Posts
11
Questions
20
I get 100's of spam emails every day. On my desktop I use Thunderbird to receive my WA email and it does a very good job of filtering out the spam. On my mobile devices, I've
How can I setup spam filters in atmail?
I get 100's of spam emails every day. On my desktop I use Thunderbird to receive my WA email and it does a very good job of filtering out the spam. On my mobile devices, I've
Let me clarify. There is an option to add email addresses to a spam list. This method of filtering spam is almost useless as spammers with blocked addresses just change addresses. I could spend the rest of my days adding addresses to the block list while having little to no effect on the amount of spam received. I'm looking for a more effective means of filtering.
After a full year, the best ranking I have achieved for any post is in the middle of page three on Google. I just renewed my membership, but am wondering if that was a mistake
Yes, I have faithfully followed the training regarding keywords and everything else with the exception of not posting frequently enough. I should have included the URL so you could have a look. http://tomscustomwoodcraft.com.
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What do I need to do to achieve better rankings?
After a full year, the best ranking I have achieved for any post is in the middle of page three on Google. I just renewed my membership, but am wondering if that was a mistake
Yes, I have faithfully followed the training regarding keywords and everything else with the exception of not posting frequently enough. I should have included the URL so you could have a look. http://tomscustomwoodcraft.com.
See more comments
I would very much appreciate opinions on my site's direction. I've been working on it for 7-8 months and I'm quite happy with what I have. I know there is much more that I can
Hi Tom, I just checked out your site. You've got fantastic information. One thing I would suggest is to break up some of your paragraphs. Some of them are too long and the font does not make it easy to read.
What about changing your theme to something a bit more simple?
Think about who your customers are and cater to them with reference to user experience.
I did not check, but what about creating a few "how to" YouTube videos? Or perhaps you can link up to what's already there, put in a few comments with links to your site and use the other suggestions as well, social media promotion etc.
Put your website on Feedback and see what kind of help you get there. I try to critique one website each day on Feedback and so do a lot of other folks. Give it a shot.
I try to checkout a site every day on Feedback. Have to admit I have been busy this week with some other things. So haven't been too good at checking the sites. What is the URL for you site. Maybe I can check it out today or tomorrow. (have company coming this afternoon).
Hi Tom, It was a pleasure checking out your website. I have to tell you that I am new to website design. So I can only critique your site from a potential customer perspective. Hope that is OK. Anyway, here goes.
Overall, your site is good. I know Kyle promotes the use of "White Space" and he is the expert. But I'm like you and like color. To each his own, I guess.
Niche - Your niche, Custom Woodcraft, is fantastic. Most guys I know are wood craftsmen in their dreams. This is a great site to let those dreams run wild.
Theme - The theme seems to work good for your website.
Header - The Header is good. Clean and simple
Menu - the menu worked as I expected.
Sidebars - . All widgets in sidebar worked as expected
Embedded links - Except for the Woodworking Links page, I didn't notice many embedded links. The ones on the Link page all worked great.
Home - There is no Home page. I realize that if the visitor clicks on the Header Title they go to home base but not all visitors will understand this and possibly get lost in your site. Just my opinion.
Custom Woodcraft - The post is somewhat short per Kyle's 1000 word minimum but I think it covered the subject very well.
(Rush Chair Seat Repair) Very detailed content. Photos are fantastic. In my opinion this is a great post.
(Cain Chair Seat Repair) - Again, a very detailed content. Photos are fantastic. In my opinion this is a great post.
History of Woodworking - Wow, you have really done your homework with this post. Very good content and images. You might want to use the "Block" justification on this post.
Materials - You have the post blogs as content for the page and then you replete the access titles in the menu as sub child type menu elements. This is kind of confusing. I would suggest that you eliminate the sub menu elements if they are part of the blog roll page. Just my humble opinion.
(Wood Veneer Sheets) - Fantastic article. What can I say. It is great.
(Cutting Logs into Lumber) - Another great one. Great content and images. Very informing article.
(What is Softwood Lumber) - Excellent content and images Again, you forgot to use the "Block" justification feature.
(What is Hardwood Lumber) - Excellent content and images.
Woodwork Tools -
(Woods of the Month) - I just keep repeating myself about how detailed the articles are.
Wood working Tools - I don't want to sound like a broken record so again will say these articles are fantastic.
