Page 1 of And yet another site ...

I snuck this link in on another post, but I guess it`s time to come clean. This is my new site: http://www.norahjones.info - it launched on the 1st July, but I`m still tinkering. Let me know what you think.

On a related issue - just how long does it take for a search engine to index a site once it`s been submitted? Ten days now and still no visibility!

Cheers!

Hi there Neon,

Site looks pretty crisp from first impressions. Don`t worry too much about advertising your site here, it`s a good place to get feedback.
Search engines can take days, weeks or even months. It also depends on how you submit. My site took a while to be included, but it`s getting there. I would recommend hitting Google and Yahoo. Don`t over submit. Make sure your meta tags are good. Ensure that you keep your tags up to date. I used Hypersubmit in the end to save the bother of regularly submitting.
You can gain popularity from other sites. Why not add the site to http://www.u-rate-it.com. I can supply a logo and that way we both send each other traffic. Let me know what you think.

Use a site like http://www.marketleap.com to check out site popularity. I`ll take a closer look at your site later.
Regards,
James

This item was edited on Wednesday, 10th July 2002, 21:01

Hehehe... don`t hold your breath on the search engines listing your site quickly!

Took me about six months to get decent listings on AltaVista and I reckon your gonna be looking at four weeks minimum for the fastest of the other sites. Many search engines are now charging if you want your site to be considered for inclusion quickly (AltaVista do this) and this still does not guarantee you a high ranking or any listing at all!

I use Webposition Gold to optimize my site for high search engine rankings, but it still takes a fair bit of effort on your part.

http://www.searchenginewatch.com is an excellent site to learn about search engines/rankings.

Good luck!

This item was edited on Thursday, 11th July 2002, 00:26

James, Alfie,

Thanks for the comments. I`ve submitted the site to several search engines, including the major players: google, yahoo, msn, lycos, jeeves, etc. As far as google is concerned, ranking is based on links to the site, so I`m also addressing that separately. I know it will appear eventually (lycos say around 8 weeks).

I`m unconvinced by the need to *regularly* submit the site. I have a friend whose site is consistently in the top 3 on google`s results page and he`s never submitted it at all - it`s all come from other sites linking to him.

As far as the site`s design goes, I`m not completely happy. It`s clean and consistent, yes - but it doesn`t look "professional" as yet - one of the drawbacks of open source software. Still, I was able to put it together in less than a day! I`m now going through it steadily and trying to improve its visual impact by rewriting the php and redesigning the mysql backend database. I like some design aspects of u-rate-it, the fish site on another thread and this site. What`s your site, alfie? Are these paid-for designs, or have they evolved over time from home-brews?

Actually, p`raps if I drank more home-brew ...

The u-rate-it site is completely home-brew. It`s also MySQL and PHP based and I don`t see that as a cheap solution in terms of the end results. It`s certainly evolved over several months. If you saw it in the Internet Magazine this month, you`d hardly recognise it today.

James @ u-rate-it
http://www.u-rate-it.com

This item was edited on Thursday, 11th July 2002, 16:46

Don`t get me wrong! I wasn`t saying that php/mysql is cheap in any negative sense of the word - in fact I didn`t use the word at all. What I meant was that a DIY solution is going to require a lot of effort up front, whereas the alternative is to put up a lot of money up front and pay for letting someone else get it *looking* right - and I stress looking. The backend is fine - I think the php/mysql combination is unbeatable. It`s the "presentation layer" which atm lets my site down a little.

But, as I say, I`m still tinkering.

This item was edited on Thursday, 11th July 2002, 16:54

My site is http://www.northdownsironcraft.co.uk and is really a very different kind of beast from the `portal` style site you`re creating. I have no need for a database and I`m not trying to set up any kind web community. My site is really a kind of add-on to an existing business. Actually I`m totally re-designing it at the mo` cos it`s 2 or 3 years old and is very dated.

Improving my search engine rankings and even getting onto some of the search engines is a continuous never ending problem for me. I analyze my rankings once a week using the Webposition software. In the future I may consider paying someone else to optimize my rankings if the returns justify the cost (can be very expensive).

Link popularity is something I really need to work on. I have used the Zeus robot in the past, but there is no easy route for creating links. I`d have a look at this if you haven`t already: http://cyber-robotics.com/

Hi Neon,

But where`s the fun in getting someone else to do the job. I guess the downside of doing it yourself is also the amount of time spent keeping the site up-to-date and `fashionable`. You can`t beat PHP/MySQL can you. For a free offering it has the power and performance to beat ASP and other solutions? I`ve got a book `MySQL/PHP Database Applications` that has been a godsend while developing the u-rate-it site. I`m hoping that it becomes more of a review than portal site.

This item was edited on Saturday, 13th July 2002, 17:51

Hi Alfie,
The northdownironcraft site looks good to me. Clear and informative. I`ve checked out the cyber-robotics site too. Looks quite useful. May follow that up. Cheers,
James

This item was edited on Saturday, 13th July 2002, 17:52

James,

I`m interested to know more about the book you mention, `MySQL...`, title/author please!! :-)

Also, who does your hosting? I`m fishing around at the moment and may go with 34sp (as recommended by clayts).

Cheers!

Anil