Comment posted on Blog Audit Friday: How To Make Clever Marketer Even More Clever by Oliver Tausend
Hi Ana,
as you announced your series, I wouldn’t have thought that you go into such detail. That is very very powerful, awesome.
Victim or beneficiary, that’s the question. If we assume that we all want to improve, I would say that Heather is a beneficiary.
Everybody is, because you are absolutely right: “It is meant to benefit us all.”
Thanks for sharing your powerful expertise.
Take care
Oliver
Oliver Tausend also commented
- Hi Ana,
I am not…afraid
The more potential to improve, the better - right ?
I’m looking forward to your critique.
Have a great weekend
Take care
Oliver
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Hi Ana,another great tip from your desk. I will install this plugin too. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Ana,thanks for your reply. I deleted some pingbacks I recently got right away ! Thanks again for shring.
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Hi Ana,thanks for this in-depth explanation. I feel like understanding it for the very first time, especially the lesson from it. So I will have to look a little bit closer at the pingbacks I get.
Really good job.
Take care
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Hi Ana,I did as I was told…yet the “about me” page won’t show up. Any idea ?
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Hi Ana,I agree with Mark that you always come up with something new, that is awesome and very powerful. I wouldn’t have thought of ebay as a traffic source.
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{ 67 comments }
Hey Ana,
What a powerful audit you have done for Heather! All I can say is wow, wow, wow!
As you said, we’re all learning here and I got some tips to implement on my blog as well. I’m still frustrated by the h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 stuff
Don’t want to mess up the codes in the editor!
I have long been looking forward for an opportunity to have my blog audited by an expert blogger and I hope to be your next beneficiary
What you are doing for the community is just amazing!
Keep up the good work!
Mavis Nong
Mavis Nong @ Attraction Marketing Online´s last blog ..Affiliate Marketing- How To Get It Right And Cash In
Hi Mavis,
Thanks for the compliment. I absolutely love what I’m doing. If you want, then let’s go for it!
It’s my pleasure doing that for you,
Ana
Yes, let’s go for it! I did you send you a message on Facebook on Monday about this
Keep ROCKING!
Mavis
Mavis Nong @ Attraction Marketing Online´s last blog ..Affiliate Marketing- How To Get It Right And Cash In
Wow Ana, this is incredible info!
Thank you Heather, for volunteering.
I learned a lot from this and feel I may need to set a day aside to really go through it all, digest it and see which items I need to apply to my own.
I fear Ana would have a week’s worth of work if she looked that carefully at mine!
Susanna
Hi Susanna,
I am also willing to do that for you. We can talk about it.
Let’s keep in touch,
Ana
This is an entire course on SEO. I find it useful as a reference to some things I can improve on my blog. You put a lot of work into this project. Thanks!
Richard´s last blog ..Ready to Make Money from Your Blog
Hello Richard,
Yes I did put lots of time and effort doing this and I’m glad you appreciate it.
Thanks,
Ana
Am I missing a subscribe to comments plugin tickbox here or is there not one installed?
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Time for YOU to Play Catch-Up! While I Launch Two Blogs -
Never had anyone ask before, Dennis - thanks for bringing it to my attention.
You can now subscribe to comments.
Ana
Thanks!
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..What’s YOUR Favorite Twitter Plugins and WHY
How do I subscribe for blog updates via email?
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Advertise ONLY YOUR Business on Your Company Business Blog
Hi, Dennis - you tasked me with another thing
; sorry took me a while to reset my FeedBurner settings.
Now, when you go to my RSS feed icon, it will give you an option to subscribe via email.
Can’t believe I overlooked it in the past!
Thanks.
Ana
Very nice! With all these great resources I can take a better look at my blog and know how to get in and remedy it.
I am looking forward to see the future Friday Audits.
Hello Sheila,
Thanks for reading my blog. Actually that’s really the point of this post, it’s not only about Heather’s site, but for every bloggers who wants to improve their sites as well. Feel free to come back anytime.
All the best,
Ana
Hate to ask but a newbie to wordpress , adding tags , there a lot of questiond like name slug and description under the add tags , what is the best way or how do you add tags to your wordpress blog for sure
Thanks love the articles and one thing we are wanting to get done yet too
No problems, Forest!
