02-27-2010, 11:27 PM
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Some Site Traffic Issues, Need Advice
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Posts: 3
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Relevant URL: www.psionicsonline.net
Alright, so.... This is going to be a long post, I have separated each section for easy reading.
Problem:
About Site: We focus on providing free content on learning psychic abilities(this field is termed psionics), please maintain a neutral stance.
Site Competitors: There are no "real" competitors to my site. I offer unique content on the internet. We used to have competitors, but those sites are down now, or are archived. This causes problems for keywording, see below.
Keywording: This site used a term, "psionics", which was valid in 2006, when I registered the domain. We had many competitors at the time, which perpetuated the use of the term "psionics" instead of other terms like "learn psychic abilities". Now a site with content essentially centered around this term gets no hits because people no longer search for it.
Why I cant use alternative terms: The members of my site are what is left of old competitors, from like 2006. These members are insistent on using old terms, such as psionics, instead of better terms such as "psychic abilities". If i optimize for "psychic abilities", I lose my only traffic, which is what I have to go on right now. This is a problem because learning psychic abilities(stay with me...., I know it sounds nuts) takes a few years. I need knowledgable members on my website to answer newbie questions and to act as authority figures.
Problem with using "psychic" as a keyword: This keyword is highly competitive. This keyword is also filled with sites whose sole focus is ads, and offer no real content, or people that are insistant on taking other people's money for fake phone "psychic" readings. I want my information to be available because it is legitimate, free, not focused on ads. Google might be using the keywords of the other sites, such as "phone psychics" that I dont wish to incorporate into my page because of the negative connotations.
Where we are at money-wise: I am in school at carnegie mellon- i am taking entirely from personal money. We have no funding, and have been living off of donations. I cant hire any freelancers if it is over 30-$40 , or pay for advertisements. Google ads is an iffy issue because I still dont fill out my own taxes, and this site isnt something my parents would feel comfortable with.
Age of domain: Either registered in 2006, or early 2007.
Where we appear in the search engine: First page above the fold for term "psionics". First result for "psionics psychic". First result for almost anything with "psionics [term here]". 3rd page for "learn psychic abilities". 7th page for "psychic online", 6th page for "online psychic". Not listed for "psychic".
Need for Keeping Visitors: We need something to pull in return visitors. This is a problem with relatively inactive forums. We need return visitors because the site goal is to teach people psychic abilities(maintain your neutrality). This is an ongoing process, which requires reading a lot of the sites content. Return visitors read the sites content. Keeping visitors traditionally was done by having a forum and a chat, but its not happening anymore.
Issues with Linkbait/Viral Content: We don't have content that appears frequently on digg. I thought about starting a blog, but I have a time issue, and there is another person doing that and not getting any traffic either. I thought about giving away free articles. Competitor sites are heavily and blantantly keyworded, and arent enthusiastic about accepting free articles. Viral content is not common among my subject matter(rather than like a linux site, etc). I thought about holding contests, but im limited financially.
Issues with holding events: People dont show up, have a hard time accessing the IRC chat, or dont pay attention when there is an event going on.
Amount of content on website: About 250 pages of written content.
I really need help here, guys. Advice?
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