Comment posted on Blog Audit Friday: Perfect Niche Needs Perfect Packaging by Cindy Bidar @ Internet Marketing Strategies
I just love these Friday blog audits, Ana. One tab to read this post, one tab with the target site opened so I can follow along, and one tab with MY site open so I can make notes. It’s amazing what you don’t see on your own blog.
Thanks!
Recent comments by Cindy Bidar @ Internet Marketing Strategies
- Your Ultimate Anchor Text Tutorial - from Basic to Advanced
Nice tutorial Ana,I get the idea of shaking it up a bit to keep it natural; but if we assume (I know, it’s a big if) that other bloggers, Twitter, Facebook and the like are NOT using our preferred anchor text, wouldn’t it then make sense to use good keywords in your own link-building activities more often than not?
- 7 Tips for Tweeting Links that Get Clicked
Fantastic tips Kiesha!I love the one about pulling phrases from the post itself rather than just using the title. I think that’s a great way to intrigue the reader and earn the click. I also appreciate your down-to-earth advice about how much self-promotion is too much. I like to use TweetDeck’s schedule feature to retweet my updates two or three times over the next 24 to 48 hours, but then I’m done. I probably err a bit on the side of not enough self-promotion, but as you said, it’s an art, not a science.
Thanks for a really useful, actionable post!
- Blog Audit Friday: Let’s All Be Friends
I really enjoy these Friday audits, Ana. You do a great job of pinpointing exactly what’s not working without being condescending about it. And you give good solid advice we can all use on our own blogs. Thanks!The one thing I think I would change on Lisa’s site (that I wouldn’t have noticed if Dino hadn’t pointed it out) is that her social media icons grow when you mouse over them. It’s a neat effect, but they didn’t scale well, so they’re fuzzy at the larger size, which looks worse than doing nothing at all, IMO.
Lisa, I can’t wait to see what you do with all the great info Ana’s given you!
- Blog Post Images That Will Rock Your World - And Where to Find Them
What a fantastic list! It’s so nice to see something that doesn’t just rehash the old faves like Flickr CC, iStock, and Wikimedia.I’m a little obsessive about the images in my blog posts, often spending nearly as much time choosing a good image as I do writing the blog post. Clearly, that’s not a good use of my time. I think I’m going to adopt your attitude and go for quirky and irreverent instead. That’s got to be more fun!
- How to Successfully Write an Awesome Post Per Day - Every Day
You’re absolutely right about your brain needing the practice. Not only does writing often make you a better, more efficient writer, it also gives you a nearly endless supply of topics to write about.I use Evernote to keep my posts and ideas organized, and I almost always have 30 or 40 drafts in various states of completion. When I’m drafting posts for the week, I just go through my list and pick the ones that look promising.
I got a chuckle out of you saying you write the opening and closing paragraphs last. I rarely write in linear order, and might write the ending first, then the middle, then the opening. What’s the right way to do it? The way that works for you.
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I am a wife to a great husband of 13 years (here ya go, now I have to make changes to this sentence once a year), a mother to a beautiful and, no doubt, genius little girl, and a successful internet entrepreneur. I also devoted my life to Jesus Christ many years ago, and He remains my true priority, focus, and hope.
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Wow, what a great site. I just stumbled on you via MaxBlogPress and one of your guest posts over there. You have a new subscriber, now.
This is a great method you have for building your commenting community and offering a service at the same time. Fantastic and worth remembering.
I’m curious; the final section, you asked us to visit his site, and provided a link - but it wasn’t an actual link that could be clicked, though the one up top was. What’s the reasoning behind that, or isn’t there?
Again, just curious. Look forward to gleaning every bit of information I can from your wonderful site.
Thomas´s last blog ..WiseStamp – Generate Followers Through Your Email
Hi Ana,
Another great review! Your blog would be worth following even if these were your only content.
Kevin’s main FB fans widget shows 932 fans now, which looks like a nice social proof to me. Another FB link in the “Connect with me” section goes to a community with only 20 members, maybe that’s what you were referring to. I think maybe Kevin could promote that community using his more popular fan page, and make a clear distinction between the two, or leave only one in the sidebar, to avoid confusion.
Another suggestion I can make for Kevin is to add a prominent email sign-up form, possibly at the top of the side bar. If you don’t have a newsletter, consider starting one, it’s a great way to stay connected and get repeat exposure to your readers. At least, you can put a FeedBurner email subscription form there. Not all beginner-level readers will know what is RSS, so another prominent subscription option may help.
