During our latest SEMrush Chat, we evaluated OnlineRockersHub with the help of our chat participants. This site provides posts on various topics, including entrepreneurship ideas, educational posts, shopping deals, and more. Site visitors can also find blogging ideas, WordPress guides, SEO strategies, and other educational materials. In addition, the site sells eBooks written by Nirmal Kumar, the site owner.
Q1: After the first glance, what is one thing you would definitely change on onlinerockershub.com?
It seems that the ads and the lack of information about the site are the two things that frustrate the site visitors the most:
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Explain What the Site Is About
If you are unable to give a clear answer about the purpose of your website, there is a chance that it is underperforming or even counterproductive. What is the mission of your site? Why should people visit it and read your content? Every website should be able to provide its visitors with the answers to these questions.
A1: Adding an introductory paragraph at the top to explain what it is they do. From first glance, it just looks a blog. #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@R8chel_Marie) July 12, 2017
A1) Top line ads - replace with a top line intro to the site and its offering ... no idea what they do ! #semrushchat
— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) July 12, 2017
More importantly, you need to explain why people should follow your advice. Value proposition is a critical element in any site; it explains how your site can help users, address their needs, and solve their problems. It tells them why it is worth reading your content and ideas, instead of information on many other similar sites. Without a clear and easy-to-understand value proposition, it is very difficult to retain people on your site.
A1 I'm not seeing a value proposition at https://t.co/GKSMNMBycp that tells me why I would want to visit (don't make me think.) #SEMRushChat
— Bill Slawski (@bill_slawski) July 12, 2017
Here are six tips to help you start creating your value proposition:
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Define your target audience.
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Do a competitive research analysis.
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Identify which benefits and value your site brings to your audience.
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Create a clear message.
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Make it clear how you are different.
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Explain why your audience should choose you over your competitors.
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Get Rid of the Ads
Many site owners place paid ads on their site in order to gain revenue. However, advertisements can distract your site visitors and even irritate them. If the ads force people to click off your site, you should consider removing the annoying ads to provide a better browsing experience for your audience.
A1: Get rid of the ads at the top of the page and replace with an introduction for what the site is about #semrushchat
— Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) July 12, 2017
A1. The sponsored ads for sure. Just made me want to click off the site. They are putting money before users. #SEMrushchat
— Mark Preston (@MarkPreston1969) July 12, 2017
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Establish a Brand Direction
Andy Drinkwater - @iqseo recommends that a site owner start by creating a professional logo for the site in order for them to have a clearer brand direction.
A1: Get a professional logo created - I feel like the site could really do with some brand direction #semrushchat
— Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) July 12, 2017
Brand direction helps to differentiate your brand from your competitors and ensure that all messages and communication inside and outside of your brand is consistent and compelling.
As Bill Slawski - @bill_slawski pointed out, the site needs a foundation to build trust, authority, and expertise.
It seems that the site owners have some work to do.
Q2: Out of the top three issues we detected with SEMrush site audit tool, which one should the company fix ASAP? Why?
To find out what issues OnlineRockersHub has, we analyzed the site using our Site Audit tool:
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54 pages have low text-to-HTML ratio.
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46 internal links contain nofollow attribute.
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35 images don’t have alt attributes.
All of these issues can negatively impact the site’s performance. But which of them should be fixed as soon as possible? Most of our chat participants believe that internal links with nofollow attribute should be addressed first.
A2: Internal Links with Nofollow. Internal links can help Google understand what your pages are about if done properly. #semrushchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) July 12, 2017
The nofollow attribute is a way to tell search engines not to count some of their links to other pages, however they can still offer some SEO value. In the past, some site owners used the tag as an internal linking strategy. They nofollowed most of the links on a page to increase the link juice to a single page.
According to the former head of the webspam team at Google, Matt Cutts, this type of PageRank sculpting is not the most effective way to utilize your PageRank. He pointed out that, in general, it’s better to let the link value flow freely within your site.
A2: So, too many nofollow attributes, very suspecious, page rank sculpting? Should be fixed asap #seo #semrushchat
— Robert von Heeren ♌️ (@robertvonheeren) July 12, 2017
a2 Based on the SEMRush audit tool - I would immediately look at the 46 Internal links with "no follow" #semrushchat
— Debi Norton (@BRAVOMedia1) July 12, 2017
However, there are always exceptions to the rule. For example, Matt Cutts explained that you can add a nofollow to a link pointing to a login page, a shopping card, or other “useless” pages, because these pages aren’t very helpful in showing up in the search engines.
