How'd you get so big?

[gamedango]

Hey guys, lovin the site. Really doing a good job. Just curious as to what methods you used to attract so many members. I also run a tech site. Similiar to techzonez but with some different features. It's been almost a year since I've been up and running.

Don't want to steal techzonez thunder, dont' think that. Just wanted to see if I could learn your trade secrets for getting hits. :D

[Big Booger]

Rev actually contacted the founders of google, and they gave him a preferred ranking, which they said they don't often do. This was do to the fact that we were one of the first tech sites to link to google using their rolodex cataloging system. The preferential status has been maintained since the inception of techzonez.

I suggest somehow getting into the google ranks using a similar technique as hinted to above.

Further, it's basically the members that make this place what it is. So you might want to ask them what brought them to this site. :)

[hotmale]

Actually Techzonez took steroids (before they became illegal).

But now steroids are banned, so you might want to try this (http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/whey.html) or this (http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/mrm/gainer.html). I've used both and the results have been amazing so far :D Conan also knows a lot about this stuff, so I think he'll be able to help.


J/K That's what I thought you were referring to from the thread title! Silly me :p

Just look at this and you'll get more information than you need (30,900,000 results):
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=seo&btnG=Google+Search

edit: and this is a no-brainer, but just in case you don't know, focus on heavy weights and low reps.

[FastGame]

Further, it's basically the members that make this place what it is. So you might want to ask them what brought them to this site. :)
Hello, yes I'll share my story :)

Long time ago Reverend had an ad in Adult Friend Finder. The ad was unlike the others, his ad wasn't about some lonely guy/girl looking for a friend or soul mate. His ad simply said "Hey while your waiting for a guy/girl to like you, why not stop by my forum and hang out" "We have people that will like you as long as you post at my forum"

I said :cool: and have been here ever since......I never did go back to AFF to see if a girl liked me :o

ooops almost forgot, one girl from AFF did email me.....thats when Reverend said he'd make me a moderator if i dumped her, i said :cool:

[gamedango]

lol. Interesting replies I must say.

I like the friendly nature of this forum and that is how mine has been as well. We all hang out and have a good time, like here. I believe our site has what it takes to be a great place, it's just getting people to see it. I have done google adwords for a while and I did get more hits, I just don't have alot of money to spend on it so I'm very limited. I've added as many links to directories, shared links, bought ad space and more but still aren't seeing the traffic.

And I see my post and sig was edited. Sorry if I broke protocal rev.

But again, bravo on techzonez. I believe there are alot of tech sites out there, but few that have the friendliness and quality that make it worth visiting often.

[rik]

Don't believe Fastgame. I really didn't like him, and I'm not a girl. He was just a really easy mark. Anywayz, try being like this search http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=techzonez&btnG=Search.

[Reverend]

A few points:

First impressions is an important aspect of a site, particularly a tech related one. Vistors want to see news updated on a frequent daily basis. If your content is old visitors will lose interest rapidly and just leave. Same priciple applies to forums. If no one is posting in a forum then you lose the "discussion" aspect of it which will therefore defeat the purpose of the site.

Looking at your site i notice your news is very dated. Currently your latest news item is from Nov 11th. Who wants to read news that is over a week old. Also bear in mind search engine spiders will only be interested in crawling your pages if the content is continuously changing.

I use a res of 1024x768 (which is the standard res for most users at the moment) and i noticed with your site that to get to the main content it requires a lot of scrolling which isn't exactly user friendly.
Try and put more interesting and changing content nearer to the top of your page. (above the fold)

Computer related problems can be frustrating and the solutions to fix them can be daunting, especially for new users. We have always tried to encourage and emphasize friendliness so that users are put at ease and subsequently do not feel out of their depth in a tech environment. Hopefully we have succeeded in this objective.

[gamedango]

Good points to consider. My news has been a pain, it's suppose to automatically update but I've been having trouble with it. I'll be working on a new solution for that pretty soon. As far as scrolling, what do you see that scrolls alot. Do you mean up and down scrolling? It should auto fit to the page at most all resolutions.

Being that I work in the IT professional world and have for a while, I definately understand the need for friendly and helpful support that doesn't make the user sound stupid, but really makes them feel welcome, and that they are truely learning somethings, aside from just getting their problem fixed.

Thanks Rev

[Reverend]

As far as scrolling, what do you see that scrolls alot. Do you mean up and down scrolling? It should auto fit to the page at most all resolutions. vertical scrolling.

[beelzebub]

that shoutbox thing is too high on the page, it should be near the bottom. Especially since members are the only people who can use it. Newcomers will wonder what they are looking at.

[gamedango]

Yeah, I've had conflicting feedback on the shoutbox. I've heard that it's better to have it viewable to guests. If they see the funny convo's going on in the box, they may be more apt to want to join in them. I've heard that from members who thought that when joining. But what you said is very true as well. I orginally didn't have the box there but people liked it there better. I think I will move it back down tho, need to have my content higher up like has been said.

Thanks for joining btw, don't be afraid to come by as much as you like :)

[beelzebub]

that shoutbox is kind of a good idea, but to people that want tech help (which i am guessing is your target audience), it won't matter because all they want is tech help; not the punch line to a joke.

"HAHA and his computer exploded."