boron
03-02-2007, 04:37 AM
MyVistaHowTo is a Windows Vista Guide (http://myvistahowto.com/) currently based on articles like "Hardware requirements", "Installation", "What's new", bug resolving etc.
1. SITE LOADS fast, but still have some reserve. (size: 57Kb). Speed test results with instructions (http://myvistahowto.com/).
Another speed test with HTML validation and spell checking (http://r.netmechanic.com/toolbox/summary.cgi?f=f/114/060/0431/16-13703/&s=NetMechanic&fv=5&ft=3).
Hosting server is slow (http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/dnstime.ch?name=myvistahowto.com%2F&type=A). This might be the first thing to consider in attempt to improve loading speed.
2. FIRST IMPRESSION: Site is clean, well shaped. Design is not unique, giving non-personal feeling, together with red/yellow color even looks as an "advertising" site. The title is "heavy".
3. DESIGN: The title is big and thick which makes it hard to read. Subtitle is thick, font is non-sharp. Delete the welcome line.
My suggestin for introduction text in the white field:
At MyVISTAHowTo.Com, the technical (add: )questions (delete: )answers that majority of new Vista users are looking for or have been looking for are answered in a very simple and detailed way, yet in a way any other average person would be able to understand.
From the yellow field just delete the first sentence. Change the logo.
Articles Directory can be "Windows Vista Articles". Instead of Do you know you can have "Windows Vista Installation". You can bold the whole "problem question". All this is good for SEO. Allways think on the visitor first by bolding important words.
Consider to use larger font all over the page also in links.
4. NAVIGATION: Title should be clickable (Home). Instead of red Welcome line there should be a navigation menu.
Default Search option should be MyVistaHowTo, not Google.
5. CONTENT: Having very first problems answered on the Home page is very convenient. If you'll add more content there you can put titles, like "Installation problems" and other.
Article: What hardware do I need? You can put all content in a table. If you think there is no enough place, you can make hyperlinks to details.
Try to write as minimalisticly as possible. It's a tutorial, which has to be 1. Short :) , 2. Categorized uniqly 3. Easy to read: Use numbers instead of dots. Bold important words. All article content should be in one piece - embeding ads into a text and thus spoiling its shape is not a good tactic.
I prefer left sided menus (articles list when reading an article)
Set up a blog, invite people to write exclusively about Windows Vista. From their posts you'll have a content for articles. If you'll manage to get high PR to that blog and if you'll allow people to put their links in posts, you'll get posts for free.
SEO:
You probably won't beat Microsoft with "Windows Vista" in Google, but you can try with "Windows Vista Tutorial", "Windows Vista Guide". Select 1st and 2nd prefered keyword phrase, stick with them and alternatively put them as anchor text on all backlinks. Other keywords can be: "Windows Vista hardware requirements"...
Your site is three weeks old and it's not indexed yet in Google/YahooMSN. This is an excerllent opportunity that you design your site first, put in all necessary menus and links like "blog", "contact", "screenshots" ,all what someone might need. Put a little content under each link immediately after you create it.
SEO PLAN can be:
1. Design, links, blog.
2. Keywords "Windows Vista Tutorial" and "Windows Vista Guide" etc in the Home page text - each phrase once or twice is enough.
3. Ask people on forums to post in your blog
4. Chose www.windowsvistahowto.com or windowsvistahowto.com domain and make 301 redirect.
4. Ask for backlinks to both Home page and blog to get PR on both. Use "Windows Vista Guide and Tutorial" , Windows Vista Guide and support" in anchor text of backlinks.
Site #10 in Google for "Windows Vista" is: http://windowsvistablog.com/ PR6, created 22-jul-2005. Very hard to come in first 10 with this keyword since this site is already 1.5 years old.
Site #10 for "Windows Vista tutorial" is: http://www.pro-networks.org/index_support.php PR5, 3 backlinks in Google and 26 in Yahoo. Created 2-jul-2002. It's an old domain hard to beat again.
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CONCLUSION:
Competing for first 10 places in Google would require hard backlink building and a great effort to create an well developed site with many pages. Other way is to get visitors through forums and banners on related sites. Forum posting with your link in signature can be a god start when you'll have some strong articles on the site..
