1. Add contact information
There is nothing I hate more than wanting to contact a blogger but not being able to find his or her relevant contact information. Whether it is in a simple sidebar widget or on a separate page in your navigation bar, your contact information should be easily findable and clear.
2. Write an about page
Blogging surveys and feedback have shown that one of the first places readers go when they start exploring a blog is the about page. A good about page has information that is not easily available upon first read, but is relevant to your story. Do you live abroad? Mention it in the about page. Do you have six children? Tell us about them. This personal connection will help us feel more connected to you, and connected readers are loyal readers. Trust me- your readers will thank you.
3. Increase the type size
Maybe I’m getting older or maybe I need a better prescription for my glasses, but I won’t go back to read a blog where the type is too small. Changing the type size is very easy to do in both Blogger and WordPress. As a rule of thumb, your main content should be at least 12 point, if not 14. My font on Pretty Your Blog is Calibri 16 point.
4. Use dark type on a light background
Another way to make your blog completely unreadable and turn off scores of readers is to use light type color on a black or dark blue background. While this color combination is great for PowerPoint presentations it is not good for blogs. If you are using a blog theme with this default color combination, then do yourself and your readers a favor and change it. Black type on a white background is always the best choice. If you must be adventurous then remember that you should aim for the widest contrast possible between the color of your text and the color of your background.
5. Spell check
Again, this is easier than you think. If your computer doesn’t spell check automatically, then develop the habit of clicking on the spell check button in your blogging platform. Nothing is worse than reading a blog prone to spelling mistakes. While we’re all human, and I’m as bad a speller as any, a lot of spelling errors on a blog tell me that the blogger doesn’t care about his or her work. If you don’t care, why should I? If you have a hard time seeing the errors in the posting window, then preview the post, as it’s often easier to see mistakes on the blog itself. Or try reading the post aloud- this will help catch a lot of typos as well as grammar problems.
6. Install Google analytics
This nifty tool will give you all kinds of advice and information about your blog: where your visitors are coming from, where they are leaving from, how long they are staying. Not to mention that there are many tutorials on how to improve your blog’s performance and the statistics can give you ideas for areas to promote your blog. For example, if you are showing a low percentage of visits originating from referral blogs, you might want to start visiting forums and participating actively in order to get your name and URL out there in front of more people.
7. Add a stumble upon button
It’s so much easier to stumble a blog if they have a stumble upon button. Not everybody has the stumble upon toolbar either. While Stumble Upon might not always drive exactly your desired traffic to your site, it will expose your site to a lot of people, some of whom just might bookmark it. And the more people that bookmark your site, or give it a thumbs up, the more traffic you’ll get.
What easy ways do you know to improve your blog?
