Back to work... somewhat

I think I've discovered the trick to getting my fire back for my business. It was sorely lacking for a long time, but it seems that when this happens, the cure is simply to talk to a bunch of my AM buddies until the early morning hours. I got quite a bit (relatively) done yesterday. I've decided to scrap the idea of the 2 sites that I've been working on and combine them into 1 big one which will also have several other topics. While I know this goes against everything Martell is saying, I've come to the decision that I won't be following his methods anymore. I still think his system might be valid for someone just starting out who has no website creation/SEO knowledge, but once you move beyond that point, you just don't need him anymore. And there's an interesting thread on that topic that Martell himself answered on Allan Gardyne's forum, here's the link: http://associateprograms.com/discus/ftopic15748.html. I still stand by what I say in there - go pick up Colin's book and read it, learn it and apply it. You won't regret it! (If nothing else, sign up for his free newsletter, you'll get alot of info through that, too!)

Let's see, what else did I get done... Scouted domains for the new mega-site, non-dashed of course. Thought about all the categories that could be added. For example, let's say my original site was about patio furniture (it wasn't) so I broke it down in to tables, chairs, fireplaces, umbrellas, etc. The other site would've been cute knicknacks, plates, glasses, plants, etc. Well now, I'm going something more like, patio furniture, accessories, plants, fireplaces, tiki bars, outdoor equipment, pools, etc. I think that's a fairly good analogy, since I'm not ready to reveal the topic yet :) I'm excited about it. I've pretty much decided on a domain, it's quite catchy, and while I KNOW this will be alot of work, I'm hoping to divide it somewhat between PLR/authors/me and eventually grow it into an authority site. For now all my new sites will be like this. My existing ones will stay as is (maybe to grow out, maybe not) and I'll be honest and admit if I find a hot niche like Pet Memorials I may do a mini-site, but I agree with Colin that the mega authority site seems to be the new way to go.

I also tweaked a bit of the travel accessories home page and completely restructured the article directory. When I created the directory it was on the 2002 book advice, i.e. no more than 30 links per page, so I had it spread over 5 pages. How is that useful to the visitor? Plus they were all mixed in together with no way to easily find the topic you were looking for. This has all been changed now, if you want to see what I did, see travel articles. It really didn't take long, but what a difference! It all goes back to design and write for your visitor, NOT the search engines. We've all heard it before, but how many of us really listen to that statement? I wasn't REALLY... maybe a little, but the scale was definitely tipping in favor of the SE's. And look at where it's gotten me? I don't give a crap about the "Big Daddy" Google update because Google hates my sites anyway... and I think that's a sorry attitude. Because I know many of us are struggling to get Google to notice us, and just think about what kind of revenue we're losing every day because if we're lucky, we're on page 10 - if we're not, we're on page 100 or just don't seem to exist. If we do things right though, there doesn't seem to be a sandbox or getting "Google Whacked." There ARE other ways of doing what we do, we just have to be open to them. Which goes back to buying Colin's book.

If you're thinking about it at all, please bite the bullet and buy it. I'd gladly give to you all for free if I could, but even if you don't want to buy it through my affiliate link, that's fine, http://www.veoreport.com - I just think it will help all of us who I know have been struggling, because we've all discussed it at one time or another. It will be $67 well spent. Besides which, I'll be probably talking about it more as I'm building my sites and I'd like you all to be in the loop of what I'm saying ;)

Anyway, I guess the long "I heart Colin" post (as I'm sure that's how it feels to many of you) should end now, plus I can't think of anything else to say right now. Other than I'm slowly discovering what they say about February being the slowest month is true. I'm getting decent traffic (for my sites, nothing like in the hundreds per day) but no one's buying, and very few are clicking on Adsense even. I haven't seen CTR this low in a looooooooooooooooong time. Oh well, thankfully there's only 28 days this month! lol

Have a great week everyone!

Tara :)