OK, I've tried - and failed - to understand anything at all about the ever-changing world of smoke and mirrors that SEO appears to be. Frankly,with my full-time job and writing gigs, I simply don't find the time to devote to it.
A friend of mine and I run a movie review site (www.picturenose.com) and we'd like a few more hits than the 100-150 per day we get at the minute. The aim is to pay for the hosting and buy ourselves a dinner or two from the proceeds but we're not even making that at the moment.
I'm not looking for vast wealth (although I would take it!) just a way of making a regular 30 bucks or so per month from ads.
The site is clean, we don't do anything illegal/spurious and we have a tiny budget (ball park of around $400). IWhat would the wise ones of SEO suggest I do with it? I'm not interested in fiverr links or Indian backlinking 'services' that damage organic traffic (I learned at least that much).
I have posted here before and got some good tips but am frankly too thick to implement them. Any suggestions for services or quick fixes welcomed. Thanks for your time.
EDIT: Thanks to all for the input. I'm discussing with my writing partner and we'll draw up a plan, starting with the quick wins and looking deeper into it. It's all been useful.
[–]seothrowawayt
Everyone seems to be helping you with the SEO work and how to attract more visitors to your site.
But you say you're getting 100-150 a day already. If you can achieve a 1% conversion or CTR than you should be able to generate that $30 a month.
So...let's focus on that ~3000 hits or so you get a month and a 1% rate yields 30 clicks / conversions.
It looks like you just have some Google ads up right now, and I just got one for a cute girl wanting me from Taiwan. And that can't be related to my searching, I'm logged out and am using incognito right now. You might want to look into your Google AdSense settings and disallow some of these shitty categories.
You don't offer any affiliate links to buy these movies that you're reviewing. Even if someone doesn't buy that movie after click your link, any purchase within X amount of time and you get credit for it. If you use Amazon, anything purchased within 24 hours gets you a conversion. Offer links to the hard copies and the digital copies of the movie.
Look into being a NetFlix affiliate and making note of which movies are available on NetFlix. And Amazon streaming. Look at becoming a iTunes affiliate if possible and listing those movies too.
Develop a nice little 'post script' that you can plug in at the end of all your posts / reviews that has the links for each specific movie.
Grab a Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook account. Every new blog post, post an update to Facebook and Twitter and post a picture of the movie to Pinterest. I love this widget;
http://wordpress.org/plugins/subscribe-connect-follow-widget/
for showing off social icons. This will help generate more traffic and allow people to share your content easier.
Doing these things first might possibly help you start generating an income quicker than you building more traffic to generate income. Also, think about putting a Google AdSense ad in the middle of the written content. Either a Large Rectangle or a 468x60 banner.
[–]Inbounddude
SeoThrowaway hit the nail on the head.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Install CrazyEgg for a 30 day Trial... Make sure you are tracking your visitors and their interaction on the website. This will show you where your funnel of traffic is clicking/traveling at all times and will help you optimize for conversions.
Could help you with some link building relatively cheap, but for a site like this social media will do leaps and bounds what link building will do.
I would do a few giveaways for something relative to the niche get your Google+/Facebook/Twitter accounts primed and ready for this. Google+ is the big ticket player to getting you some nice search engine rises. Facebook comments/shares etc... are great social signals for Google and are playing large role in ranking websites post penguin/panda. Think of it as liking/favoriting/retweeting/sharing/commenting will all be an added entry into the giveaway and remind those in the giveaway multiple times about this.
If you do decide to begin a link building campaign make sure your social signals reflect this "interaction of virality" even if that means buying or using a social signals service it stacks credibility to proper link building.
PM me if you need any advice/tips.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 2 days ago
Thanks a lot! I am just settling in for an aternoon's SEOing now. Seems I have a lot to do :-)
[–]crl826 2 points 6 days ago
So you can't learn anything new and can't execute on what you do know? That will be hard to overcome.
What keywords are you trying to rank for? "movie reviews" would be a very difficult keyword to rank for.
