Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum A Different Kind of Piano Ranking

Some more interesting data.
Shows what page of results we show up on for specific search terms using specific states.

I did this because some people in the industry were trying to decide what the value would be in advertising on Piano World (hello, read this thread and you should be able to answer that question).<table cellpadding="2" border="1" valign="top" width="550">
<tr><td valign="top" colspan="4">Chart Shows What Results Page Piano World Shows Up On for a Given Search Term</td></tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" align="center">Keyword(s)</td><td valign="top" colspan="3" align="center">Search Engine Page Results</td>
</tr><tr><td></td>
<td valign="top" align="center">Google</td>
<td valign="top" align="center">MSN</td>
<td valign="top" align="center">Yahoo</td>
</tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano dealers CT</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano dealers NY</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano dealers NC</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano dealers IL</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano dealers CA</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano dealers FL</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano dealers DC</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano tuners CT</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano tuners CA</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano tuners NY</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano movers VA</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano movers NY</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">-</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano movers MA</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano manufacturers</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">-</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano movers TX</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">-</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano movers NH</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">-</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano movers FL</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">-</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano teachers NY</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano teachers CA</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">-</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano forums</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">buying a piano</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">-</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">How old is my piano?</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">piano actions</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td><td valign="top" align="center">1</td>
</tr></table>

Note that we show up on the first page of results in Google and Yahoo for every one of these search terms (and many more)!
Ranking results check was conducted today, January 25, 2007

wow...

this is intimidating! I started hanging out in the Digital Piano forum about two months ago and have found it totally addictive. But I never suspected I had such a huge audience, Pianoworld is gigantic!!!

Love it here, thanks to you...

Best regards,

Claude

Hi Frank,
Great work, and truly impressive. I am curious to know where the Piano Technicians Guild site stands in the ranking.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Thanks.

The PTG overall ranking is in the top of the thread above (13th site listed, but as I said, they are in no particular order).

I always kid the folks from the PTG when I see them (usually at NAMM) because we often trade places for the # 1 spot in Google under various piano terms.

The PTG site in fact is the top ranked site in the group after Piano World, placing them 92,338 sites behind PW in the overall Quantcast rankings.

Frank,
I hope you dont mind, and being a newbie I hope Im not breaking any laws by asking this question.
On this subject of "ranking", I have currently updated my website. My old address was www.1800onapiano.com which is the same as my phone #, 1-800-ON A PIANO. I still own and use the old website name , 1800onapiano.com, but have very recently changed it to esteypiano.com. In the ratings, My 1800 address ranked about 1.5 million ahead of estey piano. I did this because my last name is a recognised piano name, but I am trying to decide wether to keep the old name as the main one, because of the current rankings. Is this the right thing to do, or is it relatively easy to move up a million or two ranks in a short time with a known piano name? Any web marketing Recommendations?
Thanks
Dave

First, rankings for what?

As an SEO consultant, I spend a lot of time with my clients establishing the most effective keywords and phrases for attracting relevant traffic.
You will notice when I state that Piano World ranks on the first page of results for Google, I follow it with specific examples of keywords and phrases.

And then I tie those into why they are important to me, or our advertisers.

Now, to answer your question

It takes time for a new site to be discovered, and to build a ranking. Google is known to make new sites play in their "sandbox" for 6-8 weeks or longer. They also put a lot of weight on incoming links (other sites linking to yours), which takes time to build up with a new site.

BTW, you do have one new link from a well ranked piano site (your ad is posted).

If it were me, I'd keep the original site, but set up 301 permanent redirects.
These tell the search engines (and the browsers) that the site has moved to a new home, with a new URL.

I'd also follow up with anyone who has backlinks (incoming links pointing to the old site), and ask them to update their links to the new site.

Redirect Old domain to New domain (htaccess redirect)
Create a .htaccess file with the below code, it will ensure that all your directories and pages of your old domain will get correctly redirected to your new domain.
The .htaccess file needs to be placed in the root directory of your old website (i.e the same directory where your index file is placed)

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.newdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Please REPLACE www.newdomain.com in the above code with your actual domain name.

