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Help a beginner out?

by RoflBerryFarms
21 replies
So I am new to the online money making game. And I have read a few guides here and there off some other forums to try to get an idea of what to do. So I bought a domain and hosting and im trying to make money off amazon affilaite links and adsense or some kind of PPC. I went for a low competition niche and tried to optomize my pages according to the best keywords.

here is my site: realninjaweapons.com
Can any experts provide any criticism tips or whatever to help me out? Thanks in advance

EDIT: I updated the site trying to incorporate some of your suggestions. Please let me know what you think
#beginner #marketing
  • Profile picture of the author TheArticlePros
    Originally Posted by RoflBerryFarms View Post

    here is my site: realninjaweapons.com
    Can any experts provide any criticism tips or whatever to help me out? Thanks in advance
    The site is "off" a little bit to me. It's a little too busy and I got distracted too easily when I looked at it. (Could be me...I've never been diagnosed with ADHD, but....oh wait...was that a shiny penny???)

    Seriously, you need more content. Were the product reviews copied or lifted directly from Amazon? I read a guide on here last year. If I could remember who wrote it, I'd link you to the post, but I can't. It was by a lady who was making a killing by posting 1 Amazon product per day to her blog.

    She would research the product and then write a 500-1000 word review of the product. I can't remember if she back-linked it at all, but I'm sure she had to. Over time, the "weight" of her site became heavier and she soon became recognized as an authority site because of how deep her content was. People started linking to her and her product pages began to rank higher because her site was recognized like it was.

    It took her some time though.

    I am not an Amazon expert, but I'm pretty good with SEO (I have a kick @$$ mentor) and I'm really good with writing. Your page needs a little help. If it were me, I'd do this:

    1) Write longer articles.
    2) Change up the theme to something a little simpler. Maybe experiment with the standard Twenty Eleven theme...it's pretty powerful.
    2A) Drop off most of your side widgets as well. Make them a lot simpler.
    3) Put a border on your images. It might just be your theme, but the white text bleeds into the images.
    4) Get a War Room membership and read everything you can concerning Amazon. You'll get the best advice on the 'Net that way, and for free to boot.

    -- j
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    • Profile picture of the author andreasup
      Originally Posted by JaRyCu View Post

      1) Write longer articles.
      2) Change up the theme to something a little simpler. Maybe experiment with the standard Twenty Eleven theme...it's pretty powerful.
      2A) Drop off most of your side widgets as well. Make them a lot simpler.
      3) Put a border on your images. It might just be your theme, but the white text bleeds into the images.
      4) Get a War Room membership and read everything you can concerning Amazon. You'll get the best advice on the 'Net that way, and for free to boot.

      -- j
      I totally agree with you JaRyCu - Twenty Eleven is fantastic.

      I've used it for some of my blogs and it looks so clean, elegant, but is so simple to use. No wonder it was the default theme for WP in 2011.

      It has great Post Formats, beautiful header images, alternate color schemes and layouts, even custom link colors. It looks great as a blog. Love it.

      Great advice.
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      • Profile picture of the author oliverroom
        Originally Posted by andreasup View Post

        I totally agree with you JaRyCu - Twenty Eleven is fantastic.

        I've used it for some of my blogs and it looks so clean, elegant, but is so simple to use. No wonder it was the default theme for WP in 2011.

        It has great Post Formats, beautiful header images, alternate color schemes and layouts, even custom link colors. It looks great as a blog. Love it.

        Great advice.

        yeah i totally agree with you mate ^_^
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        • Profile picture of the author Emily B
          A few things I've noticed:

          1. The way you've varied font sizes in your articles is bad. Stick to one general size.

          2. The divs that hold your images are really inconsistent with their placement. Try to have them match for some consistency.

          3. You have two search boxes. Remove one.

          4. In the categories section, instead of having one general category for Ninja Weapons, divide it into types of weapons. So have seperate categories for katanas, shurikens, etc.

          5. I noticed in your katana article that your tags are too broad. You've listed "dagger" when a katana is clearly not a dagger. Don't stuff in tags that aren't related.

          6. Your articles need to be longer, structured better and more informative on the weapon.

          7. At the top, you have a "List of Ninja Weapons" link all by itself. This looks strange all by itself. Maybe move it over to the right somewhere, or add more links to the top.

          8. Remove the blogroll immediately.

          I agree with the others that this theme isn't suiting your needs. I would change it.

          Good luck to you. Interesting niche.
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    • Profile picture of the author RoflBerryFarms
      Originally Posted by JaRyCu View Post

      The site is "off" a little bit to me. It's a little too busy and I got distracted too easily when I looked at it. (Could be me...I've never been diagnosed with ADHD, but....oh wait...was that a shiny penny???)

      Seriously, you need more content. Were the product reviews copied or lifted directly from Amazon? I read a guide on here last year. If I could remember who wrote it, I'd link you to the post, but I can't. It was by a lady who was making a killing by posting 1 Amazon product per day to her blog.

