Bob Sihler wrote:. . .
In my opinion, SP's greatest value is as a source of beta for lesser-known peaks.
. . .
If I google some of the mountains you have posted, I am likely to get only your page or at least very few options, thus making that page more valuable in a relative sense.
And that's copmetitive adventage.
if I google "Shasta climbing" or "Climbing Shasta" or "Mount Shasta climbing routes," the SP page is one of several sources that comes up (though it was second or third for each of those when I checked).
Mt Shasta is among the most popular and most frequently climbed mountains in the contiguous US. For some it's a huge challenge and for others not worthy spending their time; but there are many in between. Its popularity grows for various reasons.
Therefore, I would ask a few questions before redesigning Shasta pages (even just for content) and making them more attractive, more competitive to other websites.
For example:
What (would) differentiate SP Shasta pages from other websites? Is it the page layout people are used to or prefer (e.g. easy to navigate); is it the (larger) number of possible climbing routes and approaches (e.g. based on THs;, is it the various condition descriptions for a specific route (e.g. weather; time of the year); is it the unique or very descriptive pictures and/or videos of that route; or perhaps many useful links to various resources? (Why more and more people post their TRs on other websites?)
Who is the primary (and secondary) target market, e.g. beginners or intermediate/advanced climbers, perhaps all of them or even other people? How to appeal to them? The different, for instance, might be that people who have already climbed Shasta (especially multiple times) may be looking for different info, different challenge, and they may want that info to be easily accessible without going through basics.
Perhaps some type of survey (and research) might be helpful? Competition is growing rapidly everywhere and in every aspect. Once a business or organization loses its competitive advantage, it may be very hard to come back to the top. Many people like changes and new things and to keep those people coming back, something has to keep attracting them, and it's even more difficult to find new ones.
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 5:00 pm