Help/Suggestions for New Tech Site

[Nielsenius]

For a few months I'd been considering buying a domain name and writing for my own technology website/blog. With the help of a friend, I bought a domain name and started building my site with a WordPress theme. I've been working hard to get things moving for the last couple of days. Personally, I think it's going really well. But, I'm very inexperienced and I need some advice on how to proceed. Here's a link to the homepage:

http://www.istunnatech.com/

The gist of the site is Apple news, guides, tips & tricks, and reviews. I'd really appreciate it if I could get some feedback on what I've done so far. Please let me know what aspects of the site you like and what things you don't like. I'd really like to know what kind of content is going to draw in readers who keep coming back.

 

[Apple OC]

personally I am not a fan of Google Ad Spam/Sense

good luck

 

[likemyorbs]

This is tough because the gist of your website is basically the entire foundation of the well established macrumors.

 

[Nielsenius]

This is tough because the gist of your website is basically the entire foundation of the well established macrumors.

I guess that's part of my question. How can I differentiate my website, a new and unestablished site, from those that are established and have a reader base, such as MacRumors?

 

[likemyorbs]

I guess that's part of my question. How can I differentiate my website, a new and unestablished site, from those that are established and have a reader base, such as MacRumors?

If i think of anything i will definitely let you know. But it seems to me that macrumors has all the bases well covered, but there is always room for improvement.

 

[mrsir2009]

You need to think about what your going to specialize in. If your going to go for rumors & news, you'd be directly competing with MacRumors, which would be hard, because MacRumors is very successful and well established. You'd have a hard time keeping up with all the rumors and news... It'd be like a full time job. On the other hand, you could go for tips and tricks (which is what your site is more geared towards at the moment). Then you'd be in the same pool as Cult of Mac, Mac OSX Hints etc... IMO the second option would be easier, because you could review products and give tips & tricks that you can't currently find on the web, rather than reposting rumors you see on other sites (such as MR). After all, the guys who leak stuff are going to go to MR before they go to your site, so you'd basically be reposting. Its up to you, but I think you should get into the tips/tricks/reviews area and ditch the rumors area. Because its better to do one thing well than spread yourself too far and do lots of things shittily

Good luck!

 

[likemyorbs]

IMO the second option would be easier, because you could review products and give tips & tricks that you can't currently find on the web

But is there really anything that you can't currently find on the web? Every single apple product tip or trick is already online. I think that the apple rumor/tip and tricks sites are totally played out already, and i'm not sure if the internet needs another one. Macrumors was created when apple was just coming back from the dead, and it was perfect timing. I don't mean to discourage the OP, but it's been done over and over again. Maybe take the site in a completely different direction, like away from apple.

 

[mrsir2009]

But is there really anything that you can't currently find on the web? Every single apple product tip or trick is already online. I think that the apple rumor/tip and tricks sites are totally played out already, and i'm not sure if the internet needs another one. Macrumors was created when apple was just coming back from the dead, and it was perfect timing. I don't mean to discourage you, but it's been done over and over again. Maybe take the site in a completely different direction, like away from apple.

True, true... Apple is a very popular tech topic these days.

 

[lewis82]

You could specialize in software, accessories, and even modifications either software or hardware (like the defunct macmod.com) for Mac.

 

[Nielsenius]

You need to think about what your going to specialize in. If your going to go for rumors & news, you'd be directly competing with MacRumors, which would be hard, because MacRumors is very successful and well established. You'd have a hard time keeping up with all the rumors and news... It'd be like a full time job. On the other hand, you could go for tips and tricks (which is what your site is more geared towards at the moment). Then you'd be in the same pool as Cult of Mac, Mac OSX Hints etc... IMO the second option would be easier, because you could review products and give tips & tricks that you can't currently find on the web, rather than reposting rumors you see on other sites (such as MR). After all, the guys who leak stuff are going to go to MR before they go to your site, so you'd basically be reposting. Its up to you, but I think you should get into the tips/tricks/reviews area and ditch the rumors area. Because its better to do one thing well than spread yourself too far and do lots of things shittily

Good luck!

I think you're right about going more with the guides/tips and tricks side. My original plan was to only post major Apple news and my take on it. I have no interest in becoming MacRumors 2. Thanks for the advice!

But is there really anything that you can't currently find on the web? Every single apple product tip or trick is already online. I think that the apple rumor/tip and tricks sites are totally played out already, and i'm not sure if the internet needs another one. Macrumors was created when apple was just coming back from the dead, and it was perfect timing. I don't mean to discourage the OP, but it's been done over and over again. Maybe take the site in a completely different direction, like away from apple.