A2: Depends on what those internal nofollows are pointing to, if not valuable, then I'd fix the ALT attributes first. #semrushchat
— Neil Yeomans (@neil_yeomans) July 12, 2017
A2: The image alt attribute issue. I would recommend the nofollow removal 1st if I knew the purpose behind it #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@R8chel_Marie) July 12, 2017
Every site owner should definitely keep things free and fluid. It’s important to make sure that Googlebot can crawl all pages on your site.
A2: I would place the importance on the nofollow links. Links are important for web crawl and linking signals #semrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) July 12, 2017
On the other hand, some of our chat guests recommended that the site owners fix other issues first. It is important to ensure that the text-to-HTML ratio is balanced, even though it is not a direct ranking factor for search engines. When this ratio is very low, it can be a signal of other important issues, such as inefficient coding techniques or a slow page speed.
A2: Text -> HTML ratio.. Overall this echos the sentiment of "low quality site" which is the biggest problem they face #semrushchat
— Jake Bohall (@jakebohall) July 12, 2017
Also, you should never forget to give images alt attributes, because these elements improve the accessibility of your site. If the image, for some reason, cannot be displayed, the alt tag provides an alternate text for this image. Therefore, a good alt tag must describe what is on your image.
A2: I would go for the Alt atribute in the images. A lot of traffic is generated by the content on the image tab on Google. #semrushchat
— José Melgar (@josemelgarMKT) July 12, 2017
To find out more on the topic, you can check our study on the most common on-site SEO issues.
What would you suggest the site owners fix first? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!
Q3: Which techniques should OnlineRockersHub use to increase their online presence?
We have figured out what issues OnlineRockersHub need to fix. Now, let’s see what techniques they should use to increase their online presence.
1. Create a Rich User Experience
Today’s users have very little patience and very high demands. In a time of fierce competition, it’s highly important to provide your site visitors with the best experience possible; everything should be intuitive and not overly cluttered and complicated. The navigation should be easy to follow, content should be concise and explicit, and visuals must enhance your text content, instead of detracting it.
A3: First, make the website more user-friendly. Don't send traffic there if it isn't ready. #semrushchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) July 12, 2017
2. Develop a Business Concept
A website provides an amazing opportunity to reach out to a global audience of potential readers, followers, or customers, depending on your site’s goals. However, this great opportunity is equally challenging to get these millions of people to find your site. In order to reach these people, you need to outline your vision, build a business model for your site - including the revenue streams your site will have, develop strong marketing and SEO strategies, and research your competitors to better understand how you can differentiate yourself.
A3) Hone in on business concept, create #SEO strategy, write great content, build brand presence on social #semrushchat https://t.co/8PPejKn95T
— CallRail (@CallRail) July 12, 2017
3. Be More Active on Social Media
Like it or not, social media has become an integral part of our everyday lives. The good news is that social networks can be a great way to get people talk about your brand. One of the major benefits of having active social accounts is real-time communication with your audience. In addition, a well-planned SMM strategy can help you to collect social proof, increase brand awareness, and run low-cost, yet effective advertising campaigns.
A3 Beyond site & content issues, engage more regularly on FB, share other's content on their social networks not just own #semrushchat
— PolePositionMkg (@PolePositionMkg) July 12, 2017
When choosing a social network, it is better to research where your audience spends their time. For most brands, there is no point in having a presence on every social platform, especially for a newer brand because developing a strategy for each will be an unnecessary drain on resources. You can choose just 2-3 websites where your target audience is and aim your efforts on these certain social networks.
A3: or conversely, just because a social media platform exists, doesn't mean you have to be in all of them. Button overload.??⚬#semrushchat
— Viable Operations (@viabledigital) July 12, 2017
A3. Look where their audience is and start to engage on those platforms #semrushchat
— Malhar Barai ? ? (@MalharBarai) July 12, 2017
4. Connect with Bloggers and Influencers
One of the best ways to grow your online presence is to reach out to authoritative bloggers and influencers in your niche. They are trusted voices who can bring new audiences to your site and help you build your own online community. With search and reputation management tools like BuzzSumo, you can identify influencers in your industry. Before reaching out, invest your time and efforts in establishing a solid relationship with a person. Try out the following tactics:
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Follow them on social media and subscribe to their blogs.
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Comment on their posts.
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Link to their content.
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Offer them something new and valuable.
A3: Create system for promoting new content to influencers. Find similar content, find linkers, outreach. #semrushchat
— Michael Hall (@allmikehall) July 12, 2017
Most of our chat participants also pointed out that OnlineRockersHub should provide more quality, valuable content, which is one of the building blocks of a great website.
Increasing online presence is an ongoing process, you can improve your site by experimenting and analyzing what works and what does not. It will help you to figure out which techniques to continue and which to avoid.
