BLOG.ARKLADECOR.COM

New Location in Canton, Texas First Monday Trade Days

Cindy Henson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:25:00 GMT

Great news we are now located on the popular side of highway 19 on the First Monday Trade Days. We are located in space 73 in Trade Center Pavilion IV. This is a great accomplishment since December is one of the busiest months for the monthly event.. We were persistent in our efforts to get on the highway 19 side of the Trade Days. Our Old Mill location was a great preparation experience.

We have already had kudos for making it into the "big time".

If you can't make it to Canton, Texas for First Monday Trade Days visit our website www.arkladecor.com. We have added our latest popular items and the site sales have increased.

New Locations for ArkLA Decor items

Cindy Henson — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:47:00 GMT

Visit our website www.ArkLADecor.com to see new items we have added Armadillos painted like Zebras, LSU colors, Dallas Cowboy colors, New Orleans Saints colors, Texas Flag. We have added giant frogs, leopard frogs, blue herons and other new items.

Visit us at The Village Shops #404 in the Old Mill Market Place in Canton, Texas for First Monday Trade Days. Items can be found at Delicious Arts, Dorchester Drive in Alexandria and Deanne's Hitchin Post, Fountain Plaza, Magnolia, AR. And soon all items to be available in O.C. Mercantile, Highway 112 in LeCompte, LA.

Blog Promotion for search engines

Cindy Henson — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:57:00 GMT

I finally figured out how to include the meta tag for Google's verification of www.blog.arkladecor.com. So perhaps it might get a higher listing than the main website www.arkladecor.com.

I have to mention the pelicans, pink flamingos, alligators, and herons we have on the website. They would be a great addition to any restaurant, marina or casino that has a tropical or water theme. They are great addition to any boat dock, pond, water feature or flower bed. The smaller pelicans and flamingos are great on the deck or patio.

The pelicans are particularily popular in Louisiana (state bird).

Problems with website promotion

Cindy Henson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:49:00 GMT

I think one of the reasons we are not getting any sales is the website does not appear in Google's list unless you type more specific keywords in the search. I have added more keywords today.

A web designer is VERY expensive. Locally it is $1250 for 10 pages and our site has 1600 pages.

GoDaddy's Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools are not made for a shopping cart because it returns errors for items that are "built-in" to the cart.

The shopping cart has embedded programming (that I can't get to) that shows as an error in the SEO tools. The SEO tool says a colon ( is an invalid character and the shopping cart adds a colon after the title on every page of the website. The SEO tool indicates errors on pages that have the following: title:category, title:about us, title:help, title:welcome.

The pages about us, help, welcome are limited access pages on the shopping cart feature with GoDaddy, you can see the source code, you can copy the code, modify the code BUT you can't get to the hosting site to upload the modified code. The hosting address is not available for the shopping cart feature.

So I have decided to ignore the error messages about the colon (, maybe the SEO software from GoDaddy has a problem with the colon ( but spider/crawlers don't. Google finds the page when I type in REALLY specific keywords so the colon ( must not be too much of a problem.

I can't seem to get a handle on getting other like sites to link to our site. Links-in and traffic are a higher priority for the Google spider when it crawls a site, the keywords are no longer used to return your site high on the list after a search.. If the crawler sees a lot of links and hits to your site it deems it popular and ranks it higher the list when searched.

I am bummed. We have not gotten any response from the mass mailing of the brochure. I am sure I have unrealistic expectations.

Mass Mailing Preparations

Cindy Henson — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:45:00 GMT

Today I am working on a new brochure to mail to restaurants, casinos, gift shops and any general business with a Pelican or Flamingo theme. I hope this mailing will generate some business. I think the small pelicans and flamingos would be good gift shop items in a casino. The Flamingos and Pelicans would be great in lobby or court yard water feature.

This is the second week of the advertisements I have placed in the Shopper's Guide. I am thinking of advertising on the radio next.

I guess I will stop by some local businesses to see if they will display our brochure.

Pittman's in El Dorado just gushed all over the sample Pelican and said it was just what they were looking for and I have heard nothing. I even offered them on consignment.

