Questions about my blog

[Monkeyman09]

1) If you aren't going to put the full text of an article on the front page, you should go with a magazine format theme.

2) You have a giant space above the image for the title, then the image which has nothing to do with the subject of your blog. That is a lot of header space which doesn't really do anything. Push content up so people can see it.

3) Gadgets are a very mature and competitive niche. Have something which sets you apart from everyone else and make that obvious when you go to the front page. The site is so plain it looks like a spammer site. Nothing sets it apart.

I found another theme for free that I'm using. I'm currently learning how to edit photos and how to build websites properly. My new theme should make for more of a better layout, even if it does still look bare. My current priority is working on content while learning about how to build a better website.

Could someone also please read a few articles and tell me what you think? Again, any and all appraisal or criticism is welcome. As long as you're constructive then be as brutal with your honesty as you wish. Thank you for your suggestions.

[WagerWitch]

Monkeyman - will you put a link in the Blog Review area? If so - I'll truly look at it and review it, if you can NOT take it personally. Eh?

[WagerWitch]

OK _ changed my mind - here's my review of your blog... LOL!

1)My blog is pretty bare. What do you like/dislike about it?

More articles and a different Template.

I think I would like to see you in this theme - if you don't mind my saying so:

WP Premium Theme

or this:

CSS Gallery - WordPress Themes - OS Designer

2)Should I add or subtract from my articles? As in should I add pictures/videos?

I think that with the layouts I just showed you - especially the 2nd one, you could have your picture and your title and the posts that people are interested in they could click on - and follow your posts.

Yes - have video - make sure that you embed the videos (YouTube or otherwise) carefully into into your website - viewers truly dislike videos downloading or starting when they visit - without their permission.

Yes - have pictures - people like to "see" what you are talking about, even if it's just an image that captures the feeling of the post.

3)I'm trying to get a list of things to do to become a serious money making blogger (like commenting and trackbacks). I understand it takes time but my goal is $1000 a month. In general what are some habits that a blogger does?

Post consistently.
Good Solid Posts.
Well Written posts.
Good OPINIONS.
Getting people to come back.
Getting people to comment.
Keeping their "customers/readers" coming back and wanting more.
Don't copy, don't lie, don't fib - and don't use other people's articles without getting permission and giving credit.
Don't use pictures that belong to others without the same.
Don't use making money as your main focus.
Keep Adwords/Adsense to a minimum - not as the primary focus.
Be good at what you do - and notify sponsors of your reviews of their products.
Linkback.
Use Labels
Use Tags
Use Tag Clouds
GET SOMETHING LIKE SITEMETER to view your readers stats (sitemeter is free and very indepth.)
Find a good SEO Help or read up on Google Webmaster Tools
Learn to implement your sitemap
Learn to keep up on your keywords - and study google trends
Review your competitors and see what you can do to be better
Comment on other blogs and FORUMS and REMAIN active - don't just go there to GET WHAT you want - but participate in the communities - you will learn a LOT and you will gather followers.
And you can get good value out of the friendships that you create.

4)I'm starting to be more open with what I say on my blog. What's a good "format" or things people look for in a good post? Also, what are some tips on writing better content?

This is a good thing - otherwise, why would I go to your blog? Hmm? It needs to be the same in some respects - BUT IT CERTAINLY needs to be unique.

Write from the heart - Write with facts. Use humor, but have the facts straight - be prepared to back up your writing. And BE TRUE to yourself.

Again never copy another's work - you can learn from their style - but develop your own.

Take the time to proofread - take the time to step back and re-read the post again to yourself. A good technique is to read it out loud into a recording device - and listen to it.

Stick to your area of expertise, and stay in the same categories or similar categories. Diving out of them occasionally and watching the reaction of your followers/readers. I the reaction is good - continue - if not - stop... and bounce in another direction.

Readers like to stick to the familiar - once they get used to your "voice" they want you to stay true to that voice - and they don't like expectations to change at all.

5)Are there any other sources of information out there that can help me with content writing, habits/things to do, or give ideas on monetizing?

Like I said - Bloggeries, BlogCatalog, are good sources for information - but so is Technorati. Your BEST bet on getting good information is to check out other sites.

Again - don't copy them - but LEARN from them.

Stay away from get rich quick programs and the like - they only suck you dry.

Join Commision Junction - you might find that you can absolutely showcase those types of things.

Adsense is alright - but there are other programs - like Adbright etc. Look into them - READ THE PRIVACY and the TERMS and CONDITIONS completely - determine if you can live with those condiditons.

BUT whatever you do - do NOT make ADSENSE the WHOLE priority of your blog or you WILL turn people off and they won't come back.

