Getting more from a niche? Noobie help!

[raven123]

Hey guys, I started a niche site some time ago, (th3swtorgu1d3) Just replace the 3's with "e" and the 1 with "i"

And the more I read on BHW, the more I come to realize that getting a good niche is hard. And I mean hard.


So you are probably asking: "Yeah, and what's your problem?"

My problem is, that I think I have found a good niche, but due to lack of skill, I am not getting all I could be getting out of it.

This is driving me crazy and I keep on brainstorming new methods to implement, but I am making next to no progress.

The only way sales are going is down, and I have yet to beat my Max $/week.

So I kindly ask you, BHW forum members, to please take a look at my site, and tell me your opinion on why I might not be getting everything out of the niche. (That kind of sounded like : So please, Pimp my ride! )

I have inside info, that some guy with a site in the same niche has sold 60+ of the same products I am promoting in a day! 1 Day! My maximum is 3.

Unfortunately I don't know the guy's site to study it.


That is just pathetic, and I am reading every single thread in this forum that might help me.

But I would really appreciate your opinion, as it has proven to have the most dramatic effect on my site's well-being.

So far, some things I have noted to have a possible negative impact are:


Bad design(?)

Too hard-selling copy writing. (Check out the sidebar for a quick sample)

Bad SEO (I have a Wooank of 48.5 and a Pagespeed of < 4 sec and a google page speed rank of around 85-90) Also a G site: and link: searches yield between 3k and 8k. And my competitors have more than 160+k, which I have no idea how they've gotten. It's also true that my site is young and their's are 5-6 months old now.


Thnk you All in advance for keeping such a wonderful community, and I am trying to help with what I can.

Best Regards!

 

[raven123]

Hey guys, just a friendly bump. If I have no shot at receiving answers from this thread, please let me know so I can stop hoping and take note of my errors.

 

[endgeek]

you own the emd dotnet? if yes imo its a bit to confusing - get a better structure inside the layout

 

[Desyth150]

Looks like the site isn't up anymore?


*EDIT*
DERP. .net.


I'd get rid of that stormtrooper image banner. The background adds more than enough flavor. I'd recommend condensing the menus as well. Both the dropdowns and top level menus.

 

[endgeek]

Looks like the site isn't up anymore?

i think its the .net


OP: is your competitor this site? swtorguide .net

 

[raven123]

endgeek: Desith:

Yes, swtorguide .net is one of my competitors; My biggest one actually, with an incredible ammount of backlinks. I have no idea how to tackle him in the rankings;

My site has a "the" infront and is still very much on.

Condensing the menus...? As in pushing most of them into one, so that the menus stand only on one row? Yes, that's a good idea. Doing it now.

So according to you, the main problem is that the menus and header take up too much space, which in turn confuses the visitor. Right?

I am rolling in the changes right now, so check them out and let me know what you think when you can.

Thank you both very much for answering!

 

[Desyth150]

Haha, I always get people thinking that name is something SW related.

I wasn't clearly conveying what I wanted to in the previous post.

The bottom line of my suggestion is that you seem to be hiding the link to the guide, which could certainly be diluting your clickthrough. I'd not hide it and put it front and center on every page. I understand wanting to have some free junk there to entice people and possibly develop a community, but if thats the point then at least put some Ad sense on the site to diversify your earnings.

On my screen (res 1024x768) that header image chews up a 1/3 of the screen. I'd again get rid of that or shrink it so you can get your action item above the fold.

 

[raven123]

Desyth150:

Thanks for writing, man. Have you seen the new version? I think I was able to condense half the page by hiding the site title and description and by condensing the menus to only one row.

I am promoting clickbank products. And so far I must have read 50 different books, each one spending at least 50 pages on telling me to PREsell, and not SELL. I am scared of the possibility that people will feel that I am seeling something to them and leave, or if they click the link - there is more selling waiting for them on the other side, so they might lose their nerves and patience and leave.

How do you propose I set up the link at every page? As in a content locker, or just put a paragraph in the beginning of every post to CLICK HERE?

If so, how do you propose I write it, so that users don't resist my sales pitch?

I don't think that putting adsense will be profitable, because I am getting around 200-300 visitors a day, and there is just no active community.

I really want to get ahead in the rankings, but I don't know how to compete against a 160k backlinks Godzilla. Any suggestions would be great.

I am making the header smaller right after posting this, but I don't want to remove it completely, because it might compromise on design.

 

[raven123]

First, I would like to ask the BHW community to take another look at my case, and want to express my gratitude to everyone who can help me and helps!

Here is an Update:

• Fixed Site description to better target my main keyword. Made a woorank survey on my main competitors and took ideas for popular posts.

Question: Do you guys know if there is a way to determine what are the most popular pages in a site?

When doing the woorank on one of my competitors it hit me - That guy has < 1000 backlinks, has no more than 10 pages (including the About me, Contact etc), but is ranking 5th for my site's MAIN KEYWORD, and I am 130 and below.

What the hell?

A site with 10 pages and 1000 backlinks gets 30,000 to 100 000 visits a month, and I get 400?!

I have around 300 inbound links, and close to 7,000 backlinks. Yet woorank says I have 15 pages indexed. That guy has 150. ?!

Please, BHW tell me what you think about this, share some experience. Because I simply don't get how the hell is he doing that

If you want the exact keywords and sites, say and I will PM them to you. Also any other info you might need to help me out - I will gladly give. Thnx!

 

[X9RILLION]

No trying to discourage you, but I have always tried to stay away from the gaming market, especially MMORPGs. Why? Because technology is always evolving, and the best niche is something that will be around for a LONG time.

MMORPGs are always failing and new ones are always gaining more popularity. Again, I am not trying to discourage you, but from my experiences I believe it is best to stay away from "bandwagon niches".

 

[raven123]

X9RILLION, Yeah, I think I will steer clear of this for my next sites, but for now I am stuck with this one, and I want to make the best of it! So I turn to BHW for help.

I would really appreciate hypothesizes on how can a website with 150 indexed, 10 pages and 1,000 backlinks outrank me for my main keyword.

I said it before, but I am glad to give any information, if it will help my case.

All the best, X9RILLION, and a thanks for your reply. I hope you drop me another one after taking a look at my case!

 

[raven123]

Did some A/B testing. So far so good. Any ideas on why that guy can outrank me hands-down?

 

[paulcarter97]

Here is what you need to do. Keyword Research. If you love car, then create a blog about car. But don't target the keyword car, instead you can target "lovely affordable car". or something like that.

 

[raven123]

paulcarter97: My site is already done. I have completed all keyword research and I am now looking how to rank better for my keywords, and I am seeking advise from BHW.

I was really hoping I could get some quality guidance from all members of BHW, and I have been contributing to the community as much as I can, but I am not having much luck so far.