What have you already done?
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 2 points 6 days ago
It's not that I can't learn/execute anything new per se, it's more a question of fitting it all in. We're not trying for anything - just to produce quality, original content - something Google is supposed to reward.
[–]isntAnything 3 points 6 days ago
Welcome to the problem of what Google say they want, and reality.
It takes a long time to digest Moz's beginner guide, let alone implement it. Still, give it a least a thorough skim.
Then, you could use a free seo website analysis tool (e.g. www.woorank.com) and work through it's recommended checklist (they grade you on each item).
One important set-up you don't use is categories, these benefit seo & users. Before implementing them be sure to install a URL re-direction plugin which should automatically redirect old links to new ones (once a review is in a category it will have a new URL). Having the old URL point to the new one will help traffic go through, and seo/link juice to continue to go though.
Use Google Adwords keyword tool to find keywords/phrases that aren't super high competition (be sure to use exact match not broad) and you could try to include them slightly.
Nice site though, I like the barebones design, keep it and prioritise seo over design work.
Oh, instead of the user having to navigate through the Get Updated button you could add a short and simple email subscribe area to the right of all pages.
I'm chuffed you've reminded me The Iceman is out! I'll follow your blog onwards... infact it does appear more like a movie review blog rather than a movie review 'site' and seeing as we already have imdb and rotten tomatoes, perhaps you could re-brand and take the path/angle of a Movie Review Blog?.. it feels more personal to me than the former :)
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
Man, my to-do list grows ever longer!
woorank sounds like a useful tool - I'd never heard of it.
Funnily enough, I thought we did use categories. Probably tells you a lot about my mad SEO skills :-) Or perhaps you meant that they're not displayed and useable?
and you could try to include them slightly
Yes, this is what I need to do, I think. I don't want to compromise the look and feel for a quick dollar, so going for niche-y keywords sounds doable without shoehorning clunky phrasing into a review or title.
We tried a subscribe widget before but it did nothing. Probably wouldn't hurt to stick one back on and see what happens.
Please do follow us (we're on Twitter and FB too, no pressure ;-). And yes, I think we see it as more of a blog, too. We certainly want to keep the chummy, informal angle going.
Many thanks for the ideas.
[–]isntAnything 1 point 5 days ago
Yeah I subbed via FB :)
Usually when a wordpress article is in a category, it's URL will show the category - useful for readers and search engines. Perhaps they are categoriesed and you just need to change the URL settings via wordpress > settings > permalinks (again, be sure old URLs will still work after changing!).
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 5 days ago
Thanks for the extra advice - and the sub ;-) I'll add it to the list of things I need to look at this weekend.
[–]crl826 3 points 6 days ago
The thing is that it doesn't judge content by quality per se...it judges it mainly by the amount of links content has. It assumes that quality content gets linked to a lot.
And if you aren't trying for anything, that is what you are going to get. If you are trying to get people who search for 'movie reviews' you are going to have to compete against Internet gods like NYtimes and IMDB.
You have to decide what sort of keywords you want to rank for, create content appropriate for that keyword, and then get more and better links to it than the people who currently rank for that keyword.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
The thing is that it doesn't judge content by quality per se...it judges it mainly by the amount of links content has. It assumes that quality content gets linked to a lot.
OK, now that makes a lot more sense.
And as far as the keyword competition goes, it looks like it's time to hit the analytics.
Thanks for the advice.
[–]roswells 2 points 6 days ago
Have you tried Moz's beginner's guide to SEO: http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
It won't give you everything you need but is generally read by all SEO beginners as a great introduction to the industry.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
Thanks, I'll take a look.
[–]RentMyBatmanNick 2 points 6 days ago
Do you have Analytics installed? And/Or Webmaster Tools? Find out what keywords are bringing people to your site and find out what position you are ranking in for those keywords.
Then, find the keywords for which your ranking could be improved. Ranking #5 for "great movies to see"? Backlink to that article from 10-15 sources such as legitimate blogs and forums. Getting to position 1-3 will greatly increase visits from that keyword.
