why is 311s.org so hard to find?

[S Allen]

Glad this issue was pointed out to me. I found two extensions(mods) I can add to help improve this situation. One is SEO Meta Description mod where I can add meta tags to the PHP pages in the forum to make it more search engine friendly. The other is a Google Analytics add-on. I signed up for a free Google Analytics account and will install both extensions tonight. Thanks Aidan for bringing this to my attention and others for the suggestions. This should definitely improve the visibility of 311s.org on the internet. We can always use new members.

Steve

[S Allen]

The changes I had already made have done pretty much nothing at this point. I decided to bring the old 311s.org html homepage back and not redirect to the phpBB3. This all has to do with the lack of visibility for 311s.org while doing searches of the internet. The php is not at all search engine friendly. Search engines like html/asp. I brought the homepage back to help promote the search engine rankings. You can still just go to http://www.311s.org/phpBB3 to get directly to the forum and bypass the old site. Your choice really. And the best coice for your mobile devices. The old site is here to stay. Before I redirected a search of 311s.org brought the site up immediately. Not so now. Datsun Roadster search used to at least bring 311s.org to the top five. That is not the case any longer. I also found a script that added a bunch of bots to the forum and gives them minimal persmissions so they should be able to index threads. My choice over a year ago to completely remove the html and go strictly php was not a good one in hindsight. I do this for the fun and is no way a money making proposistion but I would like to get back to some better web visibilty. Word of mouth and fliers work but a better search ranking certainly will not hurt anything. Thanks to those for the suggestions-very much appreciated. Time will tell if this did any good. Cheers.

Steve

[spl310]

I like the home page.

[garth]

I like the home page.

Ditto

[Dave_Car_Guy]

We can all make it pop up more by doing searches regularly and clicking on the link, right? Google is ultimately a meritocracy where the most relevant answer eventually can rise to the top (at least once you ignore the advertising results).

Every day I will search for Datsun Roadster or Datsun Forum and I will click on the 311s result.

[S Allen]

I did a Google search today and 311s.org is finally coming up. Even Datsun Sports Roadster brings it up. So-think we are looking better. Going back to the original website helped quite a bit.

Steve

[AidanDawn2000]

Thank you Steve for working the magic! This morning a search of "Datsun Roadster forum" had 311s 5th or 6th and now we're TOP! And first page for "datsun roadster"

[S Allen]

Thanks for pointing the issue out Aidan. I really was clueless about it.

Steve

[SDkvrd]

home page login now is different. There is now one more "step" involved

[S Allen]

Guess I do not understand the additional step. The forum did not change and you can go directly there by using this link Forum and bypass the homepage altogether. There should not be any additional login or step. Need more information to understand the problem if there is one. I do not see it but my eye sight is not what it once was. Thanks.

Steve