Forums - Great kickoff topics for the Forum
Reviews - Again the broken record comment applies here too.
Woodworking Links - Great idea to provide links to various sites with related info.
About Me - Good profile page. Great photo of you and you buddy Opie
Privacy Policy - Good standard policy page.
I like your website Tom. with a few minor modifications, you will have a winner here
Larry
Hi Larry!
I'm sorry to have taken so long to reply to your comments, I've been preoccupied with some other things. As far as your comments, what can I say but "Wow!". Thanks for such a glowing review!! I think I understand what you mean about the sub-menu items/blog roll. To be honest, I would just as soon do away with the blog roll, but I haven't put much thought or effort into figuring that out or even if that's a good idea or not.
I know that I should post more often, but I find it difficult to decide what subjects to hit on. What I have so far doesn't seem to be generating much interest, so it's hard to motivate myself to add more.
Many of my projects take a while to complete, so video doesn't lend itself very well without becoming accomplished as a video editor as well. That's why the projects i have shown are all with still photos.
As I said, I haven't been very active here lately. I need to get back into "posting mode" and I will, hopefully soon.
Again, thank you for your thoughts!
Tom
Tim, I remember your site and really do think you have a great one. Hopefully you don't get discouraged and completely drop it. That would really be sad. I'm sure there are a lot of woodworking folks out there that would love to visit your sight if they knew about it. You might want to check into Pinterest or twitter social media avenues. You can build a following very quickly with Pinterest.
Stay with it Tom, you really do have a winner here.
Larry
I just shared your website on Google. My recommendation is that you need to add more content to stay visible and current. Get a schedule for regular posts with new information; you can add more videos, just stay current and post your website in woodworking communities on Google. That is where I have made many connections. That is where you can see what your competition is doing and find holes in what they are not presenting or talking about. Twitter (I was surprised) was very easy to set up and connect with people. Just my thoughts!
Thanks for the share!! I know I should probably post more often, but it kind of seems pointless; I don't seem to generate much interest. I really hate social media, but I broke down and set up a Facebook business page and I have a Google+ page. Twitter on the other hand...
When you say post on other woodworking communities, do you mean to say join other woodworking sites (similar to my own) or retailers in the woodworking industry?
You have a Google+ page so you can join communities on Google and there are a ton to choose from. It's groups on Google+, not websites. You can make a lot of connections this way and post your new blogs, etc.
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Can someone provide some directioninspiration?
I would very much appreciate opinions on my site's direction. I've been working on it for 7-8 months and I'm quite happy with what I have. I know there is much more that I can
Hi Tom, I just checked out your site. You've got fantastic information. One thing I would suggest is to break up some of your paragraphs. Some of them are too long and the font does not make it easy to read.
What about changing your theme to something a bit more simple?
Think about who your customers are and cater to them with reference to user experience.
I did not check, but what about creating a few "how to" YouTube videos? Or perhaps you can link up to what's already there, put in a few comments with links to your site and use the other suggestions as well, social media promotion etc.
Put your website on Feedback and see what kind of help you get there. I try to critique one website each day on Feedback and so do a lot of other folks. Give it a shot.
I try to checkout a site every day on Feedback. Have to admit I have been busy this week with some other things. So haven't been too good at checking the sites. What is the URL for you site. Maybe I can check it out today or tomorrow. (have company coming this afternoon).
Hi Tom, It was a pleasure checking out your website. I have to tell you that I am new to website design. So I can only critique your site from a potential customer perspective. Hope that is OK. Anyway, here goes.
Overall, your site is good. I know Kyle promotes the use of "White Space" and he is the expert. But I'm like you and like color. To each his own, I guess.
Niche - Your niche, Custom Woodcraft, is fantastic. Most guys I know are wood craftsmen in their dreams. This is a great site to let those dreams run wild.
Theme - The theme seems to work good for your website.
Header - The Header is good. Clean and simple
Menu - the menu worked as I expected.
Sidebars - . All widgets in sidebar worked as expected
Embedded links - Except for the Woodworking Links page, I didn't notice many embedded links. The ones on the Link page all worked great.
Home - There is no Home page. I realize that if the visitor clicks on the Header Title they go to home base but not all visitors will understand this and possibly get lost in your site. Just my opinion.
