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Link Exchange, Browser Compatability, Traffic Sources and Amazon Associates
Browser Compatability
Febrary 1st 2008
Today I got some feed back from one of the sites with whom I had requested a link-exchange.
They told me that two of my free puzzle pages did not work with their web-browser. I tried
it out - and they were right. I fixed the problem, installed several more browsers and tested
more comprehensively. I also completed the link exchange, replied and thanked the respondant for
his help.
It struck me that the advice and help gained during the link exchange was extremely helpful.
Forging relationships between websites is beneficial for many reasons
other than to increase a back-link profile. I think it's easy to miss this - reading SEO papers
- the focus is on 'increase your quality back-links to improve search engine rank' - but it's much
more valuable than just that.
Fresh Content
February 2nd 2008
Saw a sudoku-related puzzle in a newspaper today - word sudoku, or wordoku. Not many sites seem to offer this,
so I've added a free wordoku
page to the site. To let people know about the service I posted some links on suitable sudoku forums.
I've tried to choose forums where they have a specific 'tell us about a site you like' section - to try and
avoid spamming people with information they don't want. This has been reasonably successful - Google Analytics
indicates that a few hits each day of traffic comes from the forum posts.
Amazon Associates Approval
February 6th 2008
Just receieved confirmation that my Amazon Associates account has been approved. Great news!
The next few days I'll build some links to specific products and search pages related to my
site content. The tools that Amazon provide make this a relatively painless task.
Google Analytics Feedback
February 7th 2008
Google Analytics indicates that someone was playing the online wordoku for 30 minutes (clicking to check their
solution etc) - this is great!
Feburary 10th 2008
Google Analytics shows 161 unique visitors to the site over the past month.
Some of these seem to be playing the free puzzles, so feeling quite positive
seeing that people have actually enjoyed using the site, and coded up a
new free wordsearch online puzzle.
While coding I'm getting a few ideas about
how that could be extended... ...really it could do with a site of it's own.
February 19th 2008
Google adsense is now set up.
The Power of Google
Febrary 20th 2008
Analysis of site traffic from search engines over the course of the past few weeks indicates that nearly
all the search engine traffic comes from Google.
I guess this is to be expected, but it never really struck me before just
how powerful Google was. I realise this should be the case
given their share price, but it means that sites have to be very careful
not to rely too heavily on Google for traffic.
I guess the only real way to minimise the risk is to forge more back-link partnerships
and raise the profile of the website so that site traffic can continue even if Google
drops off, or de-lists the site or something.
The Power of Referring Sites
February 28th 2008
Analysis of site traffic from referring sites:
The link exchange and forum posts set up late in January are sending a steady stream of traffic:
What Revenues can you expect from Adsense and Amazon Associates?
February 29th 2008
Revenues from adsense and amazon are extremely low(!) but that's probably to be expected as the site is still
very young. General click through rates are about 3%. Also, because the site is aimed at offering 'free puzzles' etc, the type of site visitors are probably not likely
going to be in a 'buying' mood. Nevertheless the Adsense revenue is about double the Amazon performance at the moment -
and over the course of two years it could cover website hosting costs, but certainly no more at this stage.
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