SEO content vs Nice looking site?

[MrClifton]

Hi,
My first post here.

In the internet marketing business the importance of having a SEO friendly website has increased the last couple of years, and I think most of you agree when I say that Google have a huge impact on your business.

You notice right away when someone has optimized his gambling site for SEO, very few graphical elements, a lot of text and sentences that hopefully match the targeted customers keywords on Google. I almost get the impression that if you squeeze in as many "no deposit bonus", "best signup bonus" and "biggest jackpots" in the first 10 sentences you're set.
Yesterday I visited a site which had the right column totally dedicated to a list of different payment methods, in plain text, "monebookers casino", "Click2Pay casino", "Webmoney casino" etc.

So my question is, can you build a site containing more nice graphical elements than "rubbish" SEO content and still rank high on google.
Please give me some examples of sites and their page rank.

Thanks!

[CK]

Both are possible. Lots of graphics and lots of text, although the "rubbish" content is alot easier than a site based on graphics.

*We dont encourage members to out other websites and what they do well or dont do well, unless those members asked them to do it. Please dont post people's urls/sites etc as examples. all that does is leads to other people copying*

[Randy]

Kaus is spot on here. Good sites have a well balanced mix of eye catching design and quality content. It takes a lot of time and trial and error to find the perfect blend, and even then there are still more obstacles.

Also, I agree 100% with what Kaus said. Although most people know some of each others sites, I would not want my site posted by someone else. I would encourage you to hang out, ask questions, and contribute and soon enough you will have some great tools and be able to make a site you can be proud of.

[MrClifton]

Your probably right, stupid request by me, I apologize

What do you guys aim at, as Kauss says it's a lot easier to start out with the SEO optimized text content than to do a slick design. I think the traffic on a site with OK design converts as well as a site with very nice design. Therefore it's all about attracting visitors using SEO content. I know that the content alone doesn't result in any toprankings on Google, but I've heard this is the main thing to focus on.

Whats your opinion on this?

Anyone know a good site where I can read more about SEO for beginners?

[CK]

Focus more of your energy into writing quality pages than the design of your site. Seriously it can be pretty as hell, with tons of fancy little gadgets but at the end of the day its whats on that page that matters the most.

As for resources, pal has a solid number of posts from beginners that should get you started in the right direction. There is also this sticky listing some of the top resources a number of other affiiates use or visit frequently - good luck


Best SEO Resources - The Forums At Poker Affiliate Listings

[CasinoKev]

Welcome to CAL MrClifton!

Kaus and Randy have given you some solid advice. I remember being brand new to the game and hearing advice like "just focus on writing good content" and "start small" and I ignored it and kept searching for some big SEO magic pill that would make it all click. I wasted a lot of time reading SEO books and sites while neglecting the hard work of building a quality resource.

Here's what I would do if I woke up in your shoes...

1. Pick ONE casino or other gambling site to promote
2. Choose ONE niche. Either a site focused on that ONE casino or a particular game (Craps, Blackjack, Video Poker, etc) If you have some aspect of gambling where you are particularly knowledgeable, use that.
3. Use Google keyword tool to brainstorm ideas and to see the approx. traffic per month for that keyword
4. Try to get a .com, .net. or .org domain with your main keyphrase (ie. bestblackjackstrategy.com, howtowinatcraps.net, etc)
5. Get cheap shared hosting that has a Cpanel so you can easily install Wordpress
6. Get your Wordpress site running with a good-looking free template
7. Start writing!

For further ideas and motivation this is a must-read: My best affiliate advice for new poker affiliates - The Forums At Poker Affiliate Listings

Also, if you need help, don't be afraid to ask!

[dealking]

niche are better according to me...there are many reasons for that..because you have to do lots of work for SEO like minimum 2 months..so most of all use that.