      She would research the product and then write a 500-1000 word review of the product. I can't remember if she back-linked it at all, but I'm sure she had to. Over time, the "weight" of her site became heavier and she soon became recognized as an authority site because of how deep her content was. People started linking to her and her product pages began to rank higher because her site was recognized like it was.

      It took her some time though.

      I am not an Amazon expert, but I'm pretty good with SEO (I have a kick @$$ mentor) and I'm really good with writing. Your page needs a little help. If it were me, I'd do this:

      1) Write longer articles.
      2) Change up the theme to something a little simpler. Maybe experiment with the standard Twenty Eleven theme...it's pretty powerful.
      2A) Drop off most of your side widgets as well. Make them a lot simpler.
      3) Put a border on your images. It might just be your theme, but the white text bleeds into the images.
      4) Get a War Room membership and read everything you can concerning Amazon. You'll get the best advice on the 'Net that way, and for free to boot.

      -- j
      thanks for the advice ill look into implementing that.
      I do write original "reviews" on the products and there not copied from the amazon store if that will help my cause
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      • Profile picture of the author TheArticlePros
        Originally Posted by RoflBerryFarms View Post

        thanks for the advice ill look into implementing that.
        I do write original "reviews" on the products and there not copied from the amazon store if that will help my cause
        That will help you out...didn't mean for my post to be accusatory if it was. I didn't actually go to Amazon and check them out, so it was more of a pondering on my part.

        Make your posts as close to 100% original as you can and that will really help your cause.

        -- j
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        Posting About Life & Video Games:
        http://www.jarycu.com

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        • Profile picture of the author Birdi
          hey

          checked out your site, listed below is what i say you need to do:

          1. change your theme and colors

          2. have an image of each product, and then a short description to get potential customers interested...

          3. find at least 5-10 products to promote, and place them as posts.

          4. do your keyword research more in depth.

          5. get articles written up of problems in your niche and place them on your site.

          6. make sure you have a disclaimer letting your customers know you get paid a commision ftc guidelines ask it, so you dont get in trouble

          a basic framework to work around, hope that good enough for you to get started

          birdi
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      • Profile picture of the author Shadowflux
        I like your niche, it's much more fun than what most websites cover these days. I'd agree with the other members in that you should try to find a better theme. I'm sometimes a bit cheap with investing and I used to try and use free themes. I was helping my wife build her site and we couldn't find a free theme we liked. We broke down and bought a premium theme for less than $40.

        It was definitely worth the money. The difference is like night and day. The premium theme is so much nicer looking, it has so much more functionality, so many more options and a ton of extra stuff. You should really consider a premium theme.

        Also, I know that you're promoting amazon products but I just recently saw a product which would relate to your niche on Clickbank. I was tempted to try promoting it but I'm really just too busy and need to stay focused. Search clickbank for it, if you can't find it just PM me and I'll probably be able to find it for you.

        Best of luck!

        edit: I just realized you probably can't PM me. Just search on clickbank using your main keyword. (I'm trying not to say it to protect your niche)
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  • Profile picture of the author Dwight Anthony
    You could add a amazon store of related weapons or ninja weapons. Also, how about a banner for learning ninjitsu or similar. Work on the design aspect of the blog, remove things in the sidebar that don't add to the reader value. Add some high quality posts and a contact and privacy policy to keep google happy. Once you start building some backlinks and gaining more traffic, add some adsense to the posts.

    Good start so far, but it could improve quite a bit
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  • Profile picture of the author creditbuilder
    I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but find niches with less competition = less visitors or traffic or interest whereas more popular ones have more competition. So I say stick the the niche that interests you and you would enjoy working in.

    Best of luck.
    That as they say, is my 2 cents.
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  • Profile picture of the author PatrickDownes
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Sean Doody
      Before you go ant further you need a change of mindset. In your opening line you referred to it as "the online make money game".

      Sure the end goal for all of us to eventually earn a living from online.

      But before you can begin to see any success what so ever online you NEED to view what your doing as setting up a long term legitimate business, Just that it's online.

      Give that some serious thought. I have personally heard it from all the big hitters in this industry.

      All the best buddy,
      Sean
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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    Yep setting up a long term business or "drilling for oil" as I like to put it. =]

    Sometimes you need to drill A LOT of holes before you see those black spouts rushing towards the sky.

    About your website, I definitely like the idea, I do not really dig the website however.
    Anything related to ninjas should have a lot of humor and wit to go along with it. When people read about ninjas, or ninja weapons, I think they like to be entertained at the same time... or they just EXPECT it.

    Not saying you should become a dancing monkey, but you should really try to change your copy so its more engaging, more humorsome. It can be a bitch sometimes, you really just need to be in the right mindset imo.

    Second piece of advice is pictures. My ADD kicked in pretty quick as you're talking about swords, but I don't see nice big juicy pictures of swords. Would be cool too if you can have a ninja hide behind your header, then he should jump out a few seconds after people click in, maybe even throw nunchucks at the screen.

