No income yet, could you review my site?

by snowieranch

Posted: 12 years ago 20 replies

WEB DESIGN

Several months ago, I read some of the forums here when I wasn't a member and learned how to get in the right direction. Now, my page is built and I feel I should be making money, but something is just not right. I have tried looking at my sight 'without blinders' on, and I feel something is wrong with it, just can't pinpoint exactly what. Any help would be appreciated. Also, what does "impressions" mean on my stats.:confused: Oh, and what is a tag?

#income #review #site

topnichewebsites 12 years ago

Where do I start without looking bad myself.

1) Pretty plain design
2) Dont really have a catchy logo to brand yourself just a text one
3) Lot and lot of images that link to affiliate sites
4) Really doesnt contain alot any infomation I can read and some images you have take abit to download
5) Every page has the same title. Need better SEO for title.
6) No Meta tags for keywords or description

You do have a email list to capture emails, you would capture more if you have the traffic if you offered something for there email, like a free ebook that pertains to your site. I would suggest alot more content and change your logo and background scheme.

Sorry, tying to give a honest review.

If you are looking for a makeover to pop your site just let me know or if you need other help my contact info is below.
- Thanks
- 1 reply
Signature
http://pixelcovers.com/ <- eBook add eCovers

https://www.unicommercesolutions.com <- WordPress Websites and Maintenance
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6280794].message }}
- snowieranch 12 years ago
  
  Thank you so much for your suggestions. That should give me something to do for the next week. Your answer was exactly what I wanted from my question. Again, thanks! Cindy
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6280872].message }}
topnichewebsites 12 years ago

You are welcome
- Thanks
Signature
http://pixelcovers.com/ <- eBook add eCovers

https://www.unicommercesolutions.com <- WordPress Websites and Maintenance
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6280940].message }}
xtrapunch 12 years ago

Your website looks like it has been in existence for just a couple of months. If you started this blog hoping that you will start making money immediately, you didn't really plan it right.

Blogging takes a lot of hard work before you start getting any money from it. Your blogposts are small and no pictures at all. It doesn't make it look good. You have not use any SEO plug-in at all. So I assume you don't have any traffic to this site.

You are doing it all wrong. Learn the basics of creating niche websites. Learn SEO. Learn link-building. Get traffic. Join AdSense. Maybe, get a good header for your site. Your theme is TwentyTen, which is okay.
- Thanks
- 1 reply
Signature

>> Web Design, Wordpress & SEO - XtraPunch.com <<
Web Design & SEO Agency | Serving World Wide from New Delhi, India
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6282031].message }}
- snowieranch 12 years ago
  
  You are so right! I have only been running a month and a half. But, up to that point I studied everything I could find for about two years and was taken to many, many "wrong" paths. But, considering the people who have written me to help, I feel really honored my work is worthy of the wonderful suggestions to get me on the REAL right path. It feels great to have earned that respect after the few years of "unpaid" work and I feel really motivated by all the great suggestions here.
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6286974].message }}
benjigbird 12 years ago

The background color would need changing. you need a logo/header and you may want to update your theme.
- Thanks
Signature

CLICK HERE --> WSO: GUARANTEED GOOGLE 1ST PAGE RANKINGS!!! <-- CLICK HERE
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6282114].message }}
EnzoBlaque 12 years ago

Have you done any SEO on this website, I can't see any obvious signs of any optimization.

Another thing which has been said already but i'll just re-state is that you have a really plain design. No logo, too many affiliate links etc..

what you'd have to ask yourself is would you buy anything from such a website?

My advise to you would be to study SEO to build that all important traffic. Aim to get an actual image based logo rather than text, just to boost the visual appeal of your website.. I'd also consider adding a special giveaway type offer to give people more of a reason to buy from you instead of someone else
- Thanks
- 1 reply
Signature
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6285776].message }}
- internetsuperstar 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by EnzoBlaque
  
  Have you done any SEO on this website, I can't see any obvious signs of any optimization.
  
  This can be good and bad, depending on how you invest in your SEO.
  
  UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT BACKLINKS ARE, AND YOU KNOW WHAT KEYWORDS SELL, DO NOT INVEST IN BACKLINKS. DOING SO WILL BE VERY DISAPOINTING IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW SEO WORKS. MAJOR BACKLINKING YOU SEE BEING OFFERED WILL OFTEN TAKE YOU UP, THEN TAKE YOU DOWN ONCE YOU STOP INVESTING IN IT. BACKLINKS SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION, AS THEY ARE GREY HAT.
  
