My first attempt at a niche blog, please review

11 years ago

Nice work!

Please find my comments below:

1) I would create a nice header (go to fiverr.com and get one for $5)
2) You need to select a page as a landing page where to place nice optin box
3) Your articles appear all i a row. This is bad froma SEO perspective. Make sure
they appear on the sidebar as a list instead.
4) Your optin box on the side is too small and the graphic might be greatly improved.
5) If you want to build an authorithy site keep it niche focussed. No distracting banners.

Hope that helps!

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Steffy

11 years ago

Originally Posted by franamico

Nice work!

Please find my comments below:

1) I would create a nice header (go to fiverr.com and get one for $5)
2) You need to select a page as a landing page where to place nice optin box
3) Your articles appear all i a row. This is bad froma SEO perspective. Make sure
they appear on the sidebar as a list instead.
4) Your optin box on the side is too small and the graphic might be greatly improved.
5) If you want to build an authorithy site keep it niche focussed. No distracting banners.

Hope that helps!

Silly question, but without ad banners how would I make money from the blog?

I'm not selling a product, I'm passing on information. :confused:

Thank you.

Thanks
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franamico 11 years ago

Again, I would suggest to build a list offering a free and a minicourse and then market a clickbank book to that list.
If you want to use just banners, I'd suggest to keep them niche specific.
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Monja

11 years ago

nice job you did!
my question would be though - how do you make money? the context based words in the content are not that targeted if i checked right.
also, i´d use some contrast and get a calm background. i know it is tempting and the background is different but it makes you look more professional if you keep it simple and clean.

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Flamboyantegg

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Monja

i´d use some contrast and get a calm background. i know it is tempting and the background is different but it makes you look more professional if you keep it simple and clean.

I agree 100% with this. First thing I noticed when I landed was that all my attention was drawn to the fishes in the background and the text shading/lack of contrast made it realllly hard for me to read the content.

Once I forced myself to start reading it was good, BUT (speculation) I don't think the people who organically land at your website are going to be as forgiving as I was with the amount of time they spend getting into the right "mode" to read the content. If that makes sense?

Cleaner would be nice, but not bad by a long-shot

EDIT:

I kind of love the worm on the hook. Keep that if you can, when/if you do a redesign. THAT is the sort of unobtrusive but interesting thing that keeps people on a page.

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Steffy

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Flamboyantegg

I agree 100% with this. First thing I noticed when I landed was that all my attention was drawn to the fishes in the background and the text shading/lack of contrast made it realllly hard for me to read the content.

Once I forced myself to start reading it was good, BUT (speculation) I don't think the people who organically land at your website are going to be as forgiving as I was with the amount of time they spend getting into the right "mode" to read the content. If that makes sense?

Cleaner would be nice, but not bad by a long-shot

EDIT:

I kind of love the worm on the hook. Keep that if you can, when/if you do a redesign. THAT is the sort of unobtrusive but interesting thing that keeps people on a page.

I'm going to need to start editing the code then.

I might have to hire someone for that, or take a crash course.

Thank you.

Thanks

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Steffy

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Monja

nice job you did!
my question would be though - how do you make money? the context based words in the content are not that targeted if i checked right.
also, i´d use some contrast and get a calm background. i know it is tempting and the background is different but it makes you look more professional if you keep it simple and clean.

I'm using Adbrite for the ad's, they decide the context based words. I gave them a bunch of relevant keywords and assumed they would use them, but obviously not. :confused:

Thank you.

Thanks
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Monja

11 years ago

maybe adsense is the better choice? i´m not familar with adbrite, sorry.
however, maybe add some amazon based links e.g. books which fit to your niche.
or check out clickbank if they have something for you - digital products have a very high commission

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Steffy

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Monja

maybe adsense is the better choice? i´m not familar with adbrite, sorry.
however, maybe add some amazon based links e.g. books which fit to your niche.
or check out clickbank if they have something for you - digital products have a very high commission

I'm banned from Adsense.

I tried signing up with a different account, but no go.

Thanks

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rosetrees

11 years ago

The articles are horrible. Write some engaging, informative articles that people actually want to read. Not articles full of repetitive, filler text.

Pay attention to the flow of your articles. The first two sentences of the first article are unrelated and shouldn't even be in the same paragraph.

