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Managing Performance

An important part of growing your blog is understanding where visitors are
coming from, what content they find and like, and what they do when they’re
on your blog. This is where Web analytics are useful. Luckily, a number of
free blog statistic trackers are available to use on your blog.
When you begin to analyze your blog statistics, do so with realistic shortterm
and long-term goals in mind. Don’t expect to receive thousands of visitors
within a month or two of launching your blog. In time, traffic to your blog
will grow, particularly when you begin promoting your blog, which I discuss
in Chapter 12. By analyzing your blog’s traffic, you can find what efforts are
(and aren’t) working, so you can concentrate your time on activities that
truly boost traffic and make your blog more valuable and enjoyable to everyone
who visits.
Tracking your stats
Now that you know it’s important to track your blog’s statistics, you’re probably
wondering why. In short, blog statistics can help you understand:
? Where visitors to your blog are coming from. What Web sites, blogs, or
search engines are helping them find your blog.
? What keywords people enter into search engines that lead them to
your blog.
? How many posts visitors look at before they leave your blog.
? How many new visitors come to your blog each day versus repeat visitors.
? The length of time that people spend on your blog.
? The most frequently viewed posts on your blog.
These are just a few of the statistics you can track on your blog. How
can these statistics help you grow your blog? Take a look at the following
explanations:
? Where visitors to your blog are coming from. When you know which
Web sites and blogs are sending traffic your way, you can concentrate
your marketing efforts on those sites. For example, you can leave comments
on those blogs or mention their posts with links to the original
post on your blog. It’s a proven traffic generator that you can exploit
and grow further.
? What keywords people enter. When you know which keywords people
use to find your blog, you can further optimize your blog posts to get
more search results by using those popular keywords or keyword
phrases.
? How many posts visitors look at. If you see that most visitors look at
more than one post on your blog, you can feel confident that you’re publishing
compelling content and building a loyal readership.
? How many new visitors come to your blog versus repeat visitors.
Ultimately, you want a mix of loyal, repeat visitors and new visitors to
find your blog each day.
? The length of time people spend on your blog. If people arrive at your
blog and leave immediately, they’re not the type of traffic you want, and
you need to adjust your efforts to find qualified traffic or enhance your
content to be more compelling.
? The most frequently viewed posts on your blog. When you know your
most popular posts, you can exploit that knowledge by linking to those
posts from new posts, promoting those posts through your marketing
efforts, and writing similar posts in the future.
You have countless ways to use your blog statistics to learn about your
blog’s audience and what they want from your blog. Review your blog’s statistics
to see if there are any trends or patterns. Try different writing and promotional
techniques, and then analyze your blog statistics to see how those
techniques affect your blog’s traffic and performance.
Choosing a statistic tracker
Many Web analytics tools are available to bloggers. Some are provided free
whereas others have a cost. Take some time to research the various Web
analytics providers to find the one that offers you the functionality you want
at the price you’re willing to pay.
Most Web analytics tools integrate with your blog through a simple copy-andpaste
procedure. You register for an account, enter information about your
blog, and a snippet of code automatically generates that you copy and paste
into a new HTML/JavaScript gadget (as described in Chapter on your blog.
It’s a simple process but one that helps your blog to grow immensely.
Several free Web analytics tools provide sufficient data and functionality for
typical bloggers. Following is an introduction to several popular Web analytics
providers that offer a variety of free blog statistic tracking services.
? Google Analytics. Google Analytics integrates seamlessly with Google
Blogger, as you’d expect. It’s considered one of the best blog statistic
trackers because it provides comprehensive information to users at no
charge. You can create custom reports and even track advertising and
promotional campaigns.
? StatCounter. StatCounter delivers basic blog statistics to users for free.
However, the free version of StatCounter displays only the last 100 visitors
to your blog in its statistics. This may or may not be adequate for
you depending on your goals for your blog and the level of tracking
detail you want. StatCounter also offers a package that delivers additional
data and functionality for a fee.
? FreeStats. FreeStats provides a variety of reports for bloggers to analyze
their blog traffic patterns. As the name implies, FreeStats is available
for free.
? SiteMeter. SiteMeter offers a basic amount of blog statistics for free, but
only displays information about the last 100 visitors to your blog (similar
to StatCounter). Depending on your requirements, this might not
be enough for you. SiteMeter also offers a package that provides more
information and data for a fee.
Some of the blog statistic trackers and tools available to you online are not
compatible with blogs hosted through Blogger (meaning they have a Blogspot
extension in the URL). Hosting your blog on a third-party server gives you
maximum control and provides access to the widest array of blogging tools,
including blog statistic trackers. You can read more about third-party blog
hosting in Chapter 16.
The Web analytics tool you choose is entirely up to you. In fact, you might
want to test the free versions from multiple providers to compare their offerings
and find the one that works best for you. If you require more robust
statistics, you might want to consider upgrading to a package that provides
more features and functionality for a fee. However, most bloggers find the
free tools adequate.
Deciding what to track
When you first open your blog statistic reports, you probably won’t know
where to begin. Don’t feel overwhelmed. Begin by focusing on the “big ticket”
stats, such as page views, referrers, and keywords. In time, you’ll learn to use
the various reports and data available through your blog statistic tracker.
You’ll even learn how to analyze those numbers and apply your learning to
your blog. For a complete education about Web analytics, check out Web
Analytics For Dummies by Pedro Sostre and Jennifer LeClaire (Wiley, 2007).
For now, take a few moments to familiarize yourself with some of the most
commonly analyzed blog statistics.
Always make sure you set the time period you want to analyze before you
begin to review your blog stats.
? Hits: Your blog statistic tracker counts a hit every time a file downloads
from your blog. Each page on your blog can have multiple files on it.
When a person accesses a page on your blog, every file on that page
downloads and counts as a hit. For example, if your page includes a blog
post with multiple images in it, each of those images downloads when a
visitor accesses that page, which gives an inflated view of the popularity
of your blog. Therefore, hits aren’t typically used to determine Web traffic
trends.
? Visits: Each time your Web site is accessed (any page), a visit is counted
in your blog statistic tracker. This means a person who visits more than
once is counted multiple times. Therefore, visits give an inflated view of
your blog’s popularity and aren’t typically used to determine Web traffic
trends.
? Visitors: Accurately tracking the number of visitors who enter your blog
is challenging for blog statistic trackers. Unless visitors register and sign
in to access pages on your blog, it’s close to impossible to ensure repeat
visitors are counted only once. Stat trackers often use cookies to reduce
the number of visitors who are counted twice, but if people clear their
cookies, there’s no way for the stat tracker to identify them. That is, if
visitors return after clearing their cookies, they’re counted as a new visitor.
Therefore, tracking visitors is more accurate than tracking visits in
terms of determining the true metrics related to your blog.
Some blog statistic trackers break this stat into unique visitors (those
who visit one time only) and repeat visitors (those who visit more than
once), but these numbers can never be 100 percent accurate. Use them
for guidance but do so with caution. Some of the high-level visitor information
provided by Google Analytics is shown in Figure 9-12.
? Page Views: Page Views is the most commonly used statistic that bloggers
track because it provides the clearest picture of how popular a blog
is. Each page viewed on your blog regardless of who views it counts as
a page view. Online advertisers use page views as the standard of measurement
to calculate advertising rates. More page views equals more
people seeing the ad and potentially clicking it or acting on it. Figure 9-13
shows visits versus page views data provided by SiteMeter.
? Top Pages Viewed: Blog statistic trackers typically provide a report that
shows your blog’s most viewed pages (which correlate to specific posts
if you choose Enable Post Pages in your blog settings, as I describe in
Chapter 5). Monitoring Top Pages Viewed can help you focus your content
creation and marketing efforts.
? Top Paths Taken: Paths represent the way visitors travel through your
blog — the links they follow, the content that’s most interesting to them,
and the features that keep them on your blog longer.
? Top Entry Pages: Top Entry Pages represent the pages that people most
frequently land on when they visit your blog. This statistic is helpful in
terms of finding where visitors are coming from. Using the Top Paths
Taken statistic with the Top Entry Pages statistic can provide valuable
information.
? Top Exit Pages: Top Exit Pages represent the last pages that people
view before leaving your blog. This statistic can help you identify content
that is underperforming.
? Bounce Rate: Bounce rate is a useful statistic that shows you the percentage
of people who leave your blog immediately after finding it. The
bounce rate represents people who didn’t find what they were looking
for when they were led to your blog. The lower this number, the more
effective your marketing and search engine optimization efforts are;
meaning the people who are finding your blog are the ones that you
want to find it. In other words, your search engine optimization and marketing
efforts are reaching your blog’s target audience.
? Referrers: One of the most powerful statistics you can access through
your Web analytics, referrers are the Web sites, blogs, and search
engines that lead visitors to your blog. Often the Referrers statistic is
broken down further into a category for search engines only and another
for non-search engines. You can find where traffic is coming from and
determine where to focus your marketing efforts going forward.
? Keywords and Keyword Phrases: Another powerful statistic you can
access through your Web analytics is Keywords and Keyword Phrases.
Search engines have the potential to drive large numbers of visitors to
your blog. By analyzing the keywords and keyword phrases that people
type into search engines, which lead them to find your blog, you can
focus your future search engine optimization efforts and content creation
efforts to target those keywords.
Don’t think you’ll be a master at blog statistic analysis overnight. It takes
time to understand how to read your blog’s statistics and then effectively
apply them to your blog plan to meet your blogging goals. Keep in mind that
there are no regulations or rules related to Web analytics; the statistics one
provider delivers could be very different from those delivered by another
provider. With that in mind, you might want to try a few different stat trackers
and compare the results delivered by each until you find the one that
works best for you and appears to offer the most accurate data.

