any "Seal the Deal" tips you can give after wedding cake tastings? - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by costumeczar 

the longer that you have your domain name the better your search results will be, so time is your friend. Google changed their search last year, and you could probably get somebetter results if you tweaked the text on your website some. Do you do your own website or do you have to have someone change things for you?

Yes I do - I have done everything I can on my end and have had this domain for several years now.  I've tweaked like crazy and I'm still buried by those that have been advertising with the Knot and Wedding Wire.  Google tells you that you need inbound links as the last piece of SEO that you can do for your website, so getting linked on blogs, having other vendors put your website link on their page, and advertising on major websites all help.  The last ditch thing I can do is Google adwords, which pretty much guarantees you 1st page placement, but I do not have the money for that!

Quote:

Originally Posted by -K8memphis 

 

i was already wondering how much your overhead is anyway in sf -- ouch

 

my son's out there in san jose area & previously in st helena

 

sky high out there!!!

LOL I feel like I've hijacked the OPs thread, so sorry OP!

Yes overhead for everything is obscene and getting worse every day.  I regularly get asked when I'm opening a storefront - I always respond "as soon as someone gives me $500,000".  That's NOT an exaggeration.  Any brick and mortar that has any chance of making it more then a year here in the city needs to have at least that much in the bank.  

I recently looked at a kiosk opportunity - they wanted $800 a month for (literally) a portable 15x10 greenhouse they bought at Home Depot and attached it to a commercial building.  It has no water, sink, bathroom, counters, light fixture, heat - nothing.  It was basically a glass walk-in closet.  It had one plug for electricity.  Not one outlet, one plug.  The door was a sliding glass door and it has no security for an entirely glass structure that sits right at the edge of the Tenderloin.  A neighborhood that is exactly as it sounds.  So yeah.  Don't even get me started on finding a decent flat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by costumeczar 


How much does adwords cost compared to the knot? You might be better off doing that to see if it helps before buying knot advertising.

Have you poked around in your competitions' keywords? Have you signed up for google places? Time for a quiz, but this could help the OP too.

Adwords in my area is too much and I'd rather not pay for clicks by other cake makers wanting to see my work or find my recipes.  

Yes I've dug on everyone's site for keywords.  But keywords don't mean as much anymore because of keyword stuffing and having the same keywords across multiple pages or across competition's pages.

I can't sign up for Google places because I don't have a physical address (unless I want to list my home).  I can't list the address of my kitchen because it doesn't have an address, it's on the decommissioned Navy base that can't get mail.  They have a PO box in Oakland.  It's also in a part of the city nobody ever goes (Hunter's Point) and a part of the city I do not want my business associated with.  Sadly Hunter's Point has a very, very bad reputation as a poverty stricken area, full of gangs and crime, and considered very dangerous.  Neighborhood association is everything here - if I put my neighborhood as HP I'd never get orders because of my price range, or I'd be getting a ton of inquiries from people that can't afford my cake (or a big jump in inquiries).

Anyway my situation is completely unique.  I wish I could do Google places.  That would help a bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FromScratchSF 

 

 

Anyway my situation is completely unique.  I wish I could do Google places.  That would help a bit.

that really stinks...Places is one way to get listed pretty high because they like having everything done through google. I have my home listed as my business address, though. It does cause some confusion when people don't bother to read the address to my office when I have appointments, but you could still list it and put "by appointment only."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Annabakescakes 


Oooh ooooh! Can you get a new p.o. Box in a good area?

YOU ARE A FREAKIN GENIUS.  Why didn't I think of that???????  OK, looking into that next week.

FromScratchSF,

I have had a listing on the knot for a couple years now and it has served me very well.  I am sure it does help that because of my location I am on 2 of their demographic areas.  Be sure to have brides review your knot profile.  Reviews help so much.

Also, I only get a couple leads directly through the knot but when I ask a bride where she found me (I always ask this at the consultation) about 1/3 tell me the knot.  And that is usually followed with "I was so impressed with your reviews".  At that time I tell them to remember that and whoever they pick as wedding vendors to please take the time after their wedding to leave reviews - if it meant something to them it will mean something to the next bride.  Some remember, some don't but I like to put the plug out there anyway.