Custom Woodcraft - The post is somewhat short per Kyle's 1000 word minimum but I think it covered the subject very well.
(Rush Chair Seat Repair) Very detailed content. Photos are fantastic. In my opinion this is a great post.
(Cain Chair Seat Repair) - Again, a very detailed content. Photos are fantastic. In my opinion this is a great post.
History of Woodworking - Wow, you have really done your homework with this post. Very good content and images. You might want to use the "Block" justification on this post.
Materials - You have the post blogs as content for the page and then you replete the access titles in the menu as sub child type menu elements. This is kind of confusing. I would suggest that you eliminate the sub menu elements if they are part of the blog roll page. Just my humble opinion.
(Wood Veneer Sheets) - Fantastic article. What can I say. It is great.
(Cutting Logs into Lumber) - Another great one. Great content and images. Very informing article.
(What is Softwood Lumber) - Excellent content and images Again, you forgot to use the "Block" justification feature.
(What is Hardwood Lumber) - Excellent content and images.
Woodwork Tools -
(Woods of the Month) - I just keep repeating myself about how detailed the articles are.
Wood working Tools - I don't want to sound like a broken record so again will say these articles are fantastic.
Forums - Great kickoff topics for the Forum
Reviews - Again the broken record comment applies here too.
Woodworking Links - Great idea to provide links to various sites with related info.
About Me - Good profile page. Great photo of you and you buddy Opie
Privacy Policy - Good standard policy page.
I like your website Tom. with a few minor modifications, you will have a winner here
Larry
Hi Larry!
I'm sorry to have taken so long to reply to your comments, I've been preoccupied with some other things. As far as your comments, what can I say but "Wow!". Thanks for such a glowing review!! I think I understand what you mean about the sub-menu items/blog roll. To be honest, I would just as soon do away with the blog roll, but I haven't put much thought or effort into figuring that out or even if that's a good idea or not.
I know that I should post more often, but I find it difficult to decide what subjects to hit on. What I have so far doesn't seem to be generating much interest, so it's hard to motivate myself to add more.
Many of my projects take a while to complete, so video doesn't lend itself very well without becoming accomplished as a video editor as well. That's why the projects i have shown are all with still photos.
As I said, I haven't been very active here lately. I need to get back into "posting mode" and I will, hopefully soon.
Again, thank you for your thoughts!
Tom
Tim, I remember your site and really do think you have a great one. Hopefully you don't get discouraged and completely drop it. That would really be sad. I'm sure there are a lot of woodworking folks out there that would love to visit your sight if they knew about it. You might want to check into Pinterest or twitter social media avenues. You can build a following very quickly with Pinterest.
Stay with it Tom, you really do have a winner here.
Larry
I just shared your website on Google. My recommendation is that you need to add more content to stay visible and current. Get a schedule for regular posts with new information; you can add more videos, just stay current and post your website in woodworking communities on Google. That is where I have made many connections. That is where you can see what your competition is doing and find holes in what they are not presenting or talking about. Twitter (I was surprised) was very easy to set up and connect with people. Just my thoughts!
Thanks for the share!! I know I should probably post more often, but it kind of seems pointless; I don't seem to generate much interest. I really hate social media, but I broke down and set up a Facebook business page and I have a Google+ page. Twitter on the other hand...
When you say post on other woodworking communities, do you mean to say join other woodworking sites (similar to my own) or retailers in the woodworking industry?
You have a Google+ page so you can join communities on Google and there are a ton to choose from. It's groups on Google+, not websites. You can make a lot of connections this way and post your new blogs, etc.
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Awhile back I posted a blog to help people who wanted to use an outside email program to receive their WA At-mail. My question is, would there be any benefit to anyone if I tur
I remember that one, it helped me! If you turn it into a training module people searching would see that and know that's what it is. In blog form you cant really see that it is actual training. :)
Should I convert a blog into training?
Awhile back I posted a blog to help people who wanted to use an outside email program to receive their WA At-mail. My question is, would there be any benefit to anyone if I tur
I remember that one, it helped me! If you turn it into a training module people searching would see that and know that's what it is. In blog form you cant really see that it is actual training. :)
I setup Forums on my site using a WP plugin well over a month ago hoping it would help attract visitors to the site. I have npt gotten ANY participants. Does anyone have any t
Have you tried asking questions (that you already know the answers to) on/in the social medias? Then have a link to your site and the forum page. Something like (for Twitter) "Do you know the best way to use a ...?" #WoodWorking or whatever... then with your short link.
