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Seems like i finally got hold of how to have H2 tags on the home page, and H1 tags on the actual posts page, so that's all sorted now thanks to this article - http://labstrikes.blogspot.in/2013/0...-tags-seo.html
chaumi dropped some useful information through PM, so will be reading over that later too.
I'm slowly getting there, thanks everyone for your help and words.
I will have a go on Vandeweghe at 6-4 on Betfair :-) Good writeup, you have me convinced on the value.
Someone just said to me to add the rel="nofollow" code when linking to affiliate links using my own banners. Apparently if you don't do this then this can also affect your SEO. I've just added this code to my links so i'll see if this helps.
OK got a bit of time, let's try and cover some stuff.....
First off, think you're going to need to accept that this is going to take time. You can see from searching any of your page titles that there is some strong competition, and they appear to be doing it well. I'd say 5 months is too early to be worrying about how fast you're indexed/ranked...
But even on those where you think you're not after a few days. Are you sure? Or is it just that you're not in the top 100. Have you tried taking a sentence from somewhere in the writeup and searching on that
Your focus should be on continually building the site. Add content, keep going...and look for ways to improve it.
Indexing
Your Sharapova article was indexed 20 hours ago. Seems reasonable to me. I can find it in the results by taking a sentence from within the body (something that no one else would have written) and searching on that...but if you search the article title it's nowhere in the first 100.
That to me is indicative of the way G is seeing the site. It doesn't - or doesn't appear to - have enough trust factor yet to get highly ranked for the terms you want to get found for.
The solution for that is time and effort. Keep publishing, keep writing. Ultimately you will most likely need some links, but that is a whole subject of its own and has a lot of potential cracks in the pavement to fall into.
For now I don't think you need to worry about links.
Keywords
We've established you have some strong competition. The only way you're going to rank higher than them is to do something different, something more interesting, something more valuable for your visitors than they are.
Or target lesser competitive terms.
In title, in description, in the article text. But not too much, don't be repetitive. There's an art to this and you get better with practice.
How do you get the terms into the article body? Look at your introductions and final comments, they're two good places to get in the types of phrases/keywords that might bring in visitors that may convert.
Grammar
To me this is important. It's yet to be fully proved on how important it is to G...but as an example look at any page for any search term in the top 10. I bet you will be hard pushed to find any page that doesn't have near perfect grammar, if not perfect.
Yours is not bad. Your writeups have useful info, can't see any obvious spelling errors or typos. 'I' is a good example of something wrong though. 'I' is always capital. You are important. More important than 'i'.
Too many commas can interrupt the flow for a reader. Most people just skim online. Don't make it more difficult for them. Yes you (or at least I) can pick out the salient points from a write up...but for me it was not easy in some places with the number of commas. You can get rid of excessive commas by restructuring into shorter sentences.
People skim, but you don't want to be reducing your content. It looks effective to me. What you might consider is adding bullet point summaries of what you've covered, either part way through or at the end. Try and bullet point the most important parts of what you've written - that way your reader can choose to delve in deeper if they want. Good headlines will help in encouraging readers to want to read further - there are some great resources online for how to structure interesting headlines and subheads. Just search it, if you can't find let me know and I'll send some links.
How far in advance of a match can you write a preview
This is a critical one for you until your articles are getting ranked quickly (ranked as opposed to indexed, two different things).
Betting odds won't be available till night before in most cases. But you know who's playing before that, yes? Write up the preview as early as you can without actual odds. Put in something like ''I fancy xxx to overcome the likely odds in this and take the match. Betting odds will be available on the evening before the game. Keep an eye on xxxx and xxxx for the likely best odds, or check back here for my summary on the day of the game'' (I just threw this together as an example but you'll see the point - whether it's practical to do is another question, but it might help buy time)
If you've structured your preview well, you might get picked up for some long tails and bang you've got visitors reading your preview who might come back to see what you have to say about the odds when they're released.