I assume we are talking about how to change your post slugs.
Take a look at the image below.
Slug is the part in the red box. Press “Edit” button and edit your slug the way you like it. Make sure to put dashes “-” between every word. Press “OK” and you are done!
Hope this answers your question and have a great weekend!
Woow, Ana you just gave a free SEO course for anyone who wants to know how does their website cope with optimization, looks and feel, user experience etc.
Your analysis really goes in depth and you don’t forgive any mistakes. I must say that I really enjoyed reading your post and I feel like I learned something useful from this post.
Have a nice week-end!
Alex@Jocuri´s last blog ..Impuscaturi de commando
So glad to hear that, Alex - that was the point.
I suppose I don’t do these kinds of things half way… Good for my readers, but does take some time!
Have a great weekend.
Hi Ana, thanks for the audit and your comment regarding to the site..ive learn something important from the comment..thanks
kyro@ Straight Hair Styles´s last blog ..Fine Hair Styles
Good to hear it, Kyro!
Have a great weekend.
Hey Ana,
Wow, I learned a lot from this too. Thanks for putting all of your time and effort. I never realised you were going to be so thorough.
I’m going to go ahead and fix my URL slugs now.
Hey, I wouldn’t mind an audit on my blog either, if you have the chance…
Looking forward to your critique of Oliver’s
Have a great day,
Wayne
Wayne Wu´s last blog ..True Residual Income in MLM Take Yourself Out of the Equation!
I’ll keep it in mind, Wayne, and you are very welcome!
Ana
Ana, what a fantastic idea… although goodness knows where you fit it in. Excellent tips indeed. I am looking forward to applying some of these valuable pieces of information to my blog… then when I muster up the courage, perhaps one day you might critique mine?! I have so much to learn … but it is pointers like this that really help… not only to know what to pay attention to, but think about things that I didn’t even know to think about.
One of the first items I am going to look at is the HTML errors on my blog. I know I have a number of them, but not sure how on earth to solve that. I will read on and try to minimize that. Thanks so much. If Heather has a little tweaking, I am sure I have boatloads. Thanks for the generosity with your time.
Jayne Kopp´s last blog ..Turn Lemons to Lemonade Look at the Positive Side of Life!
Always one step at a time, Jayne
4 months ago I had no idea about any of those things either.
As far as code validation is concerned, that’s one of the most difficult tasks for me. I know a little about HTML, but no nearly enough to fix such errors.
I ended up outsourcing the task for a VERY reasonably price; I will be happy to provide my contact info if you are interested.
Best,
Ana
Hi Ana
For such a busy blogger this is a very generous service you give. I’m sure all those who have a critique done by you will see improvements in their blogging journey if and when they take action from your very comrehensive summary of their blogs. I really enjoyed reading your suggestions. Especially as I have only been blogging for months and know I still have heaps to learn. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia@lavenderuses´s last blog ..Lavender Product Review-The Truth- The Whole Truth…
We are all learning Patricia. It’s important that we won’t stop because there’s so much to learn everyday, me myself is going through the process of learning. I absolutely love what I did with Heather’s site and I will definitely do more of it.
Blessings to you,
Ana
Hi Ana,
After reading your post, and recognizing some of the same problems with my blog as with Heather’s, I feel like it’s 6AM on a cold rainy day and I have to lift 20 tons before I finish. I’ve done it before, but I don’t cherish the memory. I know that if the blog is going to do what I want it too, I’m going to have to fix the invalid HTML, and a host of things I barely know anything about. I guess that’s what I’ll get the big bucks for. At least I can blame the validation errors on someone else. I didn’t touch the code, I don’t mess with electricity either. Thanks for all the information. If I ever get through it all, I might be able to make a very well informed comment someday.
Lou Barba
Lou Barba´s last blog ..THE CAPTURE
Hello Lou,
I know how you feel. It’s really a lot of work to fix everything but you can do it slowly and I know you will get there eventually.
