SEO Blues

October turned out to be a busy month for Captain Bob and the crew. As they say time goes by fast when you’re having fun, well when your old (or getting old) apparently time goes by fast whether you’re having fun or not. We missed the October Blog entry but in reality, I don’t think anybody will hold that against me except maybe perhaps Google and the other search engines that apparently like to see lots of entries!  We were kept busy  this past month by attending a couple of the major outdoor furniture shows, one in Chicago and the other in High Point, NC plus a bunch of family functions as October is filled birthdays a plenty, mine included.  As for the outdoor furniture shows , we enjoy attending these in order to seek out new products and to touch base and talk face to face with the vendors that we talk to over the phone on a daily basis but rarely get to meet. We will be adding new products to our line  in the coming months and I will feature some of them on future blogs.

PatioandYards.com has had a very slow month and when looking into the reason for slow sales it has been pointed out and has come to our attention that our website really is not being seen by the major search engines. I guess the sales that we have had, have been more or less, “happy accidents”.  SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the term used that describes how a website is positioned for the search engines to find not only the site itself but also the products that are on the website. We started approximately two weeks ago and our staff is feverishly working to update our content to fall in line with SEO guidelines. From all that I have learned, we may not see results and increased traffic for possibly 6 months.

I really don’t know why I am telling you all this except perhaps for the benefit of those that are following our blog as they are interested in our project boat Sinbad and want to see the restoration started. Unfortunately, Sinbad will have to be put on the back burner until we can get our SEO ducks in a row.

Summers (almost) Over

Summer is now winding down although it’s still awfully hot in a lot of places. It’s been so hot that we are now really looking forward to Fall (my favorite season) and the cooler weather.

With cooler weather approaching I would like to re-introduce you to the Lava Heat-Italia which we first started carrying last year when they were brand new to the public. They have been referred to as “verticle fire pits”.  If you are not familiar we these very unique outdoor heaters, we have included a picture.  As you can see there is a large visible flame that not only creates heat but also creates a fantastic mood or ambience to the setting be it a restaurant, or your own back patio or porch.  We use ours on our unheated, enclosed back porch where we like to watch TV and such. Prior to having a Lava Heater, we really could not use the back porch once it got cold. Last winter was a lot different. As an example, I like to get up around 5:30 in the morning. The temperature on the back porch that early in the morning would be around 30 degrees too cold to use if the porch could not be heated up.  I’d pick up the remote control to the Lava Heater and to the TV and from inside my house I’d fire it up Lava Heater and also turn on the TV, then I would go and brew some coffee in the kitchen. By the time the coffee was ready, the back porch would be heated up enough, to go out in while still wearing my pajamas, watch TV for an hour or so and enjoy several cups of coffee. If it got too hot in the enclosed porch I can use the remote control to adjust the flame height from high to medium to low as needed. It’s a great item and is a conversation piece to all who own them.

Since Lava Heat-Italia introduced the Lava Heater, and since it was a new item, it was only a matter of time until some cheaper versions started showing up as “knock offs.”  Some of the knock offs have the same look and feel as the original Lava Heater but are not up to the quality of the original. As an example the Lava Heat Italia uses heavy gage steel whereas the cheaper knock offs use much lighter steel.  The flame in the Lava Heater is contained in a specially designed glass tube made from Borosilicate Glass that can produce an astounding 61,000 BTU (Hot Stuff!). This unique type of glass is incredibly strong and is shatter resistant even when water is squired onto the hot glass. Not so got the knockoffs. Lava Heat-Italia heaters have a 10 year warranty whereas the knockoffs have just a 1 year warranty.

We loss some sales last year from customers who were price shopping and purchased the “Knock Off” brands from our competitors. So in the true competitive market that we are in, this season we are also offering the cheaper versions of the Lava Heater in order to accommodate the full range of price points for our customers. We know that 10% of shoppers only want the best in quality and service and are willing to pay for it and another 10% of customers only want the cheapest cost and do not care about the quality or service behind the product. That leaves 80% of customers that are shoppers that can go either way in their choice. Generally, in the traditional sales environment such as a store, the customer is met by a sales person who guides the customer to the correct product and models for them especially if they are unfamiliar with the features and benefits of all the different models. In the Internet sales environment, the customer is basically on their own, learning only what they can find by doing Internet search. We understand this, so here at PatioandYards.com we make an extra effort to help with the buying decision. We are as close as your phone and are ready to help you stay warm this season. Give us a call at 877-246-3871 and if you buy one of our heaters online this month, use coupon code LAVA9 to receive a 10% discount for this month only.

Sinbad our 37 foot all wood 1968 Egg Harbor boat is still waiting for additional funds from sales made at Patioandyards.com. In August, profits from this new website were just $201.33. Now remember that is profits not gross sales. It looks like we may have to promote this site a lot more. Stay tuned!

