SEOmoz's New Homepage Design - Sink or Swim?

[eCopt]

Ok, so most of you visit SEOmoz from time to time as the content there is pretty good, and usually can be classified as verified or reliable in nature.

Recently, they launched a new homepage design which points more emphasis on their Premium Membership and takes from the section that used to be about their site, company, tools etc. They have also implemented a popup for non members and users who are not logged in, which again advertises their premium services.

Do you think it is wise to make a move like this for monetization reasons on a site where people are not used to seeing this type of design and service? Do you think it is worth the money the new services should bring at the risk of pissing off older members? Is it appropriate to monetize a site in this manner when the company already makes ton's of money from the services they provide?

I for one do not spend too much time on the homepage, so the new design there doesn't bother me that much. However, the extreme emphasis on their paid membership has gotten kind of annoying. I am not a premium member and am not against trying it out, however the sudden change of design and usability of the site has kept me from getting one so far.

Who else has one? Is it worth it to you for the $$? Anything in there you absolutely can't do yourself?

Any feedback would be appreciated, I respect all of your opinions.

[rmccarley]

I don't think the push for premium membership is a bad thing. They give away a lot of good info for free so trying to offset that cost makes sense.

I don't like the new homepage design. The Seattle graphic isn't very clear IMO and there is just too much going on. Its a showoff of all the latest 2.0 junk and doesn't convey a very clear message.

[skitzzo]

Personally I have a few thoughts on this issue. The first being that they are still on a .org domain. I'm not sure why it bothers me but it does. It seems like it goes against SEOmoz's values or something. It also seems like they are too afraid of the 301 to switch it over. Now, I can't say that I would do things any differently, and it's easy for me to make commentary when my paycheck isn't riding on it. However, what does their reluctance to 301 and the fact that they are on a .org domain while clearly commercial (there's no set rules etc for the .org but I would bet most people expect .orgs to be non profit etc) say to potential clients?

Don't get me wrong, I haven't had a lot of interaction with Rand or any of the SEOmozzers but from every indication they are fantastic people and terrific SEOs. That issue just bugs me.

As for the premium stuff, I think they should have just put tools behind the subscription wall rather than content as well. The popup is really annoying but only happens once every so often and the trouble is, they work. I've got a site that has a popup for my newsletter and it's like people can't help themselves but to fill it out. So, I can understand their use of it.

Also I think their YOUmoz feature was a stroke of genius and needs to be emphasized even more. I really think that's a potential goldmine that they are sitting on, they just have to figure out how to tap into it.

Not sure that answers your questions at all but I've been wanting to get that .org thing off of my chest for a while now.

[skitzzo]

Originally Posted by rmccarley

I don't like the new homepage design. The Seattle graphic isn't very clear IMO and there is just too much going on. Its a showoff of all the latest 2.0 junk and doesn't convey a very clear message.

Now see that I disagree with (shocking right ). I think the design plays into their brand perfectly. They've really integrated web 2.0 into their company (the awards etc) and I think this supports that perfectly. When I think web 2.0 marketing, I think SEOmoz.

[Sorvoja]

Actually I don't visit Seomoz every week, I subscribe to the feed. I browse the 120 blogs, and Seomoz is not one of the best group blogs. I visit SELand, Shoemoney and Scoop every day they are the leading blogs for me.

I can understand why they push the premium membership at this point, it hardly seems to be worth it even for someone intermediate, but then again I could be wrong. Donna reviewed the Social media article and she found it to be well organised. The new homepage is not that nice, it might hurt them in the long run. However I think they will redesign soon enough. They must be getting a lot of negative feedback.

[rmccarley]

Originally Posted by skitzzo

Now see that I disagree with (shocking right ). I think the design plays into their brand perfectly. They've really integrated web 2.0 into their company (the awards etc) and I think this supports that perfectly. When I think web 2.0 marketing, I think SEOmoz.

What are they selling and why should it interest "me"?

[eCopt]

Originally Posted by skitzzo

The first being that they are still on a .org domain. I'm not sure why it bothers me but it does.

Good point, forgot to mention that. You are right though and I personally would make the switch and 301 or seperate content (although they would most likely never seperate it).

Originally Posted by skitzzo

As for the premium stuff, I think they should have just put tools behind the subscription wall rather than content as well. The popup is really annoying but only happens once every so often and the trouble is, they work. I've got a site that has a popup for my newsletter and it's like people can't help themselves but to fill it out. So, I can understand their use of it.

Interesting. No doubt it works, just wondering if it rubbed anyone else who has always visited there the wrong way. I agree.

Originally Posted by skitzzo

Also I think their YOUmoz feature was a stroke of genius and needs to be emphasized even more. I really think that's a potential goldmine that they are sitting on, they just have to figure out how to tap into it.

Yes it is. I have contributed to it once or twice.

Thanks for the opinion, as always it's full of further topical insight.

[leadegroot]

I had a quick look at the design when they released it, and it didn't move me much, but I'm a developer in background, not a designer, so I rarely pay attention to my opinion of pretties
I think the premium content stuff is a good move on their part as I get the impression that Rand has paid attention to community commentary of 'why would an SEO work for someone else??'
I don't see these annoyances on the site because unless I want to leave a comment (and I haven't had anything to say recently) I rarely visit - I just read the feed.

Actually, thinking about it, I have been avoiding the feed recently. Something about SEOMoz has been annoying me... I don't know what it is. I'll have to think about that. I don't like it when my subconscious is trying to send me a mesage and I'm not listening

[okguyjames]

the Page Strength tool, which is an elaborate, marketed way of displaying very common data as if it were being analyzed (which it is not), now carries a nifty pop-over pushing the premium membership option that must be bypassed before you can use the 'tool'. then, when the data retrieval script left out some of the most important metrics (age of domain, pagerank for instance) i followed the advice at the bottom of the page "If your report contains missing data, try refreshing it." Guess what it read:

"Due to hardware constraints we are temporarily limiting this feature to our premium members".

redirect >> to a sale page

[SEO_AM]

Originally Posted by okguyjames

"Due to hardware constraints we are temporarily limiting this feature to our premium members".

redirect >> to a sale page

That is bait and switch... that sucks. I like SEOmoz... but that sucks.