Adding More Features to Your Blog

When you become an experienced blogger, you may want to try new tools
and features that can make your life as a blogger easier. Although getting
stuck in a rut of using the same, comfortable tools every day is easy, don’t be
afraid to seek more advanced tools and options. Some of the most popular
advanced tools are described here.
Instant blogging with BlogThis!
Sometimes you might find an article, a video, or other content online that you
want to write about on your blog. Rather than taking the time to open a new
browser window and log into your Blogger account to write your new post,
you can use BlogThis! to blog instantly.
BlogThis! is a tool that can be added to your Web browser’s toolbar. When
you see something of interest online that you want to write about, simply
select the BlogThis! icon from your browser’s toolbar. A stripped-down
Blogger post editor window opens where you can type your post and publish
it directly from the BlogThis! window, as shown in Figure 9-10. To make
things even easier, if you highlight text on the Web site you’re visiting before
you select the BlogThis! icon from your browser toolbar, the BlogThis!
window opens with the selected text already inserted into the post editor.
You can’t blog much faster than that!
If you use Internet Explorer from a Windows-based computer, you can access
the BlogThis! icon from the Send To link on the Google toolbar. If you use
Mozilla Firefox as your Web browser, an add-on is available through the
Firefox Web site that adds the BlogThis! link to your right-click menu. If you
use a different browser, you can drag the BlogThis! link to your browser’s link
toolbar from Blogger’s online help site (http://help.blogger.com).
Sending posts with BlogSend
Blogger gives you the option to automatically send each new post that you
publish on your blog to a specific e-mail address via BlogSend. To configure
the BlogSend feature, follow these steps:
1. From the Blogger dashboard, click the Settings link.
The Settings window from your Blogger account opens with the Basic
settings window displayed by default.
2. Select the Email tab from the navigation bar near the top of your
screen.
The Email window opens, as shown in Figure 9-11.
3. In the BlogSend Address box, type the e-mail address that you want
your new blog posts to be sent to.
In this box, you can enter ten e-mail addresses separated with commas.
4. Select the Save Settings button to save your changes.
Publishing posts with Mail-to-Blogger
With Mail-to-Blogger, you can publish blog posts through any e-mail program
without logging into Blogger. To use this functionality, you need to configure
the e-mail address and settings for Mail-to-Blogger as follows:
1. In the Email window shown in Figure 9-11, enter a secret word of
your choice in the box provided to create your private Mail-to-Blogger
e-mail address.
You send blog posts directly to this address via e-mail to publish to
your blog.
Do not share your Mail-to-Blogger e-mail address. If it gets into the
wrong hands, a malicious person could post on your blog pretending to
be you.
2. Select the radio button next to either Publish Emails Immediately or
Save Emails as Draft Posts.
If you select Publish Emails Immediately, any posts you send to your
Mail-to-Blogger e-mail address automatically publish on your blog. If you
select the Save Emails as Draft Posts option, the posts you send to your
Mail-to-Blogger e-mail address sit in the draft queue within your Blogger
account until you log into Blogger and manually publish them.
3. Select the Save Settings button to save your changes.
Before you send posts using Mail-to-Blogger, understanding how your e-mail
client handles text formatting is important. For example, if your e-mail client
uses plain-text formatting, then any formatting you apply to your text, such
as bold, italics, and so on (even if you do so using HTML coding), won’t
appear in your post when it publishes on your blog. However, if your e-mail
client uses HTML formatting, then any formatting you apply should appear in
your post when it publishes on your blog.
When you write posts using Mail-to-Blogger, the title of the e-mail message
publishes as the title of your blog post, and the content of your e-mail message
publishes as the content of your blog post. You can also include an
image with your post by attaching it to your e-mail message.
To determine how your e-mail client works with the Mail-to-Blogger functionality,
try publishing some test posts with Mail-to-Blogger that you can delete
after they publish.
If your e-mail program automatically adds a signature or copyright message to
the end of your e-mail messages, insert #end at the end of your post to ensure
that the additional text does not publish with your blog post.
Understanding basic HTML
HTML is an acronym for Hypertext Markup Language, which is the primary
programming language used to write Web pages. While Blogger provides a
simple WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) post editor interface that
allows you to publish blog posts without any knowledge of HTML, learning
some HTML can only help you succeed as a blogger.
Understanding just a few HTML commands can help you enhance the formatting
of your blog posts, your sidebar, and more. Although it’s not necessary
to become an HTML expert, every piece of HTML that you learn helps you
grow as a blogger.
In simplest terms, HTML uses tags to provide instructions to your Web
browser about how to display text and other elements. For example, if you
want a specific word to appear in bold, you need to tell the Web browser to
do so with HTML tags. Each instruction is provided by using an opening and
closing HTML tag. In other words, if you want to tell your Web browser to
display a word in bold, you type the opening HTML tag followed by the word
you want bolded and the closing HTML tag. HTML tags are always enclosed
in brackets, and the closing tag is always preceded with a slash.
For example, if you want the sentence “The sun is yellow” to display online as
“The sun is yellow,” you tell your Web browser to do so as follows:
The sun is yellow
Of course, the example above uses laymen’s terms within the HTML coding
brackets to demonstrate how the HTML coding communicates to your Web
browser. The actual HTML coding would appear as follows:
The sun is yellow
Looking at the coding example above, you can determine that the HTML tag
tells your Web browser to bold the text that follows the tag. The HTML
tag tells your Web browser to stop bold.
To help you get started, following are some of the most common HTML tags
that bloggers use. You can learn more about HTML in HTML, XHTML & CSS,
6th Edition For Dummies by Ed Tittel and Jeff Noble (Wiley, 2008).
? Bold: and
? Italics: and
? Underline: and
? Paragraph:

