Website Review of: Duckeldannys Money Blog

Getting To Know the website.

What is the purpose of this website?

To teach other bloggers on how to make money online. Topics range from Affiliate, seo, money, blogging and others.

Who is the owner of the website?

I was not able to find any information on who the owner of the website is. All I can guess is that the owner’s name is Duckel Danny. Although after doing a small search on google, I was able to find out at that he is an 18 year old from Germany.

Honestly, there really needs to be an about page. Readers of the blog are very likely to want to know more about Duckel danny.

Recent Blog Posts

How to Hide your Affiliate Links

How to Hide your Affiliate Links - An excellent post that highlights some of the ways how users can hide affiliate links. Danny explains the methods of meta refresh, php 301, .htaccess 301, JavaScript redirect, and then he adds on his own personal method that he enjoys the most.

Entrecard Me! Plugin for Wordpress - A post that gives reference to a useful wordpress plugin, for bloggers who use entrecard.

SEO Elite Review - A review of the SEO Elite software, a software that helps you to submit your Website into Search Engines and Directories. Although to be honest, the post doesn’t really give a review on the software. An extensive and personal review by Duckeldanny would go a long way.

Useful Free eBooks by Chitika - Just a link to a free ebook. Some comments on Duckeldanny’s opinions on the ebook would be very beneficial to the post.

Make Money with BlgAds - A short post about a blog advertising network. The post needs more though. The post is about “make money with BlgAds”, however it does not really identify how to make money, or how other webmasters have made money with BlgAds.

Final Thoughts Comments on Getting to know the website

In the description meta tag for the blog, you say that you are a teacher, trying to help other bloggers learn how to make money online. However, to be perfectly honest, there is a lack of teaching. Perfect case in point is the ‘Make money with BlgAds’ post. You point to the website for the opportunity, however, you make no mention on how bloggers can make money with Blg Ads.

The ‘Seo Elite Review’ post. When I first clicked to read the post, I thought I would be getting a review. However, there isn’t a review. Just a generic message promoting your own affiliate link. If you want to have better sales rate, and conversation rates. You really need to do a serious personal review of the Seo Elite program.

Theme / Design Critique

Header

The header image is alright, but the biggest current problem that I see, is that it takes approximately 537 pixels in height to get to the content to read. The most common resolution users currently use on the web is 1024×764 pixels. So you have 764 pixels in height, then you have to reduce the pixel height for the browser header and information. So do you see how Users of 1024×764 might not even be able to see any content when they land on your page? Not good.

One note about the archive page. It is very hard to see the history of the posts. When you click the archive link, you can only view 5 at a time. Thats not good. As a reader, I want fast and easy access to be able to read the archive page. What I would recommend, is utilizing a similar archive page to mine.

Pictured below are the settings I am using for the archive plugin, in order to get a clean feel for the page, otherwise the default feels way too spammy.

Sidebar

It is way too busy. Information overload, and the other thing is that the more things you have in yourside bar, the more time the readers needs to wait for the website to finish loading. If the user is on dial-up you can forget about them staying and reading the website. Unless they are very patient on website loading.

An example of something you can eliminate, the Alexa rank tool bar, theres no real point to having it in the sidebar. Most readers reading the blog, don’t really care what your Alexa rank is. If they do care, they probably know how to check it themselves.

Final Comments

Considering that you just started your blog, about 2-3 months ago, it is just my personal opinion, that your blog is way too spammy, way too early. It almost feels like you are putting more emphasis on generative some quick money, over creating quality content that will make readers want to come back, again and again. Focus on creating rich, and original quality content, and the money will come later.

Website Review of: JJMelo

Getting To Know the website.

What is the purpose of this website?

To discuss various topics ranging from freelancing to website design, to Joe’s hobbies.

Who is the owner of the website?

Joe a 24 year old born in Medellin, Columbia, and is currently residing in Los Angeles, California. He is an entrepreneur, network engineer, graphics designer, marketing director and accountant all wrapped in one!

He enjoys learning to play the guitar, radio controlled cars, helis and planes. Joe also enjoys camping, loud rock concerts, snowboarding and traveling.

Recent Blog Posts

AVOID AVG 8.0 AT ALL COSTS! - A short post, but a useful one.

The best password-remembering tip you’ll ever encounter - A fantastic post where Joe shares a method to create safer passwords, and passwords that can be remembered easier, with a pattern.

What’s up with Paypal? - I liked this post, but I think it had more potential. The only let down is the lack of details, and words. With only 199 words that make up this post, the post could have had more words, and images.

