Weekend Discussion: Should A Blogs Homepage Be Optimised To New Visitors?
Have you ever thought about how your blogs home page is viewed by readers on their first visit? What does it tell people about your blog and where does it direct them? This weekend, let’s discuss the perfect homepage design for your blog!
I don’t know if you have ever checked your blogs stats, but chances are that your homepage is one of your most popular pages.
Whether people hit your homepage straight away, or enter through one of your posts and then decides to check out what else you have on offer – have you ever thought about what type of first impression your blogs homepage gives new visitors?
Over 1,000 People Visit My Homepage Each Month!!
I was shocked to find out that my home page was my 3rd most visited page last month (following my ebook cover tutorial and Facebook landing page posts) with over 1,000 visits in July.
Chances are that a good percentage of these 1,000 visitors are new readers and I don’t know about you but sometimes I’m not sure that my blogs homepage is the best tool to keep readers interested in my blog.
Something that has got me thinking about this is Jordan Cooper’s redesign of NotAProBlog -and more importantly, his new home page.
So I wanted to put this weekends question out to you….
How Can We Best Optimise Our Blogs Homepage For New Visitors?
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Latest Posts (Regular Blog Homepage)
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Try To Sign Them Up For Our Email List?
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Highlight Blogs Popular/Best Posts
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Something Else…??
Now I know this will be different based on what the focus on your blog is, but throw your thoughts and opinions into the ring and let’s get some discussion happening!
46 Responses
8.7.2010
Home Page must contain Recent Post, Popular Post, Subscription form and less advertisements.
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:07 am
But if you cut out your advertisements is that setting them up to get annoyed when they read your regular content?
But, I understand you point that it should include all the major points.
8.7.2010
I think the key to the home page is to have a little of all of them. Sometimes a static page is best like not a pro and other times nothing will convert like your content. The best thing to do is to do some a/b testing and see what converts.
The only way to truly know is to back up assumptions from your readers and self with data. Which can be done with google’s website optimizer.
I really like your current home page though.
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:08 am
Thank Seth, I think that is what I will do, ‘a little bit of testing’!
8.7.2010
Great point and you’re dead on. Most visitors to your home page are new visitors. Your home page should contain summaries of your most recent articles (magazine layout style works great), it should prominently feature your newsletter and subscription options, highlight your best and top content and have high level information about you that drives them to your About page. If you offer eBooks or other products, those should be featured as well.
One big mistake new bloggers make is having adsense on their home page. This just makes your site look “spammy” and generates very little revenue as most search engine visitors (the ones that click on your ads) arrive on single article pages, not your home page.
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:10 am
I dropped adsense from this blog over a year ago, because I found that the readers in my niche see to block the Google ads from their vision!
I forgot about the magazine format, that is another good options, because it gives them a few headlines to grab their interest.
Larry@Side Income Blogging Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Adsense really only works for well for people visiting from search engines. I recommend using the Who sees Ads plugin and only showing adsense to search engine visitors.
8.7.2010
Well if you would like to know what I thought I wrote an article post about the ‘Psychology of Web Design’ but even though my blog homepage is on Blogger.com I still write a ‘How to…?’ Blog Guide on wordpress I have changed the website address on this for from my blogspot homepage to the url of this article, you’d be surprised what roll different colors play when new readers view your homepage for the first time.
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:11 am
I just went and read your post! Definitely had a couple of things that I hadn’t considered. Thankyou for your comment!
8.8.2010
Thomas,
I’ve actually always thought about this and have thought to really incorporate all above into a creative design for your page that is somewhat interactive / attractive to the purpose of your blog + your story.
For instance what if a blog/site looked something like this: http://tahoetechtalkconf.com/
And the few sections on the homepage would be the key essentials you want people to discover that are focused on what all makes your blog/site truly stand out.
Great discussion topic!
Best, Derek
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:15 am
That is one cool home page! (And I can now see why you want to go!!!)
Definitely an interesting concept, a little to abstract for me, but there are some points that I really like!
Derek Jensen Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:22 am
Yeah I know right!
And yes it could be too creative but the purpose for this creativeness is to be unique and attract. Many blogs could learn from this because if you think about it you really don’t need much content displayed on the homepage….
Just make your story, purpose, and community stand out and put some content in there for filler.
