Day 15 Assignment, Bootcamp #4 - Blogging Part 3

[JaJeJems]

hi Fairy C - what an awesome blog! what can I say??

[Fairy Cardmaker]

http://www.fairycardmaker.com/2012/10/holiday-style-boost-with-seaglass.html

Here is the link for the others.  Little people have gone home.  Extended family is in stable condition.  I need a nap!

[Jewelry by Kat]

Awesome blog!     When I grow up I want to write like you.    In your blog I really got to know Janice and Jessica and their store is featured beautifully...............Kat

[Red Rock Designs]

Fairy C, great blog! I loved how you tied it into upcoming holiday parties...which definately makes it relevant and holiday dress up can be very different for family parties & work events.

The blog flows very nicely, transitioning from womens jewelry to mens, and including background info on both artists and how they contribute (who makes what).  Good choice of photos too.  Well done.

[iCraft Admin]

Here are a few comments from my review.

1. JaJeJems -  https://icraftgifts.com/blog/reach-out-and-touch-someone-with-a-handmade-greeting-card-406.php
Great post! very informative with all 3 product Key Phrases incorporated into the links.

2. Fairy Cardmaker - http://www.fairycardmaker.com/2012/10/holiday-style-boost-with-seaglass.html
Very nice post! I enjoyed reading it. I feel like I am getting to know everyone better  

One note - Just so you know, when you link multiple times to the same page, only first link counts. So the anchor text on the first link is the most important. I don't think it will hurt, but it will not help to link to the same page with multiple anchor texts. I'd probably try not to overdo it. Especially, don't use very generic terms like "bracelets" when you link to a page that's been optimized for "Seaglass Jewellery".

3. Delightful Suds - https://icraftgifts.com/blog/more-than-one-colour-parachute-404.php
It's a nice post. However, you haven't used any of Bibi's primary keywords in your article, as anchor text to link to her optimized pages.
You link to one product in your post "stitched bracelet", but that's not the page that Bibi optimized.

Her 3 optimized products pages are:
Agate bracelet, Floating bead necklace and chain maille bracelet.
It's ok to link to other products in your article, but the main idea behind these articles was to link to those optimized pages.

4. Jewelry by Kat - https://icraftgifts.com/blog/there-is-magic-in-that-silver-405.php
Nice post, a bit on a shorter side, could use a couple more images... But you've managed to incorporate 2 product links with good anchor text into your article, so that's good.

5. Silver Workshop - http://www.silverworkshop.ca/beaded-charm-bracelets-cha-cha-bracelets-jewelry-by-kat
Good article, but also feels a bit short and missing personal photos. But that's just my personal feeling. Good anchor text and you've mentioned all of them, which is what we were aiming for.

6. Red Rock Designs - http://redrockdesigns.tumblr.com/post/33363886546/natural-handmade-soap-for-all-skin-types
2 out of 3 product links and a link to Marta's store - well done! The only thing I'd say again - this post also feels too short and for me it's missing personal photos.

One thing that I've noticed on almost all posts is missing Alt text on images. Alt text helps search engines to interpret images. It also makes images accessible to visually impaired users, that use special software to browse the web. On iCraft blog, you can enter alt text in the image property box.

[iCraft Admin]

Oh yeah, for those who posted on iCraft blog, we'll add Alt text on images for you, so you don't need to worry about your last post. Thanks!

[Silver Workshop]

Ok, thanks for the feedback, admin. And thanks to JaJeJems too, good points that I'll keep in mind for today's assignment!

I'll just mention quickly that I just saw the two three blog posts and here are my comments: Fairy Cardmaker, fantastic! You include so much information and the page looks wonderful. I really feel like I'm getting to know Janis and Jessica. Delightful Suds, I love how you open up about modern women and then go into the article about Bibi, it's  a great way to start. The one thing I might have liked to see is a picture of her work "above the fold", without having to scroll down, just to make sure we visually see right away what the post is about. JaJeJems, you also worked very hard and it shows. A great blog post with tons of information, and I love that sassy picture of Lisa! 

[iCraft Admin]

Great feedback, Silver Workshop! 
Yes, we have one hard working team here. Everyone did great with the last assignment 

[JaJeJems]

Admin,

I see where you can enter alt text when you put in an image but I am not clear what it is exactly? Would it be the product name or title?  Sometimes I feel  a  bit thick headed about all of this!  Must be an age thing!

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Admin, the bracelet link and the lampwork bead link are linked to a shop category and a shop section. Does that read as a generic shop link?

[iCraft Admin]

Hi JaJeJems,

Imagine you are describing image to a person who can't see - that's what the Alt text is for. If it's a product image, product Title is probably fine. If it's a picture of a person, mention their name, store name and location, like "Bibi, owner of jewelry store Red Rock Designs from Oakville, Canada".

Image Alt text helps with SEO, as it adds good Keywords to page text and allows your images to be found through Google image search (one more way to get traffic to your pages).

[iCraft Admin]

Hi Fairy Cardmaker,

This is actually not a simple question.

1. JaJeJems's store page is optimized for "Seaglass Jewellery", so other terms in anchor text technically don't matter. Her goal is to get as many links to her store that relate to "Seaglass Jewellery".
2. Like I said, only the very first link to a page matters and you have "Seaglass Jewellery" in it. So you are already helping JaJeJems in her quest for better rankings for this particular phrase "Seaglass Jewellery".
3. Link to a Collection on a store page is still a link to the same page.  It's mostly useful for users.
4. You had "Bracelets" as anchor text. "Seaglass Bracelets" would probably be a better term to use when you link to a page that's all about "Seaglass Jewellery".
However, it doesn't matter much, as those additional links don't do much from SEO perspective. So I'd worry more about users' view here. When people scan a page and see a link to "Bracelets", they don't know immediately what kind of Bracelets you are talking about. It could mean All Bracelets in the world. Anchor text usually helps us to set users' expectations.
5. It's good to develop good habits when linking to pages. Generic (one word) terms are almost never used as an anchor text.
6. With all this talk about optimization of anchor text, I just want to make sure you don't over-optimized pages either. (We are far from this btw!) However, you should know that Google's latest updates were targeting over-optimized pages - those that always link using same anchor text... so make sure you diversify your anchor text.... I've mentioned basic rules for Backlinks here.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Thanks.  That is a helpful explanation.