4 Ways to Your Blog Success

If your blog was to be your home - your professional representation, it needs to be professional and presentable. The fact is, the longer your visitors stay on your site and the more often they return, the more likely they will purchase your product. However, statistics say the majority of the visitors only stay for 30 seconds or less, which means you have just a few seconds to entice them. People's attention span is generally very short on the internet, so make a good first impression.

1. Visual Appeal

Looks matter. That's the first thing everybody sees. You don't need to hire a web designer or have a fancy flash intro, but it needs to be visually appealing enough that your visitors will want to browse your site. You will want a clean layout where information can be easily found. Use colors, stock photos or illustrations to give it some "pop". If you post a photo of yourself, make sure it looks good - no blurry, poorly lit photos, and no colored glasses. The reason why you post your photo is to give your audience a visual reference to connect with you, and the eye contact is important. Think of it as if you were meeting your clients in person.

2. Navigation

If your visitors can't navigate your site, don't expect them to stay and figure it out or much less return. It is very frustrating when you can't get to the information you are looking for, and as I said, you only have a few seconds before they move on to the next site just like yours. Make it super easy to navigate. Make sure your menu and links are accessible and easy to follow, and all of your content can be found through them. If you have a lot of content, it may be a good idea to add a sitemap and a search box.

3. Noise

I would click on a link to an article I saw on a tweet, the page pulls up and I'm still looking for the article because it's so busy with all the ads, it apparently got lost somewhere. The whole point of planting your links all over the place is so that people can find your content. If the ads are louder than your content, your page becomes destructive which defeats the whole purpose, and it is just not easy on the eyes. Are you promoting your content, or is your blog a placeholder for your ads? Same with the widgets. Trying to pack too many elements on one page is not effective. We already have enough information overload everywhere else, so let's not add to it.

4. Updates

Your blog is what provides fresh content to your site and gives a reason for your visitors to return. If you update frequently, your visitors are likely to return more often. They will see that you are actively involved in your industry and it will give you more credibility. Post a new article at least once a week, and don't let your blog become stale.

Having said all this, if you are new to blogging, don't be afraid to get started. If it's not perfect, run with it anyway and you will learn as you go along. Just be aware of the items that need improvement, and continue tweaking. When in doubt, keep it simple. Continue reading below to learn more about blogging.