Opinion on default directory /productcart/pc

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   Howdy, this is my 3rd ProductCart store.  

So far, I have just used the default directory setting www.mystore.com/productcart/pc/home.asp

Everything is AOK - using Google SiteMaps, Custom Title Tags, etc - search engines are finding the store, sales are WAY up by switching to ProductCart, clients are very happy - I am too with the support and features!

I have seen many stores using the default directory and then custom directories like: mystore.com/shop/pc/home.asp

Question 1:
Do you feel it is really worth it to change the default directory name? Other than aesthics, if I am maxing out SEO in other ways, do I really need to go away from the default?  

Thats a lot of work of global replacing to change the directory name (I use Parent Paths disabled) 

Question 2:
Is it possible to rename the default directory AFTER you have configured the store license? My store is not live yet, so I figure if Im doing it, now is the time.

THANKS!

Edited by cdsinc - 04-December-2008 at 11:40am

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cdsinc Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 23-February-2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote cdsinc Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Opinion on default directory /productcart/pc Posted: 04-December-2008 at 11:38am
	Howdy, this is my 3rd ProductCart store. So far, I have just used the default directory setting www.mystore.com/productcart/pc/home.asp Everything is AOK - using Google SiteMaps, Custom Title Tags, etc - search engines are finding the store, sales are WAY up by switching to ProductCart, clients are very happy - I am too with the support and features! I have seen many stores using the default directory and then custom directories like: mystore.com/shop/pc/home.asp Question 1: Do you feel it is really worth it to change the default directory name? Other than aesthics, if I am maxing out SEO in other ways, do I really need to go away from the default? Thats a lot of work of global replacing to change the directory name (I use Parent Paths disabled) Question 2: Is it possible to rename the default directory AFTER you have configured the store license? My store is not live yet, so I figure if Im doing it, now is the time. THANKS! Edited by cdsinc - 04-December-2008 at 11:40am

Greg Dinger Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Certified ProductCart Developers Joined: 23-September-2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 238	Post Options Post Reply Quote Greg Dinger Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04-December-2008 at 11:45am
	I have certainly renamed the directory after activation, and even if an issue came up, EI support can resolve it for you easily. As for renaming it, someone here on the board recently revealed that they renamed it to match a strong keyword for their product line and felt it made a different. That has a lot of appeal to me, and I'm trying that now in some stores I am building.

cdsinc Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 23-February-2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote cdsinc Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04-December-2008 at 11:50am
	That's what I am thinking too - a strong keyword in the directory to give it a boost. It cant hurt - well, the directory rename project can. Oh, might as well do it while I still can! Have you also implemented the .htm rewrites?

Greg Dinger Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Certified ProductCart Developers Joined: 23-September-2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 238	Post Options Post Reply Quote Greg Dinger Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04-December-2008 at 12:07pm
	yes, on almost every site we build.

cdsinc Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 23-February-2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote cdsinc Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04-December-2008 at 12:12pm
	nice work - like the euphoria baby site - i see you did htm rewrites - time for me to make the plunge!

mrindian Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31-October-2008 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote mrindian Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05-December-2008 at 8:31pm
	I sell Vintage Indian Motorcycle parts - Since it's a small market, I was ranking high without much SEO. But last month I changed my productcart directory to indian-motorcycles (of course I lost all previous links in search results but 2-3 weeks later the new directories were shown in search results) At the same time I added the custom 404 htm seo tip. Now I can type the product name of an item along with Indian motorcycle and I'm number 1-3 on almost anyitem on my site. (of course there is not too many of us selling Vintage Indian parts) but the higher ranking the better! So I'm sold on renaming the directory and the 404 error handler! Gary Stark www.starklite.com _popupControl();

cdsinc Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 23-February-2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote cdsinc Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05-December-2008 at 9:24pm
	Gary, you are correct - I just did a couple of Google searches (Indian Motorcycle Parts) and you are on the top. I am sold as well - I just did the custom 404 htm mod install on my store (go live Feb 1st) and will be curious to see how it works out - we will be competing in a very niche product field, so it should be fun to see what happens against some of the established websites out there. gotta love Product Cart!

carstone Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 12-July-2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote carstone Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 20-August-2009 at 11:52am
	I have been really questioning whether PC takes a bad "hit" on Google with the extra depth of the folders (products/pc/something.asp) that PC is laid out as. Do you guys think that your keyword approach to the folder name actually turns it into an advantage and negates my concerns?

cdsinc Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 23-February-2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote cdsinc Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 20-August-2009 at 12:17pm
	I dont think the depth of the folders has any issue. I havent noticed it - Ive been experimenting with renaming the ProductCart default folder to: a) keyword rich name (www.mystore.com/carparts/pc/etc..) b) shopping term (www.mystore.com/store/pc/etc..) c) or leaving as is Problem with A/B is that when you use parent paths disabled, you have to do search/replace each upgrade (somewhat of a pain) - If there is good keyword rich content on each product, and unique title tags, im really wondering if all the extra steps to do the folder rename and the 404 rewrite mod is worth it. Happy to hear that the 404 rewrite is part of the PC version 4.0 - I have installed 404 mod on one store - felt a little uneasy with the way it works and performance slows down a lot (it does have to hit the page twice..) wonder if the Version 4 will do something like wordpress blogs www.mystore.com/productcart/pc/this-is-my-product QUESTION: if we have the 404 mod on current store, how will Version 4 handle it - do we need to revert back, and then have the new version do whatever it will do? Or is it now exactly the same?