16 replies to this topic

[rohgan03]

Hi,
I noticed in the web site review section that most of the suggestions are from design/usability perspective. Is there a way to just request/discuss SEO of a site?

[Jill]

When you request your review, you can mention that you are interested in the SEO aspects. The more info you provide, and the more questions you might have, the better your review will be.

Please note, however, that the moderators and members here are very busy and don't always have the time (or inclination) to thoroughly review every site. It all depends on who you happen to catch who has a few minutes to spare.

Jill

[rohgan03]

Thanks. Though the primary objective of me joining this forum is to learn more by discussing and contributing. Its not just to get a review of my site. I am quite active on experts-exchange on a whole range of topics but there not much SEO stuff there so thought I'll try a more focussed forum since do feel the need to learn more techniques on this. I'll look around more and find SEO site reviews so I might find things that I am missing.

[magellan]

I thought this forum was about SEO

[Jill]

I thought this forum was about SEO

...and you're finding that it's not?

Maybe you need to look around a bit more magellan.

Oh, and welcome!

Jill

[magellan]

Thank you Jill

I will keep looking on your forum...

[projectphp]

I noticed in the web site review section that most of the suggestions are from design/usability perspective

And the difference is....???

If you usability is aweful, SEO is useless. Besides, do you just want traffic, or do you want something usefula as well????

[sri_gan]

Hi,

I tried to create a new topic for a website review (Review section) and it denied permission.

Do I have to become a active member to open a topic?

Advise me on the same.

[Jill]

Yes, you need to have 20 posts and become an Active member.

Jill

[BrianR]

Hello sri_gan

Welcome to the forum! Please have a good look around all the threads on the forum and join in where you feel most comfortable. If you become an active, contributing member of the forum, you'll soon reach the minimum 20 posts needed for a website review.

BrianR

[mfogel]

Since so many of us work alone, its obvious that getting just even quick glances at design or layout would be incredibly helpful. I would be more than willing to look at every site and give my 2 cents but hold off because I feel like people want the expert opinions and more SEO feedback.

Have you ever considered adding an option for a mini site review where people could just get quick peer feedback on the sites they are developing?

This would give an opportunity for new people to give something back....layout or design feedback that may not require en expert.

Just a thought.

[torka]

I don't think you necessarily have to be an "expert" to participate in the site review requests. After all, most of the people who are going to be visiting and using these sites aren't professional SEOs or designers, either.

But they know what they like, and they know what's easy for them to use. Sometimes the "experts" get tangled up in a lot of theory, or people who are experts in SEO forget about design (and those who are experts in design forget about writing, and those who are experts in writing forget about accessibility, and so forth).

And sometimes those of us who are on the web all the time forget how hard it was to figure some things out back when we first got started. Things that are intuitively clear to us may be about as clear as mud to a less experienced person.

Personally, I think it's incredibly useful to get feedback from NON-experts!

Please, if you've got thoughts on any of the sites put up for review, feel free to share them. And don't for one moment think that your opinions are less valuable simply because you don't consider yourself an expert!

--Torka

[Randy]

Right on Torka !

You might find this interesting mfogel...

I don't consider myself an "expert" on anything. Especially SEO. In fact, I'm not even an SEO! Meaning I don't sell SEO services to anybody else like many here do. I do however have <cough> a few dozen </cough> of my own sites which all seem to do very well with the search engines and visitors alike.

As to the expert / non-expert debate. In all honesty, I have never, ever posted any of my sites for Review to any Designer or SEO "expert" forums. Every single one of them though have been looked at by a variety of friends and family members of differing experience levels before launch.

I can testify that without fail I have always received the most enlightening and useful responses from the non-experts on my list of reviewers. Whether they know they're doing it or not, the opinions they express always seem to tell me a great deal about how the "average" user is going to rate my sites in comparison to the competition.

Those average users are my potential customers.

So while I have to have enough sense to understand what they're trying to tell me (read: Not Much!) and have the ability able to bring my sites into line with their expectations, it really doesn't take a great deal of "expertise" on my part.

I encourage everyone to let their thoughts be known in the reviews section. Your level of experience has little bearing, as long as you can express what makes you happy or what doesn't look quite right.

[mfogel]

You both are right in that from a usability perspective, average joes are great testers. I guess what I was getting at is that it would be great if everyone could just throw a layout up and get some quick feedback..maybe you can do that now. I sort of thought the site review was a one time deal and was intended to be more thorough and have more SEO input.

[BrianR]

I guess what I was getting at is that it would be great if everyone could just throw a layout up and get some quick feedback..maybe you can do that now.

The site review is not really intended for working design critiques. As you say:

"I sort of thought the site review was a one time deal and was intended to be more thorough and have more SEO input."

However, as I understand it, it's not a 'one time deal' - you're welcome to submit, for instance, sites completed for clients for SEO review.

In a sense, the SEO Review section is self-regulating - if a member takes too much advantage and posts a new site every week, then members will get sick of it pretty quickly and just stop giving input.

Now and again, a moderator has to intervene and remove a site that doesn't fulfil the stated guidelines, but it's not often.

BrianR