Something that you may find interesting is that we have looked at every single webpage of every single station in our database. We've translated dozens of langauges, poked through an insane amount of clicks, and dug through source code to try and find information about the stations we have listed.
In doing so, we've come up with a few guidelines as you design your webpage for streaming media that we would like to suggest.
Have a nice easy link at the top of the page, with words like "Listen Live" or "Live on the Internet" or "Streaming Audio". People get annoyed trying to find the link in mishmash of text and pictures. Just keep it simple.
Don't put your player in a pop-up window that gets blocked by pop-up blockers.
It is ok to have a player page, IF you have a link for "Open in an External Player" as well. Many people don't want to leave their browser open, or would rather listen in another program than the browser. Let people have that choice.
Have a contact or FAQ page that says where you are located and what format you would describe the music or content on your site.
If you can, put up a schedule or playlist, and then, if you can, make it XML/RSS compatible so people can track what is playing in real time. You'll find many more people will come to you site if they know this program is on at this time or these songs are schedule for this hour, and RSS is a great way to do that.
Consider Podcasting your content as well as streaming. You'll develop a new listener base that doesn't have time to sit in front of their computer but wants to hear what you have to say.
You don't need 5 speeds of streams in 5 different codecs--just provide a couple that WORK!
You can always leave the streaming to us if you'd like. We have a package where we replicate your stream and provide you with preferred placement within our directory. Drop us a line if you'd like more details.