Hi Terry. That never occurred to me. I'll put some thought into that. I don't use Twitter, but it could work for other Social outlets. Thanks for the idea!
I hope it helps. I only suggested Twitter 'cuz People do it so often on there, and you don't need to sign up for any special permission or anything. Also, people like to re-tweet what they like. So that way, not only are you getting people that follow you to go to your site, you then get the people who follow the people who follow you to go there as well (WHEW! Had to read that one twice >8 )
I think this is as long a completely straight conversation as we've ever had! What is the world coming to?!? I understand why Twitter. But I have to have something to hold out on or I might lose my hardheaded "man" card! I'm afraid Twitter is it.
I hope I didn't hurt you too badly. My most sincere wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Christmas and a glorious New Year!
NAH! I've been through worse ; ) All the best to you and yours, also this season AND next year. I'm almost ready to hit the ground runnin' now!
As the other have said, it takes time. One thing you could do is look at other forums within your niche, see how they have things set up re an introduction/rules and how they look. An option if you don't like the look of the forum you've got is to set one up using something like http://www.myfreeforum.org/ and just add a custom link on your website to the forum.
I know if I do a search for a forum on a specific subject I usually get returns from these kind of free forum platforms and not from bbPress.
Hope this helps. :)
I wish I knew. I can't get people to comment on my posts so I'm interested to see what advice people give. On the other hand, I am starting to see people pinning my articles from Pinterest, so maybe I'm gaining traction that way.
For what it's worth (and don't know if this will help get people to the forum or not) ...
Each forum has a moderator who blogs specific info relative to a particular forum topic.
For example, in your forum, you have info on trading tools. The moderator info should be something very similar to the info you have for the reader.
Also - forums have a "rules" topic and I didn't see that one. This is where they generally post info about profanity, bickering, etc. This is also where they remind people that no personal info such as names or emails are provided to third parties.
I don't know how long you've had your site up or how many people stop by, but this should also impact your forum activity.
Hope this helps and God Bless! ~Cathy
You're right, I've been remiss in putting out the rules. As I'm new to hosting forums, I was wondering if I needed to start things off with a post of my own. Thanks Cathy!
I would start off with a post of my own. After all, most people (most readers) don't want to be the first one to do anything. You'll have to lead them and tell them what to do.
Not everybody ... but most people ... will do something as long as they know what is expected from them and as long as they know what they will receive for doing it.
In many cases, what they receive is their own sense of satisfied ego. This is not a bad thing, after all, we are indeed just human. But it is the ego that will drive them to post on your forum and it is ego that will drive them to respond to any post already there.
Make sense?
God Bless! ~Cathy
Indeed it does make sense. I think you put into words what I was wondering better than I did! Thanks Again!
one other thought for you to consider is how many visitors to your site comment on the posts that are already there,
if they are not commenting, then they will not even bother with a forum
hope this helps
Wish I could help with this one, but as I am contemplating adding a forum to my site as well, I would just be throwing to the wind. However if you don't mind, will you share what plugin you used? Thanks and God Bless! ~Cathy
Hi Cathy. The plugin is bbPress. It is by WordPress. I'm not 100% satisfied with the way it looks, but it's the best one I've found so far. I'm still looking. Since I have no one using it, I can't really say how well it works.
What topic is your forum about? I have read about people taking years to build an active forum.
Hi Steve. My Forum covers subjects in the woodworking field: tools, different kinds of joints, safety, jigs, etc. There are other woodworking sites that seem to be almost overloaded with forum participants, but I have no idea how long it took them to get that way.
Are there important topics that you believe are not being discussed in other forums? Differentiation is always a good thing.
That was my initial thought as well, but they've been pretty well covered. Because of that, I've been debating removing the forum page for now. At least until I come up with something that I believe will really grab people.
I see. Well, you may want to put it on the back burner for now or encourage your visitors to post questions in that forum.
See more comments
How do I get visitors to participate in my forums?
I setup Forums on my site using a WP plugin well over a month ago hoping it would help attract visitors to the site. I have npt gotten ANY participants. Does anyone have any t
Have you tried asking questions (that you already know the answers to) on/in the social medias? Then have a link to your site and the forum page. Something like (for Twitter) "Do you know the best way to use a ...?" #WoodWorking or whatever... then with your short link.