I guess we will need to set up in Canton were the items are popular and people are willing to spend money. After all if you go to Canton you are looking to spend money.

Michael Jackson, RIP

Cindy Henson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:31:00 GMT

How sad to have so much and not feel it. To die so young; 50 is the new 30 for goodness sake. I just refreshed my MJ CD collection from Amazon. Music can soothe so much, put on a song you know and love, sing the words out loud and you will no longer think about your problems. Give it a try.

Landscaping opportunities

Cindy Henson — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:37:00 GMT

I am waiting a return call from a Lawn Sprinkler guy. My neighbors said I could get a good deal in this heat. My pond is almost completed. I purchased additional stones, 500 pounds, and I have redesigned my waterfall. It lost 3 inches of water overnight so I think my waterfall has some problems.

I am trying to develop a back drop for product shots for the website and brochures and of course, a nice addition to the landscape. Please visit our site www. arkladecor.com to see the latest product pictures.

I visited a local nursery this week in hopes they would display our garden sculptures, they said they were just what they needed but they have not called. We are mailing out brochures to gulf area casinos and businesses who might like to decorate in flamingos, pelicans and alligators. We are not just focusing on the gulf area but that is our first campaign.

If you can think of a business with a theme that might be interested in our products let me know. Leave a comment on this blog.

New Pond - back-drop for photos

Cindy Henson — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:49:00 GMT

Hello I have been working hard rebuilding my backyard pond. I have removed the flimsy plastic shell and replaced it with a plastic pond liner. These in ground pond liners are better for me and I can design my own shape. I have a waterfall and fountain and now that it is bigger I need more rocks.

I have a new waterfall feature that includes a clay pot at the top spilling over the water onto the rockfall.

I have placed ads in the local Shopper's Guide for 4 weeks beginning this Wednesday. I hope it drums up business for the booth at Deanne's Hitchin Post and the website www.arkladecor.com.

It has been hot for sure and I have more projects.

Site update - www.arkladecor.com removed word

Cindy Henson — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:45:00 GMT

I worked late removing a word that was repeated throughout the website, I hope I found all. If that word was a paramount issue I hope customers will now flock to the site in droves.

Blog - Facebook test

Cindy Henson — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:05:00 GMT

This is a test to see if the two social networks are talking to each other.

Sunday website repair issues

Cindy Henson — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:30:00 GMT

Today I reported to GoDaddy the 1300+ errors on our website www.arkladecor.com. These errors were found by the search engine optimization (SEO) tool that I paid $40+/yr to check the site. The SEO indicated we had 400+ pages of errors with invalid characters in the title tag. There is a colon ( in the title tag added by GoDaddy, this is something I can not control.

GoDaddy just changed SEO software and it is horribly slow. It took 10 minutes just to load the main page to see the results.

The GoDaddy help team requests an ID of some type before they will even look at the submitted question (even though I had a GODaddy generated trouble ticket ID). This is an old IT trick, where they ask the customer to make an additional effort and perhaps they will forget their problem and the help ticket can be disregarded. Kind of like a mail-in rebate the company's hope customers will never follow up.

We are getting some good hits on Google, so perhaps the errors are not preventing search engines from finding us.

Repairing errors on website

Cindy Henson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:34:00 GMT

Goodness the site analysis indicated we had 1378 errors on the website. Some missing tags for the images we uploaded. It is confusing because some of the errors generated were from "canned" pages on the template we used, errors that we can't get to inorder to correct them.

I added tags on the pictures and reduced the number of keywords.

I purchased an ad on Facebook for 30 days, if you have gardening or art in your activities you are likely to see the ad. It should get to over 2M subscribers.

Missed a sale at Deanne's Hitchin Post

Cindy Henson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:54:00 GMT

Today I gathered some smaller items to put in my booth (59) in Deanne's Hitchin Post, Antique Mall & Flea Market, Magnolia, Arkansas. When I arrived I was asked if I received a call yesterday about my XL Pelican. Apparently a lady returned to the Mall looking to make a purchase. Unfortunately, I had removed all of the items to add an additional coat of varnish. She never called.

I am taking the items back to the booth tomorrow, perhaps she will return.