Carry on,
Ana
Hi Ana,
This was a really well thought out and thorough review. There are so many different aspects of a blog that have to be taken into consideration, and you did a really great job hitting them.
I think the over use of widgets and plugins is by far the most common mistake for bloggers. I was pulling in plugins left and right when I first got started, but one day I realized my site was moving at a crawl and it was getting so cluttered it was hard to tell what was important.
I’m a guys so I inherently love gadgets…avoiding plugins has the same level of difficulty as getting through rehab. In the end it is definitely worth it. Cut my site speed in half and simplified the layout. For all you plugin addicts like me, stay strong…it eventually gets easier.
Brian@Charleston Marketing´s last blog ..What Web Development Tips Do Designers & Programmers Actually Agree On
Hey Brian,
I won’t argue about men loving gadgets, I understand that. I guess it’s in your nature and I know lots of guys who are also gadget addicts but I’m glad you’re trying your best to slowly get rid of them, maybe not all but just stick with some few that you find really important and valuable. For a plugin addict like you who is going through rehab, I think you’re recovering well.
Keep it up,
Ana
Hi Ana,
I think this is a wonderful idea. You’ve done a very thorough review of Heather’s blog. I’m sure it’s going to help her immensely. I know it’s going to help me as I am making some of the same mistakes.
Thanks again.
Hello Jazz,
Yes that’s the point. By using Heather’s site as an example, others who will read this post will be able to check theirs as well. I’m sure it would also help you with yours.
Thanks for stopping by,
Ana
Ana, this a great, thorough critique. No wonder it took you two days! I think the default behavior for Wordpress is to make sidebar headings h3. You make an interesting point, though, as once I discovered I was ranking quite highly for one of my sidebar headings awhile back. LOL I never thought to use h4 and h5, but it makes sense to use them for sidebar stuff and reserve h3 for post titles on the home page.
Good stuff.
Cheers,
Tia
Tia´s last blog ..5 Ways to Improve Blog Readership With Simple Design Changes
Hello Tia,
Yes, doing that is a lot of work but I enjoyed it and I will definitely do more auditing. H4 and H5 can be useful as well, make use of them.
All the best,
Ana
Thanks so much Anna and Heather for this wonderful blog and tips for all of us!
As we all are on different levels with our blogs from veteran bloggers to newbies who are still figuring it all out, it is great to see such honest and helpful advice for all of us.
All the best to you both!
Cate
Hello Cate,
That’s exactly the idea, by doing this, we will be able to impart our knowledge not only for newbies but even for those who are in the business for a long time but are still eager to learn more.
Thanks for coming,
Ana
What a wonderful analysis Ana! You shared some great insightful tips that helped me.
Heather, I love the use of white space and the colors - white, blue and black. Your blog has a great feel.
I would say that one major thing stood out for me is that visitors can’t see any content or the email opt-in form WITHOUT scrolling down.
To help move those important items ‘above the fold’, I would recommend consolidating the clevermarketer.com logo, the mom pictures, signature and byline… into one space, instead of the two separate areas.
There would be more room for those things on the right side of your logo if the ‘Posts’ and ‘Comments’ links weren’t taking up valuable real estate. The ‘Posts’ and ‘Comments’ links could go on the Sidebar.
If you consolidated the images into one space, then you would want to put the Pages menu on the top of the page, so it would be:
PAGE MENU BAR
HEADER IMAGE
POST MENU BAR
Also, part of the problem is that both menu bars are two rows tall, which takes up more vertical space. And it actually gets confusing for the visitor when they hover over the ‘Social Media’ link and a submenu pops up over the ‘Mahms and Mompreneurs’ link.
So reducing the number of options as Ana suggested will clean up the site and make the menu bars so that they are only one row tall.
I hope that helps pull your content and opt-in form up above the fold.
David
David@mlmleads´s last blog ..EFusjon News Flash – EFusjon Inc Closes Their MLM Business
Hello David,
I greatly appreciate your additional comments on Heather’s site. I know it will also help improve not only her blog but as well as my other readers who are craving for more tips and ideas.
