Two months of Blogging – Four more things I am STILL learning

Today is my last day of work for the year. I will be taking two weeks off from the world to spend time with my family, my dog, and to drink beer and watch the cricket. I will also be taking two weeks off blogging. In light of that, i am going to share more of what i have learnt about blogging with you. For those of you who have read my last post, One month of blogging – Five things i have learned so far, you will know I am certainly no expert. So i advise that you take these new  tips with a grain of salt. 🙂

1. Longevity in a Post vs Posts that will get traffic
I know, it is kind of funny that i would be writing about ‘longevity’ given that the blog is now only two months old. However, i have noticed some trends on my blog that i think are worth sharing. Getting your voice out there is our goal right? And i have now come to realise there is a fine line between getting traffic to your blog, and keeping readers. Interestingly enough, i have seen a trend with some of my posts that reflects this. Posts like, LITERALLY, I CANT (BELIEVE IT’S NOT BUTTER) – REDFOO, AND THE DOWNFALL OF MODERN ‘MUSIC’ , seemed to shoot me up in views almost instantly, but given the subject matter, have not stuck around. Where as posts like ,Insulted by a Toddler, and Toddler Potty Inception, have been consistently viewed and commented on. My new theory is there needs to be a balance with posting. I think there is value in posting things you think will get some readers in short-term, but it is perhaps more important to have some other posts, that although they will not boost your views over night, they will continue to serve you well. I think…?

2. Power of Menu’s
I know, i am a bit of a derp, but i only recently discovered how to use menu’s. I was finding that my views/visitors were almost one and the same over my first month. My assumption was that my blog was difficult to navigate. So i tried this menu business. I have seen my views/visitors stats change dramatically as a result. Helping your readers to find other similar posts they like is the key. For my example, i am now using only 4 or 5 categories and using those categories as menu items to split up the blog. Appears to be working, i think it is well worth a look if you have not done so already.

3. SEO v2.0
So, on my last post, i said i had been reading ALOT about SEO. To be honest, i still have no idea, but i have learnt a little more. I will break down a few things into sections below:

i) In addition to my get Menu revelation of 2014, i also discovered the power of links. I read somewhere (forget where now), that search engines like links, between posts on your blog etc, and external resources. The idea is that a viewer wont return to the search engine from your blog, but to another place on the interwebs. So, i have been linking to relevant things where possible.
ii) Register your site with Google Analytics. Still unsure why, but it appears to be helping me. You can also target a country from in there if you like.
iii) The sitemap. I was unaware, but WordPress actually creates a sitemap for you. This is something you can register with Google Analytics, which somehow (don’t ask me 🙂 ) helps with indexing your blog. For those who don’t know where or how to find their site map, it is pretty simple. The address to YOUR sitemap will be http://yourblog.wordpress.com/sitemap.xml.
iv) Robots.txt… This is some odd-looking HTML thing i also know little to nothing about. But every site has one, and Google likes it. There are some pretty good templates robot.txt files out there online if you don’t know HTML, like me. Here is a link to my one if you want to have a look.

So, i have learned a little more, and i keep reading more. So i will let you know. But, as an example, with those things above, i have exponentially increased my blogs traffic from search engines. In the first month i think i had about 5 hits, This month to date it is much higher.

4. Keep Having Fun
I said it last time, and the message still stands. Have fun! I have found my experience so far so rewarding and i hope you all do too. I have received some really lovely, confidence boosting feedback from several bloggers, thank you so much! So, have fun, enjoy blogging, and spread the love around yo! 🙂

See you next year all! 🙂

Merry Xmas etc etc