Welcome back for another Blog Audit Challenge installment. Hopefully you're already starting to see an improvement in your blog. I'd love to hear about your successes with this challenge so please let me know about the progress you've made so far in the comments below.
This week's topic: Side Bar and Footer
This is really a two part issue so I'll break them down and look at them individually.
The Side Bar:
A side should present secondary information that supports your brand. The side bar is a great place to put information that you want your readers to have quick access to.
Things to consider:
- A subscribe option. Make it easy for readers to follow your content.
- Popular posts. Draw attention to your most popular content and give those posts a longer shelf life.
- Blog archives. Give people access to your blog archives so they can search for posts by category/date.
- CTA's. Got an event coming up? Doing a competition? Bring attention to it and increase engagement by adding a Call-To-Action in your side bar.
- Ads. The top of the side bar is referred to as above the fold as it's the part of the screen that can be seen without scrolling. This is the most coveted space for ads as more people will see it.
- Social media links. If you don't have them else where, include your social media links in your side bar making it easier for your readers to follow and connect there too.
Ideas:
Are you a booktuber? Why not embed your latest video in the side bar?
Pinterest/instagram user? Add a widget to showcase your latest posts.
The Footer:
The Footer is actually a really important part of your website. Think about it. In order to see the footer a reader must have scrolled down past all the other content on the page. That means they are invested in your content. They've stayed long enough to get to the bottom of the page! This makes the footer the perfect place for a strong CTA (Call-To-Action).
When deciding on what type of CTA to include you need to think about your goals. One of my goals is monetization and so my footer now includes special offers for affiliate programs I'm part of. This gives the reader a reward for reading that far down the page as they get a discount or freebie for clicking the links, and hopefully adds to my affiliate income.
You might also want to include a footer menu. I'm going to be working on mine this week. This includes secondary menu content that isn't in your primary menu/ brings attention to your most important pages e.g. Your terms/disclaimers, About page, Contact, Shop, Services, etc...
This week's task:
Take a look at the content of your side bar and footer and optimize them for better results. Think about the main goals for your site, and edit your content accordingly.
Missed a post? Here's a round up of what we've covered so far:
advice about blogging
blog
Blog Audit
Blog Audit Challenge
blogger
bloggers
blogging
blogging advice
blogging tips
blogs
book blogger
book blogging
Footer
Jo Linsdell
Side Bar
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2 comments
Hey Jo! I'm still working on my blog thanks to your challenge. I'm really enjoying it, and your ideas and things to consider have really gotten my brain motivated to make changes! I'm also working on writing a summary post about your blog audit challenge and how I've applied it to my blog, loaded with the links to your blog, haha. I can't wait until the audit is complete so I can reflect on the progress my blog has made!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Thanks. I'm so glad you're finding it helpful. It's nice to know I'm motivating others with my challenge. I know my own brain has gone into over drive with ideas since I started doing this blog audit. Let me know if you do put together a post about the challenge as I'd love to share it. I'm @JoLinsdell everywhere if you want to tag me.
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