1. SITE LOADS fast, but still have some reserve. (size: 57Kb). Speed test results with instructions (http://myvistahowto.com/).
Another speed test with HTML validation and spell checking (http://r.netmechanic.com/toolbox/summary.cgi?f=f/114/060/0431/16-13703/&s=NetMechanic&fv=5&ft=3).
Hosting server is slow (http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/dnstime.ch?name=myvistahowto.com%2F&type=A). This might be the first thing to consider in attempt to improve loading speed.
2. FIRST IMPRESSION: Site is clean, well shaped. Design is not unique, giving non-personal feeling, together with red/yellow color even looks as an "advertising" site. The title is "heavy".
3. DESIGN: The title is big and thick which makes it hard to read. Subtitle is thick, font is non-sharp. Delete the welcome line.
My suggestin for introduction text in the white field:
At MyVISTAHowTo.Com, the technical (add: )questions (delete: )answers that majority of new Vista users are looking for or have been looking for are answered in a very simple and detailed way, yet in a way any other average person would be able to understand.
From the yellow field just delete the first sentence. Change the logo.
Articles Directory can be "Windows Vista Articles". Instead of Do you know you can have "Windows Vista Installation". You can bold the whole "problem question". All this is good for SEO. Allways think on the visitor first by bolding important words.
Consider to use larger font all over the page also in links.
4. NAVIGATION: Title should be clickable (Home). Instead of red Welcome line there should be a navigation menu.
Default Search option should be MyVistaHowTo, not Google.
5. CONTENT: Having very first problems answered on the Home page is very convenient. If you'll add more content there you can put titles, like "Installation problems" and other.
Article: What hardware do I need? You can put all content in a table. If you think there is no enough place, you can make hyperlinks to details.
Try to write as minimalisticly as possible. It's a tutorial, which has to be 1. Short :) , 2. Categorized uniqly 3. Easy to read: Use numbers instead of dots. Bold important words. All article content should be in one piece - embeding ads into a text and thus spoiling its shape is not a good tactic.
I prefer left sided menus (articles list when reading an article)
Set up a blog, invite people to write exclusively about Windows Vista. From their posts you'll have a content for articles. If you'll manage to get high PR to that blog and if you'll allow people to put their links in posts, you'll get posts for free.
SEO:
You probably won't beat Microsoft with "Windows Vista" in Google, but you can try with "Windows Vista Tutorial", "Windows Vista Guide". Select 1st and 2nd prefered keyword phrase, stick with them and alternatively put them as anchor text on all backlinks. Other keywords can be: "Windows Vista hardware requirements"...
Your site is three weeks old and it's not indexed yet in Google/YahooMSN. This is an excerllent opportunity that you design your site first, put in all necessary menus and links like "blog", "contact", "screenshots" ,all what someone might need. Put a little content under each link immediately after you create it.
SEO PLAN can be:
1. Design, links, blog.
2. Keywords "Windows Vista Tutorial" and "Windows Vista Guide" etc in the Home page text - each phrase once or twice is enough.
3. Ask people on forums to post in your blog
4. Chose www.windowsvistahowto.com or windowsvistahowto.com domain and make 301 redirect.
4. Ask for backlinks to both Home page and blog to get PR on both. Use "Windows Vista Guide and Tutorial" , Windows Vista Guide and support" in anchor text of backlinks.
Site #10 in Google for "Windows Vista" is: http://windowsvistablog.com/ PR6, created 22-jul-2005. Very hard to come in first 10 with this keyword since this site is already 1.5 years old.
Site #10 for "Windows Vista tutorial" is: http://www.pro-networks.org/index_support.php PR5, 3 backlinks in Google and 26 in Yahoo. Created 2-jul-2002. It's an old domain hard to beat again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCLUSION:
Competing for first 10 places in Google would require hard backlink building and a great effort to create an well developed site with many pages. Other way is to get visitors through forums and banners on related sites. Forum posting with your link in signature can be a god start when you'll have some strong articles on the site..