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We design our blogs with cool templates, fun widgets and ways for our readers to contact us. But do we layout our blog pages for optimum results? Do we make it easier for your reader to see what we WANT them to see?
Using Newspapers as the best example and analogy for blog layout, I'm going to discuss where to put your most important information; the do's and the don't's.
Everything that a reader can see when they open their browser is what we call "above the fold." This means your reader can see the most important information without having to scroll down. Everything below the fold is what the reader sees when they are scrolling down. The most important information is where you create an action. That action could be your store information or feed (you want them to click on it); or your "follow" button; or your button grab. Whatever is the most important aspect of your blog - that which you are promoting "action" should be placed above the fold.
Many times I visit blogs where I have to look for the "follow" button. I've also visited blogs that have their store information below the fold and in so doing the reader is not likely to see it much less take action. Blogs are selling tools and we as the "designer" must place our action tools where our customers can readily see and act.
My advice is to take a long look at your blog. Is your important "action" information above the fold and does it attract attention? In any kind of selling it's important to "tell" the buyer what you want them to do. In the case of the blog platform it is placement of "action" buttons or information to catch their attention first! If your focus is on advertising and "clicks" then is stands to reason you would want them to appear near the top - above the fold. If not, they should be located lower "below the fold" to make room for more important information (like your store information or feed).
I'm constantly arranging and rearranging my sidebar to reflect what I want my customer/reader to see. As a seller on Etsy I want them to see my store feed. I also don't want my reader to "hunt" for the "follow" button. I want both of those things to be prominent and readily available. Remember, most readers skim through a blog so you want every advantage...just like a newspaper - above the fold!
Don't forget to visit my CremeMagnolia Etsy Store to take advantage of the last day of my March Madness 25% store wide discount!
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Using Google Analytics to your Advantage Two
I briefly wrote about using Google Analytics on Wednesday and today I am writing about one of the most powerful analytical tools GA has to offer; Visitors to your blog and what the numbers mean. I will use hypothetical numbers but you will get the picture.
The overview of the "Visitor" tab tells you the total number of visitors over a period of one month, however if you look closer there is so much more to see. Absolute Unique visitors are the total number of first time visits which are calculated as a percentage of the total. In the case of my hypothetical blog there are 733 visits (total) and 344 Unique; this equates to 41.4% new visits for the period. The visitor to this blog spent on average of 3.42 minutes on the site (reading) and 2.19 average page views. What this tells the Blogger is that their subject matter is interesting enough for the visitor to continue beyond the landing page. In this example there are 1608 total page views. The number that is the best indicator over time is the number of Unique Visitors because as that number increases (and bounce rate decreases) it tells the author that their blog is becoming increasingly more popular. If the average minutes on the site increases the bounce rate will decrease correspondingly.
Drilling down under the "Visitor" tab is a segment called "Page Views for All Visitors" and will show how many (both in real numbers and percentage of the total) what days were the most popular (GA will always be a complete day behind in the data provided). In my opinion these numbers give the blogger the best information as to which topic was the most successful and more importantly the ability to plan for future blog topics. As an example; if a blogger posts a treasury or a giveaway promotion and the "Page views for All Visitors" on that particular day is low, it tells the blogger that this may not be the most successful topic for their blog going forward. In my opinion this is the best number to use for planning future blog topics.
It is very important that the Blogger know what the GA numbers are telling them for future planning. To ignore "Page Views for all Visitors" is a common mistake and should not be taken lightly if a Blogger is in it for the long haul and potentially solicit sponsors for the blog. The Blog owner should control the content at all times especially when posting expert, interview or tutorial type posts. Not all content is commensurate with the goal of the Blog which is increased visits, visitor loyalty and low bounce rate. This is what is known as Future Value.