The competition
I don't know a great deal about tennis match previews..but your competition (those who are getting ranked for the searches you want) are most likely (though not in all cases) highly regarded, long running sites. Google knows them, it already trusts them. You can only compete by (as I said before) doing something different, or getting on a level playing field (time, content, trust, links, effort)
Monitoring traffic
It's difficult to work out these days exactly how visitors are arriving. What they're searching for that lands them on one of your pages. The best I think you can do with this is try (when you see traffic to a page) to work out how they're arriving. If you know that, you can do more of the same (on that article and on future/new ones) to try and get more. Not easy this one, hopefully others will have suggestions on best ways of doing this.
The nofollow links out from the previous post. I don't think this will have any impact on your rankings at present, how quickly you're indexed etc. But there has been a lot of talk over recent months (including from G) that it is good practice....though my interpretation is this is more from a 'how do I avoid getting a penalty' perspective rather than a 'will this help me rank higher' one.
There is a reason/explanation...but it will take me another 10 mins to explain and fingers are numb...I'll let someone else do it.
just get some backlinks, but SLOWLY, like one every 14 days
Thanks for the thorough analysis on my situation and the help with regards to my site chaumi . I know you also posted a few pointers in the private message discussion which were relative specifically to my site, and i will try and take them ideas on board also.
I think the best thing i can do is like you say, try and be better in terms of grammar, and try and get keywords in my posts without pushing it too far.
If you could send me those links to the sites mentioned about structuring titles that would be very much appreciated? As i do think rethinking titles could be a way make the site more unique.
In terms of competition i do feel like tennis is a good niche for myself. Most websites like Steve G Tennis and tennis.com and others generally focus on tennis in general, but mine is specifically dedicated to womens tennis, and from a betting angle where i feel i can get closer to the visitors. I'll definitely keep on writing and see how the website progresses, i love tennis and that's what keeps me going. If i was writing about other sports such as Bowls or American Football i would have probably given up by now :chuckel:
Thanks again for your help, and everyone else on the thread so far who has given me some valuable tips and information.
That's it. You've hit on your value proposition. What makes you unique and sets you apart.Quote:
Originally Posted by link22
Now look at your site and think ''OK, so how am I telling visitors they're on a site that's dedicated to women's tennis betting...and is one of the expert sites in this field, if not the expert''
At the moment, you're not. You can tell by reading a few of the match writeups and previews, but nothing hits you in the face.
Try spelling out for potential visitors what's great about women's tennis betting...and let them see/feel your passion about it.
You have potential to turn the site into the go to resource for anyone who already recognises the value in women's tennis betting...and a site that someone new to tennis betting will want to come back to. But you need to show both those groups that value.
It can be extremely disheartening to keep putting everything into every post and seeing hardly anyone read it. Here's some tips to add to Chaumi's excellent advice:
1. First of all I would change your header colour from garish orange to a green. Green is synonymous with Tennis and sport in general.
2. Try changing your text colour to standard black and increase font size to 14px for easier legibility:
body {
color: #000;
font-family: Open Sans,Arial,Century gothic,sans-serif;
font-size: 14px;
3. Try moving your twitter feed to the top of the right column encouraging people to follow you.
4. Remove all the affiliate ads. You are not going to get people randomly clicking through and signing up and it distracts from your content.
5. Remove the (admin) Posted by Patrick (Admin)
6. Stop posting reviews of matches until you have enough traffic to warrant the time spent. Instead write extra previews.
7. Get your previews out early, early , early. You can always revisit them and update the odds etc closer to the event but concentrate on getting your previews out super early. Writing a preview today for an event in a couple of days will give you no chance of getting any google traffic. In a years time yes, but not today.
8. Major on facebook because that is where the majority of your audience lives.
9. Add internal links to your article text so when you mention "australian open" you link to your australian open page. Internal links are the easiest way to gain links and vastly underrated/overlooked.
10. Talking of which your menu items need to link to an actual page and not external sites/ search pages.
11. Consider making an individual fan page for the top twenty ranked women players. Each time you mention that player in your preview - internal link to that fan page. That way you will get ranked for players names in google.
12. At the end of each preview add where the best odds are and why people should bet there. This is your CTA. Put some effort into it because this is ultimately what is going to pay for your hard work. Simple text links are fine.
