The image map definitely needs to go. Image maps are often nice, but more often they are problems.
My recommendation is to develop a professional looking logo and would look so much better.
The layout of the pages could be much improved if a more usable navigation scheme was developed. I would recommend working on that. Your content is decent for your site.
Your codes are out-dated and need revamping to bring them up to standards.
While reviewing your codes I noticed three vitally important yet incorrect items. First, your title tag should be directly beneath your <head> tag. Second, you need to follow your title tag by your keywords and then descriptions. Third, your use of two instances of the charset is an overkill and adds unwanted and useless weight to your pages.
The green line graphics alt attribute should be either horizontal line or more preferably alt=””. That would remove the confusion and again cut down on the weight of the page.
I’d also recommend using Cascading Stylesheets which would then cut down the weight of the page, and then increase the weight of your keywords. There really isn’t any reason to continually tell the browser that you want to use a particular font-family for your presentation.
Now, for the sales end of the situation. You seem to be using archaic methods of getting people to purchase from you. I would recommend keeping people on your site while paying for the products. Sending them to another site, creates concerns of unprofessionalism and the possibility that your client’s information would be harvested by the other site for spamming purposes. You should retain full control over the situation.
Some may say that you can’t have a shopping cart on your site and still operate your site as you do now, at least for page optimization. I would differ in opinion. There are many skilled programmers that can turn a shopping cart’s dynamic pages into search engine friendly pages. Additionally, you could continue to have your pages about the various books which could be set up to add the item to your very own shopping cart.
Now, my final question would be, do you sell to businesses only or to individuals? If you sell to individuals, you may want to retain those clients. There are two ways you could implement fairly easily. First, have them sign up for a newsletter. Second, offer a special on one book bi-weekly. That gets people interested in coming back.
Sincerely,
Lee Roberts
Rose Rock Design, Inc.
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