Killing Your Customers Softly – Simplify Your Site!

In case you haven’t noticed, my articles lately have focused on writing and marketing to the exclusion of nearly everything else. I haven’t abandoned my other topics, but I believe that a review of the fundamentals of freelance writing from time to time is necessary. Plus, I must assume that a number of my followers are new and may have missed some of my earlier articles which are now part of the archives (and available for your review at no cost to you).

I was paid an important compliment recently regarding this blog. A visitor liked the two-column layout, remarking that the site was clean and easy to read. I was happy to hear what I had long felt – that a two-column blog is much more pleasing to the eye, inviting readers to stop in and spend some time on the site. In addition, if my everyday readers like the look of this blog, then potential customers probably do as well. Which leads me to my point – is your blog harmful to your customers?

6 Easy Blog Clean Up Tips

Here’s what I mean – I’ve come across blogs that are guilty of one or more of the following points, any one of which usually encourages me to move on. Include two or more of these egregious points and you have a real problem on your hands, perhaps without even knowing it:

1. Pop Ups – Please, do I really need to know that you’re running a special? Well, maybe you want to get the word out, but anything that messes up with the navigation of the screen is just plain annoying. Find another way to state your business, perhaps using a starburst widget and placing that in your blog’s header.

2. Music – I’ve made the mistake several times of surfing the ‘net unaware that my PC’s speakers are on. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a rock opera blares forth which usually means that I’ve already hit the forward or back key to leave your site before shutting off my speakers. I can’t see any reason for having sound on a website.

3. Widgets – Speaking of widgets, do you need every single widget currently occupying your sidebar? I’ve gotten lost on some sites where people add widget after widget in a bid to fill their site up with stuff. You’d do better if you removed every widget that doesn’t have to do with your site, limiting yourself to a handful which your readers would find to be unobtrusive and helpful.

4. Buttons, Badges – Much like widgets, buttons and badges are taking over some blogs. Why you would have links to other sites is beyond me especially when those sites are unrelated to yours. If you’ve been using buttons as links, get rid of the buttons and add the link to your Links category. Even better, create a separate links page for all of your link exchanges.

5. Ads – Placing gazillions of advertisements on your blog, especially when it is new is tempting for some people. After all, if people click on your ads you’ll get paid. Instead, resist the temptation to include ads until your site has been running for a few months. That way, you can work on building up content and evaluating traffic, before adding two, perhaps three ads on each page. Take care how you place your ads and stick with those which actually provide relevant content.

6. Categorization – You can save room on your sidebar by removing the META tag; limiting your recent comments and/or recent posts to the last five posts; tossing tags and cloud category; as well as a calendar, unrelated plug ins, and welcome messages.

When surveying your blog, you want visitors to see your blog’s name, tag line (if used), navigation bar and your content which are your blog posts. Secondarily would be what you have featured on your sidebar which shouldn’t detract from your blog’s primary mission – to convey information, including important details telling your customers how to find you.

3 Tips To Help Your Blog Shine

Just in case you think that all I have is negative criticism to offer, consider the following three blog shining steps you can take:

1. Pillar Articles – Most blogs contain a handful of pillar articles, which are those defining posts which are worth reviewing again and again. Don’t allow them to get lost in your archives. Instead, create a widget for your sidebar and title that “Featured Articles.” List three or four of your favorites, making it easier for people to find them once again. These types of articles are what your writing clients want to see as well.

2. New Theme – Is your theme tired looking? I’m amazed at the number of attractive, enjoyable blog themes which are constantly being made. If your blog is established, consider investing in a paid theme, one that offers support from the theme maker and is easy to use.

3. Use Images – Relevant images within your posts (not on the sidebar) can draw the reader’s attention to what you wrote. I’m surprised that some of the more well known bloggers don’t use imagery as a well thought out picture is certainly worth many words.

That’s it for now! Go and shake things up on your blog with an eye on what your customers are reading. With less clutter to pick through, you just may discover that one of your readers is a customer in the making.

Photo Credit: Scott Adams

See Also — Wise Article Marketing Strategies

Despite Deep Recession, Google Plows Forward

Google Makes Money; No News There

Despite being embroiled in the middle of the worst global recession of our generation, internet giant Google continues to make money although not at the feverish pace of just a few years ago. Still, with its income up by 8% in the first quarter of the year, the company is in an enviable position.

As usual.

Once Again Google Performs Admirably

Analysts had been expecting Google to taper off, but the first quarter figures show that if any company can weather the current storm, then that would be Google.  Revenue did slip compare to the fourth quarter of 2008, but given that the worst of the recession didn’t settle in until after the first of the year, Google’s performance is admirable.

Google still makes a big bundle off of AdWords (advertisers) while not quite a few webmasters are still raking in big bucks with AdSense (publishers).  Google’s advantage is that the company basically owns web search which allows it to serve up ads to most everyone who logs on. Given that its algorithm is almost always spot on, Google remains an attractive and relatively cost effective way for businesses to get the word out.

Chairman Eric Schmidt Speaks

Relating to its most recently quarterly performance, Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt had this to say: “Google had a good quarter given the depth of the recession–while revenues were down quarter over quarter, they grew 6% year over year, thanks to continued strong query growth. These results underline both the resilience of our business model and the ongoing potential of the web as users and advertisers shift online. Going forward, our priority remains investing for the long term to drive future growth in our core and emerging businesses.”

Has Google’s Ad Income Peaked?

Some analysts fear that Google’s ad income may have peaked, but we’ve been hearing them say this for years. Clearly, advertising dollars are harder to come by, but given that newspaper advertising continues to dry up and internet traffic is still expanding, I’m sure that Google will find a way to keep moving forward. Should the economy begin to recover this year, then advertisers will come back, adding more fuel to the Google fire.

What About Twitter?

It is no secret that Google is interested in buying Twitter, given that site’s rapid growth and its threat as a search engine. Personally, I have found that using Twitter Search yields some amazing results, a great way to connect with people who are discussing topics of interest to you and in real time too.

Though I don’t use Twitter Search as much as Google Search, even an incremental shift by users can shift search traffic.

Google will pay handsomely for Twitter and they’ll figure out a way to monetize the site.   I could see Google incorporating the feature’s of Twitter Search into its own toolbar, but I also could see them leaving Twitter alone and running ads along the side of these results.  Maybe Google would do both.

Returning to Their Roots

As far as the rest of the web is concerned, the other internet giants will continue to work to make their business models more efficient. Now that EBay has sold StumbleUpon and has an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the works for its Skype internet telephony unit, they’ll be returning to their core business of managing online auctions and internet retailing.

I expect that other businesses will be doing the same thing — dumping unrelated subsidiaries to concentrate on what they do best. In this economy, returning to your core seems like the wisest (and safest) move to make.