Have you ever landed on a website and couldn’t get away fast enough? What about a when you land on a website and just can’t get away because everything is so appealing?
First impressions count. Here are some tips on how to make your blog stand out from the rest.
Here are some great tips on how to make YOUR blog stand out! #blogging #tips Share on X
Blog name and description
If you haven’t selected a name for your blog or you’re planning to rename your blog, make sure its name is clear and easy to recall.
The description should be simple. Who are you and what is your blog about? If you need help figuring this out, maybe you need to work on a strategic plan for your blog. Check out this post HERE for more information.
Page load time
You need the opportunity to make that first impression count! Readers won’t stick around if it takes a minute for your blog to load. I use Pingdom to test my page speed. They offer unlimited and FREE page speed tests on their website. Not convinced page load time is important? According to the Akamai study published in 2009:
“47% of people expect webpages to load in less than 2 seconds and 40% of consumers will wait no more than 3 seconds for a web page to render before abandoning the site.”
Obviously, web stores are different from blogs, but this study shows how impatient we are, so make sure your website loads fast!
Bonus tip: Sometimes, an outdated widget will completely slow down your blog. Remove anything that is not working. Regularly monitoring your page speed will help you stay on top of potential issues.
You
As nice as a blog logo is, a smiling face to associate the blog with is integral. Even if you hate having your picture taken, this is key to a reader’s first impression of your site! Most people want to see the face behind the blog; it makes it more personal.
Bonus tip: Have the same profile picture on your social media sites. You want people to be able to identify you quickly.
You should consider getting one if your blog doesn’t have a logo. By pairing your logo with a consistent profile picture, you build a strong, personable, consistent impression of your blog.
Clean design
A clean, uncluttered blog is essential. Your visitors should be able to find your search bar and additional pages easily. Be intentional about your design. If you’re using a template, customize your fonts and colours. Design a header with pictures. Make it appealing and keep it simple.
If you participate in blog hops or monetization programs, consider placing the buttons for those on a separate page rather than cluttering your sidebar.
Advertising
Speaking of clean design, consider how many ads you’ll have on your site. Having lots of ads doesn’t necessarily mean a higher payout. I used to have 8 – 125 x 125 ads on my site. I didn’t receive any money from them. I dropped the eight smaller ads and placed three higher-paying 300 x 250 ads. I have received regular payouts from the three ads. I also run advertisements along the bottom of every posting, but those only appear on the post’s page, not on the home page.
Something to note: Too much “above the fold” advertising will be penalized by Google and can affect where your blog shows up in search results.
I find an ad-heavy site is often too distracting to read.
Pictures
Give your readers a snazzy headline picture for each post. If possible, include photos throughout the post.
Warning: pictures should be of good quality. Most readers don’t like fuzzy, out-of-focus, or poorly lit photos.
404 Page
What does your 404 page look like? Many big companies have been jazzing up their 404 pages as an additional way to advertise and build relationships with their customers/readers. Why not do so too?
I spent considerable time designing my 404 page. I have this displayed above the fold:
It’s essential to include a search bar so your visitors can get the help they need to find what they want.
Here’s a WordPress Tutorial on how to customize your WordPress 404 Page.
Music
Don’t have it. If you want a song on a post, include it in a player or video that the reader has to click on for it to play.
Content
Content is king! We hear it all the time. Think about the content you write and make your postings count. Also, highlight your more popular content (i.e., on a rotating header or in your sidebar).
Be authentic
You are one of a kind. Your story is yours alone. Your blog is a unique reflection of you. Don’t try to emulate the big blogger who “made it”—be yourself. Your commitment to authenticity will be rewarded.
Now it’s your turn. What do you think makes a blog stand out? Feel free to comment below and share this post with your blogging communities!
SHARE WITH OTHERS
Great tips! I’m newer to the blog world, but writing for a long time. :) My motto with anything is: Keep it Simple. :) Found you via SitsGirls. Glad I did.
I’m so pleased you found this helpful. Simple is my motto too! Thanks for stopping by.