Dog Days of Summer

We just completed a “staycation” last week while hosting a family reunion.  It was great! No airlines, no long car drive and no hassles. We vacationed at home! What a concept!  In today’s lackluster economy, I found that many families are opting to turn off their cell phones, leave the computer shut down, and just plain relax in their own domain.   Some friends of ours on their staycation, told all their friends that they would be out of the country, when in fact they stayed home and completed many projects that due to their busy schedules they had put off for years.  We had family members from both coast come to our home in North Carolina from as far away as San Francisco and Atlantic City.  In preparation for the family reunion, instead of spending our money on airfares, we invested in a new larger deck for the house which we then populated with PVC Pipe chair and table sets which we sell on our website at www.patioandyards.com.

PVC Pipe furniture has a loyal following of true believers. PVC Pipe furniture is perfect for your deck or lawn and especially for those who live along the coast where salt air can wreak havoc on furniture frames that are made of aluminum, iron or steel. Own a rental home? PVC Casual Pipe Furniture is inexpensive, can stay out in the weather and can take the rough use that rental properties sometimes receive.  It’s just about the end of the season, so for any PVC purchase in the month of August, use COUPON CODE: dogdays to receive a 10% discount.

Hot, Hot, Hot and Now Cool

The heat is on just about all over the country and what a time to pick up one of our newest items to stay cool or should I say cooler by up to 30%.  Lava Heat- Italia, who brought to this country the very popular Glass tube Outdoor heaters has decided that they need an equally dynamic product for the summer months and are introducing the Oasis misting cooling fan. I was skeptical at first to bring on this product line as my wife, Cathy and I once had a misting fan about 3 years ago that we purchased from Lowes. It worked for a while but was somewhat difficult as it that it had to be located near electricity AND near a water hose connection. It did put out a good amount of spay, so much so that anything it was pointed at eventually became soaking wet. After the second season of use, the smaller hose that sprayed the mist eventually became brittle and broke. Now we have a fan but it no longer mist.

Along comes the Oasis Misting Fan that only needs and electrical connection as it carries its own 5 gallon reservoir of water. The fan is on wheels so that it is very mobile when using a long extension cord. Water is drawn from the reservoir and a stream of water is directed to a spinning plate which creates the mist that is then blown by the fan up to 22’ away.  Excess water is captured             and then returned back the reservoir which is then reused. Unlike our old fan that soaked everything that it was pointed to, the Oasis fine mist  just cools but does not soak. The water will last up to 8 hours. The fan has two speeds, a timer and it rotates 90 degrees and can be controlled by a remote. This is perfect for a commercial environment such as an outdoor restaurant. The manager from say behind the bar can turn the fans on and off, control the rotation and turn the misting on and off.  The fan is also great in factory environments, auto garages, waiting areas public & private pools or anywhere people need to be cooled down. 

We recently sold two of the fans to one of our favorite watering holes, The Blue Parrott, here on Lake Norman, NC. The video shows the fan in action.  For only the month of July we are offering our Blog readers a $100 dollar discount. Use Coupon Code OASIS100.

For those following our efforts to restore Sinbad, the 1968 all wood Egg Harbor yacht, the profits from our dedicated PatioandYards web site  for the month of June were $1,414.22 which more brings the total savings to $2664.22.  When work starts in earnest on Sinbad at the rate of $65.00 per hour, that works out to about 40 man hours out of the estimated 1000 man hours that will be needed. Whew, still a long way to go.

Stay tuned and of course, stay cool

Outdoor Rooms

Outdoor weather is here at last and doesn’t it feel good to get outdoors. I for one am a child of summer. I just love warm weather. Last weekend was Memorial Day and from the news it looks like the entire USA had just about the perfect weather weekend.  Hope you did too.

Some good friends of ours have a huge outdoor covered porch that for all practical purposes is another room of their house, and a very, very nice room at that.  Couches, overstuffed chairs sitting on a large outdoor rug, a good sized flat screen TV, a bubbling water feature, piped in music, outdoor heaters,  bar-b-que and a hot tub to top it off makes for a relaxing, breath of fresh air room that just indulges your senses in good vibrations.

Italian Living  Room

Turning an outdoor space into a useful outdoor room can be a rewarding experience that does not cost a boat load of money.  A number of years ago, I visited friend who invited me to see his, as he called it, his Italian living room (he’s Italian), which turned out to be in his garage. A perfect setup, for a suburban home, set in a crowded neighborhood. He had a couch, several chairs, a rug, lamps and a coffee table. Sitting on the couch while drinking his favorite beverage, he would enjoy just looking out and watching all the neighborhood action. Neighbors would stop by and it was a great gathering place.

The Sinbad saga continues. No work was performed this past month except for some deck sanding by yours truly. The PatioandYards web site, which is providing the funding for the restoration of Sinbad, is slowly growing stronger. The month of May saw 8 sales with the profits calculated at $385.78 (a 38% increase over last month), which now brings the total funds available for restoration to an even $1,400.00. Most of our sales have been with the popular Mad Mat outdoor rugs. Hmmmm maybe they are being used for Italian Living Rooms!!

Random Thought

This is just a random thought and I’d like to say something about the ACLU or the American Civil Liberties Union.

I know this has nothing to do with outdoor furniture, but I had to say that as Google says that our blog post must have relevant content and by mentioning  the words outdoor furniture we now do. Now back to the topic at hand.