Something like this:
The best odds for this match are at Bet365 where you will get 10/1 but if you get an account at betvictor they have a special price boost for this match. Here's the scoop.
Have you signed up for my newsletter? Get it here. Lots of insider betting tips.
Have you seen my facebook page? Tips are posted regularly here.
Followed me on twitter?
And make sure you brag about successes in your writing:
As I told you last week Serena Williams was thrashed by 342nd ranked no hoper in a totally one sided contest 6-0 6-0. Did you get the odds of 500-1 at pinnacle bookmaker I told you about? If not better luck next time! keep reading and you will be as good as me in no time at all.
And lastly stick at it and keep learnng. Five months is no time at all.
Thanks
Tony
Thanks storebuilder. Damn 1 pixel changing from 13px to 14px really makes a difference. Text looks much clearer. :thumbsup:
Google still not indexed my last two blog posts. Wrote one of them about 20 hours ago at least. :/
Don't obsess with google it will drive you potty. Sometimes my posts get indexed within hours sometimes they just get missed and don't appear for a few days.Quote:
Originally Posted by link22
Put the energy into more writing.
If you mean Vesnina, it's indexed https://www.google.com/search?q=Vesn...x-a&channel=sbQuote:
Originally Posted by link22
Safarova I can't see yet, but think this one was published later.
But storebuilder is right. You're worrying about this too early.
That Vesnina match has been crawled on the homepage but the actual article itself hasn't been indexed.
I'll try not to worry about it too much, like you say.
OK yeah I see what you mean. Older posts are definitely indexed in their own right - if I search a title from May it shows up 1 for the post itself, and 2 for the homepageQuote:
Originally Posted by link22
I'd monitor that Vesnina one over a few days and see how long it takes to index in its own right, but I'm not sure that it really matters given the article is getting indexed each time from its appearance on the home page anyway, and fairly quickly by the look of it too.
Forget about onpage seo. It is not that important. It is less and less important. Make the website good for visitor and retention. The offpage/linkbuilding advices are indeed important, but what the guys advice here are lets say obsolete things. It will not hurt, it will help a bit... but it will hardly achieve the goal you want.
THINK OUT OF BOX
You have only one option. The one above.
I used to be a professional bettor, not tennis bettor though. So I do not know what are the articles about and if there is something more than on normal websites. Do you have some insider info? Do you go to tennis matches or are you watching them closer than others? Can you make money on tennis? [If yes, then why are not you betting, but doing websites?]
If your knowledge is excellent and you provide some extra info, then you have to go to other websites like tennis forums and make your brand (and linkbuilding) there. But you have to be honest here. If you are not that special in tennis area, you have nothing to offer and with your budget you can not compete. Do something, where you are outstanding. Simple as that.
Internet traffic and SEO is about concentration and monopolisation. This is not 10-15 years ago, when ANY tennis blog would be something big. People are enough stupid to gamble and gamble even more than b4, but they want something special. And what the people want is what will rank. If you do not provide it, then do not do it. If you rpovide it, you can use it as leverage and as part of self promotion and for SEO.
Most guys here have distorted vision here, because they provide simple MFA websites and they compete in very competitive area, which you should be able to omit, if your website has some real info.
I hope it makes sense for you.
Thanks for the reply Sherlock. I believe my website is very unique. If you search for tennis match previews on Google you'll find it a struggle to find at least 4 websites which have quality 4 paragraph minimum text analysis previews for todays matches, and are betting related. This is why i started up my site.
Betfair's betting blog is a good example of seeing things from the punters perspective
I play tennis, and have bet on it for many years so my knowledge is strong with tennis and betting in general. My website specifically concentrates on WTA (womens tennis), and although there is tennis websites which focus heavily on womens tennis in general, there isn't any which have specific reviews on a daily basis, especially from a betting perspective.
That's the crux here. There is many websites such as Stevie G Tennis, tennis.com (neither of which do focus specifically on womens tennis), which are good in their own right, but they don't have the punter in mind. Websites like that are there for the general population and people who don't even bet who just want to read about tennis, even though punters will take value from some of their articles.
I do believe that my site can offer many things which i haven't found in other sites.
