Burlapp needs to move up…
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In a nutshell, I need to make this site more popular.
I know it is the best car site on the internet. But I need to make it the most popular one as well.
You guys have all been very supportive.
And I think the best people to ask if you had any ideas…
The site is popular as of now. I just need to make sure it gets even more views. Get the word out.
you need a new site layout and theme to make it more appealing to readers and newcomers. also, get rid of some of the ads…it clutters the site. besides this, your articles, reviews, and news are perfect…great job!
I need the ads, that’s the point.
I also hate when website change their layouts too much.
So I’m a bit afraid of that…
I just need to make more people aware of the site.
I visit you several times daily. Love it! Very good info about real cars that real people really buy and drive. Suggestions:
1. Lose the disguise, Vince. It’s seems silly after a while. If you don’t want people to see you, then don’t post anything in the way of a picture.
2. Make your address easier to access, i.e., http://www.thehollywoodextra.com instead of the blogspot tail. It’s hard to find you on a computer other than my own. I have you favorited on my own, so I don’t have any trouble. But when I am on a “strange” computer, I can’t remember your address. Just saying.
3. Spellcheck; give it a try.
4. Do a live webcast or some such.
5. Start some deal where a guest can submit a review with pics and so forth.
Keep up the good work. I know ads sell and would love to see your site get more attention.
Later, Rocky
There aint much you really need to do there vince.Its more user friendly than alot of the other sites. Maybe getting an advertising slot in a blockbuster movie. ie Scary Movie 4 got good advertising when Kurt Russell aka stuntman Mike crashed through the advertising billboard.
In the movie Deathproof.
That type of advertising concept.
We all agree this is the best site on the web.
I just need a way to let more people know about it.
Deathproof?????
I think you need another web address that have ‘car’ related term. The Hollywood extra sounds like a gossip site on movie stars.
I can’t remember how I found your site years ago and don’t think I could find it again if it weren’t for the miracle of bookmarks!
you need pure auto or else…don’t mix with others stuff on your site….
something about the name you could do??
The Hollywood Extra sound corny…my office start to block by some name close to sexual or porn sites….and they block your site so I couldn’t get into view this site from my work….
Good Luck…
You should start sites with different genres, such as videogames and luxury goods. Weblogs inc with autoblog also runs joystiq and luxist. Maybe also a gadget review site and entertainment news as well.
The comment about a domain name up there is right on. It’s too hard to tell people how to find this, you need a catchy easily-typed domain that starts with www and ends with .com.
Don’t change the core of the layout, but try to make it wider — you’re wasting precious screen real estate on the left and the right. More page space = more content space + more ad space.
You might want to link to larger-size pictures if that’s possible; the current inline ones are okay but sometimes I want a better look at something.
Hope some of that helps!
Not that I know anything about this stuff, but I heard someone tell someone else to add tags to their blog.
if you want more hits/popularity you need better pictures… and especially the RSS feed needs better headlines, most of the time it’s not clear what is hiding behind the headline!
better layout, not the standard google layout!
Hey Vince!
I’ve been coming to your site for years and years! My suggestions would be, link to more/bigger pics, as stated above, and actually commenting in your videos when you do a review, not just putting some background music!!!
Oh, and maybe lose the pseudo-porn on the left.
Cheers 😉
Three Words: More necked girls.
Also would like to see more of the insightful commentary from Douchebag Jones…Maybe put him of your payroll.
Difficult question. Your already a great source for more left-field, no-bullshit opinions about cars. You always have the coolest, most suprising news. Maybe a name change? I don’t know, not the solution.
More continious updates? More organized sections: Spy shots, Tests, other interesting stuff? I think in general: More stuff, more updates.
How about instead of a blog, you use a forum? The big sites like carspyshots, and GMi are all forums. I could help set one up if you would like.
Take a que from TMZ but cover cars of the stars/ Pehaps Jay Leno will have you on his show (hope thats not your real Gub on the photo or its over)
Appeal to women and guys…Guy car…cool chick cars and the starlets that drive them. Women buy lots of cars so the BIG auto co’s like to advertise for them. Write press releases of hot exclusive info you have. Google loves news storys and links help your site rank tops!Belive it or not repoters are hungry for stories and are pushed for always new headlines. As an artist and mostly business person so I can eat, I am constantly making new statues, sculpture and marketing/sales is 95% of my effort. Contcat me through http://www.bigbronze.com or Myspace bigbronzeusa as I always have ideas.Social sites blogging also rank high on search engines.
Enjoy your site
Darren
first, i really like the site, and check it several times a day. but.
-check your spelling and grammar, or get someone to check it for you.
-bigger pics
-the ‘pseudo porn’, as somebody pointed out, is not high-class
-check out seth godin’s blog for marketing advice. believe it.