{Melinda} All good advice. I’m just starting to monetize my blog so the information about advertising was very helpful. Thank you! Visiting from Saturday Sharefest!
http://motheringfromscratch.com
I’m thrilled you found this helpful Melinda! Glad we connected today.
Thanks for these ideas! Now to go back to our blog and see what we need to work on. . . the fun part :)
So pleased you enjoyed this. Did you know you are a “no reply” blogger? I hope you come back and read my responses. If you want to fix that, go over to Susannah’s post at Simple Moments Stick for the solution. (It just means I, and other bloggers, would be able to directly respond to your comments via email).
I didn’t know that! But as you can see I came back to check :) So I went to the link you suggested and hopefully fixed it. I guess I’ll see if it works! Thanks!
… and it worked! Yay! Your blogging relationships will probably grow a lot more now that you made this change. Just so you’re aware, Blogger “resets” their settings every month or two, so you may have to repeat this process when that happens. I usually know when that happens because when I comment on my own blog, I can see the comment come up as addressed as a “no-reply blogger instead of from me.
Have a great day!
Also I noticed that when I pinned this there was a handy little pop up that said, thanks for pinning, now why not follow? That is pretty sweet! How did you do that?
Ahhhh, yes, that is AddThis layers. I HIGHLY recommend it. It also does the pins on the left hand side of the screen, the follow buttons at the very top and the recommended content pop up in the bottom right hand corner. Also, get this… it’s FREE!
I loved this post and you are so right. I hate a blog that is so “busy” that it’s just hard focusing on what you want to read. I always suggest custom themes which is what I did. I helped design my own to make it unique. I love add this as well and I would also recommend having your social media icons easily accessible too.
I have a standard template but I changed a lot in it. I’m currently quite pleased with its appearance but my blog tends to get makeovers… frequently!
Thanks for stopping by my friend!
I’m with you, Jennifer: I don’t enjoy when blogs look too cluttered, and if I’m reading a personal blog, I want it to seem “personal,” not like a corporate advertising website. Great tips, as usual!
Thanks so much Robin. I really when a personal blog feels… personal! I’m glad you enjoyed these tips!
Great advice!!!! I really like the unique error page idea….I really want to do that!!
Found you on SITS girls.
I love my 404 page. I might tweak it some more but it’s nice to have something unique.
Thanks for stopping by!
I need to lose some of my ads. Thanks for the reminder.
You’re welcome Shecki. It’s good to look at them and choose the ones that people are clicking and buying from the most. Then make those more predominant. I cycle my ads every few weeks just so they don’t become part of my blog “landscape” too much.
Great tips! I need to look at my blog with a critical eye. Thanks for sharing that list. Stopping by from the SITS Girls!
It’s tough to look at our blogs with a critical eye… it’s our second “home” which we feel comfortable in. Sometimes we think if we’re comfortable, others naturally should be too!
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Loved the advice, as usual! You always have some great tips on your posts that I am learning for the first time. Thanks for sharing! I always find these posts very informative.
I’m so pleased you’ve enjoyed this series Dee!
Just the other day I tried to get to something on my blog and it showed a weird 404 page. I need to go redirect what my 404 page shows and redirect people back to the site… thanks for the reminder!!!
Glad that I could remind you of that task! I enjoy having a “different” 404 page!
These are great, simple tips! I absolutely love your 404 page! :)
I’m delighted that you enjoyed these tips Emma.
I like my 404 page too… it’s nice to have something “different”.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Jennifer, just stopping by from Natasha’s Say G’Day link party. Good information to have, especially the part about page load time. Thanks for this post, and have a good day!
Val @ artsybuildinglady.blogspot.ca
I’m glad you enjoyed this Val! Page load times are critical. Hopefully this post helps you in your own blog building journey. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the ideas!
You are so very welcome Caroline!
Great tips Jennifer, thank you! I’m going to test my page load time right now!
Have a great day!
Cheryl
You are so very welcome Cheryl! It’s nerve-wracking to test your page load times. I range between 2.1 – 3 seconds. I hate when it goes over! It’s good to test it regularly.
Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you a lovely day as well.
