Top 10 Ways To Optimize Your Blog
Most bloggers indulge in writing content so much that they hardly get time to think of how it gets presented to their readers. That is good, but not exactly. If you working in an organization, this is the best way to work. Produce content and publish; Marketing takes care of the rest. However, bloggers are not organizations. They need to do everything on their own. You write content, you market and you make sure that your pages are served the best way to your readers.
That is what we are going to talk about today - Top 10 ways to optimize your blog.
Links to Next and Older posts - This will make it easy for those serial readers.
Top rated posts - It is always good to showcase your best articles. This gives your readers an idea about what kind of writer you are. If they like this, you’ve secured yourself a reader
Category - Let your readers read articles on the same category. They probably landed on your blog because the category lured them in.
Search - Don’t frustrate your readers by making them go on a manual hunt to find an article of their choice.
Recently Read Articles - Let the users revisit articles they have read. Perhaps your article was too funny or well written.
Think of what you do on YouTube. People don’t always want to see an hour long video. During day time, specially if I am on my way to work, traveling on a public transport, I usually watch short videos. I might reserve the longer videos for evening or bedtime when I have more time.
Show read times for articles to help users decide better.
I felt cheated. My emotions were violated.
The point here is, don’t use click-baits. They might get you an immediate traffic, but you will lose out on long-term readers whom you will cheat.
Even the browsers today have spelling checks. If you are really passionate about your blog, hire someone online (fiverr.com) to proofread your content before you publish them.
Eg. Which of the following attracts your attention more:
Title 1: Innocence
Title 2: The Day I Saw True Innocence
In case you are still wondering, Title 2 is better. It demands your attention and makes your imagination run wild while leaving you in anticipation. For what it’s worth, the first title gives a seriously broad topic for users to wonder and does nothing to get them interested.
Similar thing with ads. Ads help you with monetization, but too much of it will drive away your readers. Remember, they are there on your blog to read an article, not look at your ads and click on them. If you make your readers find readable content on your page among the bunch of ads, chances are they are not coming back again.
Maintain the standard of your posts and the quality of article at all costs. This is the most important thing.
Keep your blog independent. Do not depend on providers.
This also brings us to moderation. You will also need to regularly moderate the comments that are posted on your blog. Not all readers would want to genuinely talk about your article. Ban the trolls and free advertisers and remove their comments.
The comments section should be an extension to your article, providing deeper thoughts, analysis and/or an honorable ground for rebuttal. Always respect your readers.
For example, for an article titled “The Day I Saw True Innocence”, you might want to choose the URL as http://myblog.com/article/the_day_i_saw_true_innocence.
That is what we are going to talk about today - Top 10 ways to optimize your blog.
What You See Is What You Get
This should not come as a surprise for you. The traffic you receive on your blog is directly proportional to the attractiveness of your website. Think of it this way - when you check into a hotel or are looking for one, what is the first thing that attracts you? The tidiness and appeal of the room, right? Think of your blog the same way. If you have an untidy layout and content, chances are that your visitors will have a very short stay at your hotel.Remedy
Nice Layout
Design or have professionals design your template. Spend some money to make your blog attractive.Colors
These are your best bet at retaining your readers. If you burn their eyes, they’re not coming back.Navigation
Make your blog easy to navigate. Let your users feel in control. Provide the following very clearly:Links to Next and Older posts - This will make it easy for those serial readers.
Top rated posts - It is always good to showcase your best articles. This gives your readers an idea about what kind of writer you are. If they like this, you’ve secured yourself a reader
Category - Let your readers read articles on the same category. They probably landed on your blog because the category lured them in.
Search - Don’t frustrate your readers by making them go on a manual hunt to find an article of their choice.
Recently Read Articles - Let the users revisit articles they have read. Perhaps your article was too funny or well written.
Optimize
Resize image
For the love of God, do not dump pictures in your blog. Use free and secure services like ithumbr.com to resize image and crop pictures. Believe me, your readers (and their mobile devices) will thank you for it.Enable compression
HTTP Compression
This significantly reduces the amount of data transferred between the browser and your server. Check your server settings for HTTP Compression to enable Gzip compression.Uglify or Minify
This is another server side setting that should be enabled. Your HTML page, CSS and JavaScripts are written in human-understandable format. Browsers do not need well formatted code to understand. They’re pro. They can understand untidy content. Uglifying will remove all formattings (tabs and spaces) and unnecessary comments thereby significantly reducing the size of the data transferred from your server.Reduce Requests To Server
Create as little dependent resources (such as external CSS and JavaScripts) as possible. Put small CSS and Javascript snippets inline in your HTML page.Responsive
Your blog needs to be responsive. Period. If your site is not responsive, you will be losing out on 40-60% of visitors. Make sure your pages are well readable on mobiles, tablets, desktops and large screens. Checkout Bootstrap if you like. Also, check your pages on all major browsers - Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera. If you do not have access to all browsers, use online services like BrowserStack to test your pages. It is a paid service, but it is really worth the money.Choose A Good Host
Host your blog on a server that is capable of serving results quickly. No one likes a website that is unpredictable and goes offline in a whim.Time Is Precious
This is optional, but readers love articles that can tell them how much average time they need to spend on that article to complete it.Think of what you do on YouTube. People don’t always want to see an hour long video. During day time, specially if I am on my way to work, traveling on a public transport, I usually watch short videos. I might reserve the longer videos for evening or bedtime when I have more time.
