Comments on: Match Your Blog’s Metrics to Its Goals

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:48:10 +0000

Thank you, Elaine! Hope to see you again soon!

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:47:51 +0000

Right, placement of information on your site is paramount. I am actually tinkering with the idea of removing a lot of information on my blog, and maybe even going from 3 columns to 2.

Less is more, in most cases Thanks for the comment!

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:39:23 +0000

Sound advice, as always, Mack.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:45:00 +0000

Hey Jesse! I think that’s a good reminder that sometimes you can put TOO MUCH information on your blog, especially at the top. It’s often better to focus on fewer areas, so that way those all-important calls to action will stand out. Thanks for the mention of Seth’s book, I’ll have to check it out!

By: Boomergirl

Boomergirl — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:50:53 +0000

Love the mention of “above the fold” . Clearly demonstrates the need for expert graphic design when designing a new site. Currently in the process of a re design with our blog and lucky to have an expert graphic designer involved as well as an experienced programmer. Both essential for design excellence.

By: Jesse Luna

Jesse Luna — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:43:23 +0000

Great reminder Mack. Using the “above the fold” approach is very valuable in Web design and in optimizing site conversions.

Seth Godin wrote a book entitled “The Big Red Fez.” The entire book (a tiny one) encourages Web designers to think like a site visitor. Why hide key call to action items (like email subscriptions, Buy Now buttons, etc.) when instead they should be HUGE on the page and as visible as possible? He’s a fan of the “big ‘ol button” method of design. I’ve used that approach in email marketing for years and it works.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:12:06 +0000

Tom I was wondering the same thing, so I stopped asking for email subs at the end of the posts after the first few times I did it. The level of email subs remained higher than it was before. A few years ago I did the same thing with The Viral Garden, I moved the email and feed subscription buttons to the top of the blog, and immediately saw a spike in both. Especially with a blog, anything below the fold is really almost invisible to the reader.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:10:08 +0000

Good points, Maciej. This also helps you get a better handle on exactly what topics are resonating with your readers!

By: tom martin

tom martin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:42:13 +0000

mack

i wonder if your growth in email subs wasn’t because you started ending posts with a call to action — subscribe. I know when I started doing that I saw a similar spike, which has now become the new normal, in email subs to the blog.

great piece.

@TomMartin

By: Maciej @ SEO Noobie

Maciej @ SEO Noobie — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:32:40 +0000

If you follow your analytics information closely you can clearly see which blog posts are pulling in traffic and which are not. That also depends if the blog posts are being pushed out and leveraged strategically and not haphazardly.