According to Hosting Tribunal, there are 500 million blogs on the internet. Hence, there’s a lot of competition for attention and traffic. SEO is about more than just getting people on your site; it’s about getting them to stay.
So if a user does stumble upon your site, the idea of going back should not even cross their minds. Nevertheless, the bounce rate for the average site is keeping still at around 45%-65%. To get that bounce rate to come down, you should stop making these 5 blog design mistakes:
1. Inconsistent Design
Whatever design you choose for your site it should remain consistent throughout. This goes for the design as well as the choice of colors. Don’t experiment too much with different sections of your website. Even if you try out slightly different shapes or aesthetics for different pages, keep the color scheme the same. This shows consistency in design. It’s like a brand or signature all over your website.
Avoid using a different template for every web page or trying to mix it up with lots of colors. It ends up showing a disconnect between elements of your site.
2. Reliance on Trends
A blog that doesn’t pull traffic on any given day of the year can’t rely on holiday seasons or special events. If it does, then it’s simply a pop up blog; nothing else. Capitalizing on trends that have to do with your product or your service, or your niche is perfectly fine. In fact, it’s encouraged that you piggy back on trends to boost your traffic and audience.
However, you should try to find your own voice instead of mimicking others. Similarly, you should always try to push your own voice instead of copying another message. The point is to stand out. If you’re going to disappear into the crowd, you’re not likely to garner a loyal audience.
3. Ambiguous CTAs
Your CTAs need to be very clear and on point. You can’t afford ambiguity when delivering the central message. Some blog content creators try to go for subtlety. While that may be more tasteful, it’s not known to increase a lot of sales. Hence, when you’re trying to push a product or promote a service, be as transparent as possible.
4. No A/B Testing
This is a feature of most new blog content creators. They forget to test for which style and which look appeals to their audience the most. A certain theme, a certain structure, and even a different banner or writing style can do wonders. If you don’t test for what your audience prefers, you may never find that sweet spot.
5. Lack of User-Focus
Remember that whatever niche you’re catering to is going to be comprised of users first and clients second. First, they have to like what you have to offer, then they’re going to invest or pay up. When someone looks at a web page or opens up a website, their first impression will last. No matter what your product, service, or pitch is, that first impression will linger.
So make sure that your pitch and your products/services are packaged for users rather than customers.
If you stop making these 5 mistakes, you’ll see greater and faster progress.