How often do you check for broken links on your blog?
Is it something bloggers should often do, or are broken links nothing to worry about?
Are you allowing broken links to damage your blog?
At the end of last year, I completed fixing over 300 broken links on my blog. It was a long job, but something I did not regret doing.
Since fixing those broken links, I’ve seen a decrease in spam hitting my blog and seen an increase in followers and visitors.
Not only will SEOs such as Google and Bing rank blogs with broken links lower, but visitors who get the dreaded ‘404 page not found’ error when clicking on too many broken links, are more likely to never return.
I’ve even seen broken links to an author’s books on their blog. How often do you check the links to your books are working?
It’s been three months since I last ran a broken links report for my blog, so I was surprised when the report returned 33 broken links. Here’s the list. Are you or your blog one of them? You may need to zoom in to view the report.
Ensure broken links are fixed quickly.
Why do links break?
There are many reasons for broken links. More important are the ones embedded in blog posts. When the name of a blog post (line 8 on the report) or a single word, such as ‘here’ (line 16 on the report), appears in the ‘Link Text’ column, a pingback to the post has broken. The link is usually broken because the post has been deleted or moved.
To fix the two broken links mentioned in the above paragraph, you can deactivate the pingback or delete it (and the sentence it appears in) from the post.
More often than not, where names appear in the ‘Link Text’ column (line 19 on the report), the link to the person’s gravatar has broken, or their blog or gravatar has been moved or deleted. Most of these errors occur in the comments sections of blog posts. Click here if you’re unsure what a Gravatar is and how to ensure your blog is linked to it.
If you know the person concerned is still blogging, you can either report the broken link to them or unapprove and delete the comment to eliminate it. It’s just as important to fix or delete broken links in the comments section of your posts as in the main body of a blog post.
Remember what I said earlier. SEOs such as Google and Bing rank blogs lower if they contain too many broken links. If you want to increase visitors and followers to your blog, ensure you regularly fix broken links.
Another reason for broken links is when a post has been reblogged, and the blogger who reblogged the post has since deleted the reblog (line 31 of the report).
Do not be surprised to also find broken links to your blog posts. If you decide to delete a blog post, I’d recommend deleting or removing any pingbacks or links before deleting the post. They then will not show up on your next broken link report.
Fact: Did you know that spambots and spammers are more likely to attack blogs with broken links than those without or with fewer broken links?
How do I run a broken link report?
I use the free version of Broken Link Check Dot Com. Click here for more details. To run a report, simply enter the URL address of your blog and the security code you see on the page. I’d recommend running the ‘Report distinct broken links only’ report.
If it’s the first time you run a report, you may be overwhelmed by the number of broken links the report returns. I recommend stopping the report when it reaches 20 broken links, fixing them, and running another report.
Do not try and fix the broken links in one go, as you’ll become overwhelmed. Give yourself time to fix them. Maybe fix a couple every day. You’ll soon catch up on them.
Don’t allow the sheer size of broken links the report shows to stop you from fixing broken links. Look after your blog by fixing any broken links rather than believing you don’t have the time to fix them. Spending a few minutes daily fixing links is better than not fixing them at all.
Once you have fixed all the broken links, run another report at least once every three months.
Let’s wrap it up.
SEOs such as Google and Bing rank blogs with broken links lower.
Fixing broken links will reduce the amount of spam your blog gets while increasing the number of followers and visitors.
If you have links to any books or products, regularly check that they work.
Fix any broken links to books, services and products quickly.
It’s just as important to fix or delete broken links in the comments section of your blog posts as it is in the main body of a post.
Before deleting any blog posts, remove any links in them first.
Your first broken link report may be overwhelming. Take your time to fix those links. Don’t rush it.
Spending a few minutes daily fixing links is better than not fixing them at all.
Run a new broken link report at least once every three months.
How often do you check for broken links on your blog? How do you check for them? Do you have any questions about broken links? Leave them in the comments section.
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How often do you use the Reader on WordPress? Do you use it for anything else besides reading the posts of the blogs you follow?
If you answered no, read on because there are some excellent WordPress Reader features you could be missing.
Have you used these impressive features on offer on the WordPress Reader?
Have you ever noticed the WordPress Reader menu?
I don’t use the WordPress Reader much. However, I use the WordPress Reader menu because it contains great features every blogger should consider.
Have you tried the WordPress Reader menu?
Let’s take a look at each feature.
Following – This is the one the majority of us know. It shows the latest blog posts from the blogs we follow, plus a list of how long ago these posts were published. You can also manage the blogs you follow by clicking the ‘Manage’ button. Click here for more details.
Conversations: Clicking on this button lets you read and reply to your conversations in one place. WordPress posts you’ve liked or commented on will appear when they have new comments. You can follow or unfollow a conversation using the ellipsis menu (the three dots to the right of a title) in the reader.
Of course, you can also view when somebody replies to your comment in the notification centre of your blog, but what I like about the Conversations button is that you can also load and view other readers’ comments.
Conversations all in one place!
You can also leave further comments on posts you’ve already commented on. The comments sections of many blogs are a wonderful source of ideas for new blog posts.
Lists: This is the place to create lists of the blogs you love reading the most. However, it’s important to note that you must be logged into WordPress to view lists.
I think this is the best feature and have created two lists (so far) – ‘Favourite Blogs’ and ‘Blogging Tips’ blogs.
To create a new list, click ‘Create new list‘ and give your list a title.
Click the Manage button (the small cog) to access the menu of the list you’ve created.
Click the cog to open up more options.
You’ll see a menu across the top – Details – Sites – Export – Delete.
Check out the tabs on the menu.
Let’s have a look at what each tab does.
Details – on this tab, you can do the following –
Name your list.