Get a PayPal account and add a donation button on the bottom of your site.

As I am not a big Adsense fan - I think you could do better with Commission Junction - then you can participate in Traffic Exchanges - PM me if you want to know about Traffic Exchanges. I can let you in on those as a secret weapon - but only if you're willing to put in the time.

6)I read that Google doesn't want you to do certain things with Adsense and shuts the account down without warning. I don't plan on running a spam site or anything malicious like that. Are there any suggestions you can provide on how to keep from getting my Adsense account shut down? What are some good ways to better utilize Adsense?

Like I said above - I'm not an Adwords/Adsense fan. I see people making only 1 dollar a week and so on - originally believing they are going to make millions.

Your best bet is to find sponsors and people willing to buy advertisement on your blog once you gain a following.

I hope you didn't take anything I said personally - another blogger here took my critique too harshly when I was only trying to help him/her get his site marketable and ready for presentation.

By the way - you write well enough to be doing this.

It's not easy- and it takes a lot of work - and it's not always fun.

But it can be rewarding.

Good Luck,

WW




PS> I do think your reviews are superbly done - and other than your layout - not a problem. Also put your buttons below your writing... Don't forget your TAGs OK _ those are very important especially for ranking (REALLY READ GOOGLE TOOLS - it's dry reading but IMPORTANT.)

[WagerWitch]

Here's some really good templates I think --- for you:

Dark Dimension
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE:
Dark Dimension
Download it:
Free XHTML/CSS Website Templates - Template World

Brain Tech
LOOKS:
Brain Tech
DOWNLOAD:
Free XHTML/CSS Website Templates - Template World

NtechBlog
Looks:
NTECH BLOG
Download:
Free XHTML/CSS Website Templates - Template World


adding this one - Free Wordpress Theme - newtech promag - Free Download

you know down in the template area - there are some really awesome word press templates here on that category - cruise through those.

[stephen todd]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman09

Critique my site as much as you want. Tell me what you think and be as honest as you need to. If it's brutal honesty, then fine by me. I am serious about doing this, it may take awhile but I want to get in to it. Thank you for taking your time to read this post.

Hi,

best to change your theme to a design that has the columns on the right hand side - that way the post content is better SEO'd

[Monkeyman09]

Thank you for all that information Wagerwitch. There's quite a lot there that can help me out a bunch. No, I'm not offended by what you told me.

A few more questions if you have the time and since you've been very helpful

1) You mention affiliates as being better for me. How so? And wouldn't I actually have to have experience with their products before I actually refer people to that?

2) You also say not to copy articles but get permission to use articles. I write about articles that I find and link back to those articles. That's not copying is it?

3) Also, if I take a source article and cover some of what they said in my article while writing some of my own opinion. That would count as my article? Or would that be plagiarism? I'm still new to this and I don't want to do anything wrong here.

I do think your reviews are superbly done

Thank you

Edit:

Also put your buttons below your writing..

I'm sorry, but which buttons are you referring to?

And I'm using wordpress, are there any themes you could recommend for it? I haven't hand coded my own website yet, but I could try and figure out how to fit the dark dimension theme in to a template for it.

And to you stephen...

Hi,

best to change your theme to a design that has the columns on the right hand side - that way the post content is better SEO'd

Thanks for your suggestion, but I would like to know more about the specifics as to why it'd be better for SEO, please.

[WagerWitch]

1) You mention affiliates as being better for me. How so? And wouldn't I actually have to have experience with their products before I actually refer people to that?

NO more so than using adsense. If you are going to post a billboard space --- YOUR BLOG IS A BILLBOARD ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY and it's real estate - just like a billboard --- you are using that advertising space to promote items or things or places in order to earn income... Whether you earn income from something you use or not.

However - at CJ or other affiliate places - there are probably items that you have used - and that you can showcase. Which - if you're looking for items that you can review - and put up in a spotlight - there are literally thousands of Affiliate things there... Browse through them and see what you think.

Learn that your real estate is yours to rent, sell, share, use or NOT use as you see fit.

You want to position yourself with making money. I do believe CJ is a better way - unless you're a HIGHLY READ blog - HIGHLY POSITIONED in Google - with a TON of UNIQUE visitors - then Adsense is pretty low paying.

I think the most your average blog makes is about 1.00 a month or thereabouts --- and that is a blog with 200 visitors daily --- we had this discussion on another forum... It made me realize that maybe ADSENSE wasn't such a good idea. It's just invasive. The blog owner cannot choose what they want to display - AND there are so many restrictions.

Two things - you want people to come back to your blog. You want them to think your blog is THE BOMB.

