Software Promotion & SEOThis blog covers a range of topics concerning the SoftTester Shareware/ Software Download site. Topics include software product releases as well as SEO and software development information and tips.

I’ve implemented an Editor’s Picks section listing recommended software downloads on the homepage of SoftwareLode. The list is populated with programs I personally recommend after review. I’ve coloured the background of the Editor’s Pick section to make them stand out a bit.

I’ll probably choose the programs to list based on whether authors ask to be listed and/ or they give SoftwareLode a backlink. I won’t automatically list a program just because someone asked - I’ll review the programs first. I’ll also list programs I come across that I think are neat. I’m reviewing titles as they get submitted by authors so I can decide whether to linger on a review after getting a first impression of a submitted title.

To manage the Editor’s Pick section, I’ve written an extra page in the admin section of the site. This lets me nominate a software title based on its program number and either set or clear its featured status. I can also choose to add my own comments about the program or just use the PAD file description. I’ve allowed the comments to include HTML tags so I can make my own comments on the program stand out a bit.

I’m still thinking of other improvements, e.g. a Recommended List on the home page. The Editor’s Pick section will never contain more than a handful of titles but I may want to add a list - say up to 10 - of other titles I recommend.

On the program listing page itself, I can distinguish programs by giving them a 3, 4 or 5 star rating.

by ML

On SoftwareLode at the moment, the home page has a Featured program at the top. The script for this is a bit wonky though. It selects a program at random but the random number range is very small (1 to 10) and doesn’t cover the full range of programs on the site.

In any case, I was considering changing the Featured feature to be a series of 2 or 3 panels that give:

A pick of the day

I would pick a set of good programs on the site and display these randomly for one day at a time. The programs might be those where the authors supplied backlinks for example.

A personal recommendation

This would be a program that I personally recommend after review. The wording for the description would be my own - not the author’s. These programs might be those with which I have affiliation.

I’m still thinking these things through. One thing I might do is drop Google Ads from the right column on the homepage and use that for a list of table cells containing further recommended software.

by ML