When To Update a Blog?

For writers, one of the best tools in your author tool kit is a blog. For readers, one of the best tools to connect with others who share common interests is also a blog.

For civilians--that's non-writers like the wonderful readers of SlingWords--a blog can not only help you connect with others and provide information and entertainment to them but also it can be a way to produce income through monetization.

Is Change Good?

To make your blog a viable tool, there are many elements to consider. At the very least, you should push new content to your blog frequently and consistently, that is, write new posts. You've all heard this. But what about changing the look of your blog? Let's talk about updating your blog.

Should You Change Your Blog Design?

Your blog gains Google PageRank, one of the methods Google uses to determine a page's importance, when automated software called web crawlers crawl through your pages, seeking the importance of your content and links. The higher your PR, the more you can charge companies who offer monetization opportunities to websites.

Important pages get higher PageRank and will appear at the top of SERPs, that is, Search Engine Result Pages. Changing a template or design may make your PageRank drop initially but the drop shouldn't be huge as long as you don't change the actual textual content on your blog.

The important thing to remember is to keep the words in your metadata, your keywords, and your text the same.

Elements You Can Change

I've come full circle since moving last year at this time. Much of my writing life has been put on hold so my advice today falls under the category of "do as I say, not as I do."

So, here's what to do.

1. Review your blog and make notes about elements that take up space but don't bring any benefit to you.

2. Check all links on your various pages to make sure they still work.

3. If you have ads, make sure they are still valid.

4. If you have more than one page, look at each page and see if they're complete. (Mine aren't so do better than I've done when I changed my blog design.)

5. Speaking of pages, do you have the minimum necessary pages, especially a Contact Page? What other pages could you add?

6. Is your blog visually appealing? Ask others. Make notes about what they like and don't like. I'll blog more about blog design aesthetics, but you can check the posts I've already written. You'll find many of them in Something to Talk About / Internet Success.

Takeaway Truth

To paraphrase Mark Twain, "The rumors of the death of the blog have been greatly exaggerated." Make your blog stellar, and it will reward you.