I think there may be too many ads. Make the search box and the site name the most prominent features on the site. Good Luck
Your "XHTML Valid" badge in the footer is kinda cute, considering your have 76 Errors, and 30 warnings Honestly, I think the design is awful. Way too many ads and banners. At least get a bigger, nicer header - that might redeem it a little. A sexy header image can make a site, even if the overall design/layout is ordinary.
The ads on the page makes the site look a bit spammy, you should remove some of the ads, add some more colors into the color scheme, and get a logo for the site.