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Does my Blog Make a Sucking Sound?

Posted by GizmoPlanet • 9/08/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blog sucks

Hey all,

I just published a blog which focuses on consumer electronics reviews. It's only been up three days, so I realize I can't expect much in the way of hits.

I'm waiting for Google to crawl the site and index it - maybe that will bring more hits.

But what has me wondering is the info I'm getting from Google Analytics. More than 95% of the visits are bounces, meaning people visit briefly then leave. The average visit time is just nine seconds. These results are partly distorted by the visits I've made to check minor additions (like adding the BlogCatalog 'rate my blog' widget, for instance).

The short visits suggest to me that people visit, take a look at the blog, say 'ho hum' and leave.

I'm wondering if anyone would like to take a look at the blog and tell me if it really does suck, and if so, what makes it suck?

The blog can be seen at:

gizmoplanet.typepad.com/reviews/

Thanks,

Steve

User Comments

9/08/09

Friday13

It's not so much a sucking sound as it is a weird ticking ... like a bomb.

Hmm. Let' see ...

It's using HTML scaling of images (an 800px image scaled to 200px, etc.) instead of appropriately-sized thumbnails, which slows things down a bit. It loaded fast for me, but that may not be the case for everyone.

The design is a bit ... meh, in the sense that people might quickly forget that they visited your site.

The header is okay. Nice and big. The problem is that design and the header don't like they belong together (did that rhyme?). For example, try making the background color (on the sides) the same shade of blue used in the header image (the darkest part).

Try adding a short description of the blog on the sidebar. It's looking very empty right now, and it'll provide quick insight without visitors having to head over to the About page.

Okay, that's all I've got for now.

For blogging tips, I recommend: onecoolsite.wordpress.com/

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9/08/09

celticmusicfan

I agree.It's something to do with the color. That is an interesting article about the Marantz Recorder by the way. Your writing is ok, just the design that needs a bit of working on.

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9/08/09

PussDaddy

You can filter your own visits to your blog out.

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9/08/09

PussDaddy

To filter your own visits out, go to google analytics, and up under the big box that holds your GA report you will find a link that says filter managers. Click that and do what it says to add your computer so that it doesn't count your visits.

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9/09/09

seername

My blog making more sucking sound if compare to yours. Keep up the good work!

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9/09/09

kenyantykoon

add more pictures. people like more pictures for tech sites. i mean look at gizmodo and techcrunch. visuals play a big part. nice blog btw. be patient things will look up

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