Settting up and maintaining Mozy properly - A post that talks about a program to protect their data at a very reasonable price. Oh and by the way, setting is spelled wrong in your post title

My First Mac Rant - I liked the post, and enjoyed reading it. But I feel like, there should have been images showcasing the differences. That would have really spiced up the post.

Final Thoughts on Getting to know the website

The overall content of the website is good and on target. However, I am a fan of longer posts, and more detailed posts. If anything, that is the one things I would suggest to Joe.

Theme / Design Critique

Header

I like the header image, its not too flashy, and it represents what Joe likes, with the heli on the right.

Contact

Right now, when you visit the contact page, you can see an email address, and a screename for instant messenger. I would highly recommend a contact form page. Not only it is more efficient, it is also safer than leaving an email address.

Sidebar

Introduction

I really like the introduction part in the sidebar. It quickly introduces the website owner to the new visitors, who might want to know.

Sponsors

I am wondering if Joe will eventually sell add space under the sponsors in the sidebar. Right now there is no indication of it.

Final Thoughts On Theme Design

Overall a very clean design. The colors are easy on the eyes, and looks great.

Final Comments

I would highly recommend adding an archive page to the web site. Similar to the one I am running here at my web site http://www.jeancosta.com/archives.

Pictured below are the settings I am using for the archive plugin, in order to get a clean feel for the page, otherwise the default feels way too spammy.

Website Review of: Nothing Of Particular Interest

Getting To Know the website.

What is the purpose of this website?

No real purpose, other than to be a random blog.

Who is the owner of the website?

I searched the website, but I was unable to discover who is the man or women behind this blog. Although I am willing to bet it is a man behind the scenes of the blog. The only sure thing I can say is that the owner of the website is from, Alamosa, CO.

However, after looking at the who is, of the website, I was able to find that the registrant is Kyle Baker, from Alamosa, CO. So in fact the man behind the blog is Kyle Baker, and thats as far as we will know.

It would be nice to have an about page on the Nothing Of Particular Interest website.

Recent Blog Posts

Deal Or No Deal Discrimination? - I actually have never seen, Deal or No Deal, so I cannot comment. Whoever it was that sent the letter, should start their own website, by the words of the reader, I think she could perhaps create a blog, and write about controversies, etc.

These are my gifts, children, to you. Take it. - A link to a youtube video, from youtube comedian AndrewBravener, in the video he talks about how to prevent videos from sucking, and what not to do. He outlines some tips of what not to do on your first video submission to youtube.

Site Review: Designer’s Depot - A very honest review of another blog.

Safety First! - Just another link to a youtube video. Although I believe it is falsely titled

Gum is the epitome of all that is right with the world. - I suppose after reading this post, I finally get what he means by being random, because certainly the post is very random.

Final Thoughts on Getting to know the website

Unfortunately, I cannot relate to this website. Personally, the content is just way too random for me. I would say though that the content is geared towards younger people. As can be seen by the writings in the Gum is the epitome of all that is right with the world. post.

I will say this though, whenever you link to videos, I think it would be good to add some words to it too. These words can be what your thoughts are on the video, perhaps some extra tips that the videos does not provide. Whatever it is, just provide some text along with the videos. Just the video alone is not good enough. Both your readers and the search engines will prefer some more words from you in the video posts. The post to the video is great for your readers, but not so great for the search engines. Otherwise it is likely that the search engines won’t index the page. In the end though, you should be writing to your readers, and not the search engines, so don’t force yourself to write something that is not natural of you. Just try to keep in mind, that adding a few words might not be a bad idea

Theme / Design Critique

Header

The header image is unique, and speaks its own voice.

Archives Page - When I first arrived on the blog, I wanted to see the history of the posts, but the current setup of the archives page is very vague, and usual of all blogs. I really like the way I have my archive page setup, and I think for you it would be great as well. Especially since your blog is very random. Readers can check out the archive page, very easily, and navigate their way around the archived posts easier.

Pictured below are the settings I am using for the archive plugin, in order to get a clean feel for the page, otherwise the default feels way too spammy.

Sidebar

Not too much going on with the side bar. One thing I would like to note though, is that the sidebar should be organized more. By this, I mean the alignments of the content.

The section of the sidebar that I feel needs the organization work on is the Featured Links section. It is just inconsistent. The Text links are nicely centered, however when you add in the images, they are not so nicely aligned. Although this is not a huge problem, it just has an off feeling to it.

Main Content Area

The title of each posts should be linked to the post. By this I mean… when you first land on the home page, the title of the posts, should be linking to the page of the article. Otherwise, the only way to get to that page is by clicking on the ‘leave comment’ link at the bottom of each post.