and

? Line break:
? Hyperlink: text you want to
appear as the link
? Font size: and
? Font color: and
? Numbered list:

to start the list,
1. before each line item,

to end the list
? Bulleted list:

to start the list,
• before each line item,

to
end the list

Increasing Visibility and Accessibility

Write your blog posts with the understanding that you’re publishing the
opening of a conversation. The strength of your blog comes from your content
and the community that forms around it. The sense of community in
relation to your blog is built naturally through commenting. However, with
commenting also comes potential problems.
Unfortunately, not every person who visits your blog has something nice to
say all the time. Furthermore, people around the world use blog commenting
as a method to spread spam. A by-product of blogging is dealing with
irrelevant and sometimes hurtful comments. Remember, it’s your blog. To
create the best possible experience for your audience, you have the power to
moderate comments — as you feel appropriate — for your blog. Try to find a
happy medium between keeping the conversation going and removing comments
that hurt the discussion.
Inviting comments
If your blog posts are the heart of your blog, then the comments left on those
posts represent the blood pumping through the veins. In other words, comments
are the lifeline that keeps your blog beating. Blog comments make a
blog interactive and social.
Think of blog comments the same way you would a face-to-face conversation.
Do you prefer it when someone simply speaks at you and does all the talking,
or do you prefer the conversation to offer a mix between both you and the
other person speaking? People feel the same way about conversations via
blog posts and comments. They want to feel like they are valuable, contributing
members of the conversation, not just bystanders.
Comments separate blogs from traditional Web sites and news articles, which
are one-sided and invite readers to participate passively. Comparatively,
blogs are two-sided and invite readers to participate actively. Chapter 12
provides details on how you can specifically use comments to drive traffic to
your blog. For now, it’s important to understand how you can get people talking
and leaving comments directly on your blog posts. Here are a few methods
that can help generate comments:
? Ask for them. Simple enough, but many bloggers don’t take a moment to
include a question or phrase that directly asks readers what they think
about the topic discussed in the post. For example, at the end of your
blog posts, include a question, such as, “What do you think?” to invite
readers to leave a comment and join the conversation.
? Write about a controversial topic. Nothing brings lurkers out of the
woodwork faster than controversy. Of course, not every blog is an
appropriate place to discuss controversial topics, but if a controversial
topic is relevant to your blog, you might want to write a post about it.
However, be cautious. Controversial topics can be emotional and might
require your strict oversight and moderation to ensure nothing offensive
is published.
? Play devil’s advocate. Take a popular topic related to your blog and
suggest the opposite point of view rather than the publicly accepted
view. For example, if you write a cooking blog and most chefs follow
a specific method to complete a culinary task, such as de-boning a
chicken, suggest a different method as being superior. You’d be surprised
how many people will join the conversation to defend the publicly
accepted method or provide their opinions on your alternate point
of view.
? Ask your readers to help you make a decision or answer a question
you have. This method of generating comments can help to personalize
your blog. For example, if you write a parenting blog and you’re having
trouble potty training your child, you could write a post about your
struggles and ask your readers to help you by leaving comments with
their potty-training tips and suggestions.
Most bloggers need months (some even years) to develop a strong and
vocal reader following. It’s your job to experiment with different methods to
get the conversation going and find what works best to get your blog’s visitors
talking. After a reader leaves a comment, acknowledge that comment
by responding with a comment of your own. Doing so shows your readers
that you value their opinions, which will make them more likely to comment
again.
Don’t ignore your readers. If a reader leaves a comment, respond to it. When
your audience and comments grow, you’ll find that other visitors will respond
to each other’s comments, meaning you won’t be the only other person in the
conversation. Instead, group discussions will evolve around your blog posts,
and you’ll have the opportunity to let them flourish.
Moderating comments
You want to encourage comments on your blog; however, there will come a
time when an offensive comment or spam comment is submitted in response
to one of your blog posts. When that time comes, it’s important that you
remove the offensive or spam comment to maintain the integrity of your blog.
As the number of comments left on your blog increases, you might want to
begin moderating them by using the Comments feature on the Settings tab of
your Blogger dashboard.
You find out how to configure comment settings in Chapter 5. The focus here
is on the moderation elements found within the Comments feature, as shown
To configure comment moderation settings, follow these steps:
1. Click the Settings link on your Blogger dashboard.
The Settings window opens with the Basic settings window displayed by
default.
2. Select the Comments tab in the navigation bar near the top of your
screen.
The Comments window opens, as shown in Figure 9-1.
3. Scroll to the Comment Moderation section of the Comments window,
as shown in Figure 9-2.
You can configure your comment moderation settings here.
4. Select the radio button next to Always, Only on Posts Older Than #
Days, or Never to configure which comments you want to hold for
review before they publish on your blog.
Selecting Always means all comments are held for moderation. Selecting
Only on Posts Older Than # Days means comments left on posts older
than the number of days you enter in the box are held for moderation.
Selecting Never means that no comments are held for moderation.
When comments are held for moderation, a link appears on your Blogger
dashboard when comments are in the moderation queue for you to
review.
5. If you select Always or Only on Posts Older Than # Days in the
Comment Moderation section, an E-mail Address box automatically
appears. Type your e-mail address in this box if you want to be notified
via e-mail when a comment is left on your blog and is in the moderation
queue.
An e-mail is sent to the address entered in this box each time a new
comment is held for moderation.
People who are already familiar with reading blogs will understand comment
moderation. Therefore, they won’t be discouraged to find their comments are
held for review. In other words, comment moderation is not perceived by the
blog-reading community as a negative and doesn’t affect your traffic or the
conversation that occurs on your blog.