Adsense shows people links to places that are similar to what your content is --- in hopes to lure people away from your blog. In hopes that you lose your customers in the chance that their paying advertisers gain from your customers clicking on them - and going to their site.

Whereas CJ links are static - they are banners, links, etc. and your visitors who come regularly see them - and eventually choose - why not - got nothing better to do...

Or you can spotlight them in your blog posting - etc. To point their attention to the product or item or service... But IT IS UNDER YOUR CONTROL.

2) You also say not to copy articles but get permission to use articles. I write about articles that I find and link back to those articles. That's not copying is it?

Linking back or reviewing an article - is not the same as copying it - or using that information as your own.

For example - I see an article stating the lights went out in Texas --- I copy it and put it in my blog - and put my name to it... That's copying. That's wrong.

But If I say --- I saw this article >>HERE<<< which went on to describe how the lights went out in Texas and I thought it was an interesting article, you should go read it - here's the link... (always make sure that your links OPEN IN A NEW TAB or WINDOW) so that people don't lose your site - if you can help that...

See the difference - one is referencing the article - one is outright stealing it.

Think this: If you are copy and pasting - then you are probably lifting or stealing someone else's work. If you are writing it - you are creating it and referencing their work.

3) Also, if I take a source article and cover some of what they said in my article while writing some of my own opinion. That would count as my article? Or would that be plagiarism? I'm still new to this and I don't want to do anything wrong here.

Again a way to do this is say: Here's what JOJOJO at XYZ dot com says: that the lights went out in Texas because a cow kicked the switch. But I personally don't believe that! I think the lights went out because some operator fell asleep and nudged the switch when their arm fell down onto the grid board.

You're giving credit - referencing the article - and you're providing your own opinion on top of it.

[quote]Also put your buttons below your writing..

I'm sorry, but which buttons are you referring to?[/QUOTE

the blog buttons - the little dohickeys over in your top right corner.

Place them below your posts at the bottom of the page --- BUT THAT TOP RIGHT BOX -- -that is PRIME REAL ESTATE.

Think of your blog in terms of REAL ESTATE...

The top spots are for the most expensive houses - the ones you want EVERYONE to see.

Most people only look at the top of the page - if they are just browsing through your site on a FLYBY - they see the ads only at the top --- and NAME BRANDING is IMPORTANT.

If you want your links at the top - that do not generate income for you - then you are not using your space appropriately.

Think of the top spots as your most coveted BEACH FRONT PROPERTY in MALIBU.

OK?

best to change your theme to a design that has the columns on the right hand side - that way the post content is better SEO'd

I think I can answer this: Google reads plain text - they do not read like what you see.

There's a way to see how Google sees what your site looks like - but you'll have to learn how to use GOOGLE TOOLS on your own - it's a lot of work - and constantly changes so you'll need to stay on top of your game here. Make sure you have a Google sign in - go through GOOGLE TOOLS - and drink lots of coffee - study up on how they work - what works for you - and learn to read your stats.

I don't know that right column or left column makes a difference - but when Google reads - they see things differently than the way you see it... It's like they strip it down to the bare skeleton.

Alrighty then - I hope that helps.

WW

[stephen todd]

Originally Posted by stephen todd

Hi,

best to change your theme to a design that has the columns on the right hand side - that way the post content is better SEO'd

Hi,

generally when the left column contains navigation links or blog categories these have to be gone through before the search engine spider gets to the meat of the blog - your posts

spiders generally give up after a certain number of characters have been processed - so the post may not be indexed - only what's in the left hand column - worst when column contains lots of navigation links

the other thing is that the search engine listings usually consist of what's in that left hand column - so you can end up with hundreds of entries all duplicate - i.e. not showing anything from the actual posts

SEO's get round this on customers existing sites by inserting a blank table at the top of the left column - but better not to work around it - just avoid it

your current design is not really a problem - but if you change to another design it could become one

[Monkeyman09]

Originally Posted by stephen todd

Hi,

generally when the left column contains navigation links or blog categories these have to be gone through before the search engine spider gets to the meat of the blog - your posts

spiders generally give up after a certain number of characters have been processed - so the post may not be indexed - only what's in the left hand column - worst when column contains lots of navigation links

the other thing is that the search engine listings usually consist of what's in that left hand column - so you can end up with hundreds of entries all duplicate - i.e. not showing anything from the actual posts

SEO's get round this on customers existing sites by inserting a blank table at the top of the left column - but better not to work around it - just avoid it

your current design is not really a problem - but if you change to another design it could become one

I do plan to make my own theme, then fine tune it once I get it all set up. Thank you for clarifying that. I will use that information when designing my theme.