On another note, the bottom page of the main content area is missing a previous page button. This means that, when I land on the main page of Nothing Of Particular Interest I am limited to reading the 6 posts on the main page, and I cannot read beyond that, unless I access the archives page. If I were a novice user of the blog platform, it would lead me to think that, there is no more content to be read on the website.

Final Thoughts On Theme Design

Although it is kinda of late to change, the way the permalink structure is setup, the current setup is losing valuable seo. Example… let’s take a look at the Deal Or No Deal Discrimination, post. The destination for it is /index.php?itemid=283#nucleus_cf, now if you had a custom permalink structure, that utilized the title of the post to part of the url address, it would look like this /deal-or-no-deal-discrimination.html which for the search engines would be better, and you would stand a higher chance of getting the post indexed higher. You can change your permalink structure at any time, however due so at your own risk.

Overall the theme, design and look of the blog is good, it is clean and easy to read.

If you liked this review, and you would like me to review your website, then check out my post on how I can write a constructive website review for your website.

Website Review of: Trend Spike

Getting To Know the website.

What is the purpose of this website?

To provide men up to date information in the latest trends in every aspect of a man’s interest.

Who is the owner of the website?

The owner’s name is Jason Bacchetta from Texas, and he is just your average 25 year old male. Jason had previously pursued a career path in Physical therapy, but has recently been considering changing to a firefighting career.

Jason enjoys being the typical male, and so he figures, why not blog about what he is truly passionate about. And that is one of the founding reasons, as to why he started Trend Spike.

Recent Blog Posts

Trend Spike Is Movin’ On Up - Jason talks about the success the blog has seen so far, and believe it or not, there is yet another new theme coming to the website. Personally I think the current theme looks fantastic, and if Jason says the next theme is suppose to be even better, then I can’t wait to see that one.

World Gone Wild - An interesting post about the future of earth’s population with a link to a program to have some fun with.

Are You Sleeping With Lorena Bobbitt? - That website does sound crazy!

World’s Fastest Firefighter - I have seen similar ladder competitions before on youtube once, but never one like this. Let me see if i can find the one I watched….. Oh here it is, http://youtube.com/watch?v=tAzz5GSKPqU , these guys are blazing fast on that ladder!

Who Says You Can’t Splurge? - Jason shares his insights and his beliefs on dieting, eating healthy, and his approach to eating unhealthy foods.

42 Gas Saving Tips - A fantastic article, that should be digged or stumbled. If you read this article, you will pick up at least one great tip, to save on gas. I did stumble it though so, got that done :). Tip number forty one, was the one that I never thought of before, and it makes alot of sense. I wonder how much gas you would save if you filled up from empty to half way, every time at the pump.

World of AddictCraft - 10 Million Lives and Counting - I used to be a heavy gamer myself, but I never did start playing world of warcraft, or should I say Addicraft as Jason suggests. Jason couldn’t be more right though! Blizzard the gaming company that produced world of warcraft, has put out many addicting games in the past, including Diablo 2, Starcraft, to name a few! I guess one of the main reasons why I never personally played world of Warcraft, was because I never wanted to pay monthly to continue playing. Good thing I never did start playing world of warcraft, otherwise I would be just another Addicraft. Still though, I did use to play Diablo 2, a long time ago, when I use to be a hardcore gamer, I would spend most of my summer time playing the game, at times for ever 10-12 hours straight. Thankfully, that is in the past.

Final Thoughts on Getting to know the website

Overall Jason has been providing great content for his users. The content is unique, its his own, and is on target for what he is trying to achieve with his website/blog.

One thing, I did notice though, is that whenever Jason makes reference to a video he found online, like World’s Fastest Firefighter it is just a link to a video, and not much is talked about it. The post to the video is great for your readers, but not so great for the search engines. I would suggest to Jason, for future video posts, for him to share his insight or comments on the video. Otherwise it is likely that the search engines won’t index the page. In the end though, you should be writing to your readers, and not the search engines, so don’t force yourself to write something that is not natural of you. Just try to keep in mind, that adding a few words might not be a bad idea.

Theme / Design Critique

Header

A very clean and attractive header. It really stands out to me as being very unique.

Archives Page - I like the way your current archives page it setup. It’s clean, and easy to navigate. I would suggest one other thing though, one more option for the readers to see for the archives page. Below where you currently have your current archive setup. Why not, have a section like I do on my blog’s archive page. The more options to the readers the better right?

Advertise Page - If I were looking to advertise on your website, it would be a huge turn off, if I did not see information regarding how much Monthly Page Views, Monthly Unique Visitors, and Subscribers your website currently has. Because basically, I would be advertising in the dark.

