Getting your web site noticed, regardless of it’s content or theme is not an easy task, and it’s getting harder. Independent web reviews are the new way to get your site in the front of more people but how?

What is an independent web review anyhow?

This is where a site is visited by a person who is not biased towards the site at all, he is not a friend or relative of the site’s owner or webmaster and maybe not even a customer or client - he just sees the site through his own eyes and makes his own judgement as to the sites quality.

Quality varies - it can cover a variety of issues and webmasters often fail to see or appreciate the “whole picture” and create a good site in a few areas but fall down on one or more critical issues.

Design

Simple and neat without too much color or glitz works for loads of folk especially if you are aiming at an adult audience. Cut out music and let visitors settle in before hitting with the features of the site and content.

Navigation

One of the biggest criticisms about a web site is the inability to move around a site, so make sure there are menus of options across the side, top OR bottom of every page. Use opening new pages in new windows sparingly otherwise web surfers end up in vast loop.

Content

Sites need content, lots of it, and regularly updated. Surfers get annoyed at sites that are all links to other sites with no real content - such sites are best avoided and a neat review can save many visits to a useless site.

For sites with real relevant content, hundreds or even thousands of pages will ensure its steady success as more pages means higher search engines rankings

Adverts

Drop off pop up ads and add any commercials in the background, after all site visitors are there for features and content not some 3rd party advert for products or services that is of no interest to them. Better to have a few ads on every page than them all on the home page.

How do site visitors review sites?

There are two main methods - first a link on the web site itself which asks the site visitor to RATE THIS SITE or some such statement - in the “old days” this was a GUEST BOOK where folks wrote comments about the site, but this can be time consuming for webmasters moderating as they can get a lot of non relevant postings and ads.

The other more modern route is the independent review site which is essentially an ever expanding directory of web sites added by webmasters AND web surfers together with associated reviews. Overall control of content is more sophisticated and constantly monitored automatically and manually.

The independent review site allows your site to get added and reviewed like it or not, so webmasters need to be on their toes and ensure their site is up to scratch with content and design quality.

You can vote and leave comments and even rate the reviews themselves and each site is categorised by theme or content, as well as keyword search options so usually finding a site is easy, or adding it equally so if the site sought is not listed already.

Webmasters will need to decide if they should add their site to one of the independent review sites and add their own review first or wait until a web surfer does and writes maybe a less complementary review.

Maurice Clarke is founding owner of http://www.internet-online-privacy.com a free and independent source of information about all aspects of online fraud and personal privacy issues. The site contains articles and web links highlighting the leading privacy issues and suggested preventions and solutions for both personal and business web surfers.