 I heard on the news this morning (5/9/2012) that the ACLU has taken it upon themselves to sue a high school, (which I thought was incredible) and I apologize that I did not pay attention to who the high school was or where the high school was located, but the fact that it was being reported on the national morning news, either The Today Show or Good Morning America, for displaying the Ten Commandments.  Apparently the ACLU is an anti-religious organization, as I gather it. Now, I am an American and I am not against religion and I am pretty sure I am in a country that was founded and allows freedom of religion and I do not understand why the ACLU wants to restrict the freedom of religion, not to mention the freedom of speech which in turn would allow the voice of religion, along with anything else anyone would want to voice, say or display.

So this evening, I am out in my back yard down at the lake, it is totally dark, there is no moon,  the stars are shining brightly, I can make out some house lights across the lake,.… it’s quiet, a beautiful night, I’m reflecting  on the day’s events and my life in general and then I hear the roaring sound of a jet plane as it passes overhead, really loud, spoils the mood  that I had drifted into…….and then I think, how come the ACLU is not suing the airlines, the airports, the airplane manufacturers, the pilots (both commercial and general aviation), for  ruining my civil liberty of a quiet night down at my dock, (or in my backyard or wherever). My pursuit of a quiet evening is my civil right and I would want an organization that was formed to protect my civil rights to jump in there for me,…. maybe an organization like the ACLU. So why are they picking on and suing in real dollars, a high school that is displaying a plaque with the Ten Commandments on it, in a school that has what maybe just 400 students or so, and not suing the airlines for ruining possibly millions of people’s quiet enjoyment of peace on earth with the sounds of jet engines, not to mention my formerly quiet night at my dock!!

Now, as a former airline pilot who used to make all that noise, I hope you understand I’m being a little sarcastic.  

So, let me be frank, I think that the ACLU is a very small organization in terms of numbers of individuals, (now really, somebody tell me how many members are there in the ACLU), and who I believe are basically radicals, of some degree, and who I am sure believe they are doing good for the general populist, but who are in fact, so far out in left field that to put it in baseball term, they’re way out of bounds. ……… out near the Outdoor Furniture .

The ACLU is not America's friend and is possibly a hugh threat to the American way of life.

A Visit to High Point

The High Point Furniture show has now come and gone. We managed to spend only one jam packed day meeting & talking to our vendors to find any new offerings in their line of products, plus finding new vendors with products that we would like to carry on our newest website, www.patioandyards.com 

It’s always good to meet up with Chris Bruning the owner of Groovy Stuff Furniture. This year Chris was really excited about some new designs that he or rather some college design students were adding to his collection.

 We met Chris about 8 years ago at a Chicago furniture show where he was showing his collection of old teak wood farm implements that have been turned into very useable, eye catching, furniture in the style of southwestern USA.  The only catch is that all the wooden farm equipment, that Chris makes his furniture from is purchased from farms in southeast Asia that have been active for 100’s of years. He has collected a treasure trove of old wagon wheels, that were used on oxen carts, plows, benches, even old tree stumps, (make that teak wood tree stumps), that he has turned in to one-of-a-kind furniture that becomes focal point in just about any setting that they are used in.

Janice Kammler
University of Idaho
Groovystuff
Design Winner High Point April 2012

Chris told us that he had had an epiphany about two years ago concerning his Groovy stuff furniture line. He said he had designed and done just about everything he could think of with the teak wood he was bringing in from overseas, and was basically out of any new ideas. That was until he thought that maybe some younger minds of a new generation might come up with new and innovative designs. So Chris contacted some colleges that offered design courses, such as Auburn and Appalachia State. He went to their classes with the raw material (teakwood), and asked them to come up with designs of their own utilizing the material that he gave them. The results have been fantastic. Chris is now getting several other colleges to participate in his program. At the last two shows that we attended, Chris has created what he calls University Hall where he connects students with the furniture buying industry. At his very large booth, 12 students from each college have on display miniature models of their proposed designed furniture. Chris encourages people visiting his booth to vote on the designs that they like the best. The winner will then have his design go into production and sold as part of the Groovy Stuff line, with the student listed as the designer. And the best part is, that student will receive royalties for any sale of the furniture they designed for the rest of their lives!!! “Pretty freaking cool” if you were to ask me. It’s just a very innovative way of giving students an opening into the furniture industry.

Next posting, I’ll high lite some of the newer products that we discovered.

As for Sinbad, our restoration project, virtually no work was performed this past month other that some additional stripping down of some hardware. Major work won’t start until this website starts to produce some significant income as all the profits from www.PatioandYards are dedicated for this purpose. For the month of April, just $278.71 was deposited into the Sinbad fund, bringing our total to $1,014.22 available, which is not nearly enough to even think about starting work. Pat Cruse of Crusse'n Classics charges $65.00 / hour. Sinbad will need at least 3000 hours of work. He’s the best in the business, doesn’t come cheap, but when your boat is done, it will be better than the day it came down the production line. You can visit his website at http://www.crussenclassics.com/ .