SEO Tools Review

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

I'd like some comments about a newer section of my site (not the entire site). The usability of my SEO Tools specifically. Latest reports are showing high traffic, but will they return? I used to use tools like these daily and now I use my own (I think they're faster). Would others?
http://www.searchbliss.com/seo-tools/

As webmasters, which ools do you find useful? Which tools can be improved? And so on.

Thanks.

demonhale's picture

He has: 3,278 posts

Joined: May 2005

SEO is useful really especially if you make your site rank higher in single keyword search... But for searching the exact name of the site thats a bit too off... , Since you want usabilty (which is what i wanted) They would use your tools coz its very useful...
It would also be better if the site looks believable too... I noticed the links below are centered in FF, but the page itself is not...

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

demonhale, Thanks for the input. The centering problem is an old one. I just haven't had the time to fix this on the entire site. I should probably start a few pages at a time here and there to eventualy finish it, but I get obsessed, then I can't stop.

The problem was I had built SearchBliss using an average screen resolution, so everything was perfect, until I viewed it on a large screen and everything was to the left (using 100% can do odd things, so I chose 800 pixels). This didn't bother me because we read from left to right (most countries), but as you said, the footer was centered, so it looks odd.

Anyway, I'll stop typing and start fixing this on my end. I hope to finish by the end of August at least. Thanks again.

demonhale's picture

He has: 3,278 posts

Joined: May 2005

Want a quick fix, I have one... That is if you use CSS...

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

I do use CSS on most pages but not all. What is your quick fix? Thanks.

demonhale's picture

He has: 3,278 posts

Joined: May 2005

Heres an Idea you could try... make sure all previous DIV's on your css are aligned to justify, or the contents on the html... To center the whole thing... on your html, wrap everything after the tag with a tag, dont forget to close the tag... And viola! everything is centered (except of course you floated some elements before) If some elements mis aligns due to the div tag, adjust them, but this would be less of a headache than assigning each divs to center...

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

demonhale wrote: Heres an Idea you could try... make sure all previous DIV's on your css are aligned to justify, or the contents on the html... To center the whole thing... on your html, wrap everything after the tag with a tag, dont forget to close the tag... And viola! everything is centered (except of course you floated some elements before) If some elements mis aligns due to the div tag, adjust them, but this would be less of a headache than assigning each divs to center...

Everything should be centered now. Thanks

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

Thanks demonhale. Things have gotten a little side tracked from the review so I am going to re-list the info:

SEO Tools Review

I'd like some comments about a newer section of my site (not the entire site). The usability of my SEO Tools specifically. Latest reports are showing high traffic, but will they return? I used to use tools like these daily and now I use my own (I think they're faster). Would others?
http://www.searchbliss.com/seo-tools/

As webmasters, which ools do you find useful? Which tools can be improved? And so on.

Thanks.

demonhale's picture

He has: 3,278 posts

Joined: May 2005

no prob!
Have a nice day...

They have: 6 posts

Joined: Aug 2005

Hi,

I have checked the link popularity checker. In my opinion it's not clear enough that a 3 letter code must be filled out to perform the link pop check.
When I tried the checker, it came up blank (forgot the 3-letter code) and thought it was broken.

I suggest you make the 3 letter code input form stand out more.

jp

How fast is your host? Let's compare!
The Hosting speed comparison project
http://www.hostingspeeds.com/

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

hostingspeeds wrote: Hi,

I have checked the link popularity checker. In my opinion it's not clear enough that a 3 letter code must be filled out to perform the link pop check.
When I tried the checker, it came up blank (forgot the 3-letter code) and thought it was broken.

I suggest you make the 3 letter code input form stand out more.

jp

JP, this is the second time I have heard this. I will look into the best solution. Thanks.

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

There, I fixed the access code confusion.

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

Anyone else?

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

I've added a new tool for review ti the mix.
It's a related back links finder
http://www.searchbliss.com/seo-tools/back-links-finder.asp
Thanks

They have: 35 posts

Joined: Jun 2004

First of all, I wasn`t able to find this site on the first 10 pages of google. Therefor, as a potential customer, I`m begining to doubt your SEO skills. Metatags are not so important anymore.
googlerankings.com is a very good tool, in my opinion. Try to do something like it.

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

Tudor.b wrote: First of all, I wasn`t able to find this site on the first 10 pages of google. Therefor, as a potential customer, I`m begining to doubt your SEO skills. Metatags are not so important anymore.
googlerankings.com is a very good tool, in my opinion. Try to do something like it.

We are on page 1 of Google for several terms. What were you searching for???

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

I looking for opinions on the new SearchBliss. Thanks.
http://www.searchbliss.com/

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

Do you have a copy of the old version somewhere just for comparison?