Val @ Web Tracking Guide´s last blog ..Why High Search Engine Ranking Is Not Enough
I am not sure what you are referring to as far as Kevin’s fan page is concerned, Val - the only FB widget I still see on his blog shows 22 fans only.
I did make the opt-in suggestion as well; I hope he follows our advice.
Thanks for your input!
Ana´s last blog ..Can a minute of your time and a camera help you get more traffic Ask Flickr
That’s strange. On my last visit, the main widget referred to
facebook.com/#!/simplebutcreativeblog
which has 937 fans.
Now that I check again, it refers to
facebook.com/pages/Simplebutcreative-Community/163474473694899
which has 21 fan.
I don’t know why it changed, and what is Kevin’s plan behind this.
Sorry, I missed your opt-in suggestion the first time I read your post. There’s so much good stuff in it!
Val @ Web Tracking Guide´s last blog ..Why High Search Engine Ranking Is Not Enough
You are right, Val - I checked on both and it looks like he has 2 separate fan pages. For some reason, he chose to display the one that has less fans; probably in hope of growing it through his blog. But once again, I think it serves as more of a deterrent.
Ana´s last blog ..Website Traffic Generation- Practical Secrets To Getting A Lot Of Traffic
Ana - another enlightening post. Definitely highlighted several deficiencies in my own blog structure. It also shows that much care must be taken to visible/design aspects of the blog as well as the invisible/structural/technical aspects of the blog. In any case, self audit = not pretty. But onwards we go!
It was great to learn about some new tools as well like the Markup Validation Service.
Thanks,
papalogic.
papa@because papa knows best´s last blog ..PASS- Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo Review with Video
You got that right, papa
Just like when accountants do the auditors’ job. Things tend to get really nasty. Thanks for stopping by!
Ana´s last blog ..Sunday Coffee with Ana- Traffic Generation at a Glance
I better keep leaving comments so I can get a review too
I know these are for the respective authors but I always get at least one or two to-do items for my own blog.
You’ll get there, I am sure, Robert.
Meanwhile, why don’t you work on another guest post for me?
I think I can do that
I got some goodies rolling around in my head that might help the folks here.
Robert Dempsey´s last blog ..Is Your Website Worth 5
Hi Ana,
I really enjoy these blog audits and the amount of effort you put into these posts. They are truly helpful for everyone. I always come away with some good tips on how I can improve my blog. Thanks!
Richard´s last blog ..Riches Corner Report- January 2011
I’m pleased that you do, Richard. Enjoy your stay here on TGC!
Boy oh boy, this one was tough! This was the first Blog Audit Friday I’ve read, and for a minute I was overwhelmed by all the information! I didn’t know you could pull up details like that for anybody’s blog.
I’m feeling a little discouraged by all the things I had no idea I needed to learn. Been a long time since I felt like a raw beginner before! I pulled up my blog to read alongside and made changes as I went.
This is amazing! I hope when it comes my turn, I’ll be ready for you, Ana!
Delena
Delena´s last blog ..Potty Talk
One bite at a time?
The best thing about all these suggestions is the fact that you need to do they only once, Delena.
Ana´s last blog ..How to Use Your RSS Feed to Turn Junk into Treasure
Hi Ana,
Love your blog. Has anyone ever done an audit of your site? you could invite your readers to do that-just for fun! A sort of Turn-the-tables post!
Amy
Amy Spreeman´s last blog ..Home Business Attention Deficit Disorder
You are reading my mind, Amy - I was going to do just that in a week or so!
Hope you’ll make it; I’d love to hear your suggestions!
Ana´s last blog ..15 Scalable SEO Strategies for Newly Launched Websites
Far be it for me to criticize anyone’s blog, as I am just starting out myself, however, one thing I noticed when I went to Kevin’s blog after reading this (I have been to his site before) was the time it took for it to pop up in the browser, which could possibly mean that he has to many widgets and or plug ins that is slowing it down, immensely. Might be something to take a look at and remove any unnecessary stuff to improve speed, which I believe Google (and readers) will take into consideration.
Dan Reed´s last blog ..Building Back Links- A Review Of Social Monkee
Yes, Dan, Google definitely will take that into consideration. Not to mention the people who aren’t in favor of waiting too long
Hi Ana,
I entirely agree about being hit with so many adds tends to put people off. I have a fairly large amount of patience with people selling things, but if it even begins to approach the level of ads that TV has (five minutes of show with three to five minutes of commercials) I “change the channel”. Your approach makes me wonder what you did with your “donate” button. If I can’t buy something, I want to give something. I did take your advise and took the FB fan page banner down on my blog. Thanks again and see you Sunday morning.