Alex Cristache Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Derek has an interesting view on this, one that I’m exploring myself for my future redesign. Yes, magazine style homepages have the advantage of presenting lots of fresh content from different categories/topics, but still, nothing keeps the reader close like good calls to action and guidance through layout structure and information structure.
Actually, there are many things to say and I’ll think I’ll just ping you from my next post, to develop more on this. Will drop the link here after it’s published.
Anyway, great discussion topic Thomas!
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Sounds great Alex! I can’t wait to see what you add to the mix :D
8.8.2010
Hi Thomas
Wow awesome site and I just had a look around.I like your site and the set up alot but I don’t like all these lame fancy LIST Hustling pops up all these people are using now.
I also think and see the Alexa on that site that says sign up for exclusive access Dude must be HIGH
Anyway Glad to read your story page and check out the site.
I am actually looking to redo my personal blog and see this as a site if I could get mine half as nice I would be happy :) I need to get off thesis but been busy tending to the Hottest blogging community on the Planet :)
Nice to see some quality bloggers around :)
Best wishes
Stumbled a bit hope it helps
Thanks
Larry@Side Income Blogging Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 11:35 am
John, Why do you need to get off of Thesis? Thesis is hands down the fastest and most SEO optimized theme available…
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Hi John! Thanks for the kind words, but I shouldn’t have a popup at the moment. I deactivated the plugin after a few complaints and am giving it a week without to see if I have a difference in subscribers. (Is anyone else seeing a popup when they visit this blog?)
Thanks for the stumbles, and I will definitely head over and see what you got going on.
8.8.2010
I love the What Would Seth Godin Do plugin – it allows you to customize a welcome message for new visitors. I add my email optin link to it and voila! Lots of new subscribers! :D
Heather
Derek Jensen Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Great tip Heather! :D
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
I have been using that on one of my other blogs, but I didn’t want to add it to this blog, cause I feel like there is already too much going on (looking at trimming back a bit). But a great plugin!
Heather Allard Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Yeah, I think trimming back on your homepage might help – they say “a confused mind always says no”, so you might find that people stick around and click around more after you simplify the homepage a bit.
You might like this Tim Ferriss video – I got some great ideas from it. :D
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/29/how-to-build-a-high-traffic-blog-without-killing-yourself/
Heather
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 6:27 am
Hi Heather, thanks for the link (I’ll check it out – am a big fan of Tim Ferriss). And I think you are right, it is usually better to give your visitors less choices.
8.8.2010
I make my living as an editor and writer. Therefore, a prominent ad touting $1.60 cheap article writers convinces me to never return.
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
I can understand your view as an editor and a writer, but did you stop to actually read the article?
allthoseads Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
No. Why read an article with that headline?
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Because in it I explain that I was testing out a new keyword research program, and started a new blog in a niche that I had to experience in – and wanted to test the market.
It doesn’t make economical sense to spend $250 ($25each for 10 articles), just to test a niche that was monetized by Adsense.
allthoseads Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 11:03 am
But the overall focus of the whole page is optimizing a blog’s homepage for new visitors.
I’m a new visitor; I’ve never been here before. The headline I mentioned told me I was on the wrong blog, regardless of the content of the article. This blog’s homepage may be optimized for other new visitors; it isn’t optimized for me.
8.8.2010
While I understand why it can be beneficial to have the “magazine” layout for your index page, it really goes against the nature of a fundamental internet marketing and sales letter technique: One page. One purpose. One action. (the point of a “squeeze page”)
That’s why I questioned the blog model in the first place. If we’re designing long-form sales pages & mini-sites for our products – because it increases conversions immensely – how come we’re not doing the same on our blog directly?
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
That is a really good point! It is almost like we are saying that we know better (but do we really?).
I am leaning towards the squeeze page, but I also like the idea of highlighting some of my more popular posts (will have to see if I can integrate that idea, or if it will just lower effectiveness)
Jordan Cooper Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
That’s why I don’t think there’s really a definitive answer. It’s a matter of testing things out (because speculation means nothing, hard numbers & analytics do) and then finding out what’s most effective for your blog & business.
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Too true! While advice is nice, nothing compares to testing things out in your environment.
Larry@Side Income Blogging Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
Jordan, to be the difference is what your selling. To be our blogs aren’t once single product. Each individual article is a product, so the squeeze page model doesn’t seem to work. Now if you offer a product than the pages leading to those products should be squeeze pages.
