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Stupid mistakes Article Directory sites make to really mess them up! (Part 1)
If you are reading this then you are either an article directory site owner, someone interested in becoming an article directory site owner or are just interested in Internet marketing in general.
Article directories can be a great way to make money on the Internet if they are used properly and if you don't screw them up. Many site owners get in the habit of doing things to their sites because they can and not because they necessarily should. Don't fall into the common traps and you will soon have a thriving community of authors and visitors to your site!
Don't settle for Sub-par or Free web hosting.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is for an Article Directory site owner to host their directory with a sub-par host, slow, out of date server side software and the free hosts are all ways to drive your potential authors and readers away from your site. For example while I was signing up with about 150 or so article directories I found that many of them did not load quickly enough for me so I just clicked away and went to the next site. I am a child of the Internet, high speed connection, fast computer and if a site pauses or hiccups with my setup then just imagine someone's frustration if they are on an older computer with a slow dial up connection!
With that said I understand that most people just starting to build their online business do not have the resources to get a Dedicated Server to host their site so the draw is to get a free host or cheap hosting from a sub-par host. There are hosts out there that for less than $10 per month you can have a reliable host and one that will be responsive to your needs.
Don't use your site as an experimental playground for your web design skills!
Another issue I see a lot is a site owner changing the templates so much on their site and doing such a poor job of it that the layout is totally screwed up so that you can't even look at it! Weird backgrounds and goofy layouts are NOT pleasing to the eye and WILL drive your readers away! Some sites are so poorly designed that you can't even find the link to sign up!
If you want to experiment you should set up an additional directory on your site where you 'test' things out and you should have others take a look at your work before you go live with it. Small incremental changes are best and you should stick with the 'Keep it simple stupid' or KISS method for the best results.
Don't make your article site a banner farm or Adsense junk pile!
Some site owners have put so many Adsense advertisements on their site that many will be banned by Google or the placements are such that they take away from the actual intent of the site which is for users to find articles that interest them.
With Google you need to have well placed ad blocks and you need to optimize your site for google so that they will only show ads that are relevant to the content on the page someone is viewing. All too often I see ads that say 'Submit Articles' etc. on Article Directory sites because the site owner does not know how to properly optimize the site for google.
Banner ads are UGLY so use them with caution! Enough said!
Don't us pop-ups!
Pop-ups are a big turn off. Just don't do it they really make people leave your site and NEVER come back! I see so many sites use pop-ups and they are usually from 'traffic farms' so the pop-ups have nothing to do with the site and can very be offensive to some users.
If you only stay away from the pitfalls above you will soon have an Article Directory site that will thrive! Good luck!
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