Add a blogger sitemap to Google

I was always told to add a sitemap to Google for better indexing and possibly my blog would be more Search engine optimized. The problem with my blog is, it is on blogger, and I dont have access to my site folder. Hence, I was unable to upload a sitemap to google. But, recently I got to know a way.

Every blogger blog has already got a sitemap. The sitemap to your blogger blog is :

http://Yourblog.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Where, you should replace Youblog with your blog's name. For example, my sitemap location is:

http://bestblogbasket.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Finally, go to the Google Webmaster page and read the instructions to upload the sitemap. Done.

Keep Blogging!

How to : Grasp your reader's attention

"Eyetracking visualizations show that users often read Web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe."
Users first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area. This initial element forms the F's top bar.
Next, users move down the page a bit and then read across in a second ...
Read More on the F shaped findings

I think this can help us all in writing content which can be read better by the user. Here is a list of what I learnt to do from this study:

• Content on left: Always set your template so that the widgets and other things are on the right column and the main content is on the left side.
• Show popular posts: As you can see I have placed the popular posts right on the top right, the first horizontal bar which people read.
• Use lists with meaningful bolds: More often than not, the reader is likely to scan through your page at amazing speeds. Make it a point to make your content scannable by writing in lists. Also, the title in bolds should be enough to get the gist of the post.
• Use Images and Videos on the right: The right vertical is mostly ignored by the readers according to this study. So, I think the images and videos which capture the attention of the user should be used on the right instead of the boring no image texts.
• Use Taglines on header: This is like the first impression thing when you meet somebody. Its the most prominent part of the "F" and should be used intelligently. Use keywords, dashes or commas, anything which gets the message across. Choose words which state the purpose of your site the best. You might offend some people who love there language by using dashes, but it will be benificial to most. Here is an example:
• Our solutions are:
  Scaleable and Robust
  Modular and Integrated
  Efficient and Cost-effective
  
• Learn to write effective headlines, titles: The attention span of a reader is less than a teenager. You get just 50-60 characters to convince people to read your article. It is even worse on a search engine when your post is listed amongst 1000 other posts. Its better to note to use the below as a checklist whenever you write a headline.
  
• Clearly explain what the article (or email) is about in terms that relate to the user.
• No puns, no "cute" or "clever" headlines.
• No teasers that try to entice people to click to find out what the story is about
• Skip leading articles like "the" and "a" in email subjects and page titles
• Make the first word an important, information-carrying one.
• Do not make all page titles start with the same word: they will be hard to differentiate when scanning a list.
  

I believe this study only strengthens what we all already knew. The good thing is it has given us another chance to get our basics in line and start writing better content. After all, we can force nobody to read what we write.

Blogger Launches New "Add Page Element(s)"

Blogger keeps getting better and better. Surprisingly, when I tried to enter a new page element( In your Blogger Dashboard: Click Layout-->Add a Page Element) on my blog today, I found this:

These are really cool additions and open up ample opportunities to add fresh content to your blog.

• Newsreel

As the picture says it allows you to add news from the Google news. An even better feature can be seen in the below picture:
Yes, you can add the search terms for which you want the displays. Also, what you cant see in this preview is that the news is in flash format and takes a single line (very less blog page space) for any number of news you want. The search as expected from Google is lightning quick.

• Video Bar

How cool is that? Miniature videos right on your blog with minimal loading time and for whichever topic you need. Here is the snapshot of the setup:The black screens are the videos and I have blackened it for no legal issues et al. This will help you provide your own videos or any other Google, Youtube videos to your readers.

I will use this feature for sure on my blog and give you a thorough review in a couple of days, so keep reading. Here is what I think at first look:

• It cant be used by three column templates since the width is too much.
  
• It is very light and increases your blog load time by just 2-2.5 seconds.
• Even a monkey could set it up.
• It still needs better integration with youtube and if possible news and videos from other sites.

If you find anything new about these features, which most probably, I ha vent mentioned, do mention them. Its a great gift to Bloggers. Thanks Google.