The Importance Of A Blog Audit

How long have you been blogging? Years, months, days? No matter how long you have been blogging for, you should always make time to sit down and audit your blog. Sometimes you can be so wrapped up in writing posts that you neglect the blog itself- your blog is the summation of all parts, not just the post you are currently writing.

When I land on someone’s blog I always make a mental note of everything I see, the things I like and the things I don’t like as much. Their writing may be brilliant but if their blog is unappealing I may not return. So what is it I am looking for? And more importantly, do you have those things in place?

SOCIAL MEDIA ICONS Something that drives me mad is a lack of social media buttons! Equally as annoying are buttons hidden half way down the blog or buttons that do not actually lead to anywhere!! You may think yours work but it is always worth a check- do it now!

SEARCH BAR Sometimes people want to search for something specific on your blog, make sure that is near the top too- people don’t want to have to search for the search bar!

EASY NAVIGATION Do you have categories? If I want to find all of your recipes or all of your craft posts then it is so much easier to have them all in one place!

CLEAN HEADER For me, the first impression is the header. If it looks a bit homemade then it will put me off- sad but true. I want to know that a blogger is fully committed to their blog and having a great header will show everyone (including brands) you are in this for the long haul.

LARGE, CENTERED IMAGES Something that I see time and time again are blogs with tiny images, aligned to the left. I have to say, when I first started it felt a bit strange having such large images but after reading more and more blogs I can see that I am drawn to those with big photos. I can see that this may be a problem if you don’t have a good camera though.

ABOUT PAGE I like to read about a blogger, I always feel a bit cheated if I can’t find out what their name is or what their blog is about. It is nice to see a photo too, a smiley face that I can picture when I read their posts.

CLEAR FONT There are some really beautiful blogs and I love the bloggers behind them but their writing is so difficult to read. Sometimes simple is best so get rid of the fancy writing and think about what readers will see.

GREAT CONTENT This might sound ridiculous but are you writing great content? Sometimes it is good to take a long hard look at your blog and think about whether your blog makes you happy. If you don’t enjoy something- stop! Read other blogs and think about what makes you happy. Don’t get stuck in a blog rut, spice it up until you find your voice and your niche.

The best way to audit your page is to ask a fellow blogger to take a look and give you an honest opinion. Otherwise, just try and look at it with fresh eyes- make a list of things you love about other people’s blogs and check you have those elements on your own.

Once you get into a routine of auditing your blog regularly you will learn what you like and what you don’t like. You will feel happier about your content and be confident promoting it, knowing people will land on your blog and love what they see!

Is there something you think you could change right now?