There are millions of blogs scattered over the Internet and if you've done your research then you know how many you have to compete with. The one thing that
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Great article by Jeffbullas
I had the privilege of speaking at the BE-Wizard Web Conference in Italy last week. It was a tribute to Enrico and his team at Titanka, to witness and participate in an international class conference, that in only 4 years have taken an initially small event, with only 30 people attending in 2009 to having an audience of over 600 people in 2012. After attending the conference over the 2 days at the sea side holiday resort city of Rimini, I decided to grab the opportunity to take a vacation break and explore the sights, history and gastronomic delights of Italy. The trip has also been an educational and invigorating exercise in blogging while travelling and keeping up the discipline of maintaining and monitoring my social networks while on the move by train and motel. Most of the trains in Italy have power, so the challenge of ensuring having enough electrical juice to keep the batteries of the iPhone, the laptop and the iPad powered up has been largely successful. (I would recommend though taking a power board to charge multiple devices at one time) The 3 Essential Mobile Devices for the Travelling Blogger On landing in Rome, some time was taken to ensure I had a local SIM which provides cost effective broadband mobile access that allows mobile blogging, communication and the ability to maintain the social networks. 1. The Laptop The laptop is of course the main mobile blogging station and has the tools for putting the blog posts together. This includes my “can’t do without” software tool for screen shots and image management “Snagit”, that is vital for including those images that are essential on an increasingly visual web. 2. The iPhone The iPhone has been good for posting Instagram photos to Twitter and Facebook, checking my Facebook timeline and viewing Hootsuite for Tweets and direct messages. It is also my Internet tethering device that provides my Keeping in touch via email is a breeze as the Italian mobile broadband is quite fast and very accessible even in out of the way alleyways and the five awesome and picturesque headlands that are in the “Italian Riviera” called the Cinque Terre. Some tunnels even provided internet access! 3. The iPad This the is the consummate tourist guide and tool you can’t do with out once you have used it. It provides you with the Google GPS map function that ensures you can find your way in places like Florence. It is also great to find restaurants and cafes with the “TripAdivisor” app. It also is the perfect research device for finding about the local area and highlights. The local information center is now not required. Travelling while working is becoming easier and more convenient and the mobile connected devices are freeing us from being bound to a desk or even your own country. The Latest Mobile Web Facts and Figures The growth of the social networks over the last few years has been matched by the mobile internet with smart phones sales approaching nearly 500 million units in 2011. The synergy that these 2 fast tracking trends provide is changing how we work and play. So what are some statistics worth noting? The smartphone sales were up over 63% in 2011 from 2010 (488.5 million)5.9 billion people now use mobile phones globallyOver 300,000 apps have been developed in the past 3 years and downloaded more than 10.9 Billion times77% use mobile phones for searchSocial networking accounted for 50% of all page views on mobile phones in 2011Facebook mobile users quadrupled in 2 years from 50 million to 200 millionThere are 200 million mobile video playbacks from YouTube every dayThere are 1.2 billion internet connected smartphones The upside for mobile commerce and smart phone growth is enormous as all mobile phones will eventually become internet connected. On current numbers that means that 4.7 billion smart phones are yet to be sold and connected! Is your business ready for the mobile web? Delete the scoop?
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There are millions of blogs scattered over the Internet and if you’ve done your research then you know how many you have to compete with. The one thing that most bloggers forget is this: Most of your readers are not bloggers, which means they don’t understand how they work. Set your blog apart from competitors by making sure you understand the four characteristics of a user-friendly blog or website.
Loading time: The average readers doesn’t have the patience to sit there and wait for your site to load. Some even think that if it doesn’t instantly appear there’s a problem. Whether they impatient or ill-informed doesn’t matter. If it takes too long for your blog to load they’re going to go somewhere else.
Easy to navigate: Most of your readers have no clue what an archives is or how to search it. They don’t know that blog content usually rolls to the bottom as new content is added. They don’t know that you have a contact page so they can send you an email. They don’t know the difference between blog post categories and pages.
Assume that every reader who visits your blog has never been on a blog before. Make sure all your navigation links are prominently displayed and working. Explain what they are and what they lead to. “Visit this page to read more about me.” “Subscribe by placing your email address in this form. Your privacy is guaranteed.” “Click on the Training Tips category to see all my recent blog posts about housebreaking your puppy.”
Easy navigation also means getting rid of all the clutter that’s preventing your readers from finding those important navigation links. If those ad banners aren’t generating any income, get rid of them so your readers can see more of your real content.
Your presentation counts: So many bloggers assume that their readers will understand industry jargon, or they already know the basic steps to do something and they’re here to learn the nuances.
Again, you have to blog with the assumption that everyone who visits your blog is a beginner. Don’t just toss those industry terms around, explain what they mean. Don’t start in the middle of a project, start at the very beginning for those readers who need all the information.
If you’re afraid your more advanced readers will get bored and leave, then break up your blog posts and link out to more detailed information for those readers who need it.
Search engine optimization: Writing for your readers is your first priority but you also need to focus on search engine optimization. Most of your readers are going to find your content via an organic search, either through their favorite search engine or by using the search box on your blog.
Make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for by focusing on keywords and staying on-topic. Instead of focusing on several keywords and writing a post that rambles on and on, write several shorter posts and get to the point.