Pinging
An important part of growing your blog is making sure that the World Wide
Web knows your blog exists and knows when you publish new content.
Blogger helps you achieve this through its automatic pinging service in conjunction
with Weblogs.com.
In simplest terms, pinging is the process by which a signal is sent to a server
(called a ping server) whenever new content is added to a blog (or another
online source). Weblogs.com is a ping server that aggregates the pings
it receives and makes them available to third parties, such as the search
engines Technorati and Google. If you want your blog posts to appear in
search engine results, make sure your blog is set up to ping.
Blogger users can easily configure their blogs to ping Weblogs.com, the largest
and oldest ping server, as follows:
1. From the Blogger dashboard, click the Settings link.
The Basic configuration window opens, as shown in Figure 9-3.
2. Choose Yes from the Let Search Engines Find Your Blog? dropdown
menu.
By selecting yes, your blog will automatically ping Weblogs.com and
Google Blog Search (an alternate ping server) every time you publish
new content, making it immediately available to search engines.
When you become more proficient with blogging, you might hear of other ping
servers and wonder whether you should manually ping them. Typically, the
answer is no. Weblogs.com — the largest ping server — is used by the major
search engines. Many other ping servers simply duplicate a portion of what
Weblogs.com does. Be sure to research other ping servers before you commit
to manually pinging them or add code to your blog to automatically ping them
to ensure it’s worth your time and effort.
Managing feeds and subscriptions
People who like your blog will want to visit whenever you publish new content.
Moreover, if they find the comments on a particular post interesting,
they might want to be notified each time a new comment is added to that
post. Blog feeds and subscriptions provide an easy way for people to access
your new content when it’s published and are particularly helpful to people
who read many blogs each day.
In short, you can create a feed of your blog’s new content that people can
subscribe to. Instead of visiting your blog’s URL everyday (as well as the
URLs of all the other blogs they enjoy reading), subscribers can view all new
content for every blog they subscribe to in one location via a feed reader.
Many feed readers are available, including Google Reader, which is described
in detail later in this chapter.
Setting up your feed
Blogger uses Atom 1.0 language to create and deliver Web feeds. It’s very
easy to set up your blog to generate a feed and to provide links for visitors to
subscribe to your blog’s feed in their feed reader of choice. Here’s how:
1. From the Blogger dashboard, click the Settings link.
The Settings window opens with the Basic settings window displayed by
default.
2. Select the Site Feed tab from the navigation bar near the top of your
screen.
The Site Feed window opens, as shown in Figure 9-4.
3. In the Blog Posts Feed drop-down menu, choose Full to make all your
blog posts available in their entirety for subscribers to read in their
feed readers.
A blog posts feed provides the content of your new blog posts to your
subscribers to view in their feed reader. If you prefer, choose Short
from the drop-down menu to provide only an excerpt of each blog post
through your feed. Subscribers need to click through from their feed
reader to your blog to read the entire post. Alternatively, choose None
from the drop-down menu if you don’t want to offer post feed subscriptions
to your blog readers.
If you want to grow your blog, it’s a good idea to offer all feed and subscription
options to your visitors.
4. In the Blog Comment Feed drop-down menu, choose the Full, Short, or
None setting to configure the feed settings for your blog comments.
A blog comment feed provides all new comments left on all your blog
posts to subscribers to view in their feed reader. Each setting works the
same as those described in Step 3 above for the Blog Posts Feed setting.
5. In the Per-Post Comment Feeds drop-down box, choose the Full, Short,
or None setting to configure the feed settings for comments on individual
blog posts.
A per-post comment feed provides a person’s feed reader all new comments
left only on specific posts the viewer subscribes to. Each setting
works the same as those described in Step 3 above for the Blog Posts
Feed setting.
6. In the Post Feed Redirect URL box, enter the feed URL from
FeedBurner or a third party feed provider.
If you want to use a feed provider other than Blogger’s Atom 1.0 service,
you can create your feed through a third party, such as FeedBurner,
and then enter the URL for your blog’s new feed in this box. The nearby
Using FeedBurner sidebar discusses FeedBurner in greater detail.
Figure 9-4:
The Site
Feed
window.
7. In the Post Feed Footer box, enter the text you want to display with
your subscription link after each post on your blog.
If you’re using a third party feed provider such as Feedburner (see the
nearby sidebar), enter the post feed code supplied by that provider in
this box.
8. When you finish making edits, click the Save Settings button.
Your feed is configured. Next, you need to make it easy for visitors to
subscribe to your feed.
9. Select the Layout tab from the top navigation bar on your screen.
The Page Elements window opens, as shown in Figure 9-5.
Figure 9-5:
10. Click the Add a Gadget link.
The Add a Gadget window opens, as shown in Figure 9-6.
11. Click the + icon to the right of the Subscription Links gadget.
The Configure Subscription Links window opens, as shown in Figure 9-7.
12. In the Title box, type the text you want to use as a title for your
subscription link.
You can leave the title’s default text, Subscribe To, or choose another
phrase.
13. Click the Save button to save your changes.
You return to the Page Elements page where you can follow the link to
view your changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 9-8.
Subscribing to blogs
The longer you blog, the more blogs you’re apt to read on a daily basis.
Instead of opening all of those blogs each day to see what people are talking
about, you can subscribe to your favorite blogs and read all the updates in a
single location. Feed readers save you time and effort.
Many feed readers are available, including Google Reader. When you start
your Google Blogger blog, you create a Google account, as I describe in
Chapter 4. You can use that Google Account username and password to log
into Google Reader and begin subscribing to blog feeds.
To subscribe to a blog’s feed, simply select the subscribe icon or link found
on that blog. Typically, a window or list will open showing the various feed
readers you can choose from to subscribe to that feed, as shown in Figure
9-9. Select Google Reader from the list. You’re prompted to log into Google
Reader to complete your subscription. The next time you want to see the new
content from that blog (and others that you subscribe to), you can simply log
into Google Reader and view that content in a single location.
You can learn more about feeds and subscriptions in Syndicating Web Sites
with RSS Feeds For Dummies by Ellen Finkelstein (Wiley, 2005).

