Please tear my site to shreds

[US_Poker_Roadmap]

Hi,

I'm new to affiliate marketing, and I recently created a site. (I tried to post the link, but my post count is too low, however the URL is in my profile).

Currently, I'm adding content to my site and trying to learn about SEO and website creation as I go. If any of you could be so kind as to view my site and give me an idea of what I'm doing wrong (or right), it would be greatly appreciated.

I just signed up to this forum today and it looks like a good community. I look forward to contributing and helping others in any way that I can.


EDIT:

How many of ya'll offer incentives to gain customers? I had a small give-away on my site for Memorial Day (my traffic is so low that no one noticed, lol). I've talked to multiple affiliate managers who said incentives are OK, provided I don't claim that their sites are offering anything their not.

Anyway, my question is, does anyone successfully use incentives to draw customers? I took the incentive off my site, and I don't think I'll be offering any more until I have a better understanding regarding how to properly use incentives to get customers who would otherwise not sign-up.

[sweetbet]

https://uspokerroadmap.com/

It's a good start. Continue adding more content to the site.

[universal4]

Thanks Sweetbet for adding the link for them.

Be VERY careful about offering incentives for signups etc.

Many affiliate programs have specific term in their TOS to exclude incentivized traffic.

As an example, if you are on CPA ad offer say a $50 bounty to join using your link and you are getting paid $100 CPA, although you would make the $50 on each signup the affiliate program would likely be getting really low value players in this situation so they usually have terms to help keep that from happening.

The best incentives you can offer are incentives that the casinos already offer, such as deposit bonuses or cash back bonuses for certain levels of play. This is most likely what the majority of managers you talked to meant with

I've talked to multiple affiliate managers who said incentives are OK, provided I don't claim that their sites are offering anything their not.

We have also seen cases where you could offer a contest or a prize draw for players that sign up from your site, although this is often much more difficult to track since most programs will NOT provide you with player details due to privacy concerns so it is problematic determining that everyone that signs up for your drawing joined the group using your links (if at all).

Rick
Universal4

[US_Poker_Roadmap]

It's a good start. Continue adding more content to the site.

Thanks for the reply and for adding my link. I'll definitely be adding more content. My goal is 1-2 articles a day. I'm starting to think that I should write my review articles using a format or template. In the past, I was just writing the review articles based on what first came to my mind first. I think visitors would appreciate a harmonious look when browsing the site.

Thanks Sweetbet for adding the link for them.

Be VERY careful about offering incentives for signups etc.

Many affiliate programs have specific term in their TOS to exclude incentivized traffic.

As an example, if you are on CPA ad offer say a $50 bounty to join using your link and you are getting paid $100 CPA, although you would make the $50 on each signup the affiliate program would likely be getting really low value players in this situation so they usually have terms to help keep that from happening.

The best incentives you can offer are incentives that the casinos already offer, such as deposit bonuses or cash back bonuses for certain levels of play. This is most likely what the majority of managers you talked to meant with

We have also seen cases where you could offer a contest or a prize draw for players that sign up from your site, although this is often much more difficult to track since most programs will NOT provide you with player details due to privacy concerns so it is problematic determining that everyone that signs up for your drawing joined the group using your links (if at all).

Rick
Universal4

Thanks for the words of advice regarding incentives. I'll definitely be sure to closely review terms and conditions before offering any incentives in the future, although, for now, I think I'm going to avoid offering them.

[universal4]

The theme is pretty basic, but if you focus on writing good articles etc you have got off to a start.

You may want to consider a theme that is a little more appealing, but the beauty of wordpress is that you can easily change themes at any time and study to see what helps with conversions.

Looking at the exact title of your thread, I considered that many may not truly believe that anyone would do EXACTLY as you asked, so I decided to prove it with a picture.

May I present your website after tearing to shreds.



Rick
Universal4

[leokilixx]

content is there but design wise its all very 90s... there is a range of great themes out there for wordpress.. i recommend genesis framework very clean code and has good themes to go with them

[pokeraussie]

If I am being honest I don't like the theme at all. Like the above poster said, it just looks like such an old/tired design. It is not engaging nothing grabs my attention. I also much prefer having the sidebar on the right.