Decide who can view the list (visibility).
Describe what the list is about.
Remember to click the ‘Save‘ button when making any changes.
Sites – click this tab to add blogs to your list.
To add a blog, type the name in the search box and click the add button next to the blog you want to add.
Search for the blogs you want to add to your lists.
Click the Remove button to remove a blog from the list.
I recommend that everyone creates a ‘Favourite Blogs’ list that contains the blogs you enjoy reading the most. I agree that those blogs already appear on your WordPress Reader, but not all the blogs I follow are ones I want to read whenever a new post is published.
How do other bloggers view and follow the lists I’ve created?
First and most importantly, they must be logged into WordPress to follow and view your lists.
Ensure you have selected the ‘Everyone can view this list‘ option of the list you want to share with your readers.
Copy and paste the slug of the list to the end of your reader URL.
Share the new URL of your list with your followers. You can do this at the bottom of blog posts or your ‘about’ page (like I did at the bottom of this post).
A follow button will appear on your list when they open it. They need to click the follow button to follow your list.
New blog posts on your list will also appear on their WordPress Reader.
You can also grab the URL from your browser in the list editor. However, remove the ‘/edit’ from the URL before sharing it.
There is a downside to sharing lists via the above methods in that there is no option to open lists in a new window. Therefore, lists will open on the same page, and the reader will lose the page they are reading.
To get around this. I recommend you create a pingback to your lists (like I have done in this post). Copy and paste the URL address of your list and create a pingback to it.
Click here to learn what a pingback is and how to create one.
Remember that all lists are public to all logged-in WordPress.com users. Visitors who are not logged into WordPress cannot view or follow lists.
Export – You can export the list to use on other services. The file will be in OPML format.
Delete – Click the delete button to delete the list.
Let’s go back to the last button on the WordPress Reader menu.
Tags – When you click this button, a search box opens where you can add tags to find related blog posts from other bloggers. For example, I’ve added the tags’ time travel’ and ‘blogging tips’ to my list to find posts related to those subjects.
When using tags, you don’t need to scroll through long lists of blogs to find relevant content, as all the posts in the search results are relevant to the tag word you entered.
Have you used any of the features I’ve mentioned? Which ones do you use? What are your thoughts about them? Do you have questions about them? Leave them in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
My thanks to Terri Webster Schrandt for her help in helping me with this post. Click here to view Terri’s blog.
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However, users must republish posts again to get pingback notifications on the posts published while the problem was ongoing (Feb 23rd – 27th). Please note that when a post is rescheduled or republished, any links to the original post will become broken. So unless it’s essential those pingbacks must appear, I’d recommend not republishing those posts.
The problem was only affecting pingbacks between WordPress. Com blogs. Self-hosted blogs were not affected.
Any questions regarding the recent pingback problem? Leave them in the comments box.
Copyright @ 2023 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.
Are you having problems getting people to visit your blog? Craving engagement or more followers? These five blogging tools worked for me. Not only do they give my readers a way of finding more similarly-themed content, but these tools have also helped bring me many new readers and followers.
Why would any blogger want to unsubscribe somebody from following their blog?
After all, we all want more followers, don’t we? However, there are genuine reasons why you should unsubscribe some people from following your blog.
For example, there may be a blogger who is horrified that one of the managers from their office has subscribed. Or a family member has found your blog where you share intense feelings about family and friends.
Then there are the ungenuine followers who only follow your blog in the hope that you’ll visit their blog and buy products you don’t want or need. Are any of them following your blog?
Are there any people following your blog that you don’t want following you? Remove them now.
Why do people follow blogs?
Isn’t it because they enjoy reading the content? Not necessarily, no.
When I began blogging, I asked why some people wanted to follow my blog. For example, why were a womenswear company and a blog that sold coach holidays following my blog?
At the time, I was not writing and publishing any blogging or social media tips, so I could not understand their interest in my content.
They never ‘liked’ or left comments on my blog posts, yet I was still conscious that they were lurking in the background as if waiting for the right moment to pounce on me.
Some of them may have been playing the ‘follow you, so you’ll follow me‘ game, but I soon realised they were interested in taking my or the money of my followers.
At the time, I was delighted with watching the number of followers increase, but there may be occasions when you want to unsubscribe somebody from following your blog.
Here’s how to do it on WordPress.
Ensureyou view your blog’s dashboard in the ‘Default‘ view.
On your blog’s dashboard menu, click on ‘Users.’
Click on Users.
On the Users page, click on Subscribers.
Click the Subscribers link.
You’ll now see a list of all the subscribers to your blog, with the ones who subscribe via email first.
To remove someone from your subscribers’ list, click on the arrow next to their name.
Click the arrow next to the person you want to unsubscribe from your blog.
On the next page, click on the Remove button.
Click the remove button to unsubscribe somebody from following your blog.
They will now be unsubscribed from following your blog or receiving email notifications of new posts.
There is nothing stopping people from still viewing your blog and trying to subscribe again, but you’ll get a notification if they subscribe again.
By unsubscribing them from your blog, they will get no notifications that you have published any new blog posts. Nor will they know that you have unsubscribed them from your blog.
Is there anything else to consider?
Yes. You may also like to remove the same people from your social media accounts.
This is especially important if newly published blog posts are instantly shared on your social media platforms.
Of course, suppose you have reasons for not wanting certain people to discover your blog or social media accounts. In that case, it’s probably better to use a pseudonym and not publish photos of yourself on your blog or social media accounts.
Because I publish many blogging and social media tips, I’m no longer concerned about who follows my blog. However, I will remove or block anyone who tries spamming the comments section on my posts with uninvited links or keeps trying to sell me something I don’t want or need.