Managing Your Blog

Aside from publishing great content, you need to keep up with a number
of other tasks as a blogger, particularly if you want to grow your blog.
Remember, a blog is part of the social web where user-generated content is
where it’s at! What makes blogs unique is their ability to provide two-way
conversation between you and your visitors (and amongst your visitors,
themselves). The success of your blog depends in part on the community that
evolves around it and the relationships you build through it. Much of that
conversation occurs through comments left on your blog, which you can learn
about in this chapter.
Additionally, you can add functions and features to your blog that can
enhance your ability to maintain it and your visitors’ abilities to experience
it. Some of the most popular features are described in this chapter.
Finally, if you want to grow your blog, you need to track your blog statistics
so you can get a clear understanding of what works and what doesn’t work
on your blog. Blog statistic trackers allow you to learn where traffic is coming
from, how visitors find your blog, and much more. This chapter helps you
understand how to use blog statistic trackers and how to choose which one
is right for you.

Arranging Elements and Gadgets

One of the best parts about Blogger is the simple click-and-drag functionality
that allows users to move page elements and gadgets around in their blog
layouts. To move an individual element or gadget, select it with your mouse
and drag it to a new location. (In Figure 8-1, for example, you could drag your
Blog Posts element to the right of your sidebar elements.) Click the Preview
button to see how your changes look on your blog before you commit to
saving them. When you’re satisfied with your changes, select the Save button
to save them.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with your blog’s layout by dragging and
dropping page elements and gadgets to new locations. You can always click
the Cancel button to erase your changes because none of your changes are
permanent until you click the Save button.
You can move any page element or gadget used in your blog except for your
Navbar, Header, and Blog Posts element in some templates.

Adding Third-Party Gadgets

Earlier in this chapter, I tell you that you can add third-party HTML or
JavaScript to your blog using the HTML/JavaScript gadget. Blogger also
offers links to a variety of third-party gadgets directly through the Add a
Gadget window that you can add to your blog just as you add any of the
Basic Blogger gadgets to your blog as discussed throughout this chapter.
Alternatively, many third-party developers include a simple +Blogger
button, an Add to Your Blog button, or a link that allows you to add a gadget
offered on that developer’s Web page directly to your blog.
When you select a third-party gadget button on another Web site, you’re
taken to your Blogger account. If you’re not logged in, you’re asked to log
into your Blogger account. Select the blog you want to add the gadget to and
view the information for the new gadget. Simply select the Add a Gadget
button, and the code is added to your blog automatically.
Third-party gadgets come from a wide variety of sources. Be sure you’re
confident that the source providing the third-party gadget is trustworthy. You
don’t want to add harmful code to your blog!

Choosing Gadgets

The Blogger platform offers a variety of gadgets that you can add to your
blog layout to create the best user experience for your audience. Whether
you want to add a blogroll to your sidebar or a list of the labels to categorize
your blog posts (or both), you can choose the gadgets that work best for you.
Take some time to experiment with the various Blogger gadgets described
here. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to test the waters with any gadget.
Remember, you can always remove a gadget at anytime.
To add a gadget to your blog, simply select the Add a Gadget link on the Page
Elements page of your Blogger dashboard (refer to Figure 8-1). The Add a
Gadget window opens (see Figure 8-11), where you can scroll through the
various gadgets available to add to your blog. Note that on the left side of the
window are a variety of links that categorize the gadgets available to choose
from directly through this feature window, such as Basic, Featured, News,
and so on. The first link is Basic. This is the information that appears when
you first open the Add a Gadget window and provides a list of gadgets offered
by Blogger to enhance your blog. The other links in the list can include a
variety of gadgets created by third parties (described later in this chapter).
For now, focus on adding the Basic Blogger gadgets to your blog.
Providing a blog list
The Blog List gadget allows you to add a traditional blogroll to your blog’s
sidebar. Blogrolls are a great way to network with other bloggers and grow
your blog. In simplest terms, when you include links to other blogs you
like and you want to share with your audience, each link you add has the
potential to drive traffic to that other blog. If the other blogger is interested
in growing her blog, it’s likely that she monitors where incoming links that
are driving traffic come from. She’ll see your blog is driving traffic and is
likely to add a reciprocal link to your blog on her blogroll. Each additional
incoming link to your blog can help in your search engine optimization efforts
as well, which I describe in detail in Chapter 13.
With that in mind, monitor where incoming links to your blog generate from.
If a link is contained within a post, be certain to acknowledge the blog by
leaving a comment or by adding that blog to your blogroll. Furthermore,
when you add a blog you like to your blogroll, be sure to send an e-mail to
the blogger or leave a comment on one of his blog posts telling him why you
like the blog and that you added it to your blogroll.
Adding a blogroll to your blog’s sidebar with the Blog List page element is
done as follows:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Blog List. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Blog List window opens, as shown in Figure 8-12.
2. In the Title box, type the title you want for your blogroll.
The Title box populates with “My Blog List” by default. Other options for
a title include, “Blogroll,” “Blogs I Read,” “Recommended Blogs,” and so
on. The title for your blogroll is entirely up to you, but keep in mind
“Blogroll” is the most common.
3. From the Sort drop-down menu, choose the sort method you want to
use to display the links in your blogroll.
You can choose to display links in your blogroll in alphabetical order by
title or by listing the most recently updated blogs in descending order.
4. In the Show section, you can configure the settings for how each link
within your blogroll will appear in your sidebar.
• Select the Icon check box if you want to include an icon next to
each link.
• Select the Title of Most Recent Item check box if you want to
include the title of the most recent blog post published for each
link in your blogroll.
• Select the Snippet from Most Recent Item check box if you want to
include a short snippet of text from the beginning of the most
recent blog post published for each link in your blogroll.
• Select the Date of Last Update check box if you want to display
the date the most recent post was published for each link in your
blogroll.
Your blogroll can clutter quickly if you include too many elements, such
as post titles, snippets, and icons. Test each element to ensure your
blogroll is readable and useful to your visitors.
5. Click the Add a Blog to Your List link to add a blog to your blogroll.
The Add to Your Blog List window opens, as shown in Figure 8-13. You
can select the Add radio button and enter the URL for the blog you want
to add, or you can click the Import Subscriptions from Google Reader
radio button to add all the blogs you subscribe to through Google
Reader to your blogroll. Find out more about Google Reader and blog
subscriptions in Chapter 9.
6. When you finish adding links to your blogroll, click the Save button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can view your
changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-14, or continue editing
your blog.

