Redesigning site - Please provide feedback

Discussion in 'Placement / Reviews / Examples' started by vlad7, Nov 1, 2005.

  1. #1
    I'm redisigning one of my websites. http://www.thehottestdeals.com I will be posting all kinds of deals. I placed some google ads on the right side. Please provide feedback and suggestions. I'm gonna start to put more time and effort and hopefully I can get at least 1% of what you guys make :)
    Thanks.
     
    vlad7, Nov 1, 2005 IP
  2. Acer

    Acer Well-Known Member

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    #2
    Not sure about the subtle color scheme for the adwords. It blends into the site, to be sure. But for a deals site, I think you'd want them to stand out a bit more, so they come across as "more deals."

    In another area, I'd like to see a catchy logo to make the site more visually distinctive.

    But I'm new here...

    --A--
     
    Acer, Nov 1, 2005 IP
  3. vlad7

    vlad7 Peon

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    #3
    Yeah, the ads blend into the site, I dont know if thats good or bad, any experiences on that?

    Thanks for the suggestion about the logo, I'm working on one right now :)
     
    vlad7, Nov 2, 2005 IP
  4. randymorin

    randymorin Peon

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    #4
    I would avoid the blog layout and colors you are using. It's commonly used by sploggers and you'll lose a lot of potential users who mistake your blog as such.
     
    randymorin, Nov 3, 2005 IP
  5. vlad7

    vlad7 Peon

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    #5
    Thanks for the suggestion, I really like the colors, but I will try to create my own theme, Im not sure how dificult that will be......
    I didnt know that theme was so common
     
    vlad7, Nov 3, 2005 IP
  6. mika

    mika Active Member

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    #6
    I totally agree with randymorin. Additionally I suggest to change the description text of the AdSense banners to black. In my opinion this will more likely attract the visitors attention. Good luck!
     
    mika, Nov 4, 2005 IP
  7. vlad7

    vlad7 Peon

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    #7
    mika, thanks for the feedback. I made the changes and the skyscraper looks better.....hopefully will attract more attention.
     
    vlad7, Nov 4, 2005 IP
  8. fsmedia

    fsmedia Prominent Member

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    #8
    First thoughts?

    I personally don't like to see ads that high on a page unless it is wider. I know you're using a Wordpress theme that was already made, but I would widen the site a bit. If you're content focused on specific articles, you might benefit by putting Categories or something above the ads and then show the ads. While 160x600 have proven to be more than profitable for me, I put them lower on the left for my site. Yes, I may monetize better if I raised them, but I don't like the clutter. I like to keep ads lower and the content higher so my viewed enjoy coming to the site and not just have ads flashing in their face. I prefer not to make the point of a site just to make profits, but for the user to enjoy the experience of coming to the site.

    I'm still testing out different formats, colors, positioning, and other marketing strategies for my sites, but these are somethings to keep in mind =)

    Edit: Even consider adding in some AdLinks on your site, I have seen those be profitable too. Maybe place ads in the very top header above the text or replace the text with ads? Just my 2 cents.
     
    fsmedia, Nov 4, 2005 IP
  9. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

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    #9
    The more original content, the better. You will have a much harder time getting traffic without original content. There are hundreds of thousands of sites that do nothing but offer ads for products and the search engines generally consider them to be of little value.
     
    mjewel, Nov 5, 2005 IP
  10. fsmedia

    fsmedia Prominent Member

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    #10
    Actually, original content isn't ALWAYS the best. I have a site that has completely duplicate content, a music lyrics website, and I'm generating over 200,000 pageviews/mo right now. It has a lot to do with how MUCH content you have and how you market it. SEO plays a large part in it as well.
     
    fsmedia, Nov 5, 2005 IP
  11. discoverclips

    discoverclips Peon

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    #11
    I like the colors, nice website!
     
    discoverclips, Nov 5, 2005 IP
  12. vlad7

    vlad7 Peon

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    #12
    fsmedia, I definitely changed the menu to the left site and remove the ads from there, I think it lookd better, I will keep trying things.

    discoverclips, Im glad you like it. :)
     
    vlad7, Nov 5, 2005 IP
  13. kawebspy

    kawebspy Peon

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    #13
    well well. i am learning from their advices too. thanks to you vlad7 and the rest of the DP'ers
     
    kawebspy, Nov 5, 2005 IP
  14. normanmiller

    normanmiller Peon

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    #14
    The first thing I noticed was not only the color, but how well you blended them. The only problem was the blending was done so well the adsense looks almost invisible. I had to stress to see it. Maybe I am color blind (I doubt it), but I think a white background with blue would really stand out and your ads pop. This color scheme has always produced well. Keep in mind, the color blue is liked by a majority of the population. Other than that I like your site. I always like sites that are clean and simple. Clean and simple is very effective with adsense. Your placement is perfect for 338x280. Thought about a 160x90 (5 link) on the side/top? These always produce well for me.

    take care!

    norm:D
     
    normanmiller, Nov 7, 2005 IP
  15. vlad7

    vlad7 Peon

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    #15
    @ kawebspy [​IMG]

    @ normanmiller Thanks for sharing your thoughts... Im gonna leave the color like they are for now, I will play with them again after a few weeks. The site is not pupolar (yet?), so Im getting very few clicks but I will keep updating it.
     
    vlad7, Nov 7, 2005 IP