Analyze & Optimize

Guest Post by CoolioJones

What’s the best way to get traffic to your site? There are thousands of websites with many lists that tell you different techniques for gaining an audience. But one thing that often goes overlooked is this question: are you giving your readers what they want?

Short of doing a survey, how can you tell if your readers enjoy your site and content? This question necessitates that you constantly analyze your site for anything that could make it better and give your readers an increased experience. A lot of owners optimize their site for the likes of Google and advertisers, but it’s the people clicking on the ads that really generate the revenue. Your content can be amazing, but how hard is it for your viewers to read it? Do they have to fight through advertisements to get to the meat of the story? How many links do they have to click to get where they really want to go?

In addition, things like colors, layout, and the amount of scrolling greatly affect how much time a person stays on your page. Readers don’t want to scroll the equivalent of Mt. Everest, so keep the finger-Olympics to a minimum. Paying attention to your comments are direct clues as to your being on the right path in the eyes of your viewers. Let them know you appreciate their feedback as well. A big overlooked factor is the size of your fonts. Too big, and you’ll feel like your in grade school, or using a magnifying glass. Too small, and the sheer frustration will cause many readers to bolt. Again, talk to your readers to see if these settings are okay, and tweak if necessary.

The internet is a big, impersonal place, but your site doesn’t have to be. Make it feel like home, and your visitors won’t mind kicking back and putting their feet up for a while.