Inviting followers
Blogger gives you the option to add a link on your blog inviting people to
follow your blog. If the Followers gadget is available on your blog, other
Blogger users can select a Follow This Blog link on your blog to add it to
a list in their Blogger dashboards. Followers see your blog updates directly
on their Blogger dashboards when they log into their accounts. Adding a
followers link to your blog requires just two steps:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Followers (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Followers window opens as shown in Figure 8-15.
2. Enter a title for your Followers gadget and select the Save button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can view your
changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-16, or continue editing
your blog.
Presenting a slideshow
A great way to add a personal touch to your blog is to add a slideshow of
photos or images. With Blogger, it’s easy to add an automated slideshow
using the Slideshow gadget. Here’s how:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Slideshow. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Slideshow window opens, shown in Figure 8-17.

2. In the Title box, enter the title you want for your slideshow.
The title appears above the slideshow on your blog and helps your blog
visitors understand the slideshow’s content.
3. In the Source drop-down menu, choose the location where the slideshow
you want to display on your blog is saved.
You can choose from one of the popular Web sites where people upload,
save and share photos, such as Picasa, Flickr, and Photobucket, or you
can use a photo feed.
4. In the Option section, click the Keyword radio button if you want to
include photos saved with a specific keyword, or click the Album
radio button to display photos from a specific group of photos saved
as an album.
When you select the Album option, you enter the username for the
owner of the album and pick from a list of albums created by that user
to find the one you want to display on your blog.
5. Select the Open Links in New Window check box if you want to give
your blog visitors the option to view the slideshow at its original
source.
This is a useful option to select if you want your blog visitors to have
the opportunity to view your slideshow in a larger format than you can
offer in your blog’s sidebar.
6. Click the Save button to save your slideshow.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can view your
changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-18, or continue editing
your blog.
Offering subscription links
If you want to grow your blog, then offering an easy way to subscribe to it in
your audience’s feed readers is imperative. You can read about subscriptions
and feeds in more detail in Chapter 9, including adding the Subscription Links
gadget to your blog.
Taking a Poll
Using the Poll gadget is a great way to make your blog interactive. You can
add a survey to ask your visitors anything you want by simply adding this
gadget to your blog. Polls are fun and a great way to get visitors who may just
be lurkers to come out of the woodwork and actively participate in your
blog’s community. You can create a multiple-choice poll in just a few simple
steps as follows:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Poll. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Create a Poll window opens, shown in Figure 8-19.
2. In the Question box, type your poll question.
Make sure you type a multiple-choice question.
3. In the Answers boxes, type the various answers you want your blog
readers to choose from.
If you have fewer answers than boxes provided, click the Remove link
next to empty boxes to eliminate them from your poll. Alternately, if you
have more answers than boxes, click the Add Another Answer link to
add more answer boxes to your poll.
4. If you want your blog readers to have the option to select more than
one answer to your poll, then select the Allow Visitors to Select
Multiple Answers check box.
Allowing visitors to select multiple answers is entirely up to you and can
change from one poll to another.
5. In the Poll Closing Date and Time boxes, enter the date and time you
want your poll to close to new responses.
If you want your poll to have a specific end date, enter it here, so
visitors no longer have the ability to cast votes or answer your poll
question after the expiration date and time.
6. Click the Save button to save your poll.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the
appropriate link to view your poll on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-20,
or continue editing your blog.
Adding a List
Another simple way to personalize your blog is by adding a list. Using the List
gadget in Blogger, you can insert a list of your favorite movies, books, songs,
or anything else you want to share with your readers. The choice is yours!
Add a list to your blog by following these steps:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of List. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure List window opens, shown in Figure 8-21.
2. In the Title box, enter a title for your list.
You can name your list anything you want to help describe it to your
readers.
3. In the Number of Items to Show in List box, enter the number of items
you want to display in your list.
If you leave this box blank, all the items in your list appear on your blog
at all times.
4. From the Sorting drop-down menu, choose how you want your list to
sort on your blog.
You can choose to sort your list alphabetically, reverse alphabetically,
or not at all.
5. In the Add List Item box, type the item you want to include in
your list.
If you want to link your list item to a Web page, click the Create Link
icon to the right of the Add List Item box. A dialog box opens where
you can enter the complete URL for your list item. When people select
the list item on your blog, they’re taken directly to that URL. When
you finish entering your item, select the Add Item button to add it to
your list.
6. When your list is done, click the Save button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the link
to view your changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-22, or continue
editing your blog.
Including a Link List
A Link List is a simple list of Web sites, blogs, or Web pages that you want to
share with your blog’s readers. The Link List gadget differs from the Blog List
gadget because the Link List gadget doesn’t provide an option to include an
icon, snippet, or other feature from the Web site you’re linking to, which the
Blog List gadget does. Instead, a Link List is exactly what its name implies —
a list of links to other pages online. You can add a Link List to your blog by
following these steps:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Link List. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Link List window opens, shown in Figure 8-23.
2. In the Title box, enter a title for your list.
Choose a name that quickly tells your readers what the list contains.
3. In the Number of Links to Show in List box, enter the number of items
you want to display in your list.
If you leave this box blank, all the items in your list appear on your blog
at all times.
4. From the Sorting drop-down menu, choose how you want your list to
sort on your blog.
You can choose to sort your list of links alphabetically, reverse alphabetically,
or not at all.
5. In the New Site URL box, type the complete URL for the Web page you
want to add to your Link List.
Be certain to include the URL for the specific page you want your blog
readers to land on when they select each link in your Link List.
6. In the New Site Name box, enter the text you want to appear in your
Link List to represent the URL you input in Step 6.
The site name you enter appears in your Link List on your blog. When
visitors select that site name, they’re taken to the URL entered in Step 6.
7. After you enter your New Site URL and New Site Name in the designated
boxes, click the Add Link button.
The link to your Link List is added. From here, you can add more links to
your Link List.
8. When your list is done, click the Save button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the link
to view your changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-24, or continue
editing your blog.
Adding a picture
A great way to personalize your blog is to add an image. For example, if you
write a travel blog, you might want to add a picture of your favorite vacation
destination. If you write a business blog, you can add your logo. Alternatively,
you can use the picture gadget to insert an ad or sponsored link. It’s up to
you. Add a picture to your blog as follows:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Picture. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Image window opens, shown in Figure 8-25.
2. In the Title box, enter a title for your picture.
If you don’t want to include a title above your picture, leave this box
blank.
3. In the Caption box, enter the caption you want to appear beneath
your picture on your blog.
If you don’t want to include a caption with your picture, leave this box
blank.
4. In the Link box, enter the URL you want visitors to go to when they
click the picture.
If you don’t want the picture to link to a Web page, leave this box blank.
5. In the Image section, click the From Your Computer radio button if the
picture you want to add to your blog is saved on your computer hard
drive. If the image is stored online, click the From the Web radio
button.
If the image you’re adding is stored on your computer, select the Browse
