(I personally hate SEO anyway, since it makes good stuff hard to find.)
New Allegiance Website
Just because a webpage shows up in the first search results doesn't mean I will click it. The domain name sounds very generic and kind of like those ad banners offering free stuff if you click on them. The content itself, I like it, specially the development diaries and concept art; it takes you back in time and tells you this isn't just a simple game made in the spare time of someones life. Also, I agree purple may not be the most widely liked color.
If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut. -- Albert Einstein
It's a decent looking site for sure and has a very clean consistent look that our current homepage lacks, not that it's really a big deal. I'm mostly happy that it's been optimized to show up well in SEO, which is a lot more important than how nice it looks.
I think the domain name is an issue because it's so generic it would instantly raise flags for me. The fact that the domain doesn't include the game name, or any identifying words is in itself suspicious. I would probably not click it if I saw it in Google. It sounds really terrible and almost certainly freemium (if not malware). I understand it's good for page ranking, but keep tags like those in the background. Either that or have fscg redirect to something more legitimate (though auto re-directs also set off warning bells).
The gifs on the side look like ads. Theme-fitting ads, but ads all the same. The fact that they don't lead to videos is even more perplexing. I understand you wanted to recycle them from MS' old page, but they didn't really fit there either.
All of that said, the package deal looks really nice and has a lot of potential. Thanks for putting in the work. Even if nothing else comes of this it'll probably still attract a few players here and there and that's always welcome.
I think the domain name is an issue because it's so generic it would instantly raise flags for me. The fact that the domain doesn't include the game name, or any identifying words is in itself suspicious. I would probably not click it if I saw it in Google. It sounds really terrible and almost certainly freemium (if not malware). I understand it's good for page ranking, but keep tags like those in the background. Either that or have fscg redirect to something more legitimate (though auto re-directs also set off warning bells).
The gifs on the side look like ads. Theme-fitting ads, but ads all the same. The fact that they don't lead to videos is even more perplexing. I understand you wanted to recycle them from MS' old page, but they didn't really fit there either.
All of that said, the package deal looks really nice and has a lot of potential. Thanks for putting in the work. Even if nothing else comes of this it'll probably still attract a few players here and there and that's always welcome.
Last edited by <.< on Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
+1wrote:QUOTE ( @ Oct 1 2012, 06:56 AM) I think the domain name is an issue because it's so generic it would instantly raise flags for me. The fact that the domain doesn't include the game name, or any identifying words is in itself suspicious. I would probably not click it if I saw it in Google. It sounds really terrible and almost certainly freemium (if not malware). I understand it's good for page ranking, but keep tags like those in the background. Either that or have fscg redirect to something more legitimate (though auto re-directs also set off warning bells).
Thought the same when I first saw it. Wouldn´t click on it unless I could verify it isn´t a malware site.
Usually, when in doubt, I will cross-reference the webpage name with more "official" sites (wikipedia, cnet, softonic, etc). From that point of view, freeallegiance.org has a much richer track record. I would recommend having a very big, clear, and visible hyperlink to freeallegiance.org in the front page. That way, some of the reputation of freeallegiance.org will naturally rub off to this new web page. At least till this web page has a reputation of its own.
