Blogs contribute to a major chunk of our interactions with clients in the age of digital marketing. This is a way to show off the personality and corporate culture to current and prospective clients while providing them with a post containing either valuable or entertaining content. Ensuring that your blog’s visits increase at a steady rate does not solely have to do with your content, but it also relates to the manner in which you present said content.

No, this round we are not referring to visual appeal, but to speed. The instant gratification generation does not take kindly to waiting and Google is certainly part of this group. In fact, perhaps it is because of Google and their high standards, that instant gratification has become embedded in our DNA. The reason why I mention Google is because this is the primary source of your blog’s traffic – and they are not keen on having your slow blog pop up on top of their search engine results. A blog that loads in an acceptable time is a blog with increased SER.

Speedup your blog’s loading time:

1. Plugins can improve the functionality of your blog, but you need to remove plugins which you do not need anymore. The P3 plugin can point out which of your current plugins are causing the blog to lag. Install plugins which aid to the optimisation and blog management, such as a search function, a caching plugin, and categories for posts, a ReTweet button or a subscription button if you are planning to make use of newsletters.
2. Now that we have looked at plugins, the next point comes up: don’t have too many posts on one page; it slows down your loading time. Install a plugin for categories, file your older blog posts under their respective categories and only display the title and introduction of your last three blog posts on the home page. Be sure to have each category page display about 10 of your posts – you can always add in more pages under the different categories as your blog posts expand.
3. Rank your widgets. Widgets add some flavour to a blog, so having them is imperative, but you don’t need too much as they will slow down your blog’s loading time. Only add widgets which are interesting, such as the amount of users online at present, or a Twitter badge to display your most recent Tweets. There are countless widgets to choose from, but be sure to use a small amount which are relevant to your blog. For example, if your blog offers e-learning types of posts, add a Skype widget which will let users see if you are available on Skype to discuss any questions they may have.
4. Slowdown on the images. Images add visual appeal to your blog and posts, but you do not need numerous images on one post – add one, if necessary, otherwise rely on your blog’s aesthetic appeal and compelling posts to keep attracting visitors. If you do add images, keep them as small as possible without sacrificing quality. A good standard to adhere to is 300px height and 500px in length.  Alternatively, if you simply can’t do without many images, you can add a plugin which will crunch images, or load the images onto cloud – that way they are not stored on your server.

Depending on where your blog is hosted, there are many more tips on combatting a slow loading site.  Ensure that the blog is kept up with technological improvements, as around 75% of users expect a blog to load at an average of three seconds, You will need to evaluate the speed of your blog on a continuous basis – keeping an eye on your bounce rates will be a clear indication of where improvement is needed.

Mari Roelofse is a Digital Journalist & Content Editor for Sound Idea Digital | mari@soundidea.co.za | Sound Idea Digital | www.soundidea.co.za