is this a dumb idea?

[tkstark]

UpcomingMMO.com

it only occurred to me to do this last evening, so there's only one page for now. the logo is a place holder, unless it grows on me, in which case i'll tweak it and keep it.

i'm asking for a review so soon because a big question just occurred to me: is there even a point to such a site. this is conceived simply as an affiliate site to sell games. i don't plan to build a community or add a forum, reviews or meaty articles. i invite you to criticize and comment on every aspect of what you see, but the question that determines whether i take this any farther is: do i need that other stuff in order for the site to generate traffic and sales?

the main page would always feature a game trailer, video or game art of some kind (i have access to advance-release media stills and video and can run this sort of thing months before the game is released). there will always be a small amount of copy and links to an affiliate site to buy the game or games being featured.

the navigation bar tells you the focus of subsequent pages. most of them would have either an rss feed or individual links to purchase games. each page also would have artwork or video and a short piece about a featured game. Clicking HERE will give you an idea of what inside pages would be like.

the news page would have an rss feed. i might also use adsense ads.

i know that there are many established gaming sites that are packed with information, news, discussions, etc. i don't want to compete with them. i just want to build an uncluttered spot where people can see what games are about to be released, watch a video preview and then buy a game.

is this a dumb idea?

(this also will have pertinence to that dvd site i linked to above. it's only a week old, so i don't know what kind of traffic it might get. but it, too, is a bare-bones affiliate site competing in a crowded field by offering nothing but merchandise. if this sort of thing doesn't work, then i should quit doing it.)

 

[Arjun]

No, I think the site's a decent attempt.

I would suggest going with a well planned promotion spree as this sort of a site could get popular - and very soon.

A good blend of AdSense + Amazon affiliate ads could get you a great amount of revenue.

I like the simplicity of your website's design - BUT, I do not like the logo at all.

Sorry to sound so critical, but it was a turn-off for me.

In my honest opinion, it looks like MMOOMM (Doesn't make sense, lol).

I understand that you've tried to give it a mirror-effect, but it hasn't come out well.

Also, it took me a few seconds to realize what your website was all about.

Maybe you could include a tagline or something in your logo itself - which tells a user within a couple of seconds what your website is all about.

I'd give you a 7-8 on a scale of 1 to 10.

(And no, your idea isn't dumb).

 

[joeljonathan]

i know that there are many established gaming sites that are packed with information, news, discussions, etc. i don't want to compete with them. i just want to build an uncluttered spot where people can see what games are about to be released, watch a video preview and then buy a game.

Not a bad idea although you have to realize that most people want exactly this (information, news, discussions, etc.):

 

[tkstark]

thanks, guys.

arjun, don't apologize for being critical. that's exactly what i want. i knocked the logo off quickly (remember, i posted 24 hours after i started working on the site from scratch) and that mirror effect thing was a last-minute attempt to make it more interesting. i've kept working on the logo, tho. have another look. it's much better now tho it could still use tweaking. feels like there's a lot of emptiness up near at the top of the page.

i like your idea of a tag line. i always had that in mind but wasn't yet sure how to integrate it. i've got an idea how to do it now, tho, so i'll be including one.

joel, you're right - most gaming fans probably do want the discussions and community. that's what has me worried that i might be wasting my time.

i'm encouraged by one development, tho. i have several fairly new sites with the same concept - they're all pretty much bare bones sales sites with little copy except for product info. i noticed one of them starting to get traffic every day. i checked and it's on the first page of google search results for the term - 7 from the top. and there are 4,830,000 search results. (i searched without quotes, the way non-domainers do.) the exact keyword is highly searched. so there's hope.

on the other hand, i've got another site with a keyword that has 156 million search results, the same number of exact monthly searches and it's SECOND from the top of google results, right after wikipedia. this site sells movie-related games, toys, comics and stuff. with that kind of page ranking, i thought i'd get lots of sales, and it hardly gets traffic at all. go figure. (hmm. i'm gonna tweak the title and description in the meta tags - they're clearly not enticing people to click)

 

[Arjun]

thanks, guys.

arjun, don't apologize for being critical. that's exactly what i want. i knocked the logo off quickly (remember, i posted 24 hours after i started working on the site from scratch) and that mirror effect thing was a last-minute attempt to make it more interesting. i've kept working on the logo, tho. have another look. it's much better now tho it could still use tweaking. feels like there's a lot of emptiness up near at the top of the page.

i like your idea of a tag line. i always had that in mind but wasn't yet sure how to integrate it. i've got an idea how to do it now, tho, so i'll be including one.

I like your new logo - BUT I have another issue still, lol.

The "Home..." etc etc text up top - that makes me wonder if its a navigation bar of sorts :p

I'd knock that right off - and try and incorporate something in the logo itself which reflects some (If not all of those).

Also, the tagline - you could place it either on top of - or under the horizontal line you've got there. (The silver/grey thingy).

Looking much better than what you had previously!

 

[tkstark]

thanks arjun. those words up top -- that is the navigation bar. i just haven't applied links yet because i've only got one page so far. do you object because it looks bad or because you weren't sure what it was?

as i look at it now, tho, it might actually look better below the logo (below the silver/gray horizontal line thing).

thanks again.

 

[Arjun]

Yes, if I want to navigate through a site like that one - I'll most certainly like to have the menu under the horizontal line thingy .

No, it doesn't look bad - I was just a little confused, lol.

 

[keddy1]

No, in no way it is dumb. You are going pretty well with your site. It's good, and don't stop developing it.

 

[tkstark]

thanks, keddy. 'preciate it.