Normally i don’t write for traffic, but this week, two of my posts will be ‘made for traffic’ posts. It’s not so much the fact i’m desperate for more traffic, it’s just experimenting with what people want and what sort of stuff is of interest to them.
That doesn’t mean the posts will be poor quality or link bait… no… it means the quality will be pretty high, higher than normal. My ’18 random ideas’ post still sends me more traffic than any other…whilst it’s nice to be getting traffic from that almost year on, it’s not nice to see the one post dominate my daily traffic 🙂
That was a ‘made for traffic’ post…. i’ve also had several other ‘made for traffic’ posts flop. Like 50 daily annoyances for instance.
So in a bid to hit the nail on the head once again, i’ll be keeping these posts tech related and hopefully somewhat useful / informative. The reason for the double whammy of ‘made for traffic’ posts is purely experimental.
I also feel my new theme looks much more professional than my old one, so perhaps it could play a role in getting people to stick around longer…
I’ll post some screenshots of traffic, sources and RSS subscriptions towards the end of the week and we’ll see if this ‘deliberate’ approach works…
Just a general comment ….. your new design is an effort to establish a more professional identity for yourself.
What I’m finding more confusing as the days/posts go by is the direction your blog is taking ….. your posts seem to becoming more personal and less tech/informative …
Don’t shoot the messenger ….. I am a regular reader …. if I’m confused as a regular reader what’s a newbie visitor going to think?
Perhaps a tag cloud might help define the direction you’re taking on the blog?
Well, it’s a tough one to call… in my eyes, every single post is a personal one as they’re all full of my own opinions on things.
Given the fact i am a blogger and i am building sites etc… i also think it’s only natural i write about tech stuff too as it plays a huge role in my life right now…
The reality is i don’t know most of the time what i’ll be writing about today or tomorrow… i just write whatever comes to me at that moment. If i plan ahead too far or too often i feel i’m ‘cheating’ as it’s too easy to do that and i also believe that makes post less personal as you tend to make posts about ‘top 10 lists’ or ‘how to do x’…
Ironically i believe those posts are the ones that drive traffic, but if you do that constantly, you lose the personal touch…
It’s very difficult for me to blog about a set subject all the time or stick to personal or informative categories… every now i then i like to mix it up with between the two… It’s a very difficult question to answer or even begin to answer and to be honest i’m not even sure if i do know the answer to it!
All i know is that i write about what interests me the majority of the time and if i feel i’m getting too boring or repetitive i’ll mix it up with posts like the one’s i’ll be posting later this week.
There is a tag cloud at the bottom of the homepage by the way, i’ll also think about adding one to the sidebar as i agree, it helps to sum up a blog in a few words 🙂