[ardodd]

@US_Poker_Roadmap one of things about building a website and blog is being appealing. If this a WordPress site there are many options and themes available. But when looking it seems that you using a old template from a domain registry. One of the suggestions I would say is to find a theme that will allow you to several things.

1) Availability of 2016 Themes and Plugins.
2) Do you use a cPanel for working with the website?
3) Try using a RSS Feeder to bring in some content. *RSS Feeds can be sent to your Blog or website via IFTTT*
4) Connect your site to Social Media. *Facebook, Twitter, Google+* This allows your visitors to share your website
5) Add some Footer Notes like Banners. *Use maybe one footer with a banner rotator script that rotates up to 10 banners*

I almost all time use the Social Media Widgets that include more. One is ( Add This ) widget which allows users to share to Digg, Reddit, Stumble Upon, and numerous more. One of the other places I use regularly is called ( Delivr ) you can add up to 3 Social Media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ from one place. And it will connect your website to them and Post any new Post to them immediately.

And like I said by using IFTTT you can websites that have a RSS Feed and add them to your recipes and anytime something is posted on the Feed it is automatically adding to your Blog as content.

If you have any questions or just want someone to help with the SEO part then getting someone from ( Fiver ) to do your SEO. I have used them several times and very cost friendly. But if you have any questions just hit me up, I am always around somewhere and don't mind helping at all.

Albert
PokerPlayerMG
PokerPlayerMarketingGroup
Daily Online Casino Guide
Daily Online Casino Guide Hotels
Daily Grind by Poker Player Marketing Group

[GambleThenWin]

If I am being honest I don't like the theme at all. Like the above poster said, it just looks like such an old/tired design. It is not engaging nothing grabs my attention. I also much prefer having the sidebar on the right.

I agree. Try finding information about which colors are marketing-wise good, the colors that appeal to people. Also, the sidebar is better on the right because most of people are right-handed and their movements are limited to the right side of the screen.

[wonderpunter]

it's like I am reading online pdf's your flash "bovada casino" is all out of place.. flash is oldskool anyhow, i have mentioned this on another thread if your talent is content then it's always best to find a partner for the design aspect.. yes you split the comms but ultimately two or a few heads are better than one and it also gives you the advantage of more work power allowing you to reach your goals quicker than doing it all alone

[pokeraussie]

it's always best to find a partner for the design aspect.. yes you split the comms but ultimately two or a few heads are better than one

That is a terrible idea. Just pay for the design and keep 100% of the profits.

[wonderpunter]

That is a terrible idea. Just pay for the design and keep 100% of the profits.

Not just design but every other part of the technical side SEO, Design, Coding, maintenance, etc.. it's never as simple as just throwing up a page then making big numbers unless you have time to learn

[pokeraussie]

Not just design but every other part of the technical side SEO, Design, Coding, maintenance, etc.. it's never as simple as just throwing up a page then making big numbers unless you have time to learn

That makes sense. I thought you were suggesting a profit share agreement just for the web design which would be ridiculous.

[US_Poker_Roadmap]

Lol, thanks, Universal4, I needed that laugh.

I agree. Try finding information about which colors are marketing-wise good, the colors that appeal to people. Also, the sidebar is better on the right because most of people are right-handed and their movements are limited to the right side of the screen.

I plan to look into this. Good point about the sidebar. I'm left-handed, so I don't notice things like that as easily.

I just checked your site out, and it looks nice. I believe I was actually looking at the theme you're using the other day, and I was considering purchasing it. I'm not sure if it's considered rude to mention someone elses theme name, because then others may copy it, so I'll just ask: how do you like that theme so far? Does it seem to be working out for you?

it's like I am reading online pdf's your flash "bovada casino" is all out of place.. flash is oldskool anyhow, i have mentioned this on another thread if your talent is content then it's always best to find a partner for the design aspect.. yes you split the comms but ultimately two or a few heads are better than one and it also gives you the advantage of more work power allowing you to reach your goals quicker than doing it all alone

Not just design but every other part of the technical side SEO, Design, Coding, maintenance, etc.. it's never as simple as just throwing up a page then making big numbers unless you have time to learn

I agree. I believe I'll remove the flash content later today. I can't even get the games to look "right," so it's pointless to have them there. I don't mind learning as I go, at least for now, this website is a fun side project for me. If I do the right things, and the site takes off and starts earning at a decent rate, I definitely wouldn't have a problem assembling a team to ensure everything runs optimally.