I got some very useful tips here! Thanks so much! Carolann from sassytownhouseliving.com
So pleased that these tips helped you! I hope they help with your own blog building journey. Thanks for visiting!
Couldn’t agree more with your list, Jennifer! The only thing I’d add is that your 404 page should have a call to action or an opt-in form to your list. Not sure if you can do that with Blogger or not, but if you can, you should do it.
Thanks for sharing Marianne! I looked at your 404 page… LOVE IT! Blogger is very limited but I’m definitely going to see if I can add a subscribe call to action or something of the sort. Great suggestion!
Oh man! You’ve got great tips. There is definitely so much more I could be doing, but hey…this is a hobby for me. :) There’s only so much time each day, right?! You’ve got some great tips for me to think about.
So glad you enjoyed this Sanz. You’re right, we focus our time and energy where it needs to be… you have four children, I have two. I’m guessing I have more time to spend on this stuff lol. Thanks for stopping by my friend. Always nice to see you.
Hi Jennifer! You are amazing my friend. All these wonderful tips to have a quicker loading, more ‘stand out’ blog. I was just thinking the other day how much this blog has changed in just the time that I have known you. You truly are a ‘professional blogger.’
Thank you for all you do to help your fellow blogger :)
Ceil
Oh Ceil, I’m blushing. Thank you my friend. This blog is still (and probably will always be) a work in progress. I’m thrilled to be helping others as I work to grow my own blog. I hope it’s a benefit to everyone who reads it.
Wonderful tips Jennifer! I’ve never thought about customizing the 404 page..brilliant!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Julie! The customized 404 page is great. If you haven’t read it already, check out Marianne (the previous commenter’s tip about having a call to action on your 404 page as well). Thanks for stopping by!
Ok, I said this last week, but I think this is the most valuable post of the series for me. I had no idea you could test your page load time or that you could customize your 404 page! I have so much to do on my blog. This series has been so great Jennifer. Thanks for taking the time to put it together!
Have a wonderful week!
xoxo
I’m so glad you enjoyed this series. I loved writing it!
I’ll have some more blogging tips and tidbits after the Easter break.
Wishing you an awesome week as well.
xoxo
Fabulous tips! I feel like I am learning something new about blogging almost daily!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed these tips! It’s my pleasure to share. I hope they help you in your blog building journey.
Wishing you a lovely week!
Hi Jennifer. This is great information for bloggers both experienced and new. I had no idea I could do anything about my 404 page. I need to check that out. I think what really makes a blog stand out in a bad way are writing mistakes. I’m surprised when I read some blog and find so many mistakes. Did they even proofread. I know we are all busy and most of us do this in our spare time, but proofing is so important. I look forward to reading more.
You’re right, the typos and errors definitely take away from the content. I know I’ve let a couple slip through in the past and it’s so upsetting because I really spend a lot of time proof-reading. You can usually tell if it’s a sporadic error or if it’s just lack of attentiveness.
The 404 page was a really exciting find for me! Have fun customizing yours! Thanks for stopping by.
I finally broke down and put a photo of myself on my main page. I have a favicon now, too, which I think adds a little flair. I haven’t done a 404 page yet though – that sounds like a great idea! Thanks for the tips.
Oooooh, I forgot to mention the favicon… yes, that’s a great customization to make your blog stand out. Glad you did the photo. It really does make your blog more “personable”.
Have fun customizing your 404 page. You have a great sense of humour. I’m sure whatever you come up with will be fabulous.
Great Tips!!! So much to know and learn,, Blogging is a daily learning experience!
Have a great day!
You’re so right Tammy! There’s always something new to learn, isn’t there?
Wishing you a lovely day as well.
Great advice…and I know I have some work to do on mine! There’s always something to improve upon!
There’s always something to work on.. isn’t there?! I find it fun though. I love “fixing” something or making something look better.
Ultimately I think it all comes down to content, but I think that there is an argument to be had for actually getting out there and promoting your blog where possible. Nice article.
I couldn’t agree more. A blog can be dynamic… look stunning and have all the bells and whistles but if the content is poor, people won’t stay.
Thanks for visiting. I’m glad you enjoyed this post.