Launching a blog is now as straightforward as it can be and this is reflected in the number of blogs making up the blogosphere. Millions of blogs now exist, some of which are regularly updated with great content while many others unfortunately struggle to attract an audience. In many of those cases, this is a shame as there are many blogs that constantly publish excellent content but are nevertheless ignored due to a low visibility.
Many webmaster feel that proper optimization of their respective blogs is too exhaustive and are thus often afraid to jump in. One of their biggest obstacles is obviously the time issue since they feel that they will need a lot of time to properly optimize a blog, something which they usually do not have. While this is true, there are however many simple steps that anybody can take to make his or her blog better optimized. These techniques are relatively simple to implement and moreover do not require much time
Menus
Obviously, menus are an essential part of any blog and you want great menus that will lead people to browse more pages of your blog. Many blog platforms do not have a top menu by default, which is a shame since this is the section people are going to see first whenever they visit your website. As such, you should ensure that you add a main menu to your blog from which your main pages are linked.
Layout
While fancy layouts used to be a huge craze back when blogs were first launched, simplicity is now the key to ensuring people stay on your blog. Consequently, you want to use a layout that people will feel familiar with and that is as intuitive as possible. Two-column layouts with your posts on the left and other sections such as categories and labels to the right work best.
The Archives Section
The Archives section is one that comes by default with all blog platforms. It basically groups your posts chronologically and is often found right below the categories sections. However, due to its nature, this Archives section is seldom used since nobody actually browses posts on a blog based on post dates. Moreover, the Archives section creates superfluous links which unnecessarily increases your blog's internal link. As such, you can simply remove the Archives section.
Footer
The footer of your blog is another section that can be quickly optimized to make your blog more search engine friendly. Many webmaster try to overload their footers with fluff based on some recommendations they have heard. This includes having tons of links in your footer and huge advertisements.
These recommendations may have worked several years back but are no longer effective. In fact, simplicity is again the key, even more so with search engines now taking a page's load time in consideration. Your footer should at most include your privacy policy, your copyright information and a couple of links such as your home page and your contact page. Anything more would be asking for trouble.
About
The author Ash writes on behalf of the Mauritius restaurant Chateau de Labourdonnais. The Chateau de Labourdonnais is also widely known as a must-see museum in Mauritius.