Many Bloggers profess not to look at Bounce Rate but in my opinion this is tantamount to ignoring a credit card balance. The Blogger wants to hold onto their visitors "especially" if they originated from a referring site versus organic visitors from search engines (while search engine visits are important, this is the number that will take the longest to obtain). Scrolling down on the GA opening dashboard will reveal the "Traffic Source Overview" and source of incoming Blog traffic.
To wrap up this tutorial, Google Analytics is a powerful tool that should be examined on a very regular basis, at the very least weekly. Plan for your Blog goals based on these numbers and your Blog will be very successful over the long haul and possibly generate income based on its popularity.
Please don't forget to visit my CremeMagnolia Etsy Store as there is a 25% store wide discount for the entire month of March.
The overview of the "Visitor" tab tells you the total number of visitors over a period of one month, however if you look closer there is so much more to see. Absolute Unique visitors are the total number of first time visits which are calculated as a percentage of the total. In the case of my hypothetical blog there are 733 visits (total) and 344 Unique; this equates to 41.4% new visits for the period. The visitor to this blog spent on average of 3.42 minutes on the site (reading) and 2.19 average page views. What this tells the Blogger is that their subject matter is interesting enough for the visitor to continue beyond the landing page. In this example there are 1608 total page views. The number that is the best indicator over time is the number of Unique Visitors because as that number increases (and bounce rate decreases) it tells the author that their blog is becoming increasingly more popular. If the average minutes on the site increases the bounce rate will decrease correspondingly.
Drilling down under the "Visitor" tab is a segment called "Page Views for All Visitors" and will show how many (both in real numbers and percentage of the total) what days were the most popular (GA will always be a complete day behind in the data provided). In my opinion these numbers give the blogger the best information as to which topic was the most successful and more importantly the ability to plan for future blog topics. As an example; if a blogger posts a treasury or a giveaway promotion and the "Page views for All Visitors" on that particular day is low, it tells the blogger that this may not be the most successful topic for their blog going forward. In my opinion this is the best number to use for planning future blog topics.
It is very important that the Blogger know what the GA numbers are telling them for future planning. To ignore "Page Views for all Visitors" is a common mistake and should not be taken lightly if a Blogger is in it for the long haul and potentially solicit sponsors for the blog. The Blog owner should control the content at all times especially when posting expert, interview or tutorial type posts. Not all content is commensurate with the goal of the Blog which is increased visits, visitor loyalty and low bounce rate. This is what is known as Future Value.
Many Bloggers profess not to look at Bounce Rate but in my opinion this is tantamount to ignoring a credit card balance. The Blogger wants to hold onto their visitors "especially" if they originated from a referring site versus organic visitors from search engines (while search engine visits are important, this is the number that will take the longest to obtain). Scrolling down on the GA opening dashboard will reveal the "Traffic Source Overview" and source of incoming Blog traffic.
To wrap up this tutorial, Google Analytics is a powerful tool that should be examined on a very regular basis, at the very least weekly. Plan for your Blog goals based on these numbers and your Blog will be very successful over the long haul and possibly generate income based on its popularity.
Please don't forget to visit my CremeMagnolia Etsy Store as there is a 25% store wide discount for the entire month of March.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Workspace Blues Two
Last night my husband and I were discussing yesterdays blog, (amid hysterical laughing about my lack of workspace) and he asked if my little business has a board of directors? Imagine laughing at a six foot dining room table as my total workspace, i.e., studio. Without missing a beat I responded that yes of course I have a board and each member has a very distinct job and purpose.
We are empty nesters however we are now owned by two cats and a yappy little dog. While this may not sound like a houseful of small children, trust me, they all act like little children. I take full responsibility for their personality quirks.
Our two cats are mother and son although the hissing that emits from "mom" is no testament to their relationship. The son is huge, actually twice her size and full of himself most of the time. He is who I call my "honey man," and I am the only person in the house (husband or visitor) who is worthy of his attention. My honey man does actually have a name, Krazy Kat, and he spends every waking hour on my heels no matter what I'm doing, he's there. This goes for crafting, shipping, listing and of course housework - he's there! When I'm working he is not above landing on the table to check everything out - sniffing the glue so to speak. Krazy is in charge of "Quality Control" and "Shipping." When not busy with his chores he finds the most comfortable spot on the house waiting for his next call to duty.
