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Who does not want a blog that encourages readers to stay for a while, subscribe, click or share? Everyone wants it, but not everyone is getting it!
What’s the problem?
The problem is that we are not being what we are, Humans! We think like bots, designers and what-not, but not like normal human beings! (If you're new to blogging, "bots" is short for "robots," automated software that looks for content on the internet.)
I usually divide blogs into the following categories:
- Bot Optimized
- Overloaded
- Designer’s Delight
- Simple
Bot Optimized Blogs
When blog owners think only of SEO, this is the result, a blog optimized for bots.
These blogs try to put in every SEO trick. They use a lot of internal links – not because they are related – but because they are good for SEO. They also use hundreds of tags because they are considered good for SEO.
With keyword-stuffed posts and all kinds of SEO bells and whistles, these blogs may be a visitor’s nightmare. He has no other choice but to leave!
Overloaded
What will a two-year-old child do if you give him a paper and some colors to play with? He will spill the colors all over the page (and some on the floor).
That’s exactly what these blogs are like. You will find every kind of widget in the sidebar, lots of ads and all other kinds of stuff.
Designer’s Delight
A good sight for the eyes! These blogs look good with a lot of shine and polish and lots of attention to even minute details.
They also usually have good content. But if you use a slow connection, they may be a nightmare! For example, Smashing Magazine is a good blog with great content, but on slow connections, its 1 MB+ homepage takes a lot of time to load completely.
Simple and Elegant
These blogs have a simple design with focus on only one thing: Content!
You may expect a lot of quality content on these blogs. Great examples are Daily Blog Tips and other blogs by Daniel Scocco. Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits and Write To Done are also great blogs with simple designs.
How to Stand Out
First, an excess of anything detracts from your blog. Avoid too many ads, images and such like.
- Set Your Priorities Straight. Have in mind what you want the reader to do, then design and write accordingly. Use a mind map or other brainstorming technique, take notes and avoid any distractions.
- Think Like a Reader. If you want to write for your readers, you have to think like them. Keep in mind how the article helps your readers. Do not write for bots!
- Provide Value. Do not provide what every second blog is blogging about; be unique. Develop your own identity and writing style.
- “How Does It Help the Reader?” When in doubt, ask yourself, “How does this help the reader?" This will help a lot when you can’t decide about posting an article or adding a widget.
Bottom line: If you think and work like a normal person, your blog will surely end up being more usable.
What methods do you suggest or use to improve your blog in terms of usability and content?
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Good post. I’m not sure which category I fall under – definitely not #1 since I’m about as SEO challenged as they come. I’m probably somewhere between #3 (for my headers only) and #4. If I can ever get my new blog design launched, I’d love to be a full fledged #4.
I put most of my effort into my content. I was recently approached by an advertiser who wanted me to include context links in my posts and I politely declined – I really want a separation between ads and content and I don’t want anything messing with my posts.
Well, simple designs are kind if “fashion” these days. Everyone seems to like them and they emphasize on the most important thing, content. Good luck for your new design.
The effort you put into writing posts is noticeable in them. Almost every line has good humor packed into it.
I like this article especially because it speaks to delivering good content by adding value to the readers. Sometimes I think it’s best, as a blogger, to remain uninformed when it comes to SEO. But, I understand that it is a two-edged sword because if we don’t learn about SEO then your blog will probably never be read or ranked. I think it is important to remind all bloggers what the MOST important feature of your blog post should be. That is, delivering value to the reader because without that, your blog will never be a success…
Best,
Bob
You just hit the nail on the head. If a blogger does not deliver value in his content, there’s no use of SEO. In fact, value an quality outweight SEO. In a recent interview, Leo Babuta( http://zenhabits.net ) said that he does not care much about SEO and keeps only quality in mind when writing.
This is a good concept. I like the personal interaction you can get blogging. So when I see that people are automating all their networks I’m less likely to bother commenting or subscribing.
I think readers in general are more receptive when they know the person who is running the blog.
Automating? I hate automated blogs. Many people just focus on money and start such blogs. These are the blogs that do not provide any value. However, luckily, they are easy to spot and we can avoid them!
i agree with your idea about being human on writing a blog post, but how about being human plus being SEO friendly at the same time? any suggestion?
moreover it’s not easy to get inspiration to make real good content, that’s why people often copying other’s people contents, or just overload their contents with keywords.
Human + SEO may be a good combination. In fact, many great copywriters say that SEO should be done but keyword density has to be less than 5%(i.e. less than 5% of content should be keywords!)
And I think a blog with a more personal tone and approach, something that evokes a friendly accommodating atmosphere to readers and visitors is one that will capture and glue people.
There is I think a need for blogs to have more personal tone and conversation unlike some blogs that are quite unreachable because of so many technical stuffs.
What you say makes sense. The difficulty is when you don’t get the readers when it seems that you are doing the right things (meaning the kinds of things you suggest). So while I like what you are saying, I think that you may do it all right and still not find your niche.
SEO is important as it gives direction to what you’re doing….. but it’s important to stike a balance as well..
Without keywords and other SEO tactics, it’s like looking for light in a very dark tunnel…
Cheers
Sandeep
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