Let’s wrap it up.
There are genuine reasons why people want to unsubscribe somebody from following their blog.
Follow the steps in this post to unsubscribe people from following your blog.
Remember to do the same with your social media accounts.
Just as when you unfollow a blog, people you unsubscribe do not get notified that you have unsubscribed them.
Unsubscribing somebody does not mean they can no longer view your blog, but they will stop receiving notifications of any new blog posts you publish.
Consider using a pseudonym on your blog and social media accounts if you don’t want anyone to know your real identity.
Block users you do not want to receive any comments from.
What about you?
Are there any reasons you’d want to unsubscribe somebody from following your blog? Have you ever unsubscribed somebody from following your blog? What are the main reasons why you follow a blog?
Join the discussion by leaving a comment that I can respond to with more than just a ‘thank you.’
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
This is an updated version of a post originally published in February 2020.
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How easily can all visitors engage with you on your blog?
Is it as easy as you think it is?
Did you know that you could be preventing some visitors to your blog from leaving you comments?
After receiving an e-mail from Jean, who blogs at DelightfulRepast.com, who had seen one of my posts at the Senior Salon Pitstop weekly linky party hosted by Esme and Julie, I was somewhat concerned when she mentioned that it wasn’t easy for her to engage with me on my blog.
Jean explained that she didn’t want to leave her e-mail address, create a WordPress account or use social media to be able to leave me comments. I understand why she didn’t want to leave any of those details. After all, our information is private and shouldn’t be given out if we don’t want to give it out.
WordPress offers ‘Discussions‘ options where users can decide how easily readers can engage with them without leaving any personal details. I thought I already had this option switched off, so nobody needed to leave any personal details, and I was right, but it didn’t explain why Jean thought she had to leave her personal details if she wanted to comment on my posts.
Upon further checking my discussion settings, I saw where the confusion was coming from and want to highlight it so those who wish to engage with me without personal details can still leave comments knowing they do not need to give any personal information.
Let’s Look At The Discussion Settings On WordPress.
Ensure you’re viewing your blog’s dashboard in the Default view. To do this, click on the View button in the top right of the screen when viewing your blog’s dashboard.
Go to Settings – Discussion.
Make sure you’re viewing your blog’s dashboard in the Default view.
On the Discussions Settings page, look for the Comments box.
Look for the comments settings box.
As you will see from the above screenshot, I have turned off both the ‘Comment author must fill out name and e-mail‘ and ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment‘ options. So why wasn’t Jean able to leave me a comment?
It seems that, for whatever reason, in their wisdom, WordPress has decided to still show visitors a login box when these options have been switched off. This is what Jean and visitors who are not logged in see.
The log in box tricks visitors into believing they have to leave personal details to be able to leave comments.
And this is what WordPress say –
Comment author must fill out name and e-mail: When this setting is on, anyone leaving a comment will be forced to leave a name and a valid e-mail address. If the setting is off, visitors can leave anonymous comments. While your commenters do not have to fill in the e-mail field if you’ve turned this setting off, it will still be visible to them when they comment.
So I understand why Jean thought I wasn’t making it easy for her to engage with me.
If you only want readers to engage with you who must leave their name and email address, ensure you have this option switched on.
If you only want comments from readers who are logged in and registered, ensure you have the ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment‘ setting switched on.
If you want comments from both, ensure both settings are switched on.
However, if, like me, you’re happy to allow anyone to leave you a comment, then switch both of these settings off.
Don’t forget to click the ‘Save‘ button in the Comments settings box if you make any changes.
Are There Any Disadvantages To Switching These Discussion Settings Off?
The main disadvantage is that it could open the gates for spammers and trolls to leave you comments. However, the Akismet antispam software on WordPress catches and places the majority of spam into your blog’s spam folder, so you’ll never see it unless you check what’s in it.
Further down on the Discussion Settings page, there is more help to filter out spam and troll comments.
Look for the ‘Before A Comment Appears‘ box, and you’ll see these two options.
Comment must be manually approved: If this setting is on, all comments will go into moderation, and they will need to be approved by you before appearing on your blog.
Comment author must have a previously approved comment: If this option is on, any visitors that have had a comment approved on your blog in the past will get a free pass through approval and only comments from new visitors will go into moderation.
As you will see from the following screenshot, my blog is set for manually approving all comments before they appear on any of my posts.
Decide which level of protection you want to stop the comments of spammers and trolls from appearing on your blog posts.
This helps me stop unprofessional, rude, nasty comments from appearing on any of my posts, even if they’re from somebody who has previously left a friendly comment.
My thanks to Jean for contacting me about discussion settings on blogs. And apologies for the confusion WordPress causes in insisting a login box shows when visitors do not need to leave any personal details when wanting to engage or leave a comment.
If you see a login box or are asked to leave your name and email address when leaving a comment, try leaving a comment without filling in personal details or logging in. If the blogger you’re engaging with has switched off the ‘Comment author must fill out name and e-mail‘ and ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment.‘ options, your comment will go through.
If either or one of those options is switched on, you’ll need to follow the instructions to be able to leave a comment.
Let’s wrap it up.
Check the discussion settings on your blog to see if you’re preventing visitors from leaving comments.
Decide whether you want only certain visitors to be able to leave comments or if you’re happy for all visitors to leave comments.
The majority of spam comments will go straight to your spam folder. Remember to empty your spam folder regularly.
To stop comments from trolls appearing on your blog posts, switch on the ‘Comment must be manually approved‘ setting.
Consider whether comments from those who have previously left you a friendly comment do not need to be manually approved by you.
If you have questions about the discussion settings on your WordPress blog, leave them in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
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How easy is it for new visitors to subscribe to or follow your blog, so they are notified of all your new blog posts or see them on their WordPress reader feed?