Deanne and I are going to try to link both of our websites so we can get some better ranking with the search engines.

Today I am finishing the mermaid. I have placed a blue heron and two flamingos in the yard, I hope they don't cause a big traffic jam of on-lookers. LOL.

Deanne tells me the Mall has been really busy. Drop by if you are in the area and visit all the booths.

Make sure you stop by booth 59 mid week and check out the 800 thread count sheet sets for $22.50, queen and king; full size coming soon.

Website update - new items added

Cindy Henson — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:40:00 GMT

Hello,

Come to the website www.arkladecor.com, I have added new items. I am working getting the products to display alphabetically but so far I can't figure out why the alligator is last.

I am working toward labeling the items for the booth.

If you live in the Ark-LA-Tex area come see the items listed on the website in person. If you make a purchase you can save some shipping. The items are located in booth 59 at Deanne's Hitchin Post, Magnolia, AR. This Antique Mall and Flea Market has over 100 booths so make sure set aside plenty of time for your visit.

Updated Website - Larger images

Cindy Henson — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:48:00 GMT

What an ordeal! I have uploaded new photos and new products on www.arkladecor.com. i have increased the sizes of the images and I think the site looks better. If you have trouble seeing all the photos side by side, you could be using Internet Explorer 6 or older. The older versions will cause the images to display REALLY HUGE on your monitor. You need to upgrade to at least version 7 and IE8 is already available.

I need a method to speckle paint, I am using a toothbrush but that is getting old. I have tried household cleanser spray bottles and every spray bottle around the house and they just mist or produce globs. Any ideas? Send me a comment.

Follow me

Cindy Henson — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:32:00 GMT

Hello everyone follow me on Twitter and Facebook and visit our website at www.arkladecor.com. Check out the new logo of the two sisters in the upper left corner on the website. It goes with the slogan two sisters - two states. We are adding the logo to our business cards and brochures.

Hopefully we will have new photos posted on the website tonight. We are getting some great Google hits try searching Mexican Metal and Pelican or Flamingo, alligator and see what you get. Now all we need are customers and other websites wanting to link to us.

It is hot in southern Arkansas and I am afraid my inflatable pool has an air leak, I was eager to teach the dogs to jump in to cool off. However Benji would never jump in he is afraid of his shadow.

Coming soon - new inventory additions

Cindy Henson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:22:00 GMT

Julie and I are working hard to get new inventory painted and added to the website, visit www.arkladecor.com to see new additions. Most items are available locally, if you live in the Ark-La-Tex area, visit booth 59 in Deanne's Hitchin Post, Magnolia, Arkansas. Open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm.

Good Grief - Site Promotion AGAIN!

Cindy Henson — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:38:00 GMT

Goodness this is hard work. I finally broke down and purchased a service to look at our website. It appears we have an internal broken link that Google's spiders will avoid. This link appears on Julie's Large Pelican; I had to delete to see if that fixed the problem and I will add it back as soon as possible. I deleted the blog link on the webpage thinking that was the broken link. I will add it back if it appears to be okay to keep it there.

Brochure design - Site promotion

Cindy Henson — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:03:00 GMT

Today I am designing a new brochure for ad copy and for a hand out at local businesses. I am working hard on keywords on the website www.arkladecor.com. Send an invite to your e-mail list to follow the site development.

WWW.ArkLADecor.com SHIPPING Costs Priced-Based

Cindy Henson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:37:00 GMT

Below please find the Price-Based Shipping charges: These charges are applied at check out and are UPS Ground or USPS Parcel Post if size permits.

If you need expedited shipping please e-mail us for pricing.

Shipping Rates:
Order Total: Add
Under $49.99        $7.95
$50 to $74.99        $10.95
$75 to $99.00        $12.95
$100 to $124.99    $14.95
$125 to $149.99    $16.95
$150 to $199.99    $19.95
$200 to $299.99    $25.95
$300 to $399.99    $29.95
$400 to $499.99    $35.95
$500 to $599.99    $45.95
$600 to $699.99    $55.95
$700 to $799.99    $65.95
$800 to $899.99    $75.95
$900 to $999.99    $85.95
$1000 and over     $95.95