- My site specifically revolves around womens tennis
- I like to think it's informal and relaxed
- I have the punter in mind with my writing.
- [TENNIS] + [BETTING] + [PREVIEWS] = Not many sites like this
- I write about the players, not just the stats.
The last bit i put in bold because many websites don't do this. Anyone can write about stats, but do they really know the players in question? I watch tennis 3-4 hours a day 7 days a week in most cases, watching and learning about how players play. How does a player play? do they play attacking or do they play defensive? Are they a lose cannon or do they pace themselves through matches well? These are all things which stats can't tell you, which i can and do write about in my previews, telling the punter what they need to know going into a match.
There is of course areas which i can work on with my writing, and i'm sure everyone on this site can improve on something with their site in some way or another, but i do believe that having a site which is specific to womens tennis AND is betting related gives the visitor (who may well be interested in betting) a feeling of relevance when they visit the site.
I want my visitors to think:
"Yeh them are good odds, she has played well"
"I wouldn't back her again after losing that last match, i think you might be right"
The type of thoughts you generally wouldn't generate in a visitors mind on sites like tennis.com, stevie g tennis and others alike.
Virtually all of the above can go on the site in one way or another, link22. Worded appropriately of course.
It's valuable for showing your visitors why listening to you will give them more than listening to someone else.
The success in google is that you persuade big G (not Steve G :) ) that you itself are a brand. This is what tennis.com or the Steve G did. For a newbie this is something he can hardly achieve, so the lower goal should be the aim and that is the valuable content on your site and brand at forums. I am almost sure that you already wrote on other forums in last years and that nicknames should have now decent value for your site. The bold text is indeed important.
The first thing is to put links in your signature but that is far from enough.
Even the good goods does not sell by itself and you have to play harder. There is not blackhat SEO and whitehat SEO, it is only 50 tones of grey.
So you have to go into - for your mind inconvenient - marketing area and think about other ways. For example when there is a topic, you can write an article exactly answering the topic and link to that article (it really does not matter a lot nowadays if the link is with anchor or not). This way you can build your own brand and make linkbuilding at once. Just be aware that the article is not just some awkard stuff as it happens by this way of linkbuilding on every forum (incl. gpwa). This is walking on really thin line. If you spam, you have to do it in a helpful way. The info and insight should be there.
There are indeed even more black techniques like being the OP and then answer to yourself. I am not suggesting you to do this, but this is definitely how things go today with low bugdet projects and there are many other tricks like that. I am telling this just to wake up you from the dream - nobody can be 100% clean content creator, because then you get no traffic and you can go to 9 to 5 job. And nobody can be 100% scammer, because it kills your soul and then even your tennis insight is affected and your will to live is destroyed.
Internet marketing is always between good and evil and only those who accept it are good at it. All the competition is quite evil here. Even when it is not clearly seen, it is simply a fact. Blackhat links and techniques are used even for linkbuilding of big corporations and you are their competitor, because you want the traffic that everyone wants.
Even better is to persuade the people at other - more soundly - sites. To persuade some opinion leaders would be golden. One tweet from the right place that can bring some traffic that will not bounce and maybe return can start the positive spiral of the trustrank.Quote:
Originally Posted by chaumi
I am not saying bribe some Steve G or whoever, but this is the way of thinking that is necessary if you have some real content that is unique.
There is a lot of truth in what Sherlock says of course. But to say 'forget about on page SEO' is overly simplistic.
There are two strong pieces of advice:
''Make the website good for visitor and retention'' Absolutely. This is on page SEO. Personally I believe this can be done in a way that gives the visitor the desire to stay and revisit, while also spelling out to a search engine what the page is all about (and without spamming). There's an art to this. Yes it has less impact nowadays than it would have done in the past...and there are a number of factors outside of what you have on a page which will/might be affecting its ranking...but still I believe it has (some) value (from direct, and recent, experience).
''Build your brand on forums'' - Yes. With the knowledge link22 clearly has about women's tennis, it would be wise to join a reputable/well trafficked forum and display that knowledge. A very quick search and found tennisforum (dot) com. Looks to be a useful starting point.