Are you missing out on getting new followers and readers?
WordPress has several ways to follow a blog.
The most popular is clicking the ‘follow’ button in the bottom right corner of a blog. However, the button only appears when scrolling ‘up’ on the site, so it can be missed. And if you install any plugins on your blog, it disappears completely (as does the reblog button). It’s not visible on self-hosted blogs.
Another option is for bloggers to place a subscription or link to follow on the widget bar of their blog. I have one on the widget bar of my blog.
However, some themes don’t come with widget bars. Some themes hide the widget bar behind a button, so unless you click the button, you won’t see the contents of a widget bar.
For those themes that offer a visible widget bar (like the theme I use), visibility is only available when viewing the blog on a desktop or laptop computer, not on a tablet or mobile phone (where they’re hidden behind a button).
Given that many people read blogs on a mobile phone or tablet, I realise that I could be losing hundreds of new followers because it’s not clear enough how to subscribe to or follow my blog when viewing it on a mobile phone or tablet.
WordPress.com now has newsletter capabilities.
All you need to do is add a Subscribe block to all your posts. Readers who enter their email addresses will get an email notification when you publish a newsletter. And to make those Subscribe blocks look a bit jazzier, WordPress has added some newsletter-focused patterns to their library.
You’ll also find some subscribe to/follow my blog blocks amongst the newsletter subscribe blocks.
Here’s how to access and create them.
In the draft page of a post, click the ‘add a new block button’ (the + sign) located on the top left of the page.
Click on Patterns and then on Newsletter.
Click on Patterns – Newsletter to access the subscribe/follow templates.
A list of subscribe/follow templates will open up. Scroll down the list to view all of them.
Some of the templates will be personalised with the name and tagline of your blog.
All of the templates have settings/options that you can change. For example, I enlarged text on some of them where available.
Choose the template you want to use after any changes you’ve made.
Add it to all your posts.
Now readers will be given an easier option of following your blog when reading your posts.
May I ask for your help?
Help me choose a ‘follow’ template for my blog by voting for the one you prefer. The poll is at the end of the list and will remain open until 23:59 GMT on Monday, 23rd January 2023. Any votes cast after the deadline won’t count.
Voting has now closed. Thank you to everyone that voted.
When choosing your template, remember to make it a reusable block so that you don’t need to look for it every time you create a new post. Click here to find out how to create a reusable block.
Remember to add your new subscribe/follow template to all your posts.
Once I know the poll results, I’ll add my new follow template to all the posts I’ve published in 2023 and to all new posts.
How easy was that?
If you have questions about adding a subscribe/follow block to your blog, leave them in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
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These 9 popular and easy blogging tips will help bring you and your blog success. Are you missing out on any of them?
Are you missing out on any if these popular blogging tips?
1. Add Excerpts To Your Blog Posts.
Excerpts are a great way to entice readers to click the ‘read more’ link to your post.
Did you know that WordPress offers bloggers a way to add excerpts to posts?
If you don’t add excerpts to your posts, WordPress takes the first 55 words of the post and uses them as the excerpt. This can often cause confusion to readers, especially when sentences are cut off midway.
If the opening sentence of your post does not entice readers, you could be missing out on many more new visitors reading your posts and engaging with you.
I added the following excerpt to this post.
Are you new to blogging or thinking of starting a blog? Are you already a blogger who wants more readers, followers and success for your blog?
These 9 tips will guarantee you success.
Adding experts to your posts is easy and an excellent way to promote and entice readers to want to read them. Here’s how to add an excerpt.
On the draft page of a post, scroll down to the except box in the setting section of the post.
Add an excerpt to your blog post before publishing it.
After adding the excerpt, publish or schedule your post.
The excerpt will be displayed on WordPress notification emails.
Tip: When drafting excerpts, ask yourself what excerpt would make you want to read the post.
2. Change This Setting And Watch Your Blog Stats Boom.
Ensure you view your blog’s dashboard in Default View (not Classic). To do this, click the View button in the top right corner of your blog’s dashboard.
Go to Settings – Writing on your blog’s dashboard and look for the Feed Settings box.
Turn on the Limit Feed To Excerpt button. Users will then need to visit your site to view the full content of every post.
Click the Save Settings button.
Ensure you slide the Limit Feed to excerpt only’ button to the ‘on’ position
3. Engage With Your Audience And On The Posts Of Other Bloggers.
I recently came across a blogger who complained that everyone ignored her. She claimed that nobody left comments on her posts. However, I’d left comments along with other bloggers. The problem was that she only replied to comments with a ‘thanks.’ No wonder other bloggers and I got fed up with leaving comments.
Engagement is a two-way thing.
If you don’t engage with more than a ‘thank you’ to every comment, then visitors will soon get fed up with trying to engage with you.
Make your comments and replies to comments count. Instead of telling a blogger their post was great or that you loved it, expand on why you thought it was great. Most bloggers want to engage, especially when leaving comments that offer feedback and discussion.
By fully engaging with your readers, you’re likely to get them and more visitors wanting to engage with you. They’ll likely follow your blog if they want to engage and see that you engage with others who leave comments.
However, don’t leave dead-end comments where the only response can be a ‘thank you.’ If you’ve nothing of value to add, click the ‘like’ button and move on. Never feel guilty for not leaving dead-end, pointless comments.
The more you engage with your audience and other bloggers, the more you’ll reap the rewards of your blog becoming successful and a place other bloggers will want to visit and engage.
If English is not your first language, then don’t be afraid to leave a comment in your native dialogue. Free online translation tools, such as one from Systran.Com, are available, so bloggers can translate your comment. My thanks to Renard Moreau for recommending Systran.Com.