Repeat this process for any keyword which you think you can increase your ranking for.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
Thanks - this sounds like something I could do with little trouble.
[–]jschulenburg 2 points 5 days ago
Why would we offer more good tips to you when you've told us already that you're too busy to implement them and just need something "quick"? There's no "get rich quick" schemes in SEO. You have to be intentional and patient. It takes research, time, strategic implementation and consistent effort. That's my tip for you. I'd go back and take the time to implement all the great tips you got before but had no time to execute on.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 5 days ago
Hey, hey... I never said I didn't execute anything, and I only said I wanted beer money from the site. I'm not looking to "get rich quick" - Indeed, I implemented some of the tips I got last time, the ones I had time to do. I'm simply not prepared to spend hours a day for a small return. I am self-employed and I wouldn't work for clients for free. It doesn't make any sense. I am prepared to spend some of the time I have improving visibility.
I was also talking about a small budget, meaning I needed some outside help - maybe that was not obvious?
Anyway, thanks for taking the time.
[–]Daredizzle 1 point 6 days ago
From someone learning the ropes as well, I would definitely suggest a Site Map and submitting that to Google, Bing, and yahoo. Also, setting up a Google+ page doesn't hurt from what I hear. Also maybe try and get a review or two on a larger blog so you can get some backlinks from their site. Waving magic wands seems to help a little too.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
I think yes, backlinking is going to something I need to do, although, I keep hearing it' is/will be penalized by Google!
[–]MAVERICK910 1 point 6 days ago
there is quite alot you can do, first you can optimise your site, then i would spruce up the design, it looks quite bare. Your budget should cover all of this and perhaps a content marketing plan. PM me if you have any questions
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
What do you mean by 'too bare'? - well, I know what you mean but I like to keep it clean, simple and to the point. What else do I need on there, would you say? Not being defensive here - genuinely interested.
[–]MAVERICK910 2 points 6 days ago
i think the site looks a little sparse, maybe you could have divisions between the content and the side bar. I understand you want to keep it mimimal but maybe some sublte division lines could break up the sections more. I also reckon limiting the amount of posts displayed on the home page would be good as when you scroll down there is huge space in the side bar. I also reckon you should add a newsletter sign up or at least start to harvest emails where possible.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
Yes, the newsletter has been mentioned - it seems I'm missing out by not having the option. I'm probably not aggressive enough at marketing. Thanks for the input.
[–]jobig 1 point 6 days ago
Content, content, content.
SEO is becoming a pure content game. You should be buying monthly content and SEO/editing it from there. Blog content, static pages, articles, etc. After that, I suggest backlinking. You can't put a price on a backlink from an EDU or GOV site.
[–]Sleeparchive 3 points 5 days ago
Agreed though .edu sites have been a godsend for me in the past and are a good solid foundation for lower weighted links.
Maybe get some students involved in reviewing movies for you? Think about how you can provide value for a site or it's users.
Also, I agree with jobig, content. However I'd say QUALITY content, bring something new to the table. For instance, what springs to mind is Angry Joe's game reviews bring something new to the table. They are funny and informative and I've linked them in social media many times.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
But all our content is original, buy it from where, exactly? (sorry if I'm being dumb).
[–]jobig 2 points 6 days ago
You don't have to buy it. Just produce more of it. Take time with it, make it compelling, quality content. Produce as many pieces per month as you're capable of.
I'm working with a massive locator site of sorts that is producing more than 40 pieces of content per month and doing backlinks and we are seeing regular 20-30% jumps in organic traffic. That will certainly level off at a certain point (as we reach search volume limits) but creating the keyword rich content should cast one hell of a net.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 5 days ago
Thank you. I don't know how much more we could produce, in reality but the comment is noted and makes sense. As I replied to one of the other guys earlier, it seems I'm going to at least do some keyword research and try to write around them. I have avoided this, as I see so much stuff obviously written to shoehorn a phrase or word in, and it looks awful. Perhaps the lesser keywords would be easier to make appear natural.
