7 Ways You Can Make Me Stay Longer At Your Blog

I am always on the look out for ways to make my blog better for the reader and easier for me to do. Therefore I am always on the look out for new ideas. I Gotta Create is hosting a Bloggy Tips 101 Linky Party. Her top 3 tips are (1) Put your name on your blog. (2) Turn off word verification. (3) Upload the right size photos. Go here to read her why and how.

What would you add? Go here to link up your tip(s) post.

Last February (2011) my goal was to read 100 blogs. I wanted to see what I could learn and I wanted to  leave comments.

I find that I tend to read quickly. I understand that is how most of us read when on the Internet. Below are 7 ways you can make me stay longer at your blog.

1. Home button. Put a home button on your blog. Makes it soooo much easier to get back to your first page. Often I will want to explore your blog further, so make it easier on us readers by installing this.
2. Search box. Same thing as #1. Sometimes I go back to your blog because I read a post there and I didn’t bookmark it. If you have a search function, it is quite easy to find it. Or if I read about a topic on your site and want to see if you have anything else on this same topic, the search box is vital.
3. Playlist. I don’t like going to sites that have a playlist for three reasons. (1) I like it quiet when I read. (2) I usually have multiple pages open at the same time and it is disturbing to hear music from multiple sites. And if multiple sites are open, it is hard for me to find which one has the music playing. (3) If I am in the mood for music, I have my own music playing. So again I will have music from multiple sources.
4. Black background. I find it hard to read pages and pages of white type on black background.  When I come to a blog like that, I rarely read it.
5. rss versus email subscription. I like being able to subscribe to your blog through the rss feed. I like the idea of being able to see all the blogs I subscribe to on my Google reader. I don’t like the only option being an email subscription. I already get too many emails. If that is my only choice, I rarely subscribe.
6. About Me page. I always check this when I get to a new blog. It helps me decide if this is a blog I want to pursue further. It is helpful if there is a picture of you there. One reason I read blogs is for community or a sense of connection (many of you said the same thing). Having a photo and well written About Me page helps with that.
7. Related posts. I like it when the writer will suggest related posts (from their own archives). That way I can keep reading about the topic without a lot of work on my part. This is especially helpful if you don’t have categories at your blog.

P.S. I HATE word verification, too!!! So much so that I will usually NOT leave a comment if I have to go through these hoops.

Your Turn . . . What would you add to this list?

Related Posts   . . .  Top Two Things I’ve Learned About Blogging

7 Things to NOT Have on Your Blog written by Mom Crunch. Mom’s #1 & #2 are the same as my #3 & 4. Go to her site to read the other 5. In a word each they are about: Stealing, Sidebar, Spelling, Swearing, and Schedule.

8 Ways to Engage Visitors Longer on Your Blog This post has ideas I didn’t include on my list.

NOTE: This is an updated post from February 2011.