Developing a Website and Blog for One of the Most Important Men in My Life - My Dad

Back in the car business!

I thought when I finished being the Internet Operations Manager for the Nissan dealership in Santa Fe, New Mexico that I was out of the car business for good.

But, alas, developing a website and blog for my dad involves getting back into cars.

Dad has been rebuilding, repairing, designing, racing, tinkering with, altering, and helping others with their cars since he was a small child. He’s now in his early 80’s. For that last 30 years or so he’s been buying and selling antique engine parts for Ford Motor Company vehicles – Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury.

Until now, it’s been mostly a hobby. Most of his sales happen through the Antique Automobile Club of America’s meets in Hershey, PA (probably the largest and best known), Charlotte, NC, and Maggie Valley, NC. He also is often referred by word of mouth.

Now we’re taking it global with an online presence.

Researching Keywords for Website

As with any new online presence project, I start with research. What are people searching for online that he is offering? That means what keywords are people using to find the products he offers.

There are many free tools out there, but my “weapon” of choice is a paid software called Market Samurai: http://bit.ly/cqpUdh

With this business, there are many things people might type in to try and find auto parts for their antique car or truck.

Some options include antique car parts, classic car parts, old car parts, etc.

Choosing a Domain Name

After typing several choices into Market Samurai and letting it spit out the magic numbers telling me which one of the choices far outweigh the others, we started brainstorming domain names.

You see the domain name is crucial in your online plan for market domination. With Market Samurai’s help, I determined that Classic Car Parts was our best choice. Of course, that domain was already taken – as most obviously “good” domain names are. So are many other variations.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box. As an Industrial Engineer, that’s what I’m trained to do in order to solve a problem.

I remembered this website I used several years ago to get a replacement top for my Geo Tracker.

~~~~~ Side Story ~~~~

Several years ago I was working with a client who was struggling financially. She was great as an office manager/assistant, a service I needed. And I could help her heal the past and move forward in life. So, we made an agreement to trade my services for hers.

Suddenly she found herself moving to Florida. She had already done a couple of sessions with me but had not begun helping me in the office.

She needed to do something in exchange for my services and did not have time to do the office work we had agreed on. So she called me one day and said, “How would you like my car for $250?” Now even if the thing didn’t run, I could probably get $250 out of it. So I agreed.

For the ridiculously low price of $250, I got a great little Geo Tracker. It was perfect for bopping around Santa Fe.

It only had a couple of problems.  First, she was a smoker and the car wreaked of cigarettes. Second, the canvas roof needed to be replaced. So I got some great stuff from the auto parts store to clean the carpet and upholstery and eliminate the odor. And then I went online in search of a replacement top.

First I visited Geo. They wanted $1400 – $1500 for the canvas top. Yeah right! I paid $250 for the whole vehicle. I wasn’t about to spend that much on the roof.

Through google searching I found Tops4Less. I got the replacement canvas top for $250 and it was made of superior materials to Geo’s. I was oh so impressed with my manifesting ability. A great little vehicle for $500.

Funny thing is, I bought that top many years ago and I still remember the name of the site. Hmmm. Why? Because something about Tops4Less is seriously memorable. I think it’s the 4 in the middle. I don’t know for sure, but I know after all these years I have no trouble remembering that name.

~~~ End of Site Story ~~~

Remembering the site with the easy to remember name, I chose ClassicParts4Cars.com. It’s clever. It has the term classic car parts built right in. And it was available.

What you name your site makes a big difference in your search engine rankings.

Before this website, Magnificent U, I had a blog called DebbieShelor.com. I only went by “Debbie” for a little while after moving to Virginia. Many people there knew me by that name so I tried to become that person again. It really didn’t work and I returned to Takara soon after embracing Debbie again.

However, at the time, If you typed in Debbie Shelor, that blog would come up first in the search results. It was not because it was my biggest website. Far from it. It was not because it was my oldest website. Not even close. It was not because it was my website with the highest page rank (PR). Again, many of my other sites are significantly larger, older, and have higher page rank. All of those are things the search engines take into consideration when deciding which sites get listed first in their rankings when you do a search.

What this site has that the others don’t is the term “Debbie Shelor” in the domain name.

Keep that in mind before you put up your site or blog.

Visit this link for help with web design, search engine optimization, social media, and more.

Bestselling author Debbie Takara Shelor signature

Return from the Developing a Website and Blog for One of the Most Important Men in My Life – My Dad page to the Magnificent U Online Success Home Page

4 replies
  1. niemiecki Szczecin
    niemiecki Szczecin says:

    Great publish. I had been checking out regularly this website using this program . impressed! Extremely valuable facts in particular the remaining period :) I personally cope with these kinds of facts much. I’m trying to find this kind of info for a long time. Many thanks as well as of good fortune.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Takara Shelor
Follow Me