Note* This .htaccess method of redirection works ONLY on Linux servers having the Apache Mod-Rewrite moduled enabled.


Redirect to www (htaccess redirect)
Create a .htaccess file with the below code, it will ensure that all requests coming in to domain.com will get redirected to www.domain.com
The .htaccess file needs to be placed in the root directory of your old website (i.e the same directory where your index file is placed)

Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine on
rewritecond %{http_host} ^domain.com [nc]
rewriterule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [r=301,nc]

Please REPLACE domain.com and www.newdomain.com with your actual domain name.

Note* This .htaccess method of redirection works ONLY on Linux servers having the Apache Mod-Rewrite moduled enabled.

Congrats on your top drawer ranking

Frank, the biggest way that I think you can improve your site is to make it easier of people to know how to post pictures. You do not even address the subject in your FAQ section. Please make it easy to find the instructions.
Thanks

Hi Jordang,

It's in the Forums Rules & Help
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/1/12258.html

Great post Frank. You have some truly powerful metrics here to substantiate your advertising potential. As a software engineer, I have read quite a bit over the years about Search Engine Positioning and it's almost become an art unto itself. There are indeed many tricks to the trade, as well as one having a detailed knowledge about each search engine's criteria in formulating their indexes. Keep up the great work. You've built yourself a gold mine from scratch and you SHOULD be very proud. As I've said before, this is the best piano web site on the planet, IMHO.
Best regards,
Roger

Thankyou Frank a million times, for your extremely interesting Piano website.

I also wonder why the Piano Manufactures do not Advertise here. But would you not require a specific forum for the manufactures? Perhaps some have read the forums and see no page that they would use. I know there is a page 'Piano' that does cover the instrument but hardly suitable for advertising ? Or are you referring to right side bar advertising space? that would be useful I'd have thought.

Also they, the manufactures may consider that 'in depth' criticism by the public would turn the whole matter into a slanging match or worse. Though to be more positive,good would prevail I would think and the best would emerge at the top.

But, from the musicians angle you have got the whole idea absolutely spot on. And more power to your elbow.

Kind regards,

Swingal (Alan)

Thanks Alan and jollyroger,

I was thinking more of branding/institutional ads for manufacturers. Either as a button ad in the right column of the forums and/or in the left nav of the main PW web site.

They could also opt to have an enhanced listing in our Piano Manufacturers page, or Advertise in our Classified Ads Section

It's funny because the dealers/tuners/movers/rebuilders are getting the idea, but not the manufacturers. Yet they spend big bucks to put full page ads in magazines with limited readership (and probably end up in the trash after a few days).

You'd think they would grasp that the Internet is where the majority of people start their research these days. And that online you can use multi-media and interactivity, plus you can measure response. All things you can't do in print.

In addition to Search Engine Optimization and Search Marketing, I also work in Internet Marketing, which covers a broad range of online marketing techniques.
I'm also trained in usability, analytics, and metrics. You'd think they would want to take advantage of my skills

I think comparing a web site dedicated to all things piano and a particular brand of piano is like comparing apples to oranges. But regardless this place has to be #1 in the Pianoworld...

"...
Please REPLACE domain.com and www.newdomain.com with your actual domain name.

Note* This .htaccess method of redirection works ONLY on Linux servers having the Apache Mod-Rewrite moduled enabled."

Nice info Frank... you do indeed know what you're talking about.

Been trying different SEO vendors for a few years now and running a corporate site has forced me to learn way more than I ever wanted to...

Those are some nice stats.

-Jeff

...silly question removed... apparently I wasnt thinking clearly that day.

In looking for a new piano I ended up here and found a wealth of info.

My local piano dealer told me to stay away from here.

Needless to say I bought my piano elsewhere.
jack

Whoa!

This is the best message board.
The last one i went on was really
BAD:*(!
I'v always wanted to make up a message board
this is the best one.

What da?
I have a different avatar.
Grr...

I think comparing a web site dedicated to all things piano and a particular brand of piano is like comparing apples to oranges. But regardless this place has to be #1 in the Pianoworld.

----
<a href="http://www.findpianolessons.com">musician</a>

I still want to know if we've hooked in Il Papa...LOL