Review my "Maine Island Oceanfront Getaway" please

Get some feedback on your site or ad from other rental owners and techies. Also a library of online resources so you can make DIY improvements to your web presence.
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Michael Phenner
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Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:37 pm
Location: Matinicus Island, Maine, USA
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Review my "Maine Island Oceanfront Getaway" please

Post by Michael Phenner »

Please review my cottage's website and provide some constructive feedback. Our cottage is our personal getaway spot and we are trying to recover some of the construction costs by renting it out during the summer.

This location is for a select group of people who want to really leave their cares behind them and bond more closely with family members and friends. The cottage is on a very small island 20 miles at sea with no stores or restaurants. I pay for advertising in CyberRentals and GreatAdventures. I also advertise in several "free" or "free trial" sites that have their links listed at the bottom of my index page (scroll down past the "white space").

I realize that the pictures are not the best, but I am planning on re-shooting some when I go out this spring with a digital camera ... any suggestions on what to include would be appreciated.

The website was created the fastest way I could with the least amount of money ... "MS WORD to HTML conversion" ... I realize that one suggestion would be to re-do the site in pure HTML (or at least using webpage creation SW) and I plan to do that when have more time, since I am familiar with it.

I submit the site regularly to free search engine submission sites that mainly cover Google and Yahoo. I seem to do pretty well in the search engines but I am sure it has a lot to do with the lack of competition on the island. Any ideas on how to further optimize search engine placement (on a minimal budget) would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your time and suggestions,
Last edited by Michael Phenner on Thu Dec 09, 2004 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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livinginitaly
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Location: Italy (at last!)
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Post by livinginitaly »

Hi Michael,

Not sure what to say .......

You ask for a site review, then say you're planning on changing all the images and aim to 'redo' the whole site in a different format soon. Seems a bit pointless giving a review of something that will be completely different shortly anyway ... or is that just me?

Anyway, i decided to a look but having got to the 'dancing puffin' ...... i found i was unable to go on :)

Seriously, for site reviews it's best to get the site to a point where you are confident that you have 'done your best'. Then others can offer tips or suggestions that maybe you hadn't thought of.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I actually do 'enjoy' doing site reviews (or maybe i just like to hear myself type!) ... but there is nothing worse after spending time reviewing a site and offering suggestions only for the person to come back and say "yeah I know, that's what i was going to do".

However, if you are saying that this is your 'best shot' at a website, then i would be only too happy to offer what advice i can.
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Michael Phenner
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:37 pm
Location: Matinicus Island, Maine, USA
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Post by Michael Phenner »

Tony,

Hmmm ... I didn't mean to imply that I was already planning to "re-do" my site with a different format .. only that I plan to replace the way the material is presented by the browser. It is not my intention to waste your's, or anybody else's time.

The site would basically look the same ... and that is what I am asking for an opinion on. Some of the pictures will be replaced by some with higher resolution in the late spring, but I was planning on using the same shots.

I was hoping to get some ideas on changing what you see now such as colors, background, picture content, text, etc.

As far as getting "stuck" at the "dancing Puffin" ... a few more details about this would be appreciated. This is generated within simple Javascript and this is the first feedback I have recieved about it not working.

Thanks
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paolo
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Location: Provence, France
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Post by paolo »

Welcome to the forum, Michael! Image

I don't have time right now but I had a quick look at your site and I want to give you my impressions when I do get a moment.

I found your bouncing puffin quite amusing, but to purists like Tony, animated graphics are a big no-no! :D They are not my favourite thing either, but perhaps there is a big puffin theme to your site - I haven't explored it properly, but will do soon.
Paolo
Lay My Hat
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Michael Phenner
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Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:37 pm
Location: Matinicus Island, Maine, USA
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Post by Michael Phenner »

Thanks for the welcome, Paolo.

I know about animated graphics being a "no-no", but there is a rare Puffin breeding site about 5 miles away that can be visited by charter boat and it is quite an attraction to birding enthusiasts. I only put it on my "links" page, so as not to bother the "shopping surfer".

Thanks in advance for your feedback and I appreciate your input here and on the Yahoo "Vacation Rentals" group page where I have seen so many of your helpful posts.

regards,
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paolo
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Location: Provence, France
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Post by paolo »

Michael,

Here's my two cents...

The opening paragraph on the homepage may lose people. If you stick with this opening sentence:

"Matinicus is a beautiful island plantation located in outer-Penobscot bay about twenty miles southeast of Rockland, Maine."

...I would then push the rest of the paragraph further down because here you should state the benefits – bring the reader in by talking about why they should want to stay here: unspoilt nature, peace and quiet, a retreat from the cares of the world. Just the timeless patterns of nature, the lobster pots being brought in, the puffins bouncing… (sorry, that puffin does make me laugh :lol: ).

Think about why you bought a house here and those will be the reasons people will want to follow in your footsteps. You do talk about this in a couple of places elsewhere but it needs to be here at the top I think. For instance, see how your competitor does it at matinicusisland.com

He lists the sort of people who would like the island and why. That is a good approach for a place that is off the beaten track and very unusual.

Pics
You have a good establishing shot of the island, which whets the appetite. I think you should then have more pics alongside the text. You already have some nice ones elsewhere of the harbour, and I would add to these with your new camera.

Your internal pictures aren't great - a decent camera should help. They look a bit too blue and cold at the moment. If there is a time of day when the sun gives the rooms a bit of a glow, that's the time to take them.

The sharpness of the pics could be improved upon – the main homepage one and the thumbnails. The big versions of the thumbnails are OK but the thumbnails themselves are too rough to make out what they are of. I am not a fan of thumbnails. They demand too many actions, two per picture. I would much prefer to see the pics in full size on a page full of text. People on dial-up can read the text while the pics download. On high-speed there is almost no delay.

Other pics that would help - more beaches in better light (golden light), sunset/sunrise, fishermen unloading their pots, any local activity (did I read about a flea market?), some good vistas taken from your house and ones that make you want to be there (for instance table and chairs on the balcony with the sea in the background, an open book on the table), the puffin colony and other birds for your birders. And borrow your competitors' ideas!

Improving search engine rankings
I don’t think you can beat the listing sites for obvious search phrases and there is no point trying since you are on them and there is little competition. Perhaps you should do some lateral thinking about the sort of people who come to your island, and what they come for: meditation, yoga, painting, bonding, birdwatching, fishing?...then optimise one page around that. Aiming at people who won’t be searching for Matinicus Island but may be interested in what it offers when they stumble across it.

I wish I had an island like this on my doorstep!
Paolo
Lay My Hat
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Michael Phenner
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:37 pm
Location: Matinicus Island, Maine, USA
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Post by Michael Phenner »

Thanks Paolo!

Just the kind of feedback I was looking for.

Have a great holiday season,
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