You're in a bit of a predicament with the verified name aspect. On the one hand it is an interesting idea, on the other it creates a lot of friction with respec

You're in a bit of a predicament with the verified name aspect. On the one hand it is an interesting idea, on the other it creates a lot of friction with respect to users creating fully-functioning accounts. The process is so onerous (by web-standards, mind you), that it'll be tough to get many users participating at the outset on a nascent site. I'd also consider narrowing or focusing on a specific topical niche (possibly with a better brand-name that might give a n00b some hints about what the site is and what it can do). I see you have also seeded the site with some content, but you may also need to artificially seed the site with some user participation (via "fake" accounts). I know this runs counter to your idea of "real/verified" users, but one of the toughest things about growing a userbase is convincing people that there's some worthwhile activity going on at your site to begin with. If they arrive and there's no discussion taking place, most of them will just as soon leave (there's no compelling reason for them to register to comment to nobody when they can just as soon go register at reddit or hacker news to talk to folks). You should also look at using SEO urls for a lot of your pages. So rather than http://lonava.com/stories/314687 http://lonava.com/stories/314687, use a url like http://lonava.com/stories/sonys-hirai-were-over-10-years-from-a-discless-ps3 http://lonava.com/stories/sonys-hirai-were-over-10-years-fro... Once you fix some of the simple stuff, you can start taking a crack at things like link-building, link-bait, link exchanges, forum postings, ad-word campaigns and viral strategies. So I have no panacea for you. Growing an audience can sometimes require a number of small tactical moves. One last thought: In a prior job I had worked on an account verification product. There many, many companies out there who are interested in such technologies for a variety of purposes (usually for financial transactions). Your application may have a hidden gem beneath the surface that is more valuable than the aggregator: the identity verification component. You might want to look at some of the verification solutions out there and see if there's some opportunity for you.