I get what you're saying about there already being a plethora of Apple-related websites. I don't think that means there isn't room for another one, though. Take colleges and universities as an example. There are thousands of them throughout the world and they each fall into a category with other similar schools. But, each one offers something special that draws in students. I need to do the same thing with my site; find a niche or specialty within the Apple range. Moving to another topic won't solve the original problem of competition and reposting old news. Nearly every topic known to man has already been explored in depth somewhere on the internet.

You could specialize in software, accessories, and even modifications either software or hardware (like the defunct macmod.com) for Mac.

Yes, I'd like that. I'm into jailbreaking iDevices, so that could be another part of the whole modifications thing.

 

[miles01110]

My original plan was to only post major Apple news and my take on it.

Nobody would care about your take on it.

I need to do the same thing with my site; find a niche or specialty within the Apple range.

Easier said than done.

... Nearly every topic known to man has already been explored in depth somewhere on the internet.

And nearly every tip or trick for Macs, iOS devices, or OS X has been explored or is being explored elsewhere on the internet. More importantly to you, those "other" places will pretty much automatically knock you back 10-12 pages (5-6 if you're lucky) in the Google results, which is as good as not existing.

Yes, I'd like that. I'm into jailbreaking iDevices, so that could be another part of the whole modifications thing.

Jailbreaking is probably the most popular sub-topic of iOS. Numerous well-established groups have cemented their foothold on the jailbreaking community. Unless you can come up with something substantially new and noteworthy (an 4.11.08 baseband unlock, for example), there's no real point.

 

[Nielsenius]

Nobody would care about your take on it.

Easier said than done.

And nearly every tip or trick for Macs, iOS devices, or OS X has been explored or is being explored elsewhere on the internet. More importantly to you, those "other" places will pretty much automatically knock you back 10-12 pages (5-6 if you're lucky) in the Google results, which is as good as not existing.

Jailbreaking is probably the most popular sub-topic of iOS. Numerous well-established groups have cemented their foothold on the jailbreaking community. Unless you can come up with something substantially new and noteworthy (an 4.11.08 baseband unlock, for example), there's no real point.

Valid points. So, what's your bottom line? Don't do it? Just give up on the idea of making a website with this kind of content?

 

[Hellhammer]

I work for a relatively big and successful tech site so I'll put down my two cents.

To put it simply, there are two ways to be successful. The first one is to have exclusive content and be the first one covering news. This way other journalists that have any self-esteem will link to your article when using it as a source. Your page views will skyrocket if a popular site like Engadget links your article. The problem is, getting exclusive content is extremely hard. People won't just come to you and reveal something big. Moles tend to stay underground so you really need connections to get access to highly protected data. This would be easier if you worked in the tech industry.

The second option is providing unique content. This means providing in-depth analysis. When something gets released or a piece of news pops up, don't just cover it like the hundreds of sites do - analyze it. Essentially, you provide the same content as other sites but do it better. You do the thinking and bring up interesting points and how they affect this and that. The downside is that this is a long process. People won't suddenly find your site and favorite it. It would mainly be spread by word of mouth, which means slow growth but usually more loyal readers. Also, this would require you to have a deep understanding of technology. You can't analyze something unless you really know what you're talking about. A tech related education isn't required but you must have followed tech intensively for years and you need to know how things really work.

Just like all business, you need something that differs you from the competition, and hopefully in a positive way. Evaluate your competitors and see what their strengths and weaknesses are, then analyze your possibilities.

No offense but if you need help in order to figure out what to do, then just bury the idea. This is a game of passion, you aren't going to win unless you are passionate about what you do, hence you shouldn't need to ask others for advice.

 

[sk1wbw]

I guess that's part of my question. How can I differentiate my website, a new and unestablished site, from those that are established and have a reader base, such as MacRumors?

Non biased and quality reporting and good journalism would be my guess. Oh, and blocking Android fanboys from posting on your forums, if you decide to have remarks for each article. Android fanboys are the ruination of many tech blogs, such as BGR and Cult of Mac, which are both good sites.

And lots of eye appeal would be nice, but your site looks good so far. And limit the ads, they should go at the bottom. Not sure how rich you are...

 

[mrsir2009]

Non biased and quality reporting and good journalism would be my guess. Oh, and blocking Android fanboys from posting on your forums, if you decide to have remarks for each article. Android fanboys are the ruination of many tech blogs, such as BGR and Cult of Mac, which are both good sites.

