By Jeff Gross

Do you have a blog? Sure you do, everyone does. You’ve probably spent quite a bit of time thinking about the major aspects like content, design, and spent additional time networking and trying to get the right people to your site – whether it’s a personal or business blog. One aspect you may have overlooked (many have) is usability. Can a reader find the post they are looking for? How hard is it to load your page? Have you categorized your posts in some intelligent manner?

Help them find what they are really looking for

There are two reasons people visit your site minus the networking clicks that only last a few seconds and aren’t really helpful.

1. You have quality content that people actually want to read in which you impart some information they did not already know.

2. You’re entertaining.

Or if you’re really good you’re both.

Regardless which type of blog you have though, they are not going to follow you or stay on your page any significant amount of time if what they want is hard to find. To make sure they are on your blog for the right reason, don’t use misleading tags or misleading pictures that will lead the wrong people to your site.

Sure, more people are going to look at your blog if you have some shocking or sexy thingy going on, but if it has nothing to do with your subject matter the one’s who mistakenly find themselves there are going to quickly leave, and the people you are actually targeting will never find you. Getting the right visitors may mean fewer visitors initially, but it will mean visitors that will stay longer and your numbers will grow as long as you are providing good content. You help them find what they want; they help you by staying longer. It’s a symbiotic relationship.

Make sure your page is easy to load

Widgets are cool, so is flash. What they are not is fast and chances are server space isn’t overwhelming, especially if you are blogging from a free host site. Eliminate the stuff you don’t need – at least some of the stuff you don’t need. Think about limiting the number of posts/ page, especially if you have a lot of pictures s and whatnot.

Categories

Categorizing your posts should not be overlooked. If you are providing quality content that imparts information, chances are your visitors will want to read more in that specific category. Try not to be too cute with your category titles, just the facts.

And do not overwhelm them with the number of categories. The list of subjects on your side panel should be short enough that people do not have to scroll down to see all of them. If you have related fields combine them. There may not be an exact number, but around 10 is a good place to start, if you have too many more you may want to combine some categories.

About the author

Jeffrey Gross is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) enthusiast who lives on Long Island, NY. Jeff's Search Engine Optimization Company (nPromote) helps businesses get their businesses to the top of the search engines. In his spare time Jeff teaches Search Engine Optimization to small business owners and enjoys lecturing at local colleges and other venues.