    Ok you know what? Don't listen to me haha. Now I'm just getting stupid, but it definitely should be both more FUN and more ORGANIZED. Right now it just looks to dreary, and a bit hard to read. Oh and definitely get rid of that right side bar you might even want to center everything and make it look like a regular salespage.

    G/luck! - Red
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  • Profile picture of the author Des Lau
    As a graphic and web designer, the site doesn't contain much appeal - you want to capture the attention of the viewer instantly, 'above the fold'.
    It's very black and white at the moment and that is enough to increase bounce rates just like that.
    What I suggest is imagery, maybe actual people using these weapons in martial arts scenario, or a video of you reviewing it. There are alot of words which you feel have to be read before you get into your reviews, which you DON'T WANT.
    Anyways, I could go on, but you've done a good job for your first site.

    See my sig for more tips - it's exactly about this topic
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    • Profile picture of the author Jay Campbell
      Good advice from others above, but one thing not mentioned yet is to add an email capture form and start building a list. This is a strategy that should be implemented on all sites, including product review sites.
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      • Profile picture of the author RoflBerryFarms
        Originally Posted by Jay Campbell View Post

        Good advice from others above, but one thing not mentioned yet is to add an email capture form and start building a list. This is a strategy that should be implemented on all sites, including product review sites.
        Can you recommend any good free or cheap email capture systems?
        Thanks for all the advice given above
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        • Profile picture of the author moneymuze
          I googled 'ninja weapons'. This is what I do when looking for ideas on what is out there in regards to site design as well as what people want for a niche that I am interested in. One thing that did pop out at me on your site were the words 'for sale'. Twice in the title (header), which incidentally is way too long. Most of what is in your header minus the words 'for sale' could ideally be used in your meta description, which you have none.
          The words 'for sale' are also found in your h1 as well. Kinda seems like you are more interested in selling than providing content, which people are generally looking for, not to mention what google wants to see.
          Ninja weapons as a niche is not really a niche but a massive industry with a ton of competition to break into from the top. Dig down to a sub-niche like, japanese swords (178 exact match searches per day) or katana swords (217 exact match) and expand your way outward from there in all directions within the ninja weapons industry - knives, nunchucks, throwing weapons, etc. Build your authority with more text that shows your visitors and potential buyers that you are knowledgeable and sincerely interested in providing insight for their query before (instead of) simply selling stuff.
          I don't want to sound to critical, and I do hope this helps. Good luck in your endeavor.
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          • Profile picture of the author RoflBerryFarms
            Originally Posted by moneymuze View Post

            I googled 'ninja weapons'. This is what I do when looking for ideas on what is out there in regards to site design as well as what people want for a niche that I am interested in. One thing that did pop out at me on your site were the words 'for sale'. Twice in the title (header), which incidentally is way too long. Most of what is in your header minus the words 'for sale' could ideally be used in your meta description, which you have none.
            The words 'for sale' are also found in your h1 as well. Kinda seems like you are more interested in selling than providing content, which people are generally looking for, not to mention what google wants to see.
            Ninja weapons as a niche is not really a niche but a massive industry with a ton of competition to break into from the top. Dig down to a sub-niche like, japanese swords (178 exact match searches per day) or katana swords (217 exact match) and expand your way outward from there in all directions within the ninja weapons industry - knives, nunchucks, throwing weapons, etc. Build your authority with more text that shows your visitors and potential buyers that you are knowledgeable and sincerely interested in providing insight for their query before (instead of) simply selling stuff.
            I don't want to sound to critical, and I do hope this helps. Good luck in your endeavor.
            well my thought process behind putting a lot of "buy" and "for sale" keywords was this:
            I wanted to make money of amazon affilaite purchases. So I sepreated my site into 2 categories.
            1) a list of ninja weapons
            2) Ninja weapons for sale
            I put the list section in their mostly for general SEO purposes and traffic. While the for sale part would attract more visitors who actually want to buy ninja weapons. So I would get a better conversion rate primarliy offering that
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        • Profile picture of the author Jay Campbell
          Originally Posted by RoflBerryFarms View Post

          Can you recommend any good free or cheap email capture systems?
          Thanks for all the advice given above
          I use Aweber. I think the first month they have a trial offer for $1.
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      • Profile picture of the author jonmay
        Originally Posted by Jay Campbell View Post

        Good advice from others above, but one thing not mentioned yet is to add an email capture form and start building a list. This is a strategy that should be implemented on all sites, including product review sites.
        Totally agree with Jay here, and I use Aweber as well. Don't underestimate the word free either. I would create an article to the effect of: "Free Report Reveals the Deadliest Ninja Weapon" sign up to find out what it is.
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  • Profile picture of the author juggerna623
    I think your website needs a social media feed.
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    • Profile picture of the author RoflBerryFarms
      Originally Posted by juggerna623 View Post

      I think your website needs a social media feed.
      A feed like what I am posting on different social sites like twitter and facebook?

      Also:
      I updated the site trying to incorporate some of your suggestions. Please let me know what you think
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