Thank you for the insight.
A friend of mine and I run a movie review site (www.picturenose.com) and we'd like a few more hits than the 100-150 per day we get at the minute. The aim is to pay for the hosting and buy ourselves a dinner or two from the proceeds but we're not even making that at the moment.
I'm not looking for vast wealth (although I would take it!) just a way of making a regular 30 bucks or so per month from ads.
The site is clean, we don't do anything illegal/spurious and we have a tiny budget (ball park of around $400). IWhat would the wise ones of SEO suggest I do with it? I'm not interested in fiverr links or Indian backlinking 'services' that damage organic traffic (I learned at least that much).
I have posted here before and got some good tips but am frankly too thick to implement them. Any suggestions for services or quick fixes welcomed. Thanks for your time.
EDIT: Thanks to all for the input. I'm discussing with my writing partner and we'll draw up a plan, starting with the quick wins and looking deeper into it. It's all been useful.
[–]seothrowawayt
Everyone seems to be helping you with the SEO work and how to attract more visitors to your site.
But you say you're getting 100-150 a day already. If you can achieve a 1% conversion or CTR than you should be able to generate that $30 a month.
So...let's focus on that ~3000 hits or so you get a month and a 1% rate yields 30 clicks / conversions.
It looks like you just have some Google ads up right now, and I just got one for a cute girl wanting me from Taiwan. And that can't be related to my searching, I'm logged out and am using incognito right now. You might want to look into your Google AdSense settings and disallow some of these shitty categories.
You don't offer any affiliate links to buy these movies that you're reviewing. Even if someone doesn't buy that movie after click your link, any purchase within X amount of time and you get credit for it. If you use Amazon, anything purchased within 24 hours gets you a conversion. Offer links to the hard copies and the digital copies of the movie.
Look into being a NetFlix affiliate and making note of which movies are available on NetFlix. And Amazon streaming. Look at becoming a iTunes affiliate if possible and listing those movies too.
Develop a nice little 'post script' that you can plug in at the end of all your posts / reviews that has the links for each specific movie.
Grab a Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook account. Every new blog post, post an update to Facebook and Twitter and post a picture of the movie to Pinterest. I love this widget;
http://wordpress.org/plugins/subscribe-connect-follow-widget/
for showing off social icons. This will help generate more traffic and allow people to share your content easier.
Doing these things first might possibly help you start generating an income quicker than you building more traffic to generate income. Also, think about putting a Google AdSense ad in the middle of the written content. Either a Large Rectangle or a 468x60 banner.
[–]Inbounddude
SeoThrowaway hit the nail on the head.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Install CrazyEgg for a 30 day Trial... Make sure you are tracking your visitors and their interaction on the website. This will show you where your funnel of traffic is clicking/traveling at all times and will help you optimize for conversions.
Could help you with some link building relatively cheap, but for a site like this social media will do leaps and bounds what link building will do.
I would do a few giveaways for something relative to the niche get your Google+/Facebook/Twitter accounts primed and ready for this. Google+ is the big ticket player to getting you some nice search engine rises. Facebook comments/shares etc... are great social signals for Google and are playing large role in ranking websites post penguin/panda. Think of it as liking/favoriting/retweeting/sharing/commenting will all be an added entry into the giveaway and remind those in the giveaway multiple times about this.
If you do decide to begin a link building campaign make sure your social signals reflect this "interaction of virality" even if that means buying or using a social signals service it stacks credibility to proper link building.
PM me if you need any advice/tips.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 2 days ago
Thanks a lot! I am just settling in for an aternoon's SEOing now. Seems I have a lot to do :-)
[–]crl826 2 points 6 days ago
So you can't learn anything new and can't execute on what you do know? That will be hard to overcome.
What keywords are you trying to rank for? "movie reviews" would be a very difficult keyword to rank for.
What have you already done?
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 2 points 6 days ago
It's not that I can't learn/execute anything new per se, it's more a question of fitting it all in. We're not trying for anything - just to produce quality, original content - something Google is supposed to reward.