Maybe I’m missing the boat, but with a blog index page, you’re driving people in lots of directions, not just one, much like Amazon.com.
Jordan Cooper Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
The question I’m fundamentally asking is why *are* you driving people in lots of directions?
Every successful blogger in the known universe harps over and over again how the e-mail list is the most important asset you can have. Why do you think we all write that free eBook “carrot” just to entice visitors to sign up?
My attitude is that if *that* is the most important aspect of your business model, then why don’t you limit the amount of direction you’re dragging people in on your blog’s index page and highlight the benefits of signing up to your list on a more full-featured squeeze page when they come in the first place?
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 6:38 am
I think the problem for me is that I need to work on my direction. I am building an email list, but at the moment I don’t think it is anywhere near as effective as it should be. All my income comes from affiliate sales from recommendations in my posts(usually old ones), but I think I need to make the change to focus on building a quality community around my blog instead of one off SEO-based sales.
8.8.2010
Yeah, I have to agree with Jordan here – it’s best to limit what I call “off ramps” and have a single focus on your homepage – sign ups, buyers, etc.
Dave Navarro over at The Launch Coach just started using the Popup Domination plugin and said his sign ups have gone way up. There are a few options for customization (what it looks like, how many times a new visitor will see it, how many seconds before they see it, etc) and it’s essentially a pop-up squeeze page.
Reese Spykerman just wrote this guest post on my blog that offers some great home page tips:
How To Clear Your Website Clutter In 3 Key Areas
http://www.themogulmom.com/2010/07/reese-spykerman/
Thanks for the great discussion!
Heather
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 6:41 am
I was using Popup Domination on this blog but especially in this niche, the use of the popup is much to prolific (and it was becoming less effective) – so I dropped it.
However, it works great on niches outside the MMO and internet marketing niches.
It looks like I have a bit of redesigning to do of my homepage (and bits of the rest of my blog), and I really liked that guest post on your blog – it gave me a few ideas!
Heather Allard Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 6:44 am
Yeah, I guess you have to change things up when they stop working…
I’m so glad you liked Reese’s post – girl knows her stuff. ;)
I’m looking forward to seeing the changes you make!
Heather
8.9.2010
I have a separate page for new visitors – although it is not my home page.
If someone comments for the first time, I send them to the “new visitors” page using the Comment Redirect plugin.
I had a weekend of ruthlessly getting rid of stuff / jink in my house – perhaps it’s time for a re-vamp of the blog!
Andrew
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I used to have comment redirect (don’t know where I lost it), and it is a fantastic plugin to help keep commentators and help convert them to subscribers.
8.10.2010
Here’s an idea…
Look at wpbeginner.com they have a nice call to action that is simple and effective but still great access to content.
If we take away the content new visitors have no reason to sign up. They have to see your products and content before they will be “sold” on your legitimacy. Making a home page simple is far better than just trying to sell.
I really think that wpbeginner does a simple job in getting what it wants. Too often we don’t know what we want though.
If you can find out what you want the most > then you can balance out your new readers with your current readers and what you want from them.
Thomas Sinfield Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
That is a good point Seth! I like the idea of having an offer at the at the top, and an overview of some of your best content underneath so that then can see some of what is on offer.
I can see that going for the list sell could be overkill for a first impression, but internet marketers have been doing this for years…
8.10.2010
Really great post Thomas,
You are absolutely right.
Improving your homepage and optimizing it for new visitors might make a huge difference.
Thanks a lot for the great post!
8.11.2010
Thomas,
that’s an interesting question, and the first time I arrive on your blog ;)
I luv the way Chris Guillebeau and Nathan Hangen do it – they have like a welcome page that shows their entire projects – blog, products etc.
I don’t have that, because I prefer readers to jump straight back into the action. That’s why my newest post is always at the top – so that everyone sees the new magic that I’m producing.
Cooper’s redesign is interesting and moves him closer to a business. It takes some time to get used to it though.
I believe anything goes. Just do what feels right to you and that see what’s happening. Ask your audience and see what impact it does.
Keep rocking the digital world, Thomas
8.12.2010
Hi, can you please tell me how is my home page optimized? What changes i must make?
8.16.2010
Hi Thomas… I do notice most of my visitors stop by on my homepage only and seldom read my blog posts. Looks like I might need to do a redesign as well.