Lou
Lou Barba @ informationhighwaycardandgiftshop.com´s last blog ..A NOT SO SWEET ROSA
The worst things about those kinds of ads is the fact that they don’t make much money at all. So I don’t understand why one would want to jeopardize their readership for maybe $50 per month at best.
I took down my PayPal donate button because it wasn’t producing results - not everyone as appreciative of my content as you are, Lou!
Ana´s last blog ..How to Use Your RSS Feed to Turn Junk into Treasure
Ana, all blogging blogs say they are for beginners (including me, but I’m going for a niche within a niche), whats your opinion on real for beginner type posts?
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..What’s YOUR Favorite Twitter Plugins and WHY
I think the real beginner posts are few and far between, yet there’s a huge demand on them.
That’s why I thought it would be good for Kevin to fill that void - he would do great!
Between us, girls, though: I don’t think he’ll stick with it.
Ana´s last blog ..Website Traffic Generation- Practical Secrets To Getting A Lot Of Traffic
Ana, as always very useful tips. when I read your posts I realize how much work needs a website…it’s my second job
))) (the first is teacher of ayurvedic massage and aromatherapy)!!!
Elena´s last blog ..Video - I tre approcci fondamentali allAromaterapia
You’re right about that, Elena, real hard work I tell you. But once you see how good things are going, you’ll realize that it’s worthy of all the hard work you’ve put into it.
Thanks for stopping by
Wow, this is an excellent idea; a little scary when I first read it, but excellent nonetheless.
I suppose if I was to have my website featured on here, I’d be scared at first. But after seeing what you do, Ana, I’d be more willing. It feels like Boot Camp in a way!
This is my first time here by the way, and I’m very impressed with you and your website. 826 comments on one post! Its what bloggers’ dreams are made of
Welcome Stuart
I do blog audits with good intentions, of course. So there’s no need for you to be scared. See you around!
Garshk!! Almost every time you addressed “Kevin” … I heard “Jayne”… although I’m sure I have many additional varying issues. Good on Kevin for opening up his blog to be combed over. I’m sure his pencil lead is down to the wood. Thanks Ana… for these audits. It’s like a “no pain - no gain” situation. I can’t wait to overhaul mine this next couple of weeks and try to understand ‘half’ the points you were mentioning. These audits give me a tremendous list of things to learn… and as I’ve said one day…. you might like to take a round out of me!! Thanks for all the work you put into these Ana… and for Kevin… Good luck buddy, just one thing at a time… you’re closer than you think by having the gumption to expose yourself! ~Jayne~
Jayne Kopp´s last blog ..Too Much Competion to Start an Online Business
Growing pains - we all have to go through them, don’t we, Jayne?
You know I have an idea: if you really have that many questions, why don’t you write them all down and I will make a post out of them.
What do you think?
Ana´s last blog ..Your Ultimate Anchor Text Tutorial – from Basic to Advanced
Ana,
Cindy’s idea was a good one. I tried it too. Hmmm. It did open up some areas I need to change. For one thing I do need to change my headlines to H1. I can’t figure that out so I will be getting with my WordPress guy.
I have been testing the opt in box at the bottom of my posts and I get more optins there than in the side bar. I have one more test to run, so it was interesting to see you tell Kevin to change his.
Thanks Ana this is my favorite series of posts on the net.
Sheila Atwood@www.newbielifeline.com´s last blog ..Finally! The Year Of The Rabbit
I did have to outsource my headings, Sheila - it was definitely a little above my pay grade.
As far as after post opt-in box goes, I tested it extensively on my blog - very poor results. VERY few opt-ins, although sounded like a good idea.
My sidebar and popup generate the most opt-ins.
Ana´s last blog ..Link Building Tip- How to Get 10 High-Quality Links In 30 Minutes Or Less
Whoa-As I was reading your amazingly technological and expert review, I was thinking, “man it takes some corrosion-resistant titanium-strength balls to have your blog reviewed.”
I am learning so much every week, and I love and appreciate your attention to detail and no b.s. approach.
Glad to see that Kevin appreciates this fire under his seat, and I wish him the best!
Thanks so much, Ana-I think I need to go back and re-read with my notepad:).
Linda´s last blog ..Stopping the Complain Train Before it Derails Your Sanity
You are so very welcome, Linda!
“corrosion-resistant titanium-strength balls” - love that! I think we all have to have that once we decide to join the online entrepreneurship!
Ana
Ana´s last blog ..Your Ultimate Anchor Text Tutorial – from Basic to Advanced
I just LOVE blog Audit Fridays!!! I just added the FB social plugin to my blog about a week ago and I’m seeing a pretty steady increase (my number’s still on the small side, but since it’s increasing I think I’ll leave it). I’ve also noticed an increase in traffic, comments, etc since joining a blogging buddies group. It really helps to open things up to other comments and I’m learning so much from the other people in my group.