Q4: What website features did you like and would suggest that OnlineRockersHub utilize more?
So far, we have talked a lot about what should be improved and changed on this site. But it definitely has some strengths and positive elements that need to be leveraged. Here are several things that our chat participants like about this site.
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Free downloadable content.
A4: Free downloadables.. Great way to offer something to the community, and you can leverage it for building email list. #semrushchat
— Jake Bohall (@jakebohall) July 12, 2017
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Good blog content.
Simon Cox - @simoncox pointed out that the site has several good blog posts. However, it is difficult to find this content. It is better to pinpoint the site’s strengths and bring them to the fore to win over the new visitors and turn passing by users into loyal readers.
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A well-planned site structure.
A good site structure improves your chances of ranking well in Google’s search results and ensures that your site visitors will have a great experience. The site owners need to better organize the menu in order to improve usability. It is important to help your users find what they want as quickly as possible, with just a few clicks.
A4: The website is really well structured though. They should group the menu properly #semrushchat
— Sayan Sarkar (@SayanTheGeek) July 12, 2017
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An effective click to action.
Some of our chat participants liked the CTA button on the homepage. It says “Start Here” and guides the users by providing a clear message.
A4. I like the "Start Here" component as a CTA, but it's at the bottom of the page. #SEMrushchat
— Matthew Young (@MatthewAYoung) July 12, 2017
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“Income Reports” section.
The site has an “Income Reports” section that hardly ever see on other websites. It contains an income reports archive with one yearly and several other monthly reports. It may be a bold strategy, but it definitely builds trust with the audience. These trust elements can help you to win over new visitors.
A4: I like that they show income reports. Normally, that would be weird. But it lends a kind of "lead by example" transparency. #semrushchat
— Sarah Nelson (@Blogging_Geek) July 12, 2017
The more information you provide, the more transparent you are, the more solid and trustworthy your site may become in the minds of your first-time site visitors.
Check out a few more of OnlineRockersHub’s handy elements in the following recap.
One thing that most of our chat participants agreed on is that the site owners should keep on creating quality content.
Q5: What are some bold strategies that OnlineRockersHub can take to improve their website
At the end of our chat, we discussed some bold strategies that can help to improve the site:
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Website Redesign and Rebranding
Every website needs a bit of makeover sooner or later. It takes a considerable amount of time and efforts, but it is a highly effective strategy that can help you to reach an extensive audience, attract more readers to your content, and build your online community. A logo will help the site look more professional and trustworthy.
A5: Here's a BOLD strategy: re-brand & amp up your homepage content #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@R8chel_Marie) July 12, 2017
A5: Redesign the website. Time-consuming but fruitful. #semrushchat
— Sayan Sarkar (@SayanTheGeek) July 12, 2017
A5) Dump the ads. Make it look more professional and trustworthy - a logo is a good start. Learn from best competitors. Content #semrushchat
— David Rosam (@writingforseo) July 12, 2017
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High-quality Photography and Video
A good photo or video on your site is the first thing that a user will notice. Having it on your site is the first step in building trust with your audience. Adding high-quality photos or videos to your site improves your chances to make a killer first impression and effectively connecting with your audience.
#SEMRushChat A5: More state-of-the-art #photography and #video; #VR and #LiveVideo really trigger @Google #SERP and @facebook #EdgeRank.. https://t.co/a32CWGqFqD
— Alex Singleton ? (@theAJSingleton) July 12, 2017
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A New WordPress Theme
Some of our chat participants suggest purchasing a new WordPress theme. A WordPress theme is a collection of files that determine the overall look and layout of your WordPress site. Default themes are fine, in case you only need a very simple site, but if you are looking for more options, better styles and layouts, and want your site to look more professional, you may want to consider buying a new theme.
a5) Final advice - buy a Wordpress theme, start from scratch. #semrushchat
— Ryan Johnson (@rsj8000) July 12, 2017
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Learning From Others
Learning from others can be a powerful tool that will help you to succeed. JP Sherman - @jpsherman shared his own experience that OnlineRockersHub can try out as well.
something I do: i look for pages that rank for keywords I want, then learn from that. in this case, lists can be helpful #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/OxW8ZFnwrR
— JP Sherman (@jpsherman) July 12, 2017
Look for pages that rank well for their target keywords and adopt best practices their competitors use. No matter what your site is about, you can benefit greatly from thoroughly studying your competition.
Let’s sum up!
And so we have analyzed yet another website together with the help of our guests. Together, we figured out how the site owners can improve this site and attract new visitors.
Many thanks to our guests who were kind enough to join us for our website analysis!Make sure to join us this Wednesday with Dido Grigorov!