4. Reduce The Size Of Your Images Before Publishing Posts.
If a blog post takes too long to download, most visitors will likely get fed up and move on.
One of the biggest causes of a blog post taking too long to download is that the images and photos within the post are too big. They also take up lots of space in the media library.
Before placing an image or photo in a post, reduce its size.
The majority of the photos and images in my posts are no more than 900 x 675 pixels. I’ve found that the quality of images and pictures this size are still excellent, plus they take up much less space in my media library.
Many apps and software allow you to reduce the size of images and photos, but many are not free to use. So be careful when choosing.
To reduce the size of images and photos on an iMac, open the image, click on Tools and then on Adjust Size (both found in the toolbar).
Click here to find out how to reduce the size of images and photos in Windows 10 and 11.
How do you reduce the size of images and photos on your blog? Tell us in the comments section.
5. Categorise Your Blog Posts.
Categorising your blog posts is essential when helping visitors find information.
Never categorise any of your blog posts as Uncategorised. It’s not helpful and only makes the blog’s owner look lazy and not care about their followers or visitors.
However, don’t use too many categories. A long list of categories can confuse readers. Cut categories down by adding sub-categories. Click here to find out more about categories and tags.
Important information: You may have already heard the cardinal tagging rule on WordPress.com, but it’s worth repeating: you should never add more than 15 tags and categories (combined) to your post; otherwise, it won’t show up in the WordPress Reader. This cap is used to keep out spam blogs — you need to ensure that your tags are only those most relevant to your post.
6. Blog Post Titles
I’m always shocked by the many boring and dull titles I see bloggers using for their blog posts. They don’t give me any incentive to want to read the post. Other than those who read every blog post some of these bloggers publish, nobody will be enticed to read posts that don’t draw you to click the ‘read more’ button.
Given that the first thing the majority of readers see is your blog post titles, make the titles count. If the titles of your posts are bland, dull, and uninviting, they won’t entice readers to want to read the post. You could be losing out not only on lots of new followers but lots of engagement.
When thinking of a title for your blog post, ask yourself what would make you want to click the ‘read more‘ button.
If you struggle with thinking of good titles for your blog posts, use a Headline analyzer such as Coschedule.com. It’s free to use and challenges you to come up with the best titles for your blog posts.
The title of this blog post scored 92 out of 100. That’s the highest score I’ve achieved when creating a blog post title.
Important Tip: Never duplicate your blog post titles or use the same titles as other bloggers. Why? Because SEO, such as Google and Bing, rank blogs lower that contain duplicated blog post titles.
7. Ensure Links In Your Posts Do Not Close Your Blog Down.
Do you find it frustrating when you click on a link in a blog post and a new window opens on the same page you are reading? When this happens, most readers won’t return to the page they were reading, thus losing the possibility of leaving a comment.
When creating pingbacks or links in posts, ensure you turn on the ‘open in a new tab’ button by sliding it to the on position.
Ensure your readers don’t lose the page they’re reading when clicking on links.
Visitors won’t lose the page they’re reading when you switch on this button when creating pingbacks and links.
Not sure how to create a pingback? Click here for details.
8. Don’t Become A Blogging Spammer.
What do I mean by a blogging spammer? Somebody who leaves uninvited links to their blogs, blog posts or products in the comments section. This also includes bloggers who leave a link to their blog in all their comments.
Fortunately, the antispam system on WordPress sends the majority of these types of comments to my spam folder.
Only leave links in comments when invited to do so by the blogger you’re leaving a comment for. If you need more clarification, ask first before including any links.
I get comments every day that include uninvited links. Most go straight to my spam folder, and I mark as spam the ones that don’t. You’ll never find comments that include uninvited links in the comments section of any of my blog posts.
9. Slow Down
I’ve witnessed many bloggers become overwhelmed with blogging because they try to do too much in the time they have available to blog. It often results in what is known as Blogging Burnout.
Blog at a leisurely pace. You don’t need to participate in all those blogging challenges. You don’t need to read and leave comments on all the posts of the blogs you follow. You don’t need to follow the blog of every blogger who follows you. Only read and comment and follow the blogs that interest you.
Never feel obliged to read, comment and follow because they read and comment on your blog posts.
Slow down. Enjoy blogging. Never allow it to overwhelm you or make you feel guilty or stressed.
Let’s wrap it up.
Rather than allow WordPress to choose what words to introduce your posts, use your own excerpts.
If you want people to visit your blog, don’t display your whole posts in the WordPress email notifications. To get more visitors to your blog, switch on the ‘Limit feed to excerpt only’ button. Users will then need to visit your site to view the full content of every post.
Engage with your audience when replying to comments and when leaving comments on other blogs. Avoid leaving short, pointless comments that add no value. Always say more than a ‘thank you’ when replying to comments.
Reduce the size of images and photos before placing them on blog posts; otherwise, your blog may download slowly and force visitors away.
Categorise all your blog posts. Never categorise them as ‘Uncategorised,’
Make all your blog post titles count by giving them titles that will entice readers to want to read the whole post. Consider using a Headline analyser for them.
When adding pingbacks and links to your blog, always switch on the ‘open in new tab’ button so that readers do not lose the page they are reading when clicking on links.
Don’t become a blog spammer by leaving uninvited links in the comments section of other blogs.
Take blogging slowly. Don’t try doing too much in a short space of time. You’ll only end up feeling overwhelmed, stressed or guilty if you try to fit everything in when you don’t have the time.
Keep blogging a fun and enjoyable experience. If it becomes a chore, step back and take a good look at how you are blogging. Make changes. Only consider quitting blogging if you lose interest.
Are You New To Blogging Or Thinking Of Starting A Blog?
