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Welcome to the liveblog of the BlogHer '10 panel: Geek Lab: Usability for Beginning Bloggers (Beginning Level)Click here for more info.
This panel starts Friday, August 6 at 10:30 am and ends at 11:45 am Eastern time.
Wondering why you have visitors but nobody seems to comment on your blog? Have you installed Google Analytics only to find that all of your visitors leave after a few seconds? Your content might be great, but if your blog isn't usable, readers will run away. It doesn't take knowing HTML or CSS to have a usable blog that's easy to visit and read, but it does take putting yourself in the shoes of new and returning visitors. Abi Jones and Tracy Osborn will highlight the top 10 usability issues faced by new bloggers, and give you an easy checklist for keeping your blog usable.
This session will be live-blogged by @momisageek at www.momisageek.com. Keep refreshing this post for updates!
40% of the attendees of BlogHer are beginning bloghers, so the usability lab should give you some great ways to improve your blog.
The speakers want to know how the audience blogs:
- novice to HTML
- Intermediate - change the code in your sidebar
- Advance - change about
- None of the above
What type of blog?
- personal
- topical
- blogging for a large organization
What platforms
- wordpress
- Blogger
- Typepress
Most people are seeing your blog for the first time and
Top ten things to know:
1. Where am I? - Identify your blog boldly and make a good first impression.
2.Who are You as a Blogger? - Use an About or pictures. Make sure the tenor of what you say matches what interaction you want to have. Make sure the readers can get in touch with you. Even if it is an alias that goes to an email. This is for publishers, or advertisers.
3. Is your blog readable? - The typeface should not be too small. Vary the typeface appropriately, but don't make it a mish-mash. Some type faces will display differently in different browsers. IE substitutes Arial for Helvetica when it doesn't have the right typeface.
Where have I been?
Being lost on a site is Internet Hell. Put a home link on every page to make sure people can get to information
about you and your blog.
4. Put the navigation in the same place. Maintain a consistent look and feel.
Meanwhile, check out more BlogHer '10-related info:
5. Put dates clearly on the post. Having a recent date or any date gives context to the post.
Make your links look like links, and make them consistent.
6. Structure and Sense - Use your lists appropriately to lead the reader through the content
Then write awesome content. The quality of your writing leads to the best experience for your reader
7. What happens after? - Make sure you tell the end of the story. Take advantage of the advertising
Questions from audience - Does it matter if related posts are yours?
Linking to your own improves your page views, but you should give your reader to best content wherever it is.
Question from audience - Favorite Wordpress theme?
Look at the ratings from the users to see which are popular. Look at Downloads and Reviews. Make sure
you have great related posts, which can be supplied automatically.
Question from audience - how do you make Google see related posts
Add good keywords in the headline and the content of the post.
Share what is unique content, not the same link that everyone is sharing. Add to the discussion without repeating. Get be yond the usual post.
Organize> your Blog posts into sub-topics in the sidebar and by using tags and archives.
Most Popular blog posts are self-fulfilling if you put a link on every page. They stay most popular because they get the most exposure.
Question From Audience: How do you get help if you are not techy?
Look at the forums
Question: If you switch from Blogger to Wordpress, does the content automatically disappear? It doesn't change automatically. You should put in a message pointing to the new site with a link.
Question: What is RSS and how does it works? Depends on the theme and it may not have a link to the RSS plug-in. Wordpress automatically creates an RSS feed.
8. Are comments easy to read