Does anyone have recommendations on copywriting books? I had a client who I used to write for give me the name of an excellent book that dealt with creating content that captured attention and drove people toward making a purchase, but unfortunately, I forgot the name and I never actually bought the book.


After considering all the helpful advice from you all, here's my plan going forward:

1) Get a new theme. I tried to go cheap, and I realize that was a mistake. I'll be purchasing a premium WP theme very soon.

2) Learn SEO, design and other factors that make a website successful and drives visitors towards conversions. I signed up for a free trial at Moz.com, and it has a very informative 57-page PDF for new website owners that explains how SEO works. I also checked Coursera, which is a website that offers free online college classes from high-end universities, and found a few classes dealing with SEO and digital marketing.

3) Continue adding content.


This will probably be my plan for the next two weeks or so. By then, I'll have a good-looking site with around 20+ pages, and I'll have slightly improved my knowledge of SEO, marketing, etc. Then, I can reevaluate and determine what steps I should take going forward.

[US_Poker_Roadmap]

OK, time for an update.

I got a new theme, and I'm happy with the way it looks. I've been adding content, but I need to ramp it up to posting at least once a day.

The content on my site is starting to shift away from poker. It seems like there's more US casino operators than US poker sites, so I've been focusing on casino content. I've also had an easier time writing casino content. I can easily write a 300-400 word slot review (and there's 100s of slots games to write about), but my poker site reviews are usually 600-800+ words. Creating poker strategy content is also a more difficult process than writing an article on how to play roulette or giving out casino tips.

At the rate I'm going, my site is going be 25% poker content and 75% casino/slots content. Since my site is called US Poker Roadmap, I'm starting to consider if I should buy a new domain with casino and/or slots in the name, put my casino/slots content on the new site, and strictly focus on USA poker content on this site. Would this be a wise choice? What factors should I look at in considering this decision? My current site doesn't have too much content, and I don't have a big social media presence, so I don't think it would be too disruptive. My domain name is only about a year old, and I have a handful of backlinks.

Happy 4th of July weekend, everyone!

[ardodd]

@US_Poker_Roadmap,

I like the new look and feel of your website. As far changing the name goes, I would not change it. You have choose that name for good reason. All you need to do is work on the keyword focus of your website and get it up there on top. There are many ways to do this and for beginners it is about knowing which ones and how to use them.

I have used SEOProfiler on everyone of my sites to get Top rankings for keywords. And they offer a 30 day trial for $1. It could help you move up in the rankings and understand what it is about.

[US_Poker_Roadmap]

Do you think I should keep adding casino content, or strictly focus my efforts on poker content?

[chaumi]

Do you think I should keep adding casino content, or strictly focus my efforts on poker content?

Think the real answer to this only comes if you can get inside the heads of your US visitors.

The focus of your site screams poker, but then you're also shouting 'play casino games'

If it were me I'd be questioning why. Why is this telling me it's a great resource for US poker and then diluting it to talk about casino games?

Of course I personally know why (and it doesn't/wouldn't worry me if the poker stuff I was looking for was there). But I'm in the game.

The question is would the average US (poker) visitor ask themselves the same question (and be put off by it)?

Another consideration is time. If you want to build a valuable poker site...then you probably want to be focusing available time on that and not getting diverted..at least until you'd built up a sizeable and deep repository of info on what should be the main focus of the site.

I'd do what you said in an earlier post...get another domain and dedicate it to the casino stuff you want to write...or scrap both and register USgamblingroadmap then cover poker, casino, sweepstakes, bingo, tribal gaming, land based casinos, regulation etc etc etc...though you will ultimately be doing a lot of writing....the upside is you'd have plenty to write about, not that you don't with a focus on casino alone.

[Mobcasinos]

One thing I can advise you is be creative. Your site must be attractive enough and put contents that can get attention. Make sure it is easy to understand and also try to see other that you think you can copy or replicate on your site.

[US_Poker_Roadmap]

Thanks for the post. Did you visit the site? Any specific things you liked/didn't like?