Loading ...Blog Review: Jalan Suetera
Website: Jalan Suetera
Goal: Make money
Topic: Technology news, blogging tips, best computer software and web services
Overview:
I noticed a few things while taking a quick look at this blog. The first thing I noticed was that there are way too many Adsense ads. Going in, I knew the goal of the blog was to make money, but the amount of ads overwhelmed me. The second thing I noticed was that the blog seems dead. It had tons of posts (about 2-3 a day), but no comments. I pulled out my pen and a paper to take a more in-depth look at this blog…
Analysis:
Taking a closer look at this blog, I noticed that the content is very short and doesn’t promote any interaction. Although the content could be sufficient for this blog’s particular topic, it doesn’t seem to be enough. This is because of all the Adsense ads and lack of media (pictures, videos, etc). The side navigation is good, but it’s missing an RSS icon. The blog does have a way to subscribe, but doesn’t have the standard RSS icon. This is a very simple fix that will help drastically increase the amount of returning visitors.
Looking through the pages on the top navigation, I noticed that the about page, contact page and advertise page are unfinished. This reflects poorly on the blogger. There are so many blogs out there, but how do visitors know that the information on each blog is accurate. This is where the about page comes in handy: it removes any doubt many visitors may have about inaccurate information.
Rating:
3/5
The blog has pretty good information, however needs a few modifications to reach its audience better.
Advice:
- Add media (pictures, videos) to each post…this will help give the illusion of more content
- Try affiliate marketing…it pays off a lot more and doesn’t look as ugly as Adsense
- Remove some Adsense ads or reformat them so they don’t overwhelm the content
- Finish your blog (fill out the about, subscribe, contact and advertise pages)
- Add a sitemap and an xml sitemap
- Add an RSS icon on top of side navigation
- Participate in forums and comment on other blogs…this will drive traffic to your blog as well as invite others to comment on your blog
Jan 16th 2007
Personally I think you’re a bit too generous with your review.
It’s great of you to take the time to do this, and as I signed up for your freebie I’d expect you to be tougher when my turn comes around ;)
One thing you don’t mention, which you should, is the use of primary colours. Red, blue and yellow as the only colours in your blog is way to harsh on the eyes. Immediately I felt like leaving without even looking at any of the content, and what’s the first piece of info I see? Adsense.
I 100% agree with you Sewj, too much advertising. If you’re going to advertise at all you should keep it subtle.
Jan 16th 2007
I also agree with David that you were a little to generous.
I have to say that I use the Firefox plugin Adblock so I don’t see most ads. So I won’t comment on that.
The big thing I noticed about the blog was that content seemed to have been done already. There wasn’t anything unique about it. It was almost like they went off to Digg and grabbed the headlines.
Just my $0.02 (or is it $0.002?)
Jan 16th 2007
Thank you both of your two cents. I was very generous in hopes that the blogger would realize his/her mistakes and fix them. I will be more harsh and more thorough in my future reviews.Again I would like to thank you both for stating good points which I did not mention.
Jan 17th 2007
Thanks for visiting my blog. You have a really nice looking site here!
Jan 31st 2007
I agree, far too many ads to be credible.
Feb 5th 2007
You are really doing good.I am waiting for mine to be done.I have changed a lot of things.Lets see how you see them
Mar 12th 2007
Looks interesting stuff, keep up the good work.
Aug 20th 2007
I agree with you. Your site doing great..