I would make the site less like a blog. By all means have a blog attached to it for adding interesting tit bits, latest offers, etc, but for the main site I would use pages, with a top menubar, to make it flow better for visitors.

Then you can have a section on breeds and which are best to keep in which conditions, etc.

A section on aquaria, sizes, types etc (perhaps with links to Amazon for monetizing)

A section on diseases - again with links to Amazon for books etc

I like the theme - it's fun, although I did find the "thing" that creeps down the left hand side a bit distracting.

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Monja

11 years ago

to be honest - if if i order from odesk and pay 10$ per article i don't think that these articles are as engaging as i want them to be - really, the best is to do it yourself and realize that each piece of content is something you put your name under... and do you want to put your name under crap?
when we scream that this or that is not working, the question is if we really gave our very best in all areas - from content creation to website design, to social engagement. so if you say no and just expect that the only thing which makes you really different - your content - can be done 12 times for 5$ - this might be a reason to fail...
not saying you'd fail, just thinking out loud about quality and buying articles in general - been there, done that and i´m healed now and writing myself

Originally Posted by rosetrees

The articles are horrible. Write some engaging, informative articles that people actually want to read. Not articles full of repetitive, filler text.

Pay attention to the flow of your articles. The first two sentences of the first article are unrelated and shouldn't even be in the same paragraph.

I would make the site less like a blog. By all means have a blog attached to it for adding interesting tit bits, latest offers, etc, but for the main site I would use pages, with a top menubar, to make it flow better for visitors.

Then you can have a section on breeds and which are best to keep in which conditions, etc.

A section on aquaria, sizes, types etc (perhaps with links to Amazon for monetizing)

A section on diseases - again with links to Amazon for books etc

I like the theme - it's fun, although I did find the "thing" that creeps down the left hand side a bit distracting.

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Yogini

11 years ago

I agree with Rosetree that it is best to have more engaging in-depth articles. Also, on amazon you can find both books on clownfish as well as remote control clownfish for kids.

Debbie

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Steffy

11 years ago

Okay, I've got rid of the fish and the worm in the background.

I've got rid of the Adbrite ad's and added an Amazon ad in the sidebar and another Amazon ad in a link in an article.

I'm planning on having an ad link on every article, once I have tweaked the articles. I have tweaked one article and hopefully it is an improvement.

Thanks
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neotech

11 years ago

Nice website, are you still glad you asked for advice...? (lol), Just kidding can see you have taken everything on board.

I would add that the email subscription box should be at above recent posts.

You want your visitors to get your information so you need to give them that opportunity immediately!

I notice you said it was an information site, and that's cool, but at some point hosting fees need to get paid?

All the advice on the site presentation here has been good, but one thing is missing Traffic! Advice. You need to start writing articles and getting your information out there...contrary to popular belief, if you "build it", they wont come.

You keyword choice is awful i might ad "clown fish guide", gets less that 10 visits a Month! It recieves 110 searches under broad match.

That means people could be searching for things other than clown fish information, such as a clown fish costume!

Some things you may want to add:

You can also add a link to a sitemap.
Categories in the side bar
List of terms and meaning page

I took the liberty of doing a quick keyword search here are some better keywords, they all recieve between 2,900 and 140 searches a month each, on exact match

clown fish
clown fish facts
what do clown fish eat
clown fish pictures
clown fish habitat
clown fish facts for kids
clown fish care
black clown fish
clown fish for sale <====== 2nd lowest comp (46/100) , 2,400 searches (m)
clown fish scientific name
clown loach fish
freshwater clown fish
clown fish adaptations
clown fish aquarium
clown fish breeding <====== lowest comp (41/100) 1,900 searches (m)
where do clown fish live
clown fish predators
clown fish reproduction
clown fish prices
clown fish anemone
clown fish and sea anemone

It's a good idea to change the main keyword, you should start pulling in some visitors after you have submitted about 10 articles to some directories. using that keyword as the anchor text *clown fish breeding*, hint!

Recommend ezinearticles.com, sooperaticles.com

All the best look forward to seeing you as the Authority site on Clown Fish

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Steffy

11 years ago

Originally Posted by neotech

Nice website, are you still glad you asked for advice...? (lol), Just kidding can see you have taken everything on board.

I would add that the email subscription box should be at above recent posts.

You want your visitors to get your information so you need to give them that opportunity immediately!

I notice you said it was an information site, and that's cool, but at some point hosting fees need to get paid?