And lots of eye appeal would be nice, but your site looks good so far. And limit the ads, they should go at the bottom. Not sure how rich you are...

Ads shouldn't be implemented until the site is well established and gets enough pageviews to make them worthwhile.

 

[Nielsenius]

I work for a relatively big and successful tech site so I'll put down my two cents.

To put it simply, there are two ways to be successful. The first one is to have exclusive content and be the first one covering news. This way other journalists that have any self-esteem will link to your article when using it as a source. Your page views will skyrocket if a popular site like Engadget links your article. The problem is, getting exclusive content is extremely hard. People won't just come to you and reveal something big. Moles tend to stay underground so you really need connections to get access to highly protected data. This would be easier if you worked in the tech industry.

The second option is providing unique content. This means providing in-depth analysis. When something gets released or a piece of news pops up, don't just cover it like the hundreds of sites do - analyze it. Essentially, you provide the same content as other sites but do it better. You do the thinking and bring up interesting points and how they affect this and that. The downside is that this is a long process. People won't suddenly find your site and favorite it. It would mainly be spread by word of mouth, which means slow growth but usually more loyal readers. Also, this would require you to have a deep understanding of technology. You can't analyze something unless you really know what you're talking about. A tech related education isn't required but you must have followed tech intensively for years and you need to know how things really work.

Just like all business, you need something that differs you from the competition, and hopefully in a positive way. Evaluate your competitors and see what their strengths and weaknesses are, then analyze your possibilities.

No offense but if you need help in order to figure out what to do, then just bury the idea. This is a game of passion, you aren't going to win unless you are passionate about what you do, hence you shouldn't need to ask others for advice.

Thanks, great advice. I appreciate it.

Non biased and quality reporting and good journalism would be my guess. Oh, and blocking Android fanboys from posting on your forums, if you decide to have remarks for each article. Android fanboys are the ruination of many tech blogs, such as BGR and Cult of Mac, which are both good sites.

And lots of eye appeal would be nice, but your site looks good so far. And limit the ads, they should go at the bottom. Not sure how rich you are...

Haha, thanks. I'll keep that Fandroid stuff in mind.

Ads shouldn't be implemented until the site is well established and gets enough pageviews to make them worthwhile.

Yeah, I've thought about that. The current ads are mostly there for testing and getting the design of the site right. Do you think the ads are excessive? Obviously, nobody enjoys ads, but if you really hate them, then there's ad-block plugins.

 

[mrsir2009]

Yeah, I've thought about that. The current ads are mostly there for testing and getting the design of the site right. Do you think the ads are excessive? Obviously, nobody enjoys ads, but if you really hate them, then there's ad-block plugins.

The two ads you have there are pretty modest You might want to centre or enlarge the top one, so it looks more symmetrical. Up to you though... I'm a bit funny when it comes to little details like that, so maybe I'm just being silly haha

 

[miles01110]

Unless you're getting a ton of traffic ads are a great way to keep your traffic low. It just looks like you're a spam website unless you have some sort of reputation.

 

[waloshin]

Thanks, great advice. I appreciate it.


Haha, thanks. I'll keep that Fandroid stuff in mind.


Yeah, I've thought about that. The current ads are mostly there for testing and getting the design of the site right. Do you think the ads are excessive? Obviously, nobody enjoys ads, but if you really hate them, then there's ad-block plugins.

You want an ad for just test eh, then embed this.

<img src="http://i42.tinypic.com/15yjjo.png" alt=waloshin.com"/>

 

[Macky-Mac]

Valid points. So, what's your bottom line? Don't do it? Just give up on the idea of making a website with this kind of content?

yeah, i think you're several years too late

 

[Nielsenius]

What is the importance of meta keywords and meta description for Google search results and Google AdSense content? Do my posts' metadata have an impact on these things at all?

 

[mrsir2009]

What is the importance of meta keywords and meta description for Google search results and Google AdSense content? Do my posts' metadata have an impact on these things at all?

Yeah, meta-tags are readable by search engines and thus affect SEO. SEO (search engine optimization) is very important for websites

Metadata is data (information) about data.

The <meta> tag provides metadata about the HTML document. Metadata will not be displayed on the page, but will be machine parsable.

Meta elements are typically used to specify page description, keywords, author of the document, last modified, and other metadata.

The <meta> tag always goes inside the <head> element.

The metadata can be used by browsers (how to display content or reload page), search engines (keywords), or other web services.