button and locate the image on your hard drive. If it’s stored online,
enter the URL for the image in the box provided.
6. Ensure the Shrink to Fit check box is selected if you want the entire
image to appear on your blog.
Selecting Shrink to Fit reduces the size of your picture to fit in the space
provided in your blog’s layout.
7. After you configure your picture settings, click the Save button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the link
to view your changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-26, or continue
editing your blog.
Using AdSense
Google AdSense is an advertising program that helps bloggers earn money
from their blogs. In simplest terms, Google provides a variety of ad types that
you can choose from to display on your blog. You simply have to sign up for
a Google AdSense account and configure your AdSense settings using the
AdSense gadget in Blogger. When visitors click the ads or perform specific
actions related to the ads that Google serves on your blog, you earn money.
Monetizing your blog with Google AdSense is discussed in detail in Chapter
11, including configuring the AdSense gadget to work on your blog.
Including text
A simple way to add a block of text that always appears on your blog is by
using the Text gadget. For example, if you want to include a favorite quote on
your personal blog or a slogan on your business blog, you can do so with the
Text gadget as follows:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Text. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Text window opens, shown in Figure 8-27.
2. In the Title box, enter the title to appear with your text on your blog.
If you don’t want to include a title with your text, leave this box blank.
3. In the Content box, enter the text you want to add to your blog.
Use the icons above the Content box to format your text with bold, italics,
color, links, or block quotes. You can also edit the HTML by clicking
the HTML icon.
4. When you finish entering text, click the Save button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the link
to view your changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-28, or continue
editing your blog.
Using HTML/JavaScript
Blogger is flexible in terms of allowing you to add HTML or JavaScript
gadgets provided by third parties. Many Web developers create HTML or
JavaScript that allows you to customize your blog further. For example, you
could use JavaScript to add audio, music, or video to your blog. When you
find JavaScript or HTML that you want to include on your blog, follow these
steps to add it:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of HTML/JavaScript. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure HTML/JavaScript window opens, shown in Figure 8-29.
148 Part II: Using Google Blogger
Figure 8-29:
Adding
third-party
HTML or
JavaScript.
2. In the Title box, enter the title you want to appear with your HTML or
JavaScript.
If you don’t want to include a title, leave this box blank.
3. In the Content box, enter or paste the HTML or JavaScript you want to
add to your blog.
You can use the icons above the Content box to format your text or edit
the HTML.
4. When you finish adding the HTML or JavaScript, click the Save
button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the link
to view your changes on your blog or continue editing your blog.
Setting up a feed
Feeds are created through a syndication process where the content of your
blog can be viewed through a feed reader or content aggregator. Setting
up your blog’s feed, adding a feed to your blog, and configuring blog subscriptions
are discussed in detail in Chapter 9.
Listing labels
The Labels gadget is very useful to your blog readers because it helps them
find content of interest by creating a loose system of categorization. By
selecting a label of interest, a person can find all the posts you’ve ever
written on your blog that you saved with that specific label. Labels are a
great way to help readers find your old content, keep readers on your blog
longer, increase page views, and increase reader loyalty simply because
they help visitors find more posts that might be relevant and of interest to
them. More page views typically equates to more (and better) advertising
opportunities, which is important if you want to make money from your blog.
(See Chapter 10.) You can add labels to your blog’s sidebar as follows:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Labels. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Labels window opens, shown in Figure 8-30.
2. In the Title box, enter the heading you want to give your list of labels.
“Labels” is the default title, but you can change it to something else,
such as Categories, if you want.
3. In the Sorting section, click the Alphabetically radio button to sort
your labels in alphabetical order or click the By Frequency radio
button to sort your labels by how often they’re used.
Choose the sort method you think is most helpful to your readers.
4. Look at the Preview section to see how your labels appear on your
blog.
The number in parentheses next to each label represents the number of
posts saved with that specific label.
5. When you finish configuring your Labels, click the Save button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the link
to view your changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-31, or continue
editing your blog.
Setting up a newsreel
If you want to share links to current events or news items on your blog, you
can do so with the Newsreel gadget in Blogger. For example, if you write a
blog about a specific celebrity, you might want to set up a Newsreel gadget
that lists Google News links to items about that celebrity to give your readers
more information. You can set up your blog’s Newsreel gadget to provide
links to news stories by using specific keywords as follows:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Newsreel. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Newsreel window opens, shown in Figure 8-32.
2. In the Title box, enter the title you want to use for your newsreel.
If you don’t want to include a title with your newsreel, leave this box
blank.
3. In the Search Expression box, enter the search terms you want to use
to find and post relevant news items.
Google News uses the search terms entered in this box to deliver
relevant news items to your blog. Enter a search phrase or keywords
(separated by commas) to identify how you want Google News to find
relevant content.
4. Select the Open Links in New Window check box if you want a new
window to open each time a reader selects a link from your Newsreel
gadget.
It’s a good idea to select the Open Links in New Window check box so
your visitors aren’t taken away from your blog when they click links in
your newsreel.
5. In the Preview section, you can see how your newsreel looks on your
blog. When you finish configuring your newsreel, click the Save
button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the link
to view your changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-33, or continue
editing your blog.
Sharing videos
The Video Bar gadget allows you to share videos from YouTube on your blog.
Rather than including links to videos in your sidebar, you can use the Video
Bar gadget to embed the videos directly in your sidebar, so your visitors can
watch them without leaving your blog. For example, if you write a blog about
a specific musician, you can include videos of that artist’s performances, or if
you write a blog about cooking, you can share videos about cooking gadgets
or cooking techniques. The choice is yours! To add a Video Bar to your blog,
follow these simple steps:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Video Bar. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Configure Video Bar window opens, shown in Figure 8-34.
2. In the Title box, enter the title to appear with your video bar.
If you don’t want to use a title, leave this box blank.
3. In the YouTube section, select the check boxes of the video categories
you want to include in your video bar.
You can choose to include Most Viewed Videos, Top Rated Videos, and
Recently Featured Videos as ranked by YouTube.
4. In the Channels box, enter the YouTube channel you want to pull
videos from to show in your video bar.
You can enter more than one channel in this box, but you must separate
each with a comma.
5. In the Keywords box, enter the search words to use to find videos on
YouTube that you want to show in your video bar.
Videos on YouTube typically are saved with keywords to help people
searching for videos find relevant content. Enter specific keywords to
search YouTube and find content for your video bar in this box.
Separate multiple keywords with commas.
6. Look at the Preview section to see how the videos appear on your
blog. When you finish configuring your video bar, click the Save
button.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can follow the link
to view your changes on your blog, as shown in Figure 8-35, or continue
editing your blog.
Including the Blogger logo
If you want to add a Blogger logo to your blog, you can do so easily by using
the Logo gadget as follows:
1. In the Add a Gadget window of your Blogger account, click the + sign
to the right of Logo. (Refer to Figure 8-11).
The Choose Logo window opens.
2. Click the radio button next to the Blogger logo you want to add to
your blog, as shown in Figure 8-36.
3. After you make your selection, click the Save button.
You return to the Page Element window where you can follow the link to
view your changes on your blog, or you can continue editing your blog.