[–]isntAnything 3 points 6 days ago
Welcome to the problem of what Google say they want, and reality.
It takes a long time to digest Moz's beginner guide, let alone implement it. Still, give it a least a thorough skim.
Then, you could use a free seo website analysis tool (e.g. www.woorank.com) and work through it's recommended checklist (they grade you on each item).
One important set-up you don't use is categories, these benefit seo & users. Before implementing them be sure to install a URL re-direction plugin which should automatically redirect old links to new ones (once a review is in a category it will have a new URL). Having the old URL point to the new one will help traffic go through, and seo/link juice to continue to go though.
Use Google Adwords keyword tool to find keywords/phrases that aren't super high competition (be sure to use exact match not broad) and you could try to include them slightly.
Nice site though, I like the barebones design, keep it and prioritise seo over design work.
Oh, instead of the user having to navigate through the Get Updated button you could add a short and simple email subscribe area to the right of all pages.
I'm chuffed you've reminded me The Iceman is out! I'll follow your blog onwards... infact it does appear more like a movie review blog rather than a movie review 'site' and seeing as we already have imdb and rotten tomatoes, perhaps you could re-brand and take the path/angle of a Movie Review Blog?.. it feels more personal to me than the former :)
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
Man, my to-do list grows ever longer!
woorank sounds like a useful tool - I'd never heard of it.
Funnily enough, I thought we did use categories. Probably tells you a lot about my mad SEO skills :-) Or perhaps you meant that they're not displayed and useable?
and you could try to include them slightly
Yes, this is what I need to do, I think. I don't want to compromise the look and feel for a quick dollar, so going for niche-y keywords sounds doable without shoehorning clunky phrasing into a review or title.
We tried a subscribe widget before but it did nothing. Probably wouldn't hurt to stick one back on and see what happens.
Please do follow us (we're on Twitter and FB too, no pressure ;-). And yes, I think we see it as more of a blog, too. We certainly want to keep the chummy, informal angle going.
Many thanks for the ideas.
[–]isntAnything 1 point 5 days ago
Yeah I subbed via FB :)
Usually when a wordpress article is in a category, it's URL will show the category - useful for readers and search engines. Perhaps they are categoriesed and you just need to change the URL settings via wordpress > settings > permalinks (again, be sure old URLs will still work after changing!).
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 5 days ago
Thanks for the extra advice - and the sub ;-) I'll add it to the list of things I need to look at this weekend.
[–]crl826 3 points 6 days ago
The thing is that it doesn't judge content by quality per se...it judges it mainly by the amount of links content has. It assumes that quality content gets linked to a lot.
And if you aren't trying for anything, that is what you are going to get. If you are trying to get people who search for 'movie reviews' you are going to have to compete against Internet gods like NYtimes and IMDB.
You have to decide what sort of keywords you want to rank for, create content appropriate for that keyword, and then get more and better links to it than the people who currently rank for that keyword.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
The thing is that it doesn't judge content by quality per se...it judges it mainly by the amount of links content has. It assumes that quality content gets linked to a lot.
OK, now that makes a lot more sense.
And as far as the keyword competition goes, it looks like it's time to hit the analytics.
Thanks for the advice.
[–]roswells 2 points 6 days ago
Have you tried Moz's beginner's guide to SEO: http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
It won't give you everything you need but is generally read by all SEO beginners as a great introduction to the industry.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
Thanks, I'll take a look.
[–]RentMyBatmanNick 2 points 6 days ago
Do you have Analytics installed? And/Or Webmaster Tools? Find out what keywords are bringing people to your site and find out what position you are ranking in for those keywords.
Then, find the keywords for which your ranking could be improved. Ranking #5 for "great movies to see"? Backlink to that article from 10-15 sources such as legitimate blogs and forums. Getting to position 1-3 will greatly increase visits from that keyword.
Repeat this process for any keyword which you think you can increase your ranking for.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
Thanks - this sounds like something I could do with little trouble.