Hi Terry. That never occurred to me. I'll put some thought into that. I don't use Twitter, but it could work for other Social outlets. Thanks for the idea!
I hope it helps. I only suggested Twitter 'cuz People do it so often on there, and you don't need to sign up for any special permission or anything. Also, people like to re-tweet what they like. So that way, not only are you getting people that follow you to go to your site, you then get the people who follow the people who follow you to go there as well (WHEW! Had to read that one twice >8 )
I think this is as long a completely straight conversation as we've ever had! What is the world coming to?!? I understand why Twitter. But I have to have something to hold out on or I might lose my hardheaded "man" card! I'm afraid Twitter is it.
I hope I didn't hurt you too badly. My most sincere wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Christmas and a glorious New Year!
NAH! I've been through worse ; ) All the best to you and yours, also this season AND next year. I'm almost ready to hit the ground runnin' now!
As the other have said, it takes time. One thing you could do is look at other forums within your niche, see how they have things set up re an introduction/rules and how they look. An option if you don't like the look of the forum you've got is to set one up using something like http://www.myfreeforum.org/ and just add a custom link on your website to the forum.
I know if I do a search for a forum on a specific subject I usually get returns from these kind of free forum platforms and not from bbPress.
Hope this helps. :)
I wish I knew. I can't get people to comment on my posts so I'm interested to see what advice people give. On the other hand, I am starting to see people pinning my articles from Pinterest, so maybe I'm gaining traction that way.
For what it's worth (and don't know if this will help get people to the forum or not) ...
Each forum has a moderator who blogs specific info relative to a particular forum topic.
For example, in your forum, you have info on trading tools. The moderator info should be something very similar to the info you have for the reader.
Also - forums have a "rules" topic and I didn't see that one. This is where they generally post info about profanity, bickering, etc. This is also where they remind people that no personal info such as names or emails are provided to third parties.
I don't know how long you've had your site up or how many people stop by, but this should also impact your forum activity.
Hope this helps and God Bless! ~Cathy
You're right, I've been remiss in putting out the rules. As I'm new to hosting forums, I was wondering if I needed to start things off with a post of my own. Thanks Cathy!
I would start off with a post of my own. After all, most people (most readers) don't want to be the first one to do anything. You'll have to lead them and tell them what to do.
Not everybody ... but most people ... will do something as long as they know what is expected from them and as long as they know what they will receive for doing it.
In many cases, what they receive is their own sense of satisfied ego. This is not a bad thing, after all, we are indeed just human. But it is the ego that will drive them to post on your forum and it is ego that will drive them to respond to any post already there.
Make sense?
God Bless! ~Cathy
Indeed it does make sense. I think you put into words what I was wondering better than I did! Thanks Again!
one other thought for you to consider is how many visitors to your site comment on the posts that are already there,
if they are not commenting, then they will not even bother with a forum
hope this helps
Wish I could help with this one, but as I am contemplating adding a forum to my site as well, I would just be throwing to the wind. However if you don't mind, will you share what plugin you used? Thanks and God Bless! ~Cathy
Hi Cathy. The plugin is bbPress. It is by WordPress. I'm not 100% satisfied with the way it looks, but it's the best one I've found so far. I'm still looking. Since I have no one using it, I can't really say how well it works.
What topic is your forum about? I have read about people taking years to build an active forum.
Hi Steve. My Forum covers subjects in the woodworking field: tools, different kinds of joints, safety, jigs, etc. There are other woodworking sites that seem to be almost overloaded with forum participants, but I have no idea how long it took them to get that way.
Are there important topics that you believe are not being discussed in other forums? Differentiation is always a good thing.
That was my initial thought as well, but they've been pretty well covered. Because of that, I've been debating removing the forum page for now. At least until I come up with something that I believe will really grab people.
I see. Well, you may want to put it on the back burner for now or encourage your visitors to post questions in that forum.
See more comments
Let me clarify. There is an option to add email addresses to a spam list. This method of filtering spam is almost useless as spammers with blocked addresses just change addresses. I could spend the rest of my days adding addresses to the block list while having little to no effect on the amount of spam received. I'm looking for a more effective means of filtering.