IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

Hello,

I've noticed that some of the films on my site (http://www.westlakefilms.co.uk/)
didn't have as many
downloads as some others. So, I thought I'd update the text and suddenly
the download ratings have
shot up.

Could it be that its not the quality of the film but how its is marketted
which determines a films
success? If so, how can we better market our films without sounding too egotistical?

Thanks.

"Edward Scott" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Hello,

I've noticed that some of the films on my site (http://www.westlakefilms.co.uk/)
didn't have as many
downloads as some others. So, I thought I'd update the text and suddenly
the download ratings have
shot up.

Could it be that its not the quality of the film but how its is marketted
which determines a films
success? If so, how can we better market our films without sounding too
egotistical?

Thanks.

Text is very important to some search engines, Google for example.
So are ALT tags on all images.
Your text should also reflect the keywords you use.
It is no good putting up photos/films on a web site without
text, text and more text.

Albert....

"AnimatioN" <Animation@btinternet.com> wrote:

"Edward Scott" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:


Hello,

I've noticed that some of the films on my site (http://www.westlakefilms.co.uk/)
didn't have as many
downloads as some others. So, I thought I'd update the text and suddenly
the download ratings have
shot up.

Could it be that its not the quality of the film but how its is marketted
which determines a films
success? If so, how can we better market our films without sounding too
egotistical?

Thanks.

Text is very important to some search engines, Google for example.
So are ALT tags on all images.
Your text should also reflect the keywords you use.
It is no good putting up photos/films on a web site without
text, text and more text.

Albert....

Granted, but too much text can be a distraction - minimalism is the key,
I think.

What do others think?

"Edward Scott" <edmundburke@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:

Text is very important to some search engines, Google for example.
So are ALT tags on all images.
Your text should also reflect the keywords you use.
It is no good putting up photos/films on a web site without
text, text and more text.

Albert....

Granted, but too much text can be a distraction - minimalism is the key,
I think.

It's the search engines that like text as I said, and if you wish
to get more visitors you should study the art of SEO
(Search Engine Optimisation)...for starters on how to optimise
your site try this, but hope you have a large stock of
Midnight Oil!!!!!....

http://selfpromotion.com

Albert.

"Edward Scott" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Could it be that its not the quality of the film but how its is marketted
which determines a films
success? If so, how can we better market our films without sounding too
egotistical?

I do not think this is a question of making your site more effective for
search engines - though that is indeed valuable. Once people have got to
the site how do they choose which movies to download?

Some may settle for the shortest, just to get a taste of your work and see
if they like it enough to want to watch more. (Consider putting up a special
sampler / trailer reel.)

Some may like a title and be intrigued to see what it is about.

Some may like the still image you associate with it. (Try 2 or 3 striking
stills from each movie.)

But most will scan the text ... you cannot offer them Hollywood stars, budgets
or sfx ... what can you do?

Mention any competition successes - they are an indication of quality.

Use "push-button" descriptions: "zany, spine-chilling, puzzle, mystery, thriller"
or whatever.

Try to catch people's interest with a "hook" ... "He was at the end of his
tether when fate gave him the power to be saviour or sinner ... "

Yes, work at the words. Don't lie but do your best to persuade people to
watch.

Good luck!

Dave

PS Then work on the search engine optimisation to get visitors to the home
page ...

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

I do not think this is a question of making your site more effective for
search engines - though that is indeed valuable. Once people have got to
the site how do they choose which movies to download?

Far be it for me to take issue with the ex webmaster
of the IAc etc, (Gee heck, I will!) but aren't we putting the
cart before the horse here, Dave?

You say 'once people have got to the site.'
But they will not get to the site unless they find it first!
And the best way to ensure this is to concentrate on SEO,
and so get as high in the SE rankings as possible.

You can have the most wonderful site, full of goodies,
but unless the search engines rank it, no one will ever know
or ever find it!
What say you, Dave?
Albert.......asking the Daveinity!

"Animation" <animation@btinternet.com> wrote:

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

I do not think this is a question of making your site more effective for
search engines - though that is indeed valuable. Once people have got to
the site how do they choose which movies to download?

Far be it for me to take issue with the ex webmaster
of the IAc etc, (Gee heck, I will!) but aren't we putting the
cart before the horse here, Dave?

You say 'once people have got to the site.'
But they will not get to the site unless they find it first!
And the best way to ensure this is to concentrate on SEO,
and so get as high in the SE rankings as possible.

You can have the most wonderful site, full of goodies,
but unless the search engines rank it, no one will ever know
or ever find it!
What say you, Dave?
Albert.......asking the Daveinity!


Thank you both for your comments. I feel that some middle ground could be

found
so that the site looks good by following the advice given and to put a few
good lines
in the meta tags and film descriptions.

Westlake Films has had a name for itself for sometime in the sci-fi world,
so people
already know about us in that market. But, we're now trying to break into
the more
mainstream film makers market by making documentaries and comedy films.
Hopefully,
this will allow us to expand the films on the site further.

Thanks again.

"Animation" <animation@btinternet.com> wrote:

You say 'once people have got to the site.'
But they will not get to the site unless they find it first!

I quite agree, Albert. But the man asked why people who HAD reached the site
chose one item over another, so I answered that question first.

Do you know which items on www.retinascope.co.uk people usually choose first?

Dave

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

"Animation" <animation@btinternet.com> wrote:

You say 'once people have got to the site.'
But they will not get to the site unless they find it first!

I quite agree, Albert. But the man asked why people who HAD reached the
site
chose one item over another, so I answered that question first.

Do you know which items on www.retinascope.co.uk people usually choose first?

Dave

He did say in his very first letter......
"So, I thought I'd update the text and suddenly
the download ratings have
shot up."

So, Dave, I took that to read that it was all about SEO,
but I daresay, as usual, I got the wrong end of the stick!

Regarding mine...my PR (page ranking) is now one behind the
IAC site's PR so I am catching up!!
(My index page has a PR of 4 and the IAC index page is 5.)
Google has a PR of 9 for example,
so I have some way to go!!

My index page gets hits mainly first because that is the URL
that is listed in my link on other sites. It's also the URL
I give after my name too.

I only check the index/inside/outside photos/cinemas forum
main pages, but there doesn't seem to be any on area that gets
more than others.
So far, since April I've had over 3000 visitors looking
at over 8500 pages from over 15 countries so I now do very much
better than entering those old fashioned festivals!!
Albert...in fashion
http://www.retinascope.co.uk/index.html

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"Edward Scott" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Hello,

I've noticed that some of the films on my site (http://www.westlakefilms.co.uk/)
didn't have as many
downloads as some others. So, I thought I'd update the text and suddenly
the download ratings have
shot up.

Could it be that its not the quality of the film but how its is marketted
which determines a films
success? If so, how can we better market our films without sounding too
egotistical?

Thanks.