Click here to read an excellent blog post by James Lane that is full of essential information for new bloggers and acts as a gentle reminder for those who already blog.
What’s the best blogging tip you have? Do you have any questions about the 9 tips in this post? Leave them in the comments section.
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This is my ninth December in the blogging world, and it’s turning out to be as similar as others.
I see a familiar path. As the days in December tick by, the blogging world gets quieter and quieter.
Don’t allow blogging to lose its sparkle in December.
I’ve already witnessed bloggers signing off their blogs for Christmas, wishing their readers a Merry Christmas and saying they’ll be back early in the New Year. Others have announced the dates when they’ll take a blogging break.
Just because the world of blogging gets quiet doesn’t mean you don’t have to stop blogging, but I’ve always found that this time of the year is perfect for doing blogging jobs many of us were meant to do during the year but never quite got around to doing.
1. Fix broken links.
I use the free version of Brokenlink.Com to check and fix broken links on my blog.
It can be daunting if you’ve never checked for and fixed broken links on your blog but don’t be put off doing it.
Fixing broken links helps the SEO score of your blog and also helps to reduce spam. Did you know that spammers are attracted to blogs with many broken links?
Your readers will also be happier because they’re not taken to pages, posts and links that no longer exist.
Top tip for checking broken links: Don’t try and tackle the list in one go. Do a few every day. Before you know it, you’ll have smashed it.
Click here to start checking for broken links on your blog now.
2. Update the About me page.
Every blogger should have an ‘about me’ page on their blog. Why? Because not only do most readers like to know a little about the person behind the blog before following, but it’s also one of the most visited parts of any blog.
When did you last update the About me page on your blog?
Not sure what to put on the About me page? Click here for recommendations.
3. Do some blog housekeeping.
From sorting out the tags and categories on your blog to updating the menubar, housekeeping your blog is vital if you want to keep your blog fit and healthy.
Blogs, where no or little housekeeping gets performed, lose more followers and readers than well-maintained blogs.
Get your blog ready for the New Year by performing some housekeeping on it during December.
4. Explore the Block editor.
Are you still terrified of the Block editor? As the number of bloggers using the Block editor continues to climb, now is the perfect time to explore the Block editor and join all those already using it.
WordPress has excellent tutorials on how the Block editor works and how to use it. Click here for more details.
If you’re still using the Classic editor, WordPress recently announced that they’ll continue supporting it until either the end of 2024 or when necessary. However, don’t forget that you can still use the Classic editor via the ‘Classic Block.’
5. Unsubscribe from blogs.
Following too many blogs is not good for your mental health. It can cause some bloggers stress and guilt from being overwhelmed with too many posts to read.
There are many good reasons for unsubscribing from blogs. Here are just a few.
No longer interested in the content being published? Unfollow that blog.
No new published content for many months? Unfollow that blog.
Not read any of their posts for the last year (also known as ghost-blogging)? Unfollow that blog.
Check what blogs you are following by clicking on the ‘Reader’ button at the top of your blog. Click on ‘Manage‘ (next to ‘Following‘). You’ll be presented with a list of blogs you are following. Go through them and unfollow the blogs you’re no longer interested in.
Click the ‘Manage’ button to see a complete list of the blogs you’re following.
6. Choose a new theme for your blog.
If the WordPress theme you are using has been retired, you are likely (or soon will be) having problems with your blog.
Once WordPress retires a theme, they remove support for it. Don’t waste your time trying to find workarounds. Choose a new theme.
To choose a new theme, go to your blog’s dashboard and click on Appearance – Themes. You’ll be presented with lots of current themes to choose from. However, my advice is not to spend too long choosing one. As soon as you find one you like, go with it.
The current theme I use for my blog is Toujours.
7. Delete old blog posts.
Did you know that keeping old, out-of-date posts can damage the health of your blog? These out-of-date posts are often the source of many broken links.
All the above tips can be performed at any time of the year. But make the most of the quietness the month of December usually brings to the blogging world. Keep blogging from losing its sparkle in December.
Am I planning a blogging break?
Yes. I’ll take a blogging break from December 23rd – January 3rd.
I won’t be publishing any new blog posts during this time apart from my monthly round-up post on December 31st. I won’t be reading and commenting on blog posts during this time. However, I will be responding to comments left on my blog posts.
What will you be doing with your blog during December?
Looking for more blogging tips? Click on the ‘Blogging Tips’ and ‘Block Editor – How To’ buttons on the menubar of my blog.
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Sometimes, the world of blogging can seem like a terrifying place.
With copyright pitfalls, slippery slopes to guilt, stress and bloggers’ burnout to avoid, it can make any blogger want a hasty retreat.
But fear not! I am here to help you avoid these 7 scary things I’ve seen bloggers confess they are terrified of.
Are you scared of anything in the blogging world?
1. Trolls
I’ve had my fair share of visits from internet trolls. They get a lot of enjoyment from spreading their nastiness around the world of blogging.
Not only have the trolls aimed their nasty comments at me, but they also try to trick other commentators into getting into a battle with them.
After an incident which involved a troll attacking another blogger within the comments section on one of my posts, I switched to moderating all comments.
It’s a simple process to set up on WordPress.
Here’s how to do it
In the menu of your blog’s dashboard admin centre, click on Discussion (under Settings).
Click on Discussion
On the Discussion page, look for the ‘Before a comment appears‘ section and turn on ‘Comment must be manually approved.’
Click the Save Settings button.
Turn on ‘Comment must be manually approved.’
If you’re happy to allow comments from those who have commented before to appear without any moderation from yourself, turn on ‘Comment author must have a previously approved comment‘ (just under Comment must be manually approved).