  1. add meta information NOW! keywords, header, image attributes. you are using wordpress, so install greg's SEO plugin or some other free SEO plugin. Optimize all your pages, but don't do it until you do your keyword research. go to Google Keyword Tool Dot Com and click the link. It will take you to google's keyword tool. then, start putting in your keywords.
  
  2. don't just do flowers.
  do stuff like, 'buy flower seeds' 'get flower tips'
  
  3. know what your product is. those are the keywords you will be targeting.
  
  4. invest in a back linker or in google keyword tools. i suggest if you're going to invest in either one for TESTING purposes, then google keyword. but for long term, you want to build your SEO organically. Don't fall prey to the people offering you top page results in your SEO. This isn't long term. Why? Because it's cheating the natural organic system. But everyone does it.
  
  5. buy a new domain name focused around the best buyer keyword you have. put dashes in between it. then build a sales funnel on that domain. this well help your SEO juice more than anything that you do right now. Why? because you've got the KEYWORD IN YOUR DOMAIN. buy-flowers.com - something is probably on it. then, build a link wheel. keep on building.
  
  6. don't give up. It's a process. There is no way to 'get rich quick' on the internet. Shoot. It took me 3 years and I finally broke in. It was amazing. It happened really fast after I learned The OptimizePress Sales Funnel Process.
  
  WordPress makes it easy for anybody as long as you know what works and what doesn't. I didn't make these rules up. This is just what works.
  
  Thanks
  
  Signature
  Get Your Free Consultation Today
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6286174].message }}
Hentie 12 years ago

Well I think topnichewebsites above gave you a good rundown. I kind of like a plain site but you should brand it a bit. My advice would be to get a good course on on-site SEO and linkbuilding. There are tons of them in the Warrior Special Offers section (read the comments on the offers to find a good one). Honestly a $10 - $15 investment can save you a lot of time and effort. My guess is that you get no real visitors and to just carry on with no guide would be a waste of time. To point you in a direction I have just bought this one and it looks promising. (I am not affiliated in any way!) http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...uhahaha.html#1
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6286002].message }}
internetsuperstar 12 years ago

Cindy,

change your design.

1. create a big bold and beautiful header with lots of flowers on it.
2. your email catcher should be big and bold. your website isn't what makes you money. it is your email list.
3. switch to WordPress. Then, buy OptimizePress.
4. Create a 'sales funnel' that will have two pages.
5. the start of the sales funnel is the email catcher on the home page. hence the reason for making it the biggest, boldest element on the page. this draws the eye of your customer to your email'
6. Once they put in their email, it will send them to a sales page. you will need sales copy, testimonials from your customers, and a 'buy now' link through paypal or some other shopping cart service. but paypal is free.
7. follow up with customers for 12 months on your email autoresponder. Send them discounts, deals, tips and tricks. You should start with a few tips and tricks. motivation for not giving up when their plants die, to keep on going.
8. make a video to auto-play on their sales page
9. build another sales page related to the next product you are selling. do this for each product, starting with your biggest payouts first.
10. enjoy your new life.
- Thanks
Signature
Get Your Free Consultation Today
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6286084].message }}
lovboa Banned 12 years ago

Your blog is being spammed like crazy in your comments.
Install askimet and if you know how, configure your comments.php so that there is no form for commenters to post a url.

And it looks like you even replied to one of them thinking it was a genuine comment.
Learn to identify spam comments. Usually, they will have their name as a search term keyword or even a url. Unapprove them and send them in spam.

P.S. you approve a few of those spam comments and your blog will be known as an easy target by comment spamming softwares.
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6287741].message }}
rantrally 12 years ago

1. The bright green background is distracting and hurt my eyes.
2. The background image at the top of the page is pixelated and could be higher quality.
3. Making money on the web is not easy. You'll need to focus on marketing your site for SEO - perhaps invest in an adwords campaign to drive traffic to your site.
- Thanks
Signature

Michael Harris
Co-Founder
www.RantRally.com
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6292551].message }}
mmrumii 12 years ago

You should have a look about Background
Theme , header and footer.
That will make your site more attractive and useful for you and more user friendly.
- Thanks
Signature
Blog about Content Locking and CPA
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6293646].message }}
shantanu 12 years ago

Use stabdard ads not cheap one's whouse topay less or half of it. Make your content much genuine and presentable which makes your site attractive which can drive traffic too.
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6293749].message }}
jdiaz 12 years ago

Cindy, the design doesn't always determine making money. I would focus on a bit on branding yourself. Basically try putting in a photo of yourself in the header. But this is just one little thing you can do. There are plenty others. Keep in mind that you also need to do on page seo and off page seo so that you can get traffic from search engines.
- Thanks
- 1 reply
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6297507].message }}
- sadeeshbala 12 years ago
  
  The Design was not good enough. Please change the wordpress template or buy any attractive templates....
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6297625].message }}
ClickController 12 years ago

Hi Cindy,

Nice blog. Here are a few suggestions you might want to try.

