www.Ecard4all.com
Critique
8/2004
The first thing that jumped at me, and was
quite annoying, was the wiggly banner indicating I won an hourly
prize. I am not sure about you, but most web savvy surfers
do not click such banners and they are extremely distracting.
First of all, your site is dealing
with e-cards, so your advertising should fall into similar
categories, without be competitive. Perhaps an icon, or clip
art site? And try to avoid animated banners. After a while - they
become annoying, especially to repeat visitors.
First, let’s explain the basics of
how a site is found in the Search Engines. A potential customer
searches via keywords through a search engine, like Google.
If you site happens to fall in the first 20 [the first 10 is
better], then, you have a good chance that the visitor will
click on your link and visit your site.
So, what entices the visitor to click and
once you have them on your site, and just as important – what
keeps them on your site? Marketing is the largest part of the
success of any business. If your business is not properly marketed,
then your sales will suffer. Proper advertising is a must – and
the first key is drawing in customers. You need to appeal to
their emotions and wants.
Consider first: Who is your target
audience? What age group are you trying to draw in? At first
glance, I would consider the 30-50 range - those are the
ones that may use an e-card business and are the most computer
savvy.
But then I entered your Game area.
This is definitely for the teen - 35 crowd. While the games
are setup very well, your main site colors need to change.
Today's color seems to be orange. Bright, bold colors will
enhance not only the look of the page, but appeal to the
crowd you are trying to attract.
You also have a popup for your site.
I "hear" it, but I have
a pop-up blocker, so never will see it. Pop ups are also annoying.
If this popup is advertising, then remove it. Your visitors
are there to see you. Don't slap them with advertising for
other companies the minute they arrive.
Put advertisements to other companies in
their place - on a resource or links page. Unless you receive
a tremendous amount of money or traffic per month from these
banners, don't give them first crack at your customers. Move
them to a resource page, and if your visitors want to visit
them, they will.
Since Pagerank is partially derived from
reciprocal links you need to be careful whom you exchange links.
If you link to a disreputable company their illegal tactics
will filter down to your site and effect your rankings in the
Search Engines. You don't need to worry if they link to you
- only if you link back.
Your Serach Engine saturation is very low.
Once you implement the necessary changes and strategies, I
suggest submitting your site again to the Search Engines
and directories. And more than just Google. MSN and Yahoo still
command alot of searches.
Here's a break down of a few pages of your site:
Home page:
Your ranking, according
to Google is good : 5/10. That is a good indicator that
you have done your work correctly - meta
tags, content and submissions.
Design is fine, just remove the banner.
What's New:
Your content extends beyond
the box in the "Check
it out" section. Also, your Title of the page is : e-learners.com
??? Is there a reason for this? You are missing your META
tags on this page. And your pagerank is a 0/10. If you site
has been up for a while, then this page is not being indexed.
It is not banned, but with a page rank of 0, at least Google
does not merit indexing it. Contact Google and ask.
Contact Page:
Good, the banner is gone! Makes it nice to
look at on the eyes. And, I notice this page has a PageRank.
When I first entered this page I received
a script error at bottom of the page,
under your form submission box - it said:
" Warning : mysql_connect(): Can't connect
to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)
in /opt/bidclix/http-web/adserve.php on line 35..."
When I refreshed the page, the error went away.
I was able to submit your form, I think, without filling in
anything. I am unsure if the form submitted, as I was not redirected
to a thank you page. It just looked like the Contact page refreshed.
So,
- Check your Script for errors
- Set required fields so the form cannot be sent blank
- Make a thank you page that the visitor is sent to once
the form is submitted.
News:
Great - you are offering continually
changing content, however, your site is an e-card site.
Your news feeds should reflect your area of business. There
are plenty of "Headline News" type of sites out there - find
your own niche. Find craft articles, coupons,
gift packs, etc and offer that toyour visitors.
There are many free article places
where you can add content to your site for no cost. The
more relevant content you add - the
better your site will be for Search Engines ranking. Afterall,
Content is King.
Games:
I like the games page, with the exception of the banner. However,
in this format, the banner would work. But it does seem to
affect your page rank bar.
While I cannot be sure, I notice most of the pages without
a ranking have the banner rotating ad [at the top], while others,
like your contact page did not have the banner, and also have
a page rank. Conjecture: remove the ads and see if your pages
get index, unless of course you are making a lot of money,
or receiving a lot of traffic from these banners.
You want qualified targeted traffic - not
just traffic. If you receive 100 visitors a day, and no one
uses your site, then your advertising efforts need to be
re-evaluated.
The advertising banners you are using
are "old-school". Take
a hint from our games page. This is a clean and effective way
to promote other products and make an income. Banner, expeically
flashing ones, just do not do the trick to the sophisticated
surfer.
In conclusion:
- Rethink the color of your site. Think in terms of your
target audience.
- Graphically,
I would remove the top rotating banner and popup.
- Rewrite
your META description and Title tags to entice people to
click on your link. Rework the front page to grab the reader
as soon as they step into your site. They are on your site
because they are looking for services you provide, so show
them, right then and there.
- Rework
all your pages. Every page on your site is a potential
entry page, so it needs to contain the necessary information.
- Make your form include required fields. Create a thank
you page, so visitors know their comments have been sent.
Keep in mind that you are representing your
company. The Search Engine link is the Store Front – and
you need to display your wares via text to draw in the customer.
Once “inside” your store – show them what
you have to offer.
I hope this critique is helpful to you. I
wish you the best in your venture.
