7 Tips to Improve Your Blog
Bumping your blog traffic numbers up to the level you’d like to see them at is an ongoing process that won’t be accomplished overnight. There are so many elements that go into creating a great blog that keeping track of them all can be trying. However, there are at least 7 surefire ways to improve your own blog immediately.
Adopt a Unique Look
The old adage “never judge a book by its cover” isn’t adhered to by many people. Looks matter, especially when it comes to your blog. For branding purposes, a standout design will help you to differentiate yourself from the crowd. If you can’t do it yourself, hire a blog marketing expert to do it for you.
Honesty in Advertising
Aside from the SEO benefits of matching content to post titles, optimizing your major keywords to fit the general thrust of your blog content is a smart idea. If you’re using long-tail gimmicks to get traffic, your readers will be turned off when they find that your posts aren’t relevant.
Optimize Post Lengths
There’s a fine line between too short and too long in the blogging world. The optimal length for any given post really depends on your target demographic to a great extent. Some prefer a few paragraphs while others want a full-blown expose’ on your topic. Experiment with post and title lengths to find the magic formula for success.
Manage Your Meta Data
Page titles might be old hat, but they still matter for SEO purposes. Optimize your page titles and all your other behind-the-scenes meta data for better SEO and increased visibility in the organic search results. Basically, you’ll need to tag your posts accurately, use alt text for pictures and so forth to be totally safe.
Speed It Up
Google actually penalizes sites that load slowly these days. There’s a good chance that Bing does this also. Using a CDN to speed up content delivery is a start. In addition, you’ll want to optimize your blog or website for the fastest response times possible. Use tools like YSlow and Google PageSpeed to discover liabilities and fix them.
Think Outside the Box
Technical aspects aside, the thing that really brings users to your blog in droves is a distinctive take on any particular topic. When writing a post, be sure to research what else is out there first before you dash off your screed. For instance, approach a problem from a different direction that’s not already covered by other, more popular blogs when crafting a tutorial guide.
Use Social Media to Spark Interaction
The static web of the 1990s isn’t coming back any time soon. Nowadays, people want to leave comments, interact with their peers and directly address publishers. Use services like Disqus to encourage and manage conversation. The feedback garnered from your efforts will not only enrich your blog but also give you valuable, on-the-ground intelligence on your followers’ needs.
Blueprint for Success
The most effective, immediate way to stand out from the crowd is with an eye-catching, unique design. A Pittsburgh blog design professional can help you on the design front and even assist you with some of the finer points of SEO. After that, it’s up to you to provide the creative, one-of-a-kind content that will keep readers coming back for more every day.