1. Write for your audience not for yourself.

People read blogs for two main reasons:
a. To gain information that is useful to them
b. To be entertained

Your articles are mainly stories from your planting experiences. While interesting, what is it about your site that will make a reader want to keep reading your material and come back for more?

My suggestion is to focus the topic of your posts on tips and insights about planting that you have learned. Use personal stories as an aside to add entertainment value to your post, but the meat of your posts should help and inform your readers.

2. Get rid of all the "resource" links in the navigation bar.

People will not see these as helpful recommendations. They will see them as affiliate links. A recommendation helps you find a specific product or solution.

If someone asked you what kind of soil they should use for planting lavender;

You wouldn't say, "Lowes super store is the place for all your gardening needs."

You would tell them; "The best soil for growing lavender is gritty or sandy loam with a pH factor between 6.0 and 8.0.

In France, lavender grows naturally in well drained limestone and stony ground. However, light, well drained soils are generally quite suitable for lavender growing.

For heavier or more clay-based soils try growing lavender in mounds or raised beds and incorporate crushed granite like chicken grit into the top 12” of the soil.

Add plenty of organic matter to promote soil aeration. Lime will also need to be added to increase the pH level of clay soils and make them more friable (crumbly). Lavender will tolerate “wet feet” after a heavy rain for a short time providing the ground is free-draining, ultimately leading to fast water removal.

Growing lavenders in fast-draining raised beds is another workable option.

Oh, and by the way, Lowes sells a soil potting mix specifically for lavender that you may want to check out... here's a coupon."

I guarantee you that the person asking you that question will not think twice about taking you up on your recommendation after an answer like that.

3. Gardening is a very visual art form. Take pictures of your plants and add them to your posts.

People will come back just to see the new pictures you've posted. Plus with the advent of Pinterest, you will have a new venue for attracting visitors. Remember the more interesting or novel your pictures are, the better your response will be.

Finally, in regards to making money with your blog... I came across an article in my research that I think applies perfectly to your situation. It discusses the monetization strategy of a recipe blog and describes in detail what worked and what didn't.

While your blog is not a recipe blog your readers are very much alike.

Note: take a look at the blog they are monetizing and try to uncover what makes it so successful. Specifically, this blog provides the reader with information that they can benefit from. She could have chosen to write about her experiences in the kitchen, but by providing recipes she engages the reader and offers them something they want. How can you apply this to your own blog?

Here is the link:
lessannoyingcrm.com/articles/259/How_I_monetized_a_blog_in_30_days:_what_worked_and _what_didnt

Live Well,
Mike
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6298346].message }}
CyborgX 12 years ago

As for your site I would say its very simple and the theme looks so simple. You have used default theme. Try to use a paid out theme if you are trying make serious money try to spend money. And here are some tips that can you use...

Write quality blogs regularly. You should always give informative blogs and write regularly.

Invite guest bloggers. Guest bloggers can help to drive their traffic in to your site since their blogs have links.

Employ search engines. Have links to Engines such as Google and Yahoo. They play a major role increasing traffic.
- Thanks
Signature
Best online hotel booking website
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6298921].message }}
Kyro 12 years ago

Hi Cindy,

This might sound a little harsh but the site looks terrible for conversion. It's far too plain and doesn't provide a clear "Call to Action" or a product catalogue for customers to actually BUY products.

There is no clear Branding that distinguishes you from your competition.

For tips on growing traffic try this site, It's got some great fundamentals to get you going in the right direction. Some of the tips might not apply for your case but there's useful info in there:

100 Ways to Increase Your Website Traffic
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6322812].message }}
thester 12 years ago

The site looks terrible, everyone will click the back button asap and if a human reviewer seen it it would definitely receive a penalty. google wants quality and you have to be the best in your niche or at least try.
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6336892].message }}