[–]jschulenburg 2 points 5 days ago
Why would we offer more good tips to you when you've told us already that you're too busy to implement them and just need something "quick"? There's no "get rich quick" schemes in SEO. You have to be intentional and patient. It takes research, time, strategic implementation and consistent effort. That's my tip for you. I'd go back and take the time to implement all the great tips you got before but had no time to execute on.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 5 days ago
Hey, hey... I never said I didn't execute anything, and I only said I wanted beer money from the site. I'm not looking to "get rich quick" - Indeed, I implemented some of the tips I got last time, the ones I had time to do. I'm simply not prepared to spend hours a day for a small return. I am self-employed and I wouldn't work for clients for free. It doesn't make any sense. I am prepared to spend some of the time I have improving visibility.
I was also talking about a small budget, meaning I needed some outside help - maybe that was not obvious?
Anyway, thanks for taking the time.
[–]Daredizzle 1 point 6 days ago
From someone learning the ropes as well, I would definitely suggest a Site Map and submitting that to Google, Bing, and yahoo. Also, setting up a Google+ page doesn't hurt from what I hear. Also maybe try and get a review or two on a larger blog so you can get some backlinks from their site. Waving magic wands seems to help a little too.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
I think yes, backlinking is going to something I need to do, although, I keep hearing it' is/will be penalized by Google!
[–]MAVERICK910 1 point 6 days ago
there is quite alot you can do, first you can optimise your site, then i would spruce up the design, it looks quite bare. Your budget should cover all of this and perhaps a content marketing plan. PM me if you have any questions
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
What do you mean by 'too bare'? - well, I know what you mean but I like to keep it clean, simple and to the point. What else do I need on there, would you say? Not being defensive here - genuinely interested.
[–]MAVERICK910 2 points 6 days ago
i think the site looks a little sparse, maybe you could have divisions between the content and the side bar. I understand you want to keep it mimimal but maybe some sublte division lines could break up the sections more. I also reckon limiting the amount of posts displayed on the home page would be good as when you scroll down there is huge space in the side bar. I also reckon you should add a newsletter sign up or at least start to harvest emails where possible.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
Yes, the newsletter has been mentioned - it seems I'm missing out by not having the option. I'm probably not aggressive enough at marketing. Thanks for the input.
[–]jobig 1 point 6 days ago
Content, content, content.
SEO is becoming a pure content game. You should be buying monthly content and SEO/editing it from there. Blog content, static pages, articles, etc. After that, I suggest backlinking. You can't put a price on a backlink from an EDU or GOV site.
[–]Sleeparchive 3 points 5 days ago
Agreed though .edu sites have been a godsend for me in the past and are a good solid foundation for lower weighted links.
Maybe get some students involved in reviewing movies for you? Think about how you can provide value for a site or it's users.
Also, I agree with jobig, content. However I'd say QUALITY content, bring something new to the table. For instance, what springs to mind is Angry Joe's game reviews bring something new to the table. They are funny and informative and I've linked them in social media many times.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 6 days ago
But all our content is original, buy it from where, exactly? (sorry if I'm being dumb).
[–]jobig 2 points 6 days ago
You don't have to buy it. Just produce more of it. Take time with it, make it compelling, quality content. Produce as many pieces per month as you're capable of.
I'm working with a massive locator site of sorts that is producing more than 40 pieces of content per month and doing backlinks and we are seeing regular 20-30% jumps in organic traffic. That will certainly level off at a certain point (as we reach search volume limits) but creating the keyword rich content should cast one hell of a net.
[–]NotoriousBFG[S] 1 point 5 days ago
Thank you. I don't know how much more we could produce, in reality but the comment is noted and makes sense. As I replied to one of the other guys earlier, it seems I'm going to at least do some keyword research and try to write around them. I have avoided this, as I see so much stuff obviously written to shoehorn a phrase or word in, and it looks awful. Perhaps the lesser keywords would be easier to make appear natural.
Thank you for the insight.
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