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New website layout – what do you think??

UserPost

1:25 pm
December 2, 2010


Benjamin

Coquitlam, BC

Member

posts 11

Hi Everybody,

 

Over the past few days I have been updating my website and was wondering if anybody would be interested in taking a look at it to see if there is anything that I can do to make it better!  Any information would be very helpful! 

 

Also, what types of things do you put on your site that you find works/doesn't work when trying to grow your blog! (Other then great content of course)!

 

Thanks,

 

Benjamin

Benjamin @ GarbageFilter

"Sorting through the garbage, so you don't have to!"

 

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4:10 pm
December 2, 2010


Buy Like Buffett

Member

posts 1682

It looks good. This was my first time visiting your site so I had never seen the old layout. I would recommend that you keep the site clean looking as it is now. Don't clutter it with ads. Display your Feed and Facebook icons prominently so that new readers can find them.

 

 

Mark

Learn how to build wealth at Buy Like Buffett.

Learn about making money online at Mark Riddix dot com

Follow me on Twitter

4:46 pm
December 2, 2010


Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Member

posts 3048

I agree – clean site.  I also think your feed and other subscription icons need to be more prominent. 

And as someone who has had Adsense since Day 2 of blogging, I'd suggest either taking it off until you get more than 50-100 hits a day or going all the way with it and having it on every post that is clicked on (I use the Adsense Now plugin). 

The footer Adsense is useless based on my experience and just clutters up your site.  Adsense only makes money when you get hits and when it's right in everybody's face.  When I had their ads in subtle locations, I made $4-$5 a month, now I made $45 in one month and my number of readers actually went down.  Subtlety apparently doesn't work, lol.

Oh, and somebody suggested to me last month to add a tag cloud.  I think they are ugly, but one of my advertisers mentioned it specifically, so it's working.  :-)

Crystal

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10:03 pm
December 2, 2010


Sandy @ yesiamcheap

New York, NY

Member

posts 802

I like it!  Easy to read and navigate.  I agree with BITFS about the footer ad.  Drop it like a hot stone.  No one pays attention to it.

I'm digging my way out of some serious debt at

http://www.yesiamcheap.com.

7:06 am
December 3, 2010


Khaleef @ KNS Financial

Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet

Member

posts 3149

I love the "featured garbage" box at the top! I would agree with the others regarding keeping the site clean and making your RSS button more prominent (maybe adding it to the right of the header).
I also agree about having Adsense in the footer.

Khaleef "Fat Guy" Crumbley

My Battle to Lose 100lbs and Pay off $100k in Debt:

http://fatguyskinnywallet.com

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http://knsfinancial.com

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1:38 pm
December 3, 2010


Benjamin

Coquitlam, BC

Member

posts 11

Hey Everybody,

 

Thanks for the advice and comments!!  I dropped the footer ad and replaced it with a seach button – not to sure what else I should put there.  Also, I put in a tag cloud which seems like a good idea in case people are looking for specific tags.  I am looking into adjusting my RSS and FB locations, just need to figure them out!

 

Where do you find are the most effective places to put ads if you dont mind giving away your secrets?! This question is probably already posted somewhere on here, so im going to take a look around just in case!

 

Followed you all on twitter!  Thanks Everybody! 

 

Benjamin

Benjamin @ GarbageFilter

"Sorting through the garbage, so you don't have to!"

 

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4:29 pm
December 3, 2010


Buy Like Buffett

Member

posts 1682

I place my ads on the sidebar. I have found that to the left and right of a post works well for me.

 

 

Mark

Learn how to build wealth at Buy Like Buffett.

Learn about making money online at Mark Riddix dot com

Follow me on Twitter

5:05 pm
December 3, 2010


Freddie @ Invest With Passion

Member

posts 204

Maybe change your read color to green to brand your logo and company. That is just a suggestion based on the look and feel of the site. I feel like your logo is being overpowered by all the red on the site and your logo isn't even that color. 

 

Move your adsense into the content if you are looking to improve click through rate and use that space in the right side bar for a large, adsense image ad. That way you can also make adverts for that space for private advertisers in the future.

 

If you are looking for slick ways to incorporate more adsense, try a faux menu below your navigation bar. This is the adsense link units. Just put it right below your nav menu maybe in a shaded area to make it look official.

 

At the end of articles, give the people options for more content, encourage them to sign up for your newsletter, put more adsense there or even some affiliate content. The thought is if the person is reading your content that far, then they may be interested in more of what you have to say and offer.

 

Don't think you are going to get much mileage out of that long adsense in the sidebar on the bottom right, but I guess it is worth a shot. Heat maps show that area of most sites are dead, but that is a case by case thing.

 

Overall, you are doing great. I know this is going to contridict my suggestions, you maybe revenue isn't the focus right now. You need to get a solid seo and promotion plan in place in order to start ranking organically for your keywords or promoting the site and driving traffic via social bookmarketing, twitter and networking.

Also, get those share buttons on your site as well. Sexy Bookmarker is a good one that puts your share buttons right in the content or place them manually.

 

That is enough for now. 

 

Good luck!

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Or view my real estate investing community today and join the conversation.

12:37 pm
December 4, 2010


Benjamin

Coquitlam, BC

Member

posts 11

Hi Freddie,

 

Awesome advice!  Thank you very much.  Being quite new at the blog thing, there is so much to learn!  Thank you for your insights – I will take a look into adding my ad's in more areas like you described, and trying to change the colour scheme.. just need to figure out how!  Thanks again, have a great weekend!

 

Benjamin

Benjamin @ GarbageFilter

"Sorting through the garbage, so you don't have to!"

 

GarbageFilter

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