Thanks for your time,
Ana
Hi David,
Thanks for the tips. I was up late “tweaking” trying to get the header information condensed so the content and the top of the opt in form shows up. I may tweak the opt in box a little to draw a little more attention to it if possible.
I so appreciate your feedback, David!
Thanks so much!
Heather
Heather C Stephens@internet network marketing mlm blog´s last blog ..Making Self Discipline Fun- Easy- and Automatic
Hi Heather, thanks for your message. Your site is looking much better. I liked your Clever Marketer logo, but now it’s seems more personal without it. And the menu bars are SO much easier to read.
I would put your signature UNDER your mission statement, so that people see the pictures, read the “I help moms…” statement (get the warm and fuzzies) and then see your signature (so they like you already).
You could modify the image to cut out a little bit more of the vertical white space, to pull the content up further.
The ‘Related Blog’ listings are showing above and below the blog, but you only want it below the blog. This will lift the title and content of your post up the page.
Speaking of, people can’t really recommend your blog post UNTIL they’ve read it. So I would put the social Digg, Buzz, Tweet and Share buttons AFTER the article. On top, they are distracting and they move your content down the page.
On the opt-in form sidebar, you don’t have to include a title, in this case “Did you get your free gift?” I would leave that blank, so that your opt-in box form moves up.
Your goal should be to see the pictures of your ‘Clever Marketer Kit’ above the fold (without scrolling down).
One word about your opt-in box… it’s too long. Look at Ana’s box, it’s short and to the point. She gives the benefit her readers are looking for, then gives them a call to action. The arrow directs them, but is subtle.
Ana’s form box matches the colors of her website, so it stands out, but it’s subtle.
Your website is blue, white and black. And then your opt-in box shouts RED.
When you list too many benefits and details, and have too many arrows, it seems more like a sales pitch.
Final point, you want your visitors eyes to look at the mom pictures, your mission statement, your signature and then your opt-in box. You want the opt-in box to be a natural extension of your mission statement, and you’re simply inviting them to get your Clever Marketer Kit. Make it short and easy for them to do that.
I hope that helps! David
David@mlmleads´s last blog ..EFusjon News Flash – EFusjon Inc Closes Their MLM Business
Wow. Great stuff, Ana. Inspirational for sure. I launched one of my blogs with zero thought (or desire) to attract search engine traffic, but now I am motivated to dig in and get to work. Looking forward to reading more of your blog.
Ty Tribble´s last blog ..5 Ideas That You Can Use To Create An Irresistible Opt-in Offer
Hey Ty,
I’m glad you find your way in my post. Go for it, start now and you will eventually harvest the fruit of your hard work and feel free to come back for more tips.
Have a great day,
Ana
Lot of useful info anna,
Eventhough i think validating is not that much important because html5 has lots of variations,even flash embed cannot be validated.
Jamal Mohamed´s last blog ..Edu backlinks list 2010
I never recommend using flash scripts on blog, Jamal, 1. because of validation reasons, 2. because they significantly slow down blogs.
I don’t think it’s possible to have NO validation errors, but getting as close to perfect as possible is always a good idea.
Thanks for the input!
Ana
Hi Ana,
I am not…afraid
The more potential to improve, the better - right ?
I’m looking forward to your critique.
Have a great weekend
Take care
Oliver
Oliver Tausend´s last blog ..Oliver Tausend’s Blog- Thanks To Top Commentators In October
Good… then it’s decided.
Ana
Ana, once again my initial impression of you is spot on. A true community member and asset to bloggers looking to succeed. I am off to check out Heather now and I am positive I will learn from her as well. I think this is a great segment for your blog and I am sure that it is going to do well!
Lisa´s last blog ..Serping- What Is It & Why Should You Be Doing It
Thanks, Lisa - I am looking forward to this serious developing into something bigger; I truly enjoyed doing this for Heather.
Ana
Here’s a great big virtual {{HUG}}, Ana!
I’m loving this and I so appreciate your help. Thank you for auditing my blog. I know you poured yourself into this post and I am so grateful for you for doing it.
I’ve been blogging for 4 months and there are so many things that I don’t know that I don’t know and this list definitely helps for sure. I am excited to have a checklist to work through to make my blog better.