On the other hand, our dog, Miss Louise is completely in charge of "Personnel" and "Security." She keeps the cats in line, is always one step away from breaking up a "hissing contest" and always but always keeps her eyes trained on me. During my work sessions I cannot keep the television on - because my dog watches it and barks like crazy when any, and I mean ANY cat or dog appear on the screen. If there were a more successful marketing strategy I don't know about it, because you would be amazed how many commercials contain animals - both overt and covert! Needless to say Animal Planet and Pet Network are out of the question. And by the way, she also barks at animated characters as well as the gecko!
So such is life, all my creative juices are expended on a dining room table and my little board of directors are busy...when not asleep!
Please check our my CremeMagnolia Etsy Store to see what my little crew and I do all day!
We are empty nesters however we are now owned by two cats and a yappy little dog. While this may not sound like a houseful of small children, trust me, they all act like little children. I take full responsibility for their personality quirks.
Our two cats are mother and son although the hissing that emits from "mom" is no testament to their relationship. The son is huge, actually twice her size and full of himself most of the time. He is who I call my "honey man," and I am the only person in the house (husband or visitor) who is worthy of his attention. My honey man does actually have a name, Krazy Kat, and he spends every waking hour on my heels no matter what I'm doing, he's there. This goes for crafting, shipping, listing and of course housework - he's there! When I'm working he is not above landing on the table to check everything out - sniffing the glue so to speak. Krazy is in charge of "Quality Control" and "Shipping." When not busy with his chores he finds the most comfortable spot on the house waiting for his next call to duty.
On the other hand, our dog, Miss Louise is completely in charge of "Personnel" and "Security." She keeps the cats in line, is always one step away from breaking up a "hissing contest" and always but always keeps her eyes trained on me. During my work sessions I cannot keep the television on - because my dog watches it and barks like crazy when any, and I mean ANY cat or dog appear on the screen. If there were a more successful marketing strategy I don't know about it, because you would be amazed how many commercials contain animals - both overt and covert! Needless to say Animal Planet and Pet Network are out of the question. And by the way, she also barks at animated characters as well as the gecko!
So such is life, all my creative juices are expended on a dining room table and my little board of directors are busy...when not asleep!
Please check our my CremeMagnolia Etsy Store to see what my little crew and I do all day!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
What are you afraid of?
I'm on a rant this morning and is often the case many will disagree with me; and I run the risk of ruffling some feathers. However, as an avid blog follower, reader and commenter, it never fails to snark me into a bad mood when I continually must enter word verification just to leave a comment. I get it, I really do; we all hate spam and the like, but every blogger has the ability to check their comments and delete whatever is inappropriate. What really sends me into a tailspin is when I read and post a comment and my comment is moderated ~ to me that defeats the purpose of commenting at all. I think, doesn't this blogger WANT people to comment?
I follow over 400 blogs (on different platforms with different methods of commenting) and my reading list in the morning looks like "War and Peace." Obviously I can't read every blog that comes across my feed but I do quickly scan for blogs that interest me on any given day; read and comment. That could be one or one-hundred.
I don't know a blogger who doesn't check their comments frequently and unless we are a blogger with 10,000 followers, the likelihood of spam is relatively small. Every time I must verify, it shortens the amount of time I have available to read other blogs...or want to (given my bad mood).
On my blog as an example, my settings allow anyone to comment, without moderation and without word verification. I use Blogger and have a spam filter...which is always empty ~ and fortunately for me, I've never had a spammer. If I do end up with a spam comment, it won't ruin my day ~ I'll simply delete it! I WANT people to comment on my blogs with as little hassle as possible. I want people to walk away from my blog with a good feeling, one that didn't wear them out. And it is for that reason, I believe, I get several comments to my blog on a daily basis.