Show read times for articles to help users decide better.
Email Your Posts
Have consideration for your readers who might have some free time at work and would like to read more of your awesome articles. Not everyone has full access to internet at work. Give them an option to subscribe to your posts over email. Checkout Mailman if you like.Quality of Posts
No Click-bait
If I hate anything more than people-who-don’t-put-down-the-toilet-seat-for-ladies is click-baits. I remember seeing a link which had this picture of a sweet little girl who had a few hands covering her head like a helmet. The title read, “You should see this even if you don’t know Spanish”. The innocence in the eyes of that girl made me prepare myself for an emotional rollercoaster-ride. I clicked on that link and was taken to a page that read, “Learn Spanish In 15 Days”.I felt cheated. My emotions were violated.
The point here is, don’t use click-baits. They might get you an immediate traffic, but you will lose out on long-term readers whom you will cheat.
The Content
Grammar and Spelling
I don’t remember how many times have I quit reading an article midway just because the author had no respect for grammar and spellings. How can you miss out something so essential? It is like cooking a turkey with all the feathers intact.Even the browsers today have spelling checks. If you are really passionate about your blog, hire someone online (fiverr.com) to proofread your content before you publish them.
Post Titles
The title of your post should convey an idea about your post. Keep it descriptive but choose your words wisely.Eg. Which of the following attracts your attention more:
Title 1: Innocence
Title 2: The Day I Saw True Innocence
In case you are still wondering, Title 2 is better. It demands your attention and makes your imagination run wild while leaving you in anticipation. For what it’s worth, the first title gives a seriously broad topic for users to wonder and does nothing to get them interested.
Have Unique Content
No one likes repeated content or reading the same premise over and over again. You might be able to cheat the search engine with frequent posts, but you cannot cheat your readers. Do not post something just for the sake of doing so. Keep your readers looking for more. Keep them locked in your stories.Avoid Widget and ad Overload
Choose your widgets wisely. Don’t add something to the page just because it looks cool. Take a step back and see from the point of view of your readers. Does the widget help me in reading the article or help me with some much needed information?Similar thing with ads. Ads help you with monetization, but too much of it will drive away your readers. Remember, they are there on your blog to read an article, not look at your ads and click on them. If you make your readers find readable content on your page among the bunch of ads, chances are they are not coming back again.
Frequency
There is no limit to how frequently you should post. You can write an article everyday, once a week or a fortnight. Of course, a good quality article might take some time to build. If you have a quick witted brain, you might be able to come out with good content everyday. But, not everyone is so blessed. Take your time. Be easy on yourself. Don’t post something just for the sake of doing so.Maintain the standard of your posts and the quality of article at all costs. This is the most important thing.
Domain Name
Your blog provider might be the best you have now. But don’t expect it be around forever. After you start writing contents, you will hit jackpot in around a year’s time. Your blog will be famous and you will be getting a good traffic, which in turn will be good monetarily. But, what if the blog provider decides to shut down?Keep your blog independent. Do not depend on providers.
Interact With Your Readers
Your readers might leave you a comment on your post if they like your post. Always find time to appreciate them for their comment or question. Answer freely, respect their thoughts and state your beliefs. Never get into a verbal spat at anytime. The whole world may not always agree with you.This also brings us to moderation. You will also need to regularly moderate the comments that are posted on your blog. Not all readers would want to genuinely talk about your article. Ban the trolls and free advertisers and remove their comments.
The comments section should be an extension to your article, providing deeper thoughts, analysis and/or an honorable ground for rebuttal. Always respect your readers.
Article URL
Try to match the url of the post with its title. This is important not only for the ease of your users, but also makes is search engine friendly.For example, for an article titled “The Day I Saw True Innocence”, you might want to choose the URL as http://myblog.com/article/the_day_i_saw_true_innocence.
