improvements on my SEO growth is now.  Why wait until I want/need those results to be on page 1?

So my goal is simple.  By 12/31/2011, I want richterwebdesign.com listed somewhere in the first 3 pages of search results for each of the major search engines listed above, specifically for the term ‘Seattle Web Designer’.  And, I’m going to do it ‘organically’.

I have a pretty solid understanding of how to make this happen.  Some obvious methods and perhaps some that others might not be considering.  To be clear, this is not an SEO blog.  This is an SEO call-to-action on a web design blog.

So the last day of each month, I am going to post my latest search result rankings. Also, I will make periodic updates (probably a couple per month) to the following list of steps I have implemented to reach my goal.

The list is…

1. Strict valid xhtml mark-up. I do this for my sites anyway, but with a recent RWD redesign and a few items I need to shore up (like an alt stylesheet for IE) this is at the top of my list. To truly validate your code, use the w3.org validator.
2. Register your websites with the 3 major Search Engines (added 2/13/2011). Simple and effective.  Read my post here for the full details on ‘how-to’.
3. Blog, blog and then blog some more (added 3/27/2011). The more you write, the more relevant you become.  Oh yeah, good content is a must.

If you’ve got some specific SEO suggestions to consider, post them below.

Gregg

Rumor has it, that if you “like” the RWD Facebook page and send it to all of your friends, Bill Gates will send you $100.

Richter Web Design FB Page

Gregg – http://richterwebdesign.com

2 weeks ago, I had a very important meeting at my day job where a number of us gathered in a room, ate large quanities of pizza and watched the 1983 smash hit, WarGames.  By the end of the movie, I came away with 3 key pieces of knowledge:

1. Ally Sheedy looked pretty damn cute in 1983
2. The Seattle skyline in 1983 was just a touch different
3. I should… no I must build a website to pay homage to this movie, and to give me an opportunity to work on my ActionScript skills & boost my SEO (or so that’s how I justified it)

That night I purchased the domain, http://www.globalthermonuclearwar.net to which my wife asked, how many domains do we own now?  A lot… we own a lot.

Once I put together a baseline for what I wanted on the site, I found an outstanding tutorial on how to build a Tic-Tac-Toe game using ActionScript.  Perfect!

15-20ish hours later, I built it and here it is.  Simple, all Flash, as true to the movie as I could get it with the time I allotted myself, and to avoid potential cease & desist letters, ad-free.

A few points about the site:

1. All the code validates strict (which can be a pain in the arse for Flash sites)
2. All iDevice users (of which I am one) are auto-redirected here via this handy little JavaScript
3. The sitemap.xml is registered with Bing, Google, & Yahoo so you can easily find it again in the future if you happen to forget the URL, or your bookmarks get blown away, or someone changes your home pages to something else.
4. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun.

Lastly, if you lived under a rock in 1983 or go deaf anytime there is a conversation about 1980′s pop-culture, and are therefore unaware of this movie, or if you somehow forgot it’s awesomeness, check out the YouTube trailer below.

Gregg – http://richterwebdesign.com