When I first started blogging and made my setting choices, it occurred to me that I could choose or choose not to be so arrogant as to put requirements surrounding the comment box. I want comments and above all I want followers to come back. If I wear them out, there is a very good possibility they won't come back. I maintain this is one small thing we can do to develop a rapport with our reader.
As said earlier, I read blogs on different platforms and I am a huge fan of Google Friend Connect. It is easy, gives me the ability to see the feeds 24/7 and tells me this blogger want's my business...so to speak. Many times I read blogs that require that I sign up for RSS, Atom or other feeds that will filter into my email box. NOT! My email box looks like a Goodwill Store and I can't handle another feed of any kind. This type of blog has always perplexed me. While we all would love to have our words effortlessly flowing into email boxes, there are a vast number of people who will not read our feed AND it will probably end up in their spam box anyway. On last check, I have over 1000 emails in my spam box from last week alone ~ and I check it frequently. For the life of me I don't understand why a blogger wouldn't use Google Friend Connect or something similar to allow a person to simply follow and that's that? From my perspective if I must sign up for a specific feed, I just pass and move along. No follow, no comment, nada.
I love reading blogs, I really do; but as a reader it must be easy for me, not the author of the blog. I love reading diverse blogs but I don't want to be diverse in the method required to follow or comment. And that as they say, is just my opinion.
Don't forget to stop by my CremeMagnolia Etsy Store for a browse!
I follow over 400 blogs (on different platforms with different methods of commenting) and my reading list in the morning looks like "War and Peace." Obviously I can't read every blog that comes across my feed but I do quickly scan for blogs that interest me on any given day; read and comment. That could be one or one-hundred.
I don't know a blogger who doesn't check their comments frequently and unless we are a blogger with 10,000 followers, the likelihood of spam is relatively small. Every time I must verify, it shortens the amount of time I have available to read other blogs...or want to (given my bad mood).
On my blog as an example, my settings allow anyone to comment, without moderation and without word verification. I use Blogger and have a spam filter...which is always empty ~ and fortunately for me, I've never had a spammer. If I do end up with a spam comment, it won't ruin my day ~ I'll simply delete it! I WANT people to comment on my blogs with as little hassle as possible. I want people to walk away from my blog with a good feeling, one that didn't wear them out. And it is for that reason, I believe, I get several comments to my blog on a daily basis.
When I first started blogging and made my setting choices, it occurred to me that I could choose or choose not to be so arrogant as to put requirements surrounding the comment box. I want comments and above all I want followers to come back. If I wear them out, there is a very good possibility they won't come back. I maintain this is one small thing we can do to develop a rapport with our reader.
As said earlier, I read blogs on different platforms and I am a huge fan of Google Friend Connect. It is easy, gives me the ability to see the feeds 24/7 and tells me this blogger want's my business...so to speak. Many times I read blogs that require that I sign up for RSS, Atom or other feeds that will filter into my email box. NOT! My email box looks like a Goodwill Store and I can't handle another feed of any kind. This type of blog has always perplexed me. While we all would love to have our words effortlessly flowing into email boxes, there are a vast number of people who will not read our feed AND it will probably end up in their spam box anyway. On last check, I have over 1000 emails in my spam box from last week alone ~ and I check it frequently. For the life of me I don't understand why a blogger wouldn't use Google Friend Connect or something similar to allow a person to simply follow and that's that? From my perspective if I must sign up for a specific feed, I just pass and move along. No follow, no comment, nada.
I love reading blogs, I really do; but as a reader it must be easy for me, not the author of the blog. I love reading diverse blogs but I don't want to be diverse in the method required to follow or comment. And that as they say, is just my opinion.
Don't forget to stop by my CremeMagnolia Etsy Store for a browse!
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