Bengo's dashboard

Excellent! I understand completely and will report back with results. I misunderstood the function of the Window title as being associated with the page title you can opt for when creating a new page. – Bengo, on September 06, 2008 01:13

I suspect it's fairly close to a non-issue -- one of those things drummed up by SEO consultants to make you think you need them. Nonetheless, I'd like some reassurance from the experts.

Those are meant as examples, as in www.example.com and example.com

or

myhome.com and www.myhome.com..

You seem to be misinterpreting the question. I should have picked a clearer example.

"Font tag" refers, I believe, to the obsolete HTML tag <font>. It was a way of identifying what font to present but has been replaced by newer methods in HTML4 and beyond... I don't know what you mean by forsite.... One thing I can tell you from experience is when you have long URLs you have to be on guard for typos. You have miss-typed yours above and maybe that is the source of problems in other areas.... As for testing, I have mostly just used Google Webmaster Tools, so I can't be much help without some clarification.....As for your site, I'd consider pruning out the two or three least interesting logos, like Jacob Maxwell. My high school art teacher taught me to always take out the worst as I add new and I believe in that. The screen time for each logo feels 20% too long to me but please allow for the fact that I am old-fashioned and don't really like video. An optimizing consultant -- something I play at -- would tell you that video will cause click-aways. And it will. Some viewers may see it as added sophistication, however.... I just helped my sister build a e-commerce site for her boss and I read up on what the experts are saying, but that doesn't mean they are 100% right....I would make the bulleted list items on the home page into links. They draw the eye more than the tabs and there is no harm in doubling them up...You might consider a STOP option for those who want to exit a video stream; it could link to the home page. Or you could offer a choice between video and thumbnails. Just an idea... Your image of the water and sky is beautiful and perhaps highly personal to you but it doesn't present your work. I thought of these two sites as examples of something you might do to get a wider array of your portfolio on display fast: http://comicofthemonth.com/YaBB.pl and
http://www.arustylife.com/?p=1212
Do you see how they have made collages for borders showing other work? Usually when people attempt this they get too many clashing colors as I'm sure you know, but with Photoshop you can wash the colors out or take them into greyscale.... One thing I am wondering about is if you want to stick to video whether you should consider having two side by side with the first one presenting a new image while the second is the middle of its presentation time.... Next come the more complex issue, which you didn't ask, but it comes up with all small ecommerce sites. If you want people to hire you you need to give them reasons that others can't match, especially if you try AdSense. For my sister's boxx, a jeweler, we decided to emphasize his long experience and central Manhattan location. Google competitors and see what they are doing, and use Compete.com to learn how much traffic they are getting. Compare your site to those who are successful. Keep in mind, though, that a site can generate lots of hits with ads and still land very little business, so try to spot the ones that look truly successful versus just "busy." Price is usually the biggest competitive point, and the phoniest, so figure out how you offer value. Whether it's the latest equipment, the personal touch, low overhead, whatever.... You also have to start looking for people who might link to you, or, second choice, do a link exchange. They should be in your field. Keep your eyes peeled as you study your competitors.....There are two ways to use a web site like yours: as primary contact or supplemental contact. Think about the issues which cause walk-ins and cold callers to hesitate on committing and answer those issues on your site. Then refer those people to your site with your business card or magnet or phone directory ad. That's secondary use and it makes the site valuable while you develop an internet presence....Glad you liked what I wrote above. I'm learning all the time and always am happy to share. Hope this wasn't too repetitive. Bengo LilNyet.com</font> – Bengo, on August 31, 2008 21:43

Greetings Clouda and everyone,

I have made a variety of Synthasite banners and installation and linking instructions for those who have expressed interest in more prominently linking to Synthasite. I had Photoshop open already and thought, why not?

They are available here: http://lilnyet.com/synthbanners.php

They are simply the Synthasite logo in various standard sizes, plus one featuring juggling purple dogs.

I'm just kidding, there are no juggling dogs. But if there were, they'd be awesome.

I'd appreciate if someone from the company would swing by and make sure everything is OK. The logo seems to have an off-white background and didn't look good against white, so I added a hairline black border.

