Consistency with your blog’s appearance, blog posts and your social media interaction all play a role in attracting and engaging your readers which in turn, plays a key factor in driving traffic to your blog.
Be Consistent with Your Blog’s Appearance
Create an eye-appealing appearance instead of an eye-sore by being consistent with how your blog design is set up. A user-friendly appearance offers readers a more enjoyable experience to engage with your content. When they can easily navigate their way through your blog, it encourages them to browse more and stay a little longer.
Some tips to keep your blog’s appearance consistent:
- Use consistent colors for the theme instead of an array of colors that clash together. Stick with three or four different colors for the overall color combination of your blog.
- The same goes for the fonts you use throughout your blog. Use the same font; maybe choose no more than two different types per posts. Pick ones that are clear and easy to read. The size of the font for the body of the posts should be at least size 11 or 12.
- Consistently space your sentences and paragraphs. Do not let paragraphs run on for fifteen sentences at a time. Readers skim when they read on-line and they tend to skip long blocks of paragraphs. Consider placing the important words and sentences in bold, italics or highlight significant parts to make them stand out.
- Regularly use headings and sub-headings that use accurate keywords that are relevant to your topic. This also helps for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to further increase your rankings and traffic.
- Use bullet points and numbers when appropriate since it makes it easier for readers to skim and scan for information.
Be Consistent with Your Postings
Consistency, of course, also means being consistent with the maintenance of your blog and updating it on a regular basis. A regularly updated blog helps keep traffic high. It provides your regular readers something new to read.
- Aim to have a regular schedule for your blog. A good idea is to choose a specific category to posts about per day, particularly if your blog incorporates a few different topics.
- If you cannot update daily, at least update weekly. Share and promote one or two new posts through the week using social media and by participating in blog hops and linky parties to reach more readers.
- Be consistent in utilizing social media to help drive traffic. Do not be afraid to share your blog posts as long as you do not spam one place with the same posts.
- Use good quality photos and images. You do not need an expensive camera to create good visuals; just be sure to avoid blurry photos and pictures with bad lighting. Read here for more photo tips.
- Try to use your own photos. Properly credit your image source if using someone else’s photos and seek permission if you are not sure if the photo can be used.
- If you do not have any photos to use, you can create images through free services like PicMonkey.
- Consistently produce well-written content that are void of grammatical mistakes. It is easier for readers to enjoy your posts when you regularly use proper grammar. Use spell-check and edit your posts before publishing. We all have typos and little mishaps now and then but do not let it be consistent mistakes post after post that drive readers away instead of engaging them.
Remain Consistent to Keep Consistent Traffic During Breaks and Holidays
During summer and holidays when we all tend to be busy, update your blog as much as possible instead of letting its traffic decrease. Here are some easy tips to do that:
- Continue to aim to update your blog with a new post at least once a week.
- Write shorter posts, maybe a quick tip or check in with your readers by letting them know what you have been up to and what is keeping you busy.
- Think about writing posts during the less busy times of the year and then waiting to publish them when you know you will not have time to write actively. This will help you continue to build your blog and offer your readers something to read while you are on vacation or busy with the summer fun and holiday chaos.
- Use the scheduling feature on your blog to automatically publish your posts for you.
- Share your old posts to social media and on blog hops and parties you join. Many of them accept old posts to link up as long as it is not something that you have linked to before at that party. This is a good idea when you have new readers since they most likely have not seen these posts.
- Accept guest posts from other bloggers who write similar topics consistent with your blog posts when you cannot update with your own posts. Swap posts with other bloggers to drive new traffic to one another’s blogs.
Consistently Interact with Others
Connecting with your readers and other bloggers regularly is also important to boosts your blog and traffic.
Sharing truly is caring and you get what you give.
- Consistently share other bloggers’ posts and blog sites along with yours on your social media sites.
- Regularly respond to comments on your posts. Then, if they have one, visit their blog and comment, too.
- Do not forget to connect as much as possible with others during those busy holiday seasons.
Maintaining a blog is all about being consistent through quality content, having an appealing, easy to navigate appearance and regularly updating and interacting with your readers and other bloggers. Remember these tips so that your audience remains regularly engaged, as well.
What things do you do on a regular basis to drive traffic to your blog?
Bernadyn Nettles is the creator of the blog, B is 4 and she also writes for Hubpages. She shares tips and insights on parenting, families, food, green and frugal living, photography, blogging/writing, crafts and DIY projects. She also enjoys offering her readers suggestions on places to go and things to do in her hometown, Jacksonville, FL along with other places her family may travel to on their family adventures.