Little Bits of Everything

[obelix112za]

Hi, I'm new to this type of forum.
I've just finished my first website, and would like some feedback on what you guys think. Once you've been there, I'm sure you'll understand why I joined 5 Star Affiliate Programs.
I'm originally from South Africa, but is living in Ireland at the moment, and is hoping to go back home at the end of the year.

www.bitsofeverything.net

[Linda Buquet]

Hi obelix112za,

Welcome to 5 Star and thanks for starting things off right by asking a question.
I'll be frank...

When I look at your site I see several common mistakes many new affiliates make.

The scatter gun approach - really tough to optimize and get traffic for a "mall" type site carying lots of unrelated products. Some affiliates find it's easier to get started with a niche so you can build lots of pages of content around one theme. Search engines sometimes like this too and it's easier to optimized for.

Using free site builders - again tough to do the custom SEO you need to

ClickBank - all the links I checked were for CB. I think CB is one of the toughest ways to start. Reports are terrrible and lots of links get overwritten. Also Super competive.

Don't be discouraged. Just read and learn. Almost everyone starts where you did. Hope this helps and best of luck! I hope some affiliates will give you their 2 cents as well.

[obelix112za]

Thanx Linda, I do hear what you are saying, but I am staying hopefull. It's my first website that I build & I don't know the first thing about HTML, but I can genuinly say this: 'It was a lot of fun!'.
Now obvioulsy anyone doing this, is doing it for money, but I found it really unsatisfying just promoting one or two links.
I think the best thing I did so far (apart from building my site), is that I subscribed to your forum. I'm now going to spend a lot of time here, reading & writing (hopefully helping other affiliates as well).
Thank You
J.H du Plessis

[sarahk]

Hi

I've just checked out your site and I'd like to back up some of Linda's comments. I'd recommend you request a technical site review (linda, do we do them here, or do I give a link out?). Your site does look like you've had some fun but the javascript and lack of SEO will hinder your progress.

Two things to look into
- Search Engine Optimization
- CSS

Neither are that tricky to get the basics right, and will help your site immensly.

good luck

Sarah

[obelix112za]

I am actually thinking of doing that. Just need to get the finances in order.
Thank You

[sarahk]

Tech reviews are usually free via a forum

SEO and CSS can be done yourself. DIY can be much more satisfying

[Teli]

Hi JH,
I'd have to, also, agree with what's been said here already. If I had the time myself, I'd give you a complete technical review, alas, you will need to settle for a few links from me .

You mentioned not knowing a thing about HTML, CSS, or SEO and being on a budget?
Learn HTML (cost: FREE)
Learn CSS (cost: FREE)
Learn basic SEO (cost: FREE)*

I've also written a quick and dirty guide for learning (X)HTML/CSS even if you don't know HTML and it goes over some basic design principles like color selection and page layout.

Though not free ($79), I'd also recommend Aaron Wall's SEO Book - great read and chock full of information. In the meantime, you can read Aaron's blog for free (it's the SEO Book homepage).

Hope that helps out,
~ Teli

* I'd also highly recommend reading through the Google webmaster guidelines because I feel it's a great no-nonsense resource for building a long lasting site.