Blog theme effectiveness?

11 replies
Does anyone here know what the effectiveness of having a custom theme for bringing and keeping traffic is? Currently I have a regular downloadable theme from WordPress and I'm wondering if I should try and make my own theme to stand out or if I should concentrate on things such as SEO and other traffic generation technique (while obviously providing effective content for my site).
#blog #effectiveness #theme #traffic
  • Profile picture of the author icoachu
    Themes make a big difference when it comes to Adsense clicks. As for attracting traffic, some are more effective than others. The thesis platform theme is built with SEO in mind but if you don't want to spend money there is a good free plugin by Yoast for SEO. Check it out. It optimizes your title, description, and yes, the body of your post.
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  • Profile picture of the author nuworld
    I recommend the Thesis theme. It is very clean and fast. Site load speed is a factor in ranking a website. Also, white background and black text tends to convert the best.
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  • Profile picture of the author betterwtveter
    I recommend changing the theme while your are optimizing it as well. The theme needs to work around what you are selling.
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  • Profile picture of the author seaduck13
    Originally Posted by eglassman88 View Post

    Post a link to your site. You'll get better feedback. You can do a lot with free themes, it really depends on what you actually have done to customize it.
    I can't post it, I don't have enough posts, but if you want to manually enter it, its digiexistence.com.

    In regards to other posts, I am using Yoast's SEO tools. I'm just looking at every way to optimize traffic and retention. I understand it takes effort but obviously I want to start with the easiest, most effective things first.
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    • Profile picture of the author seaduck13
      Originally Posted by eglassman88 View Post

      That sites about as "bland" as you can get. Looks like you haven't customized a thing. How exactly are you looking to generate revenue? Adsense, product sales, ebooks ? If I were you, I'd be looking for a "prettier" theme than that. Just my .02 cents
      Oh I'm quite aware that it's bland, I just started it like a week ago. Most of the time in between has been spent reading stuff on here and around the internet about SEO and other techniques for generating traffic. I'm trying to work at making a blog that generates affiliate sales.
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    • Profile picture of the author TheArticlePros
      [DELETED]
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      • Profile picture of the author seaduck13
        Originally Posted by JaRyCu View Post

        Your problems have very little to do with your theme and a lot to do with everyone else you're doing. All of these are from my point of view only, so take them how you will.

        #1 - Your original post to the blog:



        You've only had the site up for 5 days. Don't panic until it's been up for 6 months and you're not getting anything at all. Also, you need to do a few things with that post:
        • Change it into a static page and add it to your menu.
        • If you're going to make this a review site, you have to understand that I don't know you and I don't give a rip about your favorite stuff. Give me a better reason to stay on-site and read and click something besides my back button.
        • You should never have a post up that's less than 500 words, even if it has video. Search engines can send you traffic without having something to base it on.

        #2 - WTF is This Post??


        It literally says "ERUXEQAECNFH" and that's it. Hit the 'trash' button on it.

        #3 - Your Header

        Why is it a square? Headers are long and rectangular. Spread it out a little so that you can lose some of the whitespace at the top.

        #4 - Use Up To Date Information

        Your pick, in Oct 2012, for the best tablet out is the Asus Transformer Prime? Really? That tablet's a year old. We have a new iPad Mini announced this week, Samsung has the Galaxy 3 and Note that are both newer, and Google has the Nexus Tablet. When I read that post, you immediately lost credibility with me.

        #5 - Again, Your Posts Are Too Small

        You love the Batman game, but you could only come up with 126 original words on it? That's not very convincing.



        See the part I bolded in your post? Why are you posting ANYTHING AT ALL when you don't have time to post? That screams laziness and procrastination and reduces your credibility even more. Don't post just to post; if you're not a good writer yet, give yourself an hour or two to write a 500 word post. Alexa still takes hours and hours when she writes. There's no shame in it. But never ever ever post something electronic and say "I don't have time right now." Just save it as a draft and come back when you do have time.

        Alright bud...get a Kleenex, dry your tears, and go make your blog better. PM me once you've made some updates and I'll go over it again.

        -- j
        Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely keep chugging at it and let you know when I think it's worth looking at again.
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  • Profile picture of the author icoachu
    Quick review of your blog

    1) Loads very slow (Did you know that slow loading pages hurt your SEO?)

    2) Very bland writing - there is no HOOK

    3) You are obviously blogging so you can make money. No problem with that but readers want more VALUE

    Inject more personality in to your blog and put in more WORK building a brand

    If you don't want to work, you can outsource. Regardless, DO SOMETHING or you will join 90% of other bloggers--fail after a few months or even weeks.
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    • Profile picture of the author seaduck13
      Originally Posted by icoachu View Post

      Quick review of your blog

      1) Loads very slow (Did you know that slow loading pages hurt your SEO?)

      2) Very bland writing - there is no HOOK

      3) You are obviously blogging so you can make money. No problem with that but readers want more VALUE

      Inject more personality in to your blog and put in more WORK building a brand

      If you don't want to work, you can outsource. Regardless, DO SOMETHING or you will join 90% of other bloggers--fail after a few months or even weeks.
      Thanks for the advice.

      1) Is there a list of things that affect the loading times the most? Obviously I'm using wordpress, are the plugins affecting it much or is it more the media on the site?

      2) The writing is something I'll have to work on as time goes on. I'm not a writer by profession and any I do is pretty bland (engineer by profession).

      3) Can you be more specific by what you mean in value? Do you mean that the blog should give people more to learn or understand, or give more value in terms of pontential savings?

      It kinda hurts to hear the thing you're working on is not good, but I definitely appreciate the advice. It definitely is something I expect to have to put more time into in the coming months.
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  • Profile picture of the author icoachu
    Remember, blogging is all about BRANDING and creating a distinct online personality. If not, your blog will just be one of millions of faceless blogs that are just getting by on minimal traffic. Break out from the herd.

    You can do this by:

    1) Investing in a distinct theme

    2) Using solid keyword research paired with social media traffic research to write posts that a) get search engine traffic and b) get social media love

    3) Stop writing CRAP BLOG POSTS. You have to put a lot of thinking into your writing. Here are some awesome guidelines to make your blog a SUPERSTAR blog.

    Remember, you get out what you put in. The good news is that quality blogging doesn't have to cost much money, you just have to put in the EFFORT.

    I wish you luck and much success!
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