Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

My name is Sandra and my website is www.songofhealth.com. It is a subscriber-based informational service based on, but not limited to, the Dr. Carroll Food Intolerance Test and way of life. At the moment, probably 95% of the subscribers are patients who are referred to the site by their doctors, who benefit because most of their patients` questions are answered interactively through the site, which saves the doctors much time from being constantly interrupted with questions. What can I do to gain interest of web surfers to be potential subscribers, and then most likely patients of doctors who prescribe the Carroll Food Intolerance method of eating? What is the best way to drive them to the site? Also, any suggestions for the home page?
Thank you.



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http://www.songofhealth.com

It looks like you have a couple of systems in place that you could change, which also would likely help get the site more visibility.

One example is in overall attitude, for want of a better word. Notice how you`ve posted on a large, active forum, but you didn`t include the Web site URL as a link or in the body of the post? When I say "attitude," I don`t mean a bad thing like the term has come to mean. Instead, it`s the mental framework where you`re always looking for ways to include the site address.

That might mean signature lines, conversational references, or whatever other opportunities to discuss the site and its address.

Another problem is in the copywriting on the site itself. It`s an informational site, but the information isn`t all that easy to get in a world of Web surfers. You`ve heard the statistic that you get about 4 seconds to capture the attention of someone who casually clicks on the site. To accomplish that, your content has to be written in a particularly interesting and easy-to-follow way.

Your headlines and focal points on the home page, for example, don`t highlight the difference between intolerances and allergies. That seems to be one of the key concepts of the system. Instead, the home page is very "busy." There`s no visual eye path.

The Home page title sounds like a music site, not a health site, so the title should be more descriptive. You don`t seem to have any meta-tag description, which goes a long way toward summarizing your overall site if or when it`s found by the search engines.

Overall, it`s a decent site, but it`s not set up for being found by casual Web surfers. You could at least get an analysis by a good editor---either print or Web---even if you had to pay a minor consultation fee. That`s all this is about, the concept of having a real editor examine the site for reader interest. :-)

That editor also likely will know some writers who can help improve the reader interest. From there, you can talk with an SEO company about how to improve your overall online visibility.

Interesting idea.... just a few major points of how the site could use a redesign:

1.  There appears to be two menu bars: one at the top with the sash and the other along the dragonfly on the side.  This is very confusing to a browser to figure out where to begin.

2.  The variations in text size, font and color is very confusing to read.  It just makes the reader work harder to process.

3.  Your "advertise with us" and designer sponsor links should not appear so prominently on the site, as they just interfere with the eye`s ability to process everything else on the page.

Let me know if I can help,

Thank you all for taking the time to reply so quickly. Your critiques and input has been very helpful and you have given me some great direction on what I need to focus on and what changes can be made. The fire and passion are back! Your great service is appreciated. I would appreciate any and all other suggestions offered as well.
In Health, Sandra



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http://www.songofhealth.com