However, be aware that there’s always a chance that a friendly blogger can suddenly turn into a troll. I’m talking from experience. It happened on my blog when somebody who had left lots of seemingly lovely comments suddenly turned into a troll and personally attacked another blogger.
The best way to deal with trolls is to never respond to their comments. Ignore them.
Mark the offending comment as spam, and mark any further comments from them the same way. Once you do so, WordPress will soon get used to sending all comments from the troll to your WordPress spam folder.
2. Tags and Categories
Many bloggers are terrified when using tags and categories on their blog posts. Some are so terrified of them that they don’t use them.
They panic when deciding what keywords to use as tags and whether to categorise their blog posts.
Some even go as far as using keywords that have nothing to do with their post, thus fooling readers to their posts.
The best tags to use are one or two words long. For example, if you’re tagging a blog post for a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, use tags such as baking, bake, cookery, food, ingredients, cookies, chocolate biscuits, etc.
When somebody searches on WordPress for keywords you have as tags, your blog post will appear in the search results.
When adding tags or categories, ask yourself what tags and categories you’d add to a search bar when searching for the information in the post you’re about to publish.
Here are some recent results my blog has had from user searches on WordPress.
What are your most popular tags and categories?
Pitfall alert – never use more than 15 tags and categories on a blog post. Why? Because blog posts containing more than 15 tags and categories (combined) can be classed as spam by WordPress and will not appear on the WordPress Reader. Click here for more details about tags.
Always categorise your blog posts. Not categorising is like throwing your post onto the top of a colossal mishmash pile that nobody will want to try and wade through.
Not sure how to categorise your blog posts? Click here to find out.
Question: What’s the most terrifying category any blogger can use?
‘Uncategorised.’
3. Nobody will read my blog and engage with me
When I started to blog, I was terrified that nobody would read any of my blog posts. I visioned myself on a stage in front of a large theatre full of empty seats.
That’s how it begins for many bloggers, but there are ways to start filling up your blogging theatre.
Read and leave beneficial, meaningful, helpful comments that add value to the blog posts of other bloggers.
Participate in a blog party or link-up where you can meet other bloggers.
Look for opportunities to write guest posts for other bloggers.
Open up the opportunity for other bloggers to write guest posts for your blog.
Ensure you promote your blog and blog posts on all your social media accounts.
Once you start to become part of blogging communities, people will come and visit your blog. Not all will follow you back, but interaction with other bloggers is a great way to build a readership.
Before you know it, the seats in your blogging theatre will start filling up.
Warning – do not leave uninvited links on other bloggers’ posts begging people to visit your blog. Many bloggers classify uninvited links as spam that belong in the trash bin.
4. Social Media
I was lucky that I had already encountered the frightening world of social media when I started blogging. However, I still hear many bloggers say how terrified they are of it.
Yes, social media can seem like an evil monster, but the trick is not to spread yourself too thin by thinking you must have an account on all social media platforms.
If you allow it, social media will take up much of your time. It does need some hard work and dedication to work correctly but limit yourself to two or three social media accounts at the most.
Begin by trying some of them out. You’ll soon discover which ones work best for you.
Once you know which ones you like, be strict with how much time you spend on them. Don’t allow social media to suck your time away.
After using most of today’s social media platforms, I discovered I enjoyed using Twitter the most. It now brings in a lot of traffic to my blog.
Twitter brings in the most traffic to my blog.
Which social media platform brings your blog the most traffic?
Once you know which social media platforms you enjoy using and which work best for you, remember to ensure you have sharing buttons on all your blog posts so readers can share them on their social media platforms.
Click here to find out more about sharing buttons.
5. Following Too Many Blogs
Not only do I occasionally get shocked by how many blogs I am following, but it can become a frightening prospect knowing that there is no way I’m ever going to be able to read all the blog posts of all those blogs I follow.
Following too many blogs can become overwhelming, especially if you receive notifications of new posts via email.
Bloggers who follow too many blogs only leave short worthless comments because they don’t have the time to leave thoughtful, helpful comments. They’re in too much of a hurry to get around to reading all the new blog posts of all the blogs they follow in fear that if they fail, they’ll offend someone or lose followers.
Remember that Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint!
I cut back on the number of blogs I follow every few months.
My reasons for unfollowing a blog can be –
I no longer find the content interesting.
No new content published for a long time.
Unfollowing because a blogger does not reply to comments.
Too much poor-quality content.
Publishing too many blog posts in a short space of time.
It’s easy to manage the number of blogs you follow.
Here’s how to do it.
On the My Home page of your blog, click on the ‘Reader‘ button (next to My Site).
Click the Reader button.
On the Reader page, click on the “Manage‘ button on the screen.
Click on the Manage button.
You’ll then see a list of the blogs you are following.
You can sort the list by ‘date followed‘ or ‘site name.’
Sorting out the blogs you follow
Go through the list and decide which blogs to unfollow.
To unfollow a blog, click on the word Following next to the blog you want to unfollow.
Once you’ve unfollowed a blog, the word Follow will show next to it.
To refollow the blog, click on Follow.
Ensure you review which blogs you follow at least once every six months.
6. The Spam Monster
Many bloggers become a victim of the scary spam monster.
They get stressed out by the huge amounts of spam they get and become so overwhelmed with it that they do drastic things, such as closing the door in their readers’ faces by turning off comments on their blog posts.
I’ve also witnessed bloggers turn off comments on all their blog posts and request that readers leave comments on social media or via email. That’s not how blogging is supposed to work.
Although it’s been on WordPress since the end of 2018, the block editor still terrifies some bloggers.
Some stopped blogging even without reading and watching WordPress and other bloggers’ free tutorials on how to use it.