Sidebar

Poll / POPULAR / COMMENTATORS / Subscribe

I like that you started it off with a Poll in that section. It’s a great way for readers to interact with the website. I already casted my vote, hehe.

Our Flickr Photos - See all photos

Again a great addition to the sidebar, After all everyone loves looking at images!

Final Thoughts on Theme / Design Critique

I think Jason has a real hit here with this website. With a recent post on his website, he is saying that there is a new theme and look that is going to be rolling around for the website. Personally I think this particular design already looks amazing, so I can’t wait to see what Jason rolls out.

There are some people who can write and captivate people on many different subjects. Jason has a great niche here, and if he can be that guy that everyone loves to listen to, then hes going to have a great hit with his website, as he slowly turns people into regular readers of his blog.

How well has this blog been performing? And has it gained any traction since last month’s performance?

Let’s take a look!

Alexa Ranking

Previous Month, January 31st, 2008 Alexa Ranking of 157,194.

February 29th, 2008 Alexa Ranking of 115,040.

A positive gain of 42,154 positions.

Alexa Ranking 2008 Progress

Starting from this month I will be generating a nice chart from my excel sheets that I keep track of my website stats. This will illustrate the progress of 2008 as a whole. Hopefully by the end of 2008, the line will be an upward sloping line, rather than an up and down wave. For the Alexa ranking 2008 Progress Chart, I flipped the Y axis, so that up in this case is good.

Technorati Ranking

January 31st, 2008 Technorati Authority Rating is 51, With a Rank of 150,747.

February 29th, 2008 Technorati Authority Rating is 64, With a Rank of 114,765.

Technorati Ranking 2008 Progress

Similar to the Alexa Ranking chart that I made, technorati ranking should be going up as a whole.

Top Commentators

Ever since I implemented the top commentators on my sidebar, I have seen the number of comments on the blog in general increase. I have also discovered that there is an exploit in the top commentators, that I will soon be blogging about, and hopefully I will find a way to patch that up. The exploit allows anyone to take over the top commentators spot, with their own website, by just making one post.

The total number of overall comments in the month of February was 137 comments. This is up from a total of in January.

The top 7 Commentators

1. Pat with a total of 8 comments left.

Pat King is a Nationally Renowned Health & Fitness Guru! If you need advise on health and fitness, look no further than Pat King. Pat puts his readers in first place, and helps them achieve their health and fitness goals. He is very open, and will answer any questions you have about your health.

2. Blogzila with a total of 8 comments left.

A blog that provides information on how to increase web traffic, search engine optimization, online advertising, web ranking, Alexa and more.

3. Gary R. Hess with a total of 6 comments left.

Gary is the nerd that gives information for search engine marketing, web development and technology.

4. 1 Million in 365 Day with a total of 5 comments left.

Chris, a blogger who is trying get 1 million people in 365 days to read his blog.

5. Auctionman with a total of 5 comments left.

A website that offers free ebay templates, and among other useful information for people interested in both making money online, and auctions.

6. Shelia with a total of 4 comments left.

Shelia shares and talks about her passion tennis, the blog is unique in that it specifically talks about black tennis players.

7. Blogging Tools with a total of 4 comments left.

This blog is a successful one, and is a place for good quality bloggers to come together and collaborate on one big project.

Will you be one of next month’s top commentators? If you are, then I will at next month’s blog report, mention your name.

Traffic Numbers

In the month of February 2008, there were a total of 3,861 Absolute Unique Visitors.

At the end of January is when I first made the move over to Google Analytics to track my website traffic numbers, so I don’t have very accurate data to report for January, so for the 2008 year in general, I will use February as a starting month for the traffic numbers.

Like I wrote in my goals for 2008 post, I hope that by the end of 2008, I will have a total of 11,000 absolute unique visitors visiting the blog. It’s not an easy feat, but its a reachable feat. Off course according to February stats I am 35% of the way there. And If I am to get to the 11,000 goal mark, I will need to average an increase in traffic of around 714 unique visitors per month. Although not an easy task, but certainly an attainable one.

Income Report

No my current blog doesn’t make any money, as of right now I am doing it just for free, as a way to give some of my tips to the community at large. I did however, plan to write about how my other websites are doing, what I am doing to make them succesful, how much money I make with each, etc. Just a flat out report of what it is I do to make money online. But in all honesty at the moment, I am unsure if I will do this or not. If I do, do it, then it will likely be during the summer time when I will begin talking about it. If I don’t do it, it is because I am not yet comfortable revealing such personal information. Rest assured though, even if I don’t get into the numbers of how much I am making outside of this blog, I will still give good information on how to achieve success online.