[mikegreenberg]

Wow. This one is tough. I have to admit I'm not very strong on the SEO stuff. There are people who work on this professionally and end up having to learn everything all over again whenever "they" change the rules.

This may not be helpful, but the thing I hear the most when it comes to increasing Page Rank is to produce quality content. All things will start and end here. My favorite walkthrough site before they sold out was gamefaqs.com. They had a REALLY simple layout which was well organized, directed you to the needed info and was easy to consume. They cared about having high quality content with information (like size, number of views, etc) that helped a visitor to decide what was important to look at. I wouldn't worry too much about the design at this point. (Besides, teens are the most discerning audience, either.) Content is key.

As far as monetizing a site like this, I'd say advertisement is your best bet, but I'm certain there are clever business models a diligent business-minded person could figure out and test. One thing I'd consider (and partly answer your first point as well) is that your actions don't have to DIRECTLY result in higher revenue. You might, instead, focus on growing your traffic and stickiness on the site. As many social-media gurus will attest, attention is the currency of the internet. With attention, revenue will likely follow.

[OneWhoFrogs]

Thanks, I appreciate the advice! This is my first real "startup" attempt, so your perspective is really valuable. I will be referring to this comment a lot in the future. :)

[mikegreenberg]

It was late when I posted this... I meant "Teens AREN'T the most discerning audience"... :?