Katie Goode @Living Anxiety Free´s last blog ..Anxiety Tip- Calming Breath
Hey Blog Buddy-
Glad to see you here, and I appreciate your enthusiasm to our commenting club. Sounds like it’s paying off!
Linda´s last blog ..Stopping the Complain Train Before it Derails Your Sanity
Thanks for the kind words
Enjoy your stay on TGC!
Oh, and Katie, do keep me posted on your progress
Brutally honest and effective, Ana. Your blog audits are a learning experience for everyone.
Steve@how to go green, go green save money, green living´s last blog ..Two Financial Benefits of Solar Panels
Why, thank you, Steve. I try my best to be of help to my fellow bloggers
I have made good use of some points Ana. And great audit as always. Hope this will keep Kevin busy for a while.
Jane.
Jane@Blogging Tips´s last blog ..Finding the Right Domain Name with Right Keywords for a Multi-Niche Blog
You are so very welcome, Jane, and it’s lovely to see you around TGC!
O boy lol
This opened my eyes to many things I should definitely pay more attention to. I need to catch up on some more reading here
Thank you for featuring my blog and showing me what I need to stay ahead of the competition.
I learned a lot and it’s time to apply them.
Kevin
Kevin´s last blog ..The Only 7 Methods Of Making Money With Any Website or Blog
Glad to hear that, Kevin, and look forward to the new and improved SimpleButCreative.com!
Definitely! My blog needs a ton of work. I just needed someone to show me the way. Thanks!
Kevin
Kevin´s last blog ..The Only 7 Methods Of Making Money With Any Website or Blog
Hi Ana,
Using Google Webmaster tools is another way to determine what’s working (and what’s not) as well as seeing where it can be improved. It now has an AB split testing tool that v powerful.
Regards.
Ivan
Thanks, Ivan - I use GWT all the time and probably need to write a post about it. I know many bloggers still miss out on that info.
Hey Ana,
Your blog audits are just amazing. Other than improving my own blog as well, I’m learning a ton about SEO
Have a great weekend my friend!
Mavis
Mavis Nong @ Attraction Marketing´s last blog ..Hot Off The Press- 8 of The World’s Women Experts Grilled on Traffic Generation Strategies!
You too, Mavis, and thanks for coming by - as always!
Off to validator, check my html.Hope it’s not to bad. See Ya LOL
Excellent Audit Ana. Have taken a lot away from that, thanks.
Kevin, get creative, you want to be a blogger. Blog my friend, blog.
Pete
Pete Carr´s last blog ..Blog Planning-Even A Monkey Can Do It
Don’t get too hung up on the code errors, Pete - I am sure you’ll have a few; we all do.
PS Saw your guest post; will check it out.
Oh, I think this is my favorite audit out of all I have read. Why, because I opened my blog in one tab, Kevin’s in another and compared one by one item.
I noticed Kevin everywhere but I was very surprised to see that he has literally only a few posts.
I agree on showing numbers when they are still small. That is why I don’t display my feedburner yet. I started displaying my Facebook widget when I had about 60 fans and now I have 115. I think the widget helped a bit but I totally agree that we should only display numbers when they are really big.
Like most commented posts with 50+ (or 200+) comments.
Anyway, I learned something…again… Thanks, Ana.
I also picked up an idea or two as well
P.S. Not sure if you saw it, I posted my challenge post today, hope it will be good enough for the challenge
Brankica@How to build a blog´s last blog ..Twitter trend – Nicholas Cardot
Just got back from your blog, Brankica - nicely done!
Negative social proof is the worst. I am surprised how many bloggers don’t think twice about displaying small numbers! That’s one of the first things visitors notice on any blog - always need to be careful of that!
My favorite day of the week! Yet again, I pulled some nuggets out of this one Ana…These are such a tremendous help to us.
Cheers,
Lisa
Lisa@blog building basics´s last blog ..If Banner Ads Were Honest
Good morning, Lisa: if you rub your blog too much, you’ll leave a hole in it!
I just love these Friday blog audits, Ana. One tab to read this post, one tab with the target site opened so I can follow along, and one tab with MY site open so I can make notes. It’s amazing what you don’t see on your own blog.
Thanks!
Cindy Bidar @ Internet Marketing Strategies´s last blog ..Perception is Everything
I know, Cindy - sometimes I wish I had someone do my blog!
Actually, you just gave me an idea for a blog post…
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