Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
The Internet is full of things that improve how any blog can perform in terms of traffic. However, none of them will be of much help if not for several key components. And no, there’s no secret recipe or one-size-fits-all platform. So, how can you make a good blog?
That really depends on you and what you’re trying to achieve. Not everyone views success in the same way. Some will attribute it to making money while others just want to entertain.
Not everything you find online is going to work perfectly for your blog. Every site is different.
Today, let me explain why and give you an idea of how to create something magical…for your needs.
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There’s No Trick to What Makes a Good Blog
I’ve seen all kinds of tips, tricks, hacks and suggestions to improve websites over the years. And while some of them do have merit, most experts gloss over one vastly important factor.
The creator.
The person who will create a blog today should have an idea about what he or she wants tomorrow. And this ultimate end game is what should drive the person’s success.
This could be anything from the sheer enjoyment from blogging for fun to someone wanting to replace a full-time income. All paths are different when it comes to anything online.
What really makes a good blog can be summed up in just five major parts:
Goals of Your Blog
What is it that you want to accomplish when you build a blog? Are you looking to make money, promote your business, or just be social? How much traffic will it take to call yourself a success?
These types of questions will govern over how you design and market your website.
For instance, you’d want to create a large amount of content if you want to bring in an audience to make money. If you’re just blogging for fun, then you probably don’t really care about pushing yourself onto social media.
Well, as much as a corporation would, anyway.
Use Design to Help Make a Good Blog
First impressions are vastly important. If your blog doesn’t have a good flow for your audience, or has elements that are difficult to use on the site, it won’t be much in terms of a success.
The layout of the website needs to be centered around your audience. What do they find appealing? What things do they click on the most? How much of the content is actually getting read?
Don’t design your blog to my standards, or anyone else’s for that matter. Cater the site to your specific audience.
You as an Individual
I can write blog post after blog post about how you should structure content. You could use the best practices for writing in SEO format and still have a bad blog.
Your personality and style when writing makes a huge impact on whether someone wants to read your content.
It doesn’t really matter what kind of optimization techniques you use. If you can’t write to engage your audience, you’re not going to engage your audience. It all comes down to your ability to tell a tale or share information in a post.
You’re Target Audience
I’ve talked about the audience quite a bit so far, and that’s because they are the ones who dictate a successful website. If you have no audience, the blog is simply there, in the digital space, collecting virtual dust.
Who are you writing for? Will they find value in the content? Is this something people want to read that is relevant to your site’s niche?
You can do everything right to appease the search engine gods. But if people don’t like your topics, content, or design, they aren’t going to stick around long.
Marketing to Your Audience
Part of making a good blog is finding the best methods to market to your audience. I’m not just talking about sharing every post you make on Twitter, though.
You need to be interactive and find methods that are ideal for you and your audience.
For example, I have several key hashtags I use when sharing on Twitter as I am part of a community, and they are who I want to visit my sites. And I don’t always talk business. I join in all kinds of comments and have fun.
What Are Key Metrics I Use to Tell if I’m Successful?
I’ll give you an example of what I look for in Analytics. However, you’ll more than likely figure out your own needs as you go.
Keep in mind that everyone is going to look for specific data. Some will focus intently on Google Adsense reports while others may try to improve likes and blog comments. It’s all about what you find important.
So, what do I look for to see if my efforts to make a good blog are successful?
Pageviews, Obviously
The more people I can reach to help, the more successful I view the blog. My ultimate purpose is to help as many people as I can with factual information about what I provide.
This is probably one of the biggest metrics anyone can use, really. After all, the purpose of a blog is to reach readers. Otherwise, you might as well keep a diary in your desk.
Of course, having pageviews means very little if people are not actually reading the blog. Which brings me to…
On-Page Time
The amount of time someone spends reading your content is an indicator for you as a writer. If it’s not engaging enough or the writing is poor, you’ll definitely see a low on-page time.
Also, keep in mind the length of the posts. Longer posts will get longer on-page times.
This is also affected by the bounce rate. If someone visits a page and sees it’s not what they were looking for, he or she usually leaves quite quickly. You’ll get a bounce and a low on-page recording.
Referrals
And lastly, I value where my audience comes from outside of Google search results. If you don’t really care about things like social backlinks or links from guest posts, then this metric probably isn’t for you.
For example, 49.06% of traffic to this blog from referrals outside of search engines comes from YouTube. So, that tells me that marketing my blog on the YouTube channel has been worthwhile.
Especially when you consider only 7.55% come from Facebook. Then again, I don’t really do much for social media outside of YouTube, which is something I am currently working on.
Coincidentally, visitors from YouTube are more likely to explore the blog and spend time reading its content.
What Makes a Good Blog is Different for Everyone
So, what makes a good blog? Well, the short answer is YOU. Because without your ability to create content, know your audience, and your plan for the site, it wouldn’t really exist.
Just remember that no matter what tips, tricks, or hacks you try for SEO, your content is what will keep people coming. Your ability to write an engaging, informative, or entertaining piece means more than most SEO techniques in the grand scheme of things.
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