-put up a picture of yourself
-maaaaybe rename the site, as someone before suggested, but not the most important thing. it is difficult to find without a bookmark
finally, thanks for all your hard work, and a unique perspective. i like the fact that we both have similar likes for cars (not necessarily sporty, hatchbacks, etc)
Ben
Your site is fantastic! The content is very good. You might work on the design and architecture and update it a bit. I figured that this was a side gig and your acting was your main focus.
– Make sure that your site is optimized for organic search. Yahoo, Google and MSN. When I type in “cars” or “automotive” into Google I don’t get your site listed anywhere.
-The other comments about the domain name are right on. Your current one is not intuitive.
– You could link-up with a news site as the automotive authority. Not only will that give you exposure, it’ll contribute to more robust search traffic for you as well.
– PR…. you could have events. Jalopnik had an event at the New York Car Club last year that got a lot of press. It all contributes to a better search campaign and your “Brand recognition”
– You could have your own campaign. Advertise on behavioral-targeted co-op networks. Ads would only be served to viewers identified as automotive enthusiasts on sites like myspace, facebook and hotmail. It works.
– Remarketing sites. Same as the behavioral targeted sites, except that your serving up your ads to people (us) who have already been to your site throughout a network of other sites.
– Whatever you do, don’t over-refine your site and make it too mass. I really enjoy thinking that I’m on to something that few others are. There are a lot of car sites out there, so find a hook that makes yours stand out.
love the content and cxommentary – but i hate the layout –
it looks like theres no rymne or reason to it. – spend a little more time $$ getting a more logical, planned layout (ala autoblog) – keep the black background –
and yes – lose the disguise.
you have earned the right to be a respected automotive jornalist – the photo you use just detracts from that – and new users very often dont knwo what to mkae of it. at minimum, it makes you, the site look ameturish.
whenever I wanted to visit your site anywhere else outside of my room I have to hurrily scroll down cuz of that rediculous banner on the top of the page
its shocking! (and obsurd)
1. Lose the weird fake picture/persona. When I first came to the site and saw that weird mutant looking dude, I was like “what the heck site is this”?
That picture alone scares a ton of people away man.
2. Actually, I think you’ve already been doing this a bit, but edit your posts your posts when you make a mistake. If you make a typo or a spelling error, FIX IT. You have edit capability, use it.
You should also test a manual car once and a while…
And perhaps another idea: include a daily readers’ ride presentation, a few photos and a short text would make a lot of fun.
Vince, I like the site quite a bit, but I think its more relaxed in that much of the time youre writing about your own opinion rather then factual info (when you compare it to autoblog, carscoop, etc.) Even the jokers over at jalopnik balance out their ranting with some unbiased info. I do appreciate your test drive reviews, because you provide some great feedback on the cars from driving them yourself.
Oh, and you have a reputation of posting pics or illustrations of future cars that no one else has, but you dont say where they came from and we dont know how legit they are. Its interesting but I think some of your sources are seedy, and lack of info questionable. Overall, thanks for the entertainment and I will definately keep coming back.
Ultimately word of mouth is the best way to increase anything; that’s actually how I found your site.
I agree w/ the comments above though – there is more that can be done to improve traffic – but you’ll have to invest a bit:
1) The name (as someone had suggested) does not lend itself to “cars” – certainly if you’re trying to create a brand for yourself, that’s cool – but you need to advertise a bit more to get people here…autoblog? leftlanenews.com?
2) Maybe re-fresh the site to make it more condusive to consumers looking around…apply filters for searching your reviews of cars. Categorize the spy shots, etc.
3) I think you should keep the picture personally.
4) Make it a car focused page – with links to other stuff (your movies /etc).
5) Define what the site is…my perception is that it’s a site that offers “before everyone else gets it” spy shots – with test drives of current / new cars and some other general interest stuff on auto’s. If it’s a general car news site – check out what other sites are doing.
i want a cut of profits if you want advice that will work
sex sells, you know like those tiny titted cop girls that would taste great
In order to increase traffic you will need to lease a domain and push it out to search engines. Also try to maximize meta data that search engines use match searches of “cars” or “car blogs” and so on. (just plain old html or you could go fancy…not sure of your skill sets)
A new domain: Maybe..
http://www.hollywoodextra.com since people are familar with it so you could keep it. But honestly what does hollywoodextra and cars have in common? So keep that in mind.
(you can always auto foward the old site to the new site)
I would start there keeping the old design and then once things are stable on the new domain and traffic is increasing work on a new design. One that maximizes space better to give you more advertising space and at same time more space for readers like me.
Choose wisely on your web hosting..
New address should be:
VinceBurlappcarpage.com (words take from your site)
And than on the site you can say your a Hollywood movie extra.
Think about all the other car freaks goggling
and the easiest phrases that would match your web page….and have a link to your my space
or my space linking to this site.
Your a mac owner, so use a .mac address
and there are easy/simple templates to use
so that you can do this project very economically
without the advertising.
The Kid from Brooklyn, also tells his fans to spread the word, but had made his site a lot nicer
and people tend to pass on the word when
impressed.