This is a guest post by Kathy DalPra at Bride Appeal.
As a seasoned wedding professional, having an engaging blog can keep visitors perusing your website longer. It gives them more time to get to know you and fall head over heels with your work. Of course, with all the time you spend maintaining your blog, the last thing you want is to set it up in a way that turns readers off or sends them on their way. So here are a few simple ways you can add some extra class to your blog and keep those readers staying longer.
1. Add a Search Bar
I know it seems simple and obvious, but I’m continually surprised at how many website themes fail to add this amazing little tool. A search bar, or search “field”, makes it effortless for your visitors to find the exact information they’re looking for by allowing them to type in any keyword.
I’d add this field to the very top of your blog sidebar, if possible, so that it can’t be missed. The quicker visitors can find what they’re looking for, the happier they’ll be and the less likely they are to abandon your blog.
2. Eliminate Distractions
Years ago, during the upswing of the social media craze, I used to recommend installing full-scale social media widgets into your blog sidebar to grow your social media following. However, after having some time to really test this approach, my tune has changed a little.
When you really think about it, the purpose of your blog isn’t to grow your social media following…it’s to attract visitors to your website where they can learn about your products and services. In fact, that’s the purpose of your social media profiles too! Because of this, these days I encourage my clients to only place simple social media buttons that are linked to their profile rather than interactive widgets. They are less distracting, but still allow readers to connect with you off of your website if they want to.
3. Reduce the File Size of Images
I realize that not everyone is a Photoshop wizard. Nonetheless, you simply can’t afford not to optimize images on your blog if you want to avoid losing traffic. The reality is that today’s millennial couple doesn’t have the patience to sit around and wait for large images to load. They’ll simply move on to the next blog.
Reducing the file size (kb, mb) of your images is easy with free tools like PicMonkey. You can still use photos with a large width and height, just reduce the actual size of the file before you upload it to your blog. I typically suggest keeping your image file size under 50-100 kilobytes, if possible. The smaller, the better.
About the Author:
Kathy DalPra is a former bridal-preneur who unexpectedly fell in love with web design and SEO. Today she helps other wedding professionals use their website to get more traffic, leads and inquiries so they can create a thriving wedding business in any economy. Learn how to turn curious visitors into paying brides™ on her website at http://brideappeal.com.
Kathy's Social Media: Twitter, Facebook
Check out more great advice from Kathy at her blog
1. Add a Search Bar
I know it seems simple and obvious, but I’m continually surprised at how many website themes fail to add this amazing little tool. A search bar, or search “field”, makes it effortless for your visitors to find the exact information they’re looking for by allowing them to type in any keyword.
I’d add this field to the very top of your blog sidebar, if possible, so that it can’t be missed. The quicker visitors can find what they’re looking for, the happier they’ll be and the less likely they are to abandon your blog.
2. Eliminate Distractions
Years ago, during the upswing of the social media craze, I used to recommend installing full-scale social media widgets into your blog sidebar to grow your social media following. However, after having some time to really test this approach, my tune has changed a little.
When you really think about it, the purpose of your blog isn’t to grow your social media following…it’s to attract visitors to your website where they can learn about your products and services. In fact, that’s the purpose of your social media profiles too! Because of this, these days I encourage my clients to only place simple social media buttons that are linked to their profile rather than interactive widgets. They are less distracting, but still allow readers to connect with you off of your website if they want to.
3. Reduce the File Size of Images
I realize that not everyone is a Photoshop wizard. Nonetheless, you simply can’t afford not to optimize images on your blog if you want to avoid losing traffic. The reality is that today’s millennial couple doesn’t have the patience to sit around and wait for large images to load. They’ll simply move on to the next blog.
Reducing the file size (kb, mb) of your images is easy with free tools like PicMonkey. You can still use photos with a large width and height, just reduce the actual size of the file before you upload it to your blog. I typically suggest keeping your image file size under 50-100 kilobytes, if possible. The smaller, the better.
About the Author:Kathy DalPra is a former bridal-preneur who unexpectedly fell in love with web design and SEO. Today she helps other wedding professionals use their website to get more traffic, leads and inquiries so they can create a thriving wedding business in any economy. Learn how to turn curious visitors into paying brides™ on her website at http://brideappeal.com.
Kathy's Social Media: Twitter, Facebook
Check out more great advice from Kathy at her blog
No comments:
Post a Comment