Come up and see me sometime

(to quote Mae West)

NPR had a really interesting story today about driving more hits to your website/blog. Essentially, it says that although many of us use post titles that are oh-too-clever (guilty, I hope), or inside jokes (guilty), or thematic (guilty), they are NOT what will come up on a basic Google search. It further stated that if you come up on the 3rd or 4th page of a Google search you might as well be in Siberia. 

It got into a lot of the nitty gritty, quoting some book called The Numerati, by Stephen Baker, which (if in my 65-mph, diet-Red-Bull-fueled frenzy, I recall) states that we are no longer marketing to HUMANS but to machines, since machines are what drives business. So, if someone is looking for vintage furniture and types that into a search engine, I need to think like a machine and figure out how to get mine to come up first. As if.

I know, this is making my brain hurt too. I still have confidence that most of the people that I'm trying to reach know how to do a nuanced and specific Google search. I also know that I'm not trying to win some search-engine Miss Congeniality sash. We all know that the bulk of our traffic comes from each other, via blogrolls, linking, etc.

BUT, it's decidedly food for thought. My post-grad training in editing/publishing and 25 years working for a newspaper (the same company—my anniversary is Sunday—can you believe THAT?) has decidedly underscored the importance of headlines, subheads, and the like. As my former editor used to say, "no one reads your 600-line story if it doesn't have an enticing headline and pretty pictures."

In post-grad, the emphasis of my training was on knowing how the human eye moves across a printed page. I know how to do a damned-good layout to guide a reader to what we want them to do. I know how to break up a page, how to provide "grabs", how to bring them in. That's all out the window with web design. It's a whole 'nother ballgame. I'm set to get full-on web training (paid for by my company—YAY) come January, but I do know a little about human reading behavior and how readers seek out information.

Remember that, increasingly, more and more of us are relying on Google Reader (or something similar—that's just what I use) to monitor our favorite blogs, and all the viewer sees is a list of posts. If your "headline" isn't enticing, then I'm not clicking on it (unless you're one of my faves). If I see "Weekend Fun" or "Nature's Bounty" or "Friday Finds", I might just skip that post. (I SWEAR I made all those up, so apologies if you actually used any of those. Wait, I'm sure I used the latter....)

I can't say that I adhere to this advice all the time (especially since I've been far too lazy to actually categorize my posts), but it's something to think about. 

If you want more blogtips (real ones, not just my thoughts), you know Colleen's new blog is the way to go. I'll be giving her an earful soon, as I'm heading up there next weekend.

THEN AGAIN, is that all we're trying to do? Drive eyeballs to our site? Although I'm ecstatic that I've got readers (now friends) out there in Blogistan, I'm more interested in like-minded readership and connecting. And, of course, VENTING. Yeah, that too.

XOX

Comments

[Wanda]

I go through the same things in my head all the time. I know I should be optomizing, but how? Without looking goofy? I mean, I look goofy enough, but at least it's human goofy. Tags? I can never think of the right words and besides, weren't they in the post? It's all such a foreign concept. I'll never be any good at SEO unless I take a hands on class.

I've tagged you. You can thank me later. Go on over to the blog and see what's next.

Wanda
http://www.shopjustvintage.com/blog