All the advice on the site presentation here has been good, but one thing is missing Traffic! Advice. You need to start writing articles and getting your information out there...contrary to popular belief, if you "build it", they wont come.

You keyword choice is awful i might ad "clown fish guide", gets less that 10 visits a Month! It recieves 110 searches under broad match.

That means people could be searching for things other than clown fish information, such as a clown fish costume!

Some things you may want to add:

You can also add a link to a sitemap.
Categories in the side bar
List of terms and meaning page

I took the liberty of doing a quick keyword search here are some better keywords, they all recieve between 2,900 and 140 searches a month each, on exact match

clown fish
clown fish facts
what do clown fish eat
clown fish pictures
clown fish habitat
clown fish facts for kids
clown fish care
black clown fish
clown fish for sale <====== 2nd lowest comp (46/100) , 2,400 searches (m)
clown fish scientific name
clown loach fish
freshwater clown fish
clown fish adaptations
clown fish aquarium
clown fish breeding <====== lowest comp (41/100) 1,900 searches (m)
where do clown fish live
clown fish predators
clown fish reproduction
clown fish prices
clown fish anemone
clown fish and sea anemone

It's a good idea to change the main keyword, you should start pulling in some visitors after you have submitted about 10 articles to some directories. using that keyword as the anchor text *clown fish breeding*, hint!

Recommend ezinearticles.com, sooperaticles.com

All the best look forward to seeing you as the Authority site on Clown Fish

Wow, thanks Neotech. All that info is amazing, it's really going to help.

And, no I'm not sorry I asked for advice.

Although I am new to this, I appreciate the honesty people are giving me. Telling what I need to hear as opposed to what I want to hear is far more useful to me.

I appreciate all the advice.

Thanks
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neotech

11 years ago

My pleasure was sitting around not doing much...lol!

I came across an affiliate offer that could fit in nicely with Clownfish

You can signup at clickbank at the link below, if you haven't already

https://www.clickbank.com/affiliateA...ignup.htm?key=

And here's the link to that Guide...

Saltwater Aquarium Advice <==== (*This is not an affiliate link*)

You can sign up to click bank and promote this on your site.
I take it Clown fish are saltwater fish.....?
The sales copy for the product is disgusting, but the guy presenting in the video is passionate qualified and seems to know his stuff!

The payout is almost 17 dollars a pop! which is pretty good...

All the best again...

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Steffy

11 years ago

Originally Posted by neotech

My pleasure was sitting around not doing much...lol!

I came across an affiliate offer that could fit in nicely with Clownfish

You can signup at clickbank at the link below, if you haven't already

https://www.clickbank.com/affiliateA...ignup.htm?key=

And here's the link to that Guide...

Saltwater Aquarium Advice <==== (*This is not an affiliate link*)

You can sign up to click bank and promote this on your site.
I take it Clown fish are saltwater fish.....?
The sales copy for the product is disgusting, but the guy presenting in the video is passionate qualified and seems to know his stuff!

The payout is almost 17 dollars a pop! which is pretty good...

All the best again...

Neotech, you're so much better than me at this.

Are you sure you wouldn't like to buy the site from me? I'll offer you a fair price.

Thanks

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Monja

11 years ago

sorry to hear that. guess it´s not that hard to get banned from adsense these days...

i guess though that there are many different ways to monetize the site, maybe not the easiest are the best. so i´d go with amazon or clickbank

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newmarket

11 years ago

Hi, your blog is perfect. But there is one thing you do wrong. It is you try to make money with your blog. Actually, the blog is not for making money. It should be for building relationship with your customers. Therefore, I just don't understand why there are people who are telling newbies that they need to do blogging to make money. It is so wrong. So contact with me if you want to know the reality of IM.

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Monja

11 years ago

newmarket - i agree partly.
sure you don't build a business around your blog but you blog around your business. so first comes: what do you sell and then how do you archive that?
and in the IM world that is usually based on giving away really good content. so you need to go from there: design, content, monetization

Originally Posted by newmarket

Hi, your blog is perfect. But there is one thing you do wrong. It is you try to make money with your blog. Actually, the blog is not for making money. It should be for building relationship with your customers. Therefore, I just don't understand why there are people who are telling newbies that they need to do blogging to make money. It is so wrong. So contact with me if you want to know the reality of IM.

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My first attempt at a niche blog, please review

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