There are several things you’ve listed that I didn’t even knew where things to be careful of, and things I don’t have a clue how to fix right now, but like with everything I’ve done so far, the answers are out there, and knowing what to look for will make that so much easier.
I’m hanging a “pardon our dust” sign on my blog as I work through all your suggestions!
I’m excited to guest post for you…let me do a little dreaming over the weekend.
Ana, thank you!
Heather
Heather C Stephens@internet network marketing mlm blog´s last blog ..Making Self Discipline Fun- Easy- and Automatic
It’s been such a pleasure, Heather!
I do love your blog and look forward to it growing by leaps and bounds! Hopefully, my suggestions will help you get there faster.
I am here to answer any questions you might have on how to correct the things I mentioned.
Overall, your blog rocks!
Ana
Ana
Excellent Blog Audit.
Invalid HTML code can be frustrating because many times it can be caused by third party code in widgets etc and hardcoded into the theme’s html.
We all can benefit from a third party review of our blogs, good stuff.
Peter
Peter Fuller MBA´s last blog ..Long Term Unemployed on 60 Minutes - Are you feeling desperate
Indeed, Peter.
You are so right about widgets, etc: things like FB share buttons, tweet buttons, Youtube videos - they all produce invalid code.
Ana
PS Do you have any suggestions for Heather’s blog? I’d love to hear more from the readers on that!
Ana
I am a minimalist when it comes to blogs and you identified what I see visually, that her page was too wide and that her home page was too busy.
Now I would never tell Heather that because being a minimalist is a preference and not necessarily what is best to capture leads
You did a fantatstic job reviewing her blog and Heather is very brave for asking for a critical review, not something everyone can do.
Hi Peter,
Personally, I’m a minimalist too and yes you’re right, it is a preference although I would still insist that it’s better that way for so many reason but most importantly, for attaining target speed.
Thanks for the comment, Glad you came by,
Ana
Some great tips there Ana, although I’d hate to see you pick apart our horrible theme!
Andy @ FirstFound´s last blog ..Twitter Trial Verdict – A Complete Joke
Is that a challenge, Andy?
I wouldn’t subject you to it! Our designer’s had “make a good, unique theme” on his to-do list for months now.
Andy @ FirstFound´s last blog ..ISPs Change to a New System- Papers Call It “Doomsday”
Hi Ana,
This is such an impressive critique! I bet CleverMarketer really appreciates this helpful insight of yours. Great recommendations, too!
Indeed, there is always room for improvement.
By the way, I learned a lot myself, too! Thanks!
Elmar Sandyck´s last blog ..10 Brilliant Ideas To Write Blog Headlines That Make People Click- Part 1
You are very welcome, Elmar.
I think you might be new to my blog - welcome!
Just got back from your blog; loved your post about headlines.
Ana
Thanks share, it’s info good with me.
David´s last blog ..Emma Watson Goes Glam At Harry Potter Premiere In London
You are welcome, David - love your site, by the way!
Thanks you, your site is very much tips good for new blogger
David´s last blog ..Emma Watson Goes Glam At Harry Potter Premiere In London
Wow, Ana,
That really is a lot of useful information. I guess Heather has her work cut out for her.
As Oliver said (previous comment), there are a lot of useful things for all of us to check out on our own sites.
Vernon´s last blog ..Doing It Passionately
Definitely, Vernon - and I am planning on doing this every Friday, so there’ll be plenty more to learn and digest!
Ana
Great, I’m looking forward to reading it. I admire the effort you put in!
Vernon´s last blog ..Doing It Passionately
Hi Ana,
as you announced your series, I wouldn’t have thought that you go into such detail. That is very very powerful, awesome.
Victim or beneficiary, that’s the question. If we assume that we all want to improve, I would say that Heather is a beneficiary.
Everybody is, because you are absolutely right: “It is meant to benefit us all.”
Thanks for sharing your powerful expertise.
Take care
Oliver
Oliver Tausend´s last blog ..Oliver Tausend’s Blog- Thanks To Top Commentators In October
You are very welcome, Oliver.
I am ready to do yours next.
Are you still up for it?
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