This feels rather clunky to me. Everything feels rather heavy. All the boxes with the dark graphic headers add weight to the page, as do the dark, bolded links. The header looks okay but I'm finding the font choices in the logo to be very odd. The very heavy block sans subtitle is contrasting way too much with the lighter handwritten main title.

I think this would be really good with a much lighter feeling design. The logo symbol and title are good concepts to start with. I think the logo text should be done in more of a smooth scripted font, with the subittle in a simple sans. Also get rid of that big shadow - it just conflicts with the main text and make it look a little muddled. Drop shadows should be subtle if used at all.

The overall design should be very lightweight - simple graphics, lighter colour scheme, and definitely lose those gradient header boxes. The orange is a good choice and it looks interesting with the teal as you have it in your avatar.

The overall layout should not be so boxy. Those boxes just cut the elements off from each other and makes the whole thing feel very choppy.

Even changing the outer background colour would be a big help here IMO.

Now, on to the actual page content. Looking at what is here on the page - why is there a phioto contest here??? it doesn't seem to relate to the site content at all. "Webmaster search" is confusing to me. What exactly am I searching for there? Does it search the site? Does it search through something else? I'm not sure. Supporters, Sponsors, and Patrons are a bunch of garbage as far as I'm concerned - just you trying to get more linkbacks, not trying to help your visitors. Looks like you've accepted link exchanges for everyone who asked.

Looking at the content - this doesn't seem too useful to someone like me but I think some newbie types would probably find it helpful. I think a lot of the pages could be formatted a little better. I'm finding things to be a little confusing. There's not enough spacing between paragraphs, for example, it makes things hard to read. Looking at your code - this is a complete mess. Full of outdated techniques and bad formatting. I mean, the reason why there isn't enough paragraph spacing (looking at some of the SEO tools) is because there are no paragraphs!

demonhale's picture

He has: 3,278 posts

Joined: May 2005

Commented on your new design on your old thread...

robfenn's picture

He has: 471 posts

Joined: Jun 2005

I don't think there is any point getting into a debate about your own personal rankings. Ultimately, if what you provide is good and you spread the gospel then your site will do well.

Now, your site. I am a very design orientated guy so it is hard to ignore the fact your website looks dated and unimaginative. However, the tools themselves are good and there is a nice range there. Some i haven't see before which is nice. Again, going back to the design i think there could be improvements to help intuitivness.

I guess the general SEO isn't that concerned with aesthetics so maybe you'll get away with it, but i strongly believe an interesting look will help you out.

Good luck,

-Rob

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

robfenn wrote: I don't think there is any point getting into a debate about your own personal rankings. Ultimately, if what you provide is good and you spread the gospel then your site will do well.

Now, your site. I am a very design orientated guy so it is hard to ignore the fact your website looks dated and unimaginative. However, the tools themselves are good and there is a nice range there. Some i haven't see before which is nice. Again, going back to the design i think there could be improvements to help intuitivness.

I guess the general SEO isn't that concerned with aesthetics so maybe you'll get away with it, but i strongly believe an interesting look will help you out.

Good luck,

-Rob

Have you had a look at SearchBliss lately. I have launched the new design yesterday. I beleive you are commenting on the old. Thanks.

demonhale's picture

He has: 3,278 posts

Joined: May 2005

That looks better than the old one, phpnuke look huh? Anyways I dislike the black BG however... Hey could you refine your backlinks finder tool?

robfenn's picture

He has: 471 posts

Joined: Jun 2005

I clicked on the link on the first page...

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

Threads merged - sorry, I didn't realize there was already a thread about the same site.

robfenn's picture

He has: 471 posts

Joined: Jun 2005

I lost my post when you merged the threads Megan, i own you a slap on the wrist for that one!

I think the site needs some photography or icongraphy because for visual people like the homepage is just too much for me eyes to digest. It seems to be like you are to keen to make money from advertising rather than creating a pleasant experience for your visitors. Which is a shame as your tools seem great and you are obviously very talented.

Your logo does nothing for me i'm afraid, it looks dated and a bit tacky. I would suggest taking a look round at popular sites on WWW and gain inspiration from their design achievements. A current favourite of mine (Megan will like me for this!) is Opera (http://www.opera.com/). It is clean, modern and intuitive. I wouldn't change a thing on it!

-Rob

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

Thank you for all of the advice. I have made some changes and I'm in the process of a few more, but nothing too major. If anyone remembers what SearchBliss used to look like, they will know that this is a major improvement. Thanks again.

They have: 40 posts

Joined: Jul 2005

The site is nice. If i were to make one suggestion though, it would be to move the navigation menu and other blocks to the left. it seems more natural to have the links and such on the left, since we read left to right.

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

diceventures wrote: The site is nice. If i were to make one suggestion though, it would be to move the navigation menu and other blocks to the left. it seems more natural to have the links and such on the left, since we read left to right.

I see your point, but I think I prefer the content to be seen before the links. Thank you for the advice and kind words. Smiling

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