Bengo

1331, if you get that kind of wonky behavior again, try deleting your Synthasite cookies. I've been told Synthasite is optimized for Firefox, so if you are using another browser, like me, you might get that sometimes, especially if you have had more than one Synthasite window open at one time. One thing I notice is that Synthasite (the tool) is pretty fail safe, so if you get a bizarre event it is usually not a sign that something terrible has happened. Like any program, you can minimize trouble by being a frequent SAVEr as well. - Bengo – Bengo, on August 27, 2008 17:04

You started it, Clouda. Thanks! We've all benefitted.
Bengo – Bengo, on August 27, 2008 05:51

Justin, very slick. I have been working lately in the area of web text optimization, and I suggest you break down the sentences at the top of p 1, about the art. You have some hefty words and concepts there and if you can make it less cumbersome it will keep people from skipping it. Also, on your links page, why show the URL when you can write the destination name and make it a link? Perhaps that's your preference, which is fine. It's my job to root out the unintentional and suggest options. But tonight, I am just a fellow Synthasite user, offering thoughts per your request. Best, Bengo – Bengo, on August 27, 2008 05:47

Inspiring site, Boomer. It is cool to be able to see things you've done that I've not thought of and be able to "read" how you did them. BTW, what is "Website grade?" – Bengo, on August 27, 2008 05:36

Just browsing, thought I'd say that I have been building sites with Synthasite for 7 months and the rate of growth and development of the company and product has been amazing. Whether you start a project here now or not, if building sites is important in your life, I recommend you keep an eye on events. By the way, I recently heard someone from Google (not an observer) say to try to keep links to under 100 per page. This may not be possible for you, or even pertinent, but I am chopping up some pages on my mega-link webcomics site PsychedelicTreehouse.com, to bring down about a dozen pages that exceed 100. I probably have 1500-2000 links spread over a 180 page site. I'd like to gain confirmation and explanation of what I heard but honestly it helps the design to chop so I don't mind doing it.
Good luck with your project. - Bengo – Bengo, on August 27, 2008 05:32

To: mredsayshi. Accidentally put my comment to you above,before your first post, where it says "To Monique." Yours follows after. I was mostly just thanking you.

To Monique: All the better. Sounds terrific.
To mredsayshi: I'll look this over. Thanks for taking the trouble. Since I'm not a merchant and don't rely on Google too much I may wait for the company plan mentioned above but some are sure to appreciate your information. I'll be copying it to study for my own education certainly. Thank you. – Bengo, on August 25, 2008 04:50

Anything Synthasite does on our behalf and does well is going to please the majority of us. However, right now I sense a lot of people are doing site match research, including checking the Synthasite tutorial section, needlessly. Perhaps if the info in your answer was elevated to a tutorial topic, there would be less duplication of effort. Also, the fact that the question matching feature on GS doesn't match site map and sitemap means those who look for site map won't easily find this post. So, some suggestions, if you can use them.

I do have a tiny question: how often are updates affecting our site maps submitted to Google? – Bengo, on August 24, 2008 20:19

Let go of the idea of advertising being your only way to promote your site. Link trades, ad trades, banner trades are all free and work. I have an ad trade going myself with the ad here: http://lilnyet.com/http://lilnyet.com/ that looks like the top of Charlie Brown's head. It looks like a paid ad but it's a trade. If you click it you'll go to his site and see my ad. Project Wonderful occasionally has free ad slots for sites that just joined and have no bids yet, but youhave to be a member, and that requires a PayPal account. It's not worth pursuing unless you are doing paid ads too. Maybe my friend can suggest some sites you could trade ads with if you write to him. Also, here's a link to a lot of gaming sites: http://entrecard.com/category/browser... -- adjust the menu to show you 24 rows instead of three. Find some that have links pages and write and ask if they want to trade links. – Bengo, on August 24, 2008 04:59

Lovely site, Jill. My dog won't eat if we look at her so I'd have to eat the Kool Dog Kafe treats myself!

Is the image on p 1 part of the template style you chose or did you do that? – Bengo, on August 23, 2008 21:15

Bronson, I found a link to your site further down the thread and I see it is a gaming site dedicated to a certain game. My friend Thomas started a site dedicated to World of Warcraft last fall and he now has at least 1200 readers/day. Why don't you study his site as a model of success? It's at:

http://rrvs.blogspot.com/

I think one secret of his success, besides frequently improving the design, as he manages to obtain and report news about World of Warcraft before others have heard it. If you are an expert on the game you're discussing, try to think of short, possibly one-paragraph items you can write up that will help newer players get into the game deeper. Not cheats, but guidance, advice, tips, etc.

You're off to a good start. Look at your site like a hobby that develops gradually, rather than a lottery ticket that pays off big all at once. Give the world time to get interested in your passion, and network with others who like your game and similar games and Star Wars.

Best wishes,
Bengo