I was soon transformed into a monster when I first tried using the block editor.
I only tried the block editor for five minutes (without reading and watching tutorials) and soon became the ‘hate change’ monster.
Nothing was going to make me start using something that promised to change and improve the way I blogged or that promised to save me time when drafting new blog posts.
Then, during a particularly dark, dull day, I pulled up my big boy trousers, read some tutorials and watched videos on how the block editor works.
Click here to watch the latest video on how to use the block editor.
I gave it another try, but I gave it more time.
My blog posts suddenly took on a new look that made them more appealing, impressive and unique. The block editor was changing the way I blogged.
I soon started to save myself lots of time drafting blog posts as the benefits of using the block editor began to pay off.
Now, not only do I consider the switch from the classic editor to the block editor the best change I’ve ever made on my blogging journey, but I’m delighted that I never gave in to the ‘hate change’ monster.
Set up a draft post on your blog where you can try the block editor.
And if you’re still not convinced, the classic editor is available via the Classic block. Sadly some bloggers refuse to use the Classic block because it means using the block editor. Don’t become one of them.
Where to find the Classic block
Let’s wrap it up
Don’t be afraid of anything in the blogging world.
Do not engage with trolls. Mark their comments as spam and consider moderating all comments on your blog posts.
Always add tags to your blog posts and categorise them. However, never use more than 15 tags and categories (combined) on any blog post.
Engage with other bloggers by leaving thoughtful, helpful comments that show you have read their posts.
Participate in blogging challenges and ask other bloggers if they’d like to write a guest post on your blog.
Promote your blog posts on all your social media channels. However, stick to one or two social media platforms and set a strict time limit using them.
Don’t be frightened of unfollowing blogs you are no longer interested in. Remember that blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.
Don’t become a victim of the spam monster. Check your blogging spam folder often and empty it.
Watch and read free tutorials on using the block editor before attempting to use it. If you still do not like it, use the classic editor via the Classic block.
Are there any scary things in the blogging world that have you closing your eyes in the hope that they are not really there? How did/do you deal with them? Share the details in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
Looking for more blogging tips? Click on the ‘Blogging Tips’ and ‘Block Editor – How To’ buttons on the menubar of my blog.
Follow Hugh on social media. Click on the buttons below.
There are many gallery blocks on WordPress, but did you know WordPress has added some secret gallery blocks and that you can add captions to them?
Have you found these secret Block galleries on WordPress?
Here’s how to find and use them.
On a draft post, click on the add a new block button (the ‘+‘ symbol) and click on ‘Patterns.’
Click the ‘Patterns’ option.
Either click on the Featured box and select Gallery or click on the Explore box. In this post, I’m using the Explore box.
Use the Featured or Explore box to find the secret galleries
Select Gallery from the new list that appears.
Select Gallery.
Select one of the galleries. In this post, I’m selecting the Large image and grid gallery.
Select the gallery you want to use.
The gallery and images are inserted into your post. Note – the images already on this block are not downloaded into your media library.
To change the images to your own, click on an image and select the Replace button from the image toolbar that appears.
Click the Replace button.
Click on the Select Image button and the button where your image is located. In this post, I’m selecting images from my Media Library.
Click on Select and then on the button where your image is located
Select an image from your media library. Don’t forget to align the image to centre the caption. Click here to find out how to align photos and images.
Don’t forget to align your image and caption
Do the same for the other images in the block.
Captions will display provided you have added them to the photos and images in your media library.
Your gallery is now complete. Here’s mine.
The Welsh Valleys
The Waiting GameDo you know the timekeeper?Can you solve the puzzle?How many sea views can you see? Waiting For SummerWhat do you see on the horizon?
When readers click on any photos in the gallery, any watermark or copyright information you have added will be displayed on each photo in the slideshow. Go ahead and click on one of the images in my gallery to see the watermark.
There are options available to change the background and text colours in the gallery I have used in this post. Click on the block and then on ‘Block‘ (in the top right corner of the draft page) to change them.
Other galleries available in this gallery block are –
Gallery
Organic gallery with intro text
Gallery with description and a button
Three images side-by-side gallery
Two images side-by-side gallery
Give them a try, and let me know how you get on by leaving me a comment.
Click here to find out why you should always watermark your photos and image.
If you have questions about these secret galleries and how to use them, leave them in the comments section.
Looking for more blogging tips? Click on the ‘Blogging Tips’ and ‘Block Editor – How To’ buttons on the menubar of my blog.
Layout, content, settings and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
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Do you struggle to find the blocks you use the most on the Block editor? With over 160 (and rising) blocks, it can be a daunting task.
Do you want an easy way to see the blocks you use the most, so you don’t have to find them?
Of course, you can use the search bar, but there is an easy way to show the blocks you use the most on WordPress.
Always have easy access to the blocks you use the most
Here’s how to do it.
On the draft page of a blog post, click on the kebab menu (located in the top right-hand corner), and on the new menu that opens, click on Preferences.
Click on the kebab menu and then on Preferences
In the new window that opens, click on Blocks.
Click on Blocks
Slide the ‘Show most used blocks’ button to the on position.
Slide the ‘Show most used blocks’ button
When you click on the add a new block button (‘+’), the blocks you use the most will now be displayed at the top of the blocks library list.
Most Used Blocks On the blog Hugh’s Views And News
Job completed.
My thanks to Jen, who blogs at WPcomMaven, for passing this information on to me.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
If you have questions about how to easily access the blocks you use the most on WordPress, leave them in the comments section.
Looking for more blogging tips? Click on the ‘Blogging Tips’ and ‘Block Editor – How To’ buttons on the menubar of my blog.
Follow Hugh on social media. Click on the buttons below.
Hugh's Views & News 