Editing Basic Page Elements

Every blog has several basic page elements in common. Although these
elements might be customized to look differently or appear in different
locations, the basic functionality and set up is the same for every blog. These
elements include the blog header, posts, archive links, and profile. Of course,
including some of these elements (such as archive links and your profile)
isn’t mandatory, but they help visitors find your published content and learn
more about you. That said, including both archive links and a profile is
important if you want to grow your blog.
To modify your blog’s page elements, select the Layout link from your
Blogger dashboard. The Page Elements window opens, as shown in
Including a header
Your blog’s header is one of the most important parts of your blog. At the
very least, a header should include your blog’s title, but more often than not,
blog headers include a graphic and subtitle or description of the blog. Each
of these parts of a header helps to tell visitors what your blog is about within
seconds. They also help communicate your blog’s personality to visitors,
which I describe in Chapter 7.
To edit your blog’s header, follow these steps:
1. In the Header box of the Page Elements Window (refer to Figure 8-1),
click the Edit link.
The Configure Header window opens (see Figure 8-2).
2. In the Blog Title box, enter the title you want to appear in your blog’s
header.
The title you enter in your blog’s header does not need to match the
title in your blog’s domain name.
3. In the Blog Description box, enter the text you want to appear with
your blog title in your blog’s header.
The space available in your header isn’t very big. Don’t clutter it with a
long description. Instead, use a subtitle or tagline in the Blog Description
box to communicate further what your blog is about to visitors in just a
few words.
4. If you wish to include a graphic in your blog’s header, select the radio
button next to From Your Computer or next to From the Web depending
on where the image you want is saved.
Get complete instructions for adding an image to your blog’s header in
Chapter 7.
5. Click the Save button when you’re done making your edits.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can click the View
Blog link to see your changes online or continue editing your blog.
Modifying blog posts
You can edit the format and appearance of your blog posts in the Page
Elements window. Although you have the option to configure many of these
settings when you set up your blog and via the Settings link on the Blogger
dashboard, you can also make modifications quickly and easily to your blog
post presentation as follows:
1. In the Page Elements window of your Blogger account, click the Edit
link in the Blog Posts box. (Refer to Figure 8-1.)
The Configure Blog Posts window opens, as shown in Figure 8-3.
2. In the Number of Posts on Main Page drop-down menu, choose Posts
if you want to display a specific number of posts on your blog’s
main page at all times or choose Days with Posts to display a specific
number of days’ worth of posts on your blog’s main page.
Consider your audience and how often you update your blog with new
posts. For example, if you update your blog several times per day, then
including a certain number of days’ worth of posts might make your
main page very long and require users to scroll a lot. Most Web users
don’t like to scroll excessively, so you might consider including 10 or
fewer posts on your blog’s main page.
3. Under the Select Items heading, make sure only the items you want to
appear on your blog posts have check marks next to them. Check or
uncheck boxes as necessary.
• The first item is the date when the post is published. If you want
the date to appear with your blog posts, check the box and use
the drop-down menu to choose the format you want the date to
appear in.
• The byline is the second item. If you want a byline, which displays
text followed by the blog author’s name, on your blog posts,
ensure the box is selected. The text that precedes the author’s
name is your choice; type it in the box provided.
• The third item is the time the post is published. If you want the
date to appear with your blog posts, check the box and use
the drop-down menu to choose the format the time appears in.
The text that precedes the time is your choice; type it in the box
provided.
• The fourth item allows you to select whether you want to display
comments with your blog posts. If you want to show comments
with your blog posts, check the box and modify the text in the box
provided. The number that precedes the box is automated and
reflects the number of comments left on a post at any given point
in time.
• The fifth item allows you to select whether you want to display the
links to a blog post. If so, select the check box and modify the text
in the box provided.
• The sixth item allows you to select whether you want to display
labels with your blog posts. If so, check the box and modify the
text if you don’t want to use the “Labels” default
• Show Quick Editing is a handy item that allows you to edit a blog
post with a simple click of the mouse. If you want to include the
Quick Edit icon with your blog posts, ensure the box is selected.
• The Reactions item allows you to add three link buttons beneath
each of your blog posts giving readers the ability to provide feedback
on your posts. The default settings provide Funny, Interesting
and Cool buttons, but you can modify both the title of the feature
and the titles of the buttons by typing directly into the text box or
selecting the Edit link. When visitors click a reaction button, their
feedback is added to a star rating system that appears beneath
your blog post.
• Show Email Post Links is a tool that allows visitors to your blog to
e-mail a link to one of your posts with a click of the mouse. If you
want to include the Email Post Links icon with your blog posts,
ensure the box is selected.
• Show Ads Between Posts is a simple way to include Google
AdSense ads between your blog posts. If you want to include
Google AdSense ads between your blog posts, ensure the box
is selected. You need to sign up for a Google AdSense account
before ads can appear on your blog. You can find out more
about Google AdSense in Chapter 11.
4. In the Arrange Items section, you can click and drag the various
elements you selected to include with your blog posts into the layout
you prefer.
Most bloggers use the same basic layout for the elements of their blog
posts, similar to the default layout Blogger puts together when you
choose the elements you want to display with your post. It’s a good idea
not to change the layout of your blog post elements so drastically that it
could confuse visitors.
5. Click the Save button when you finish making changes.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can click the View
Blog link to see your changes online or continue working on your blog.
Editing the About Me box
The About Me box (also called the profile) is where you can make quick edits
to your blog profile and determine which elements you want to appear on
the main page of your blog. Chapter 5 includes detailed information and
instructions on creating a compelling profile. To modify the display settings
for your profile, follow these steps:
1. In the Page Elements window of your Blogger account, click the Edit
link in the About Me box. (Refer to Figure 8-1.)
The Edit Profile window opens, as shown in Figure 8-4.
2. In the Title box, enter the heading you want to appear above your
profile on your blog.
Most bloggers use “About Me,” “About,” or “About This Blog.” The
choice is yours!
3. If you want your profile to be public and appear on your blog in its
entirety, select the Share My Profile check box.
It’s a good idea to share your profile so visitors understand who you are
and why you’re writing your blog, but be careful what information you
publish publicly. There might be some information that you don’t want
the world to see.
4. If you want your entire profile to appear on the main page of your
blog, select the Show on This Blog check box in the About Me section.
If you select this check box, your entire profile appears in the sidebar
(or wherever you position the About Me page element) of your blog. If
your profile is long, it could take up a lot of space in your sidebar. If
that’s the case, you might want to deselect this box so your visitors
have to follow a View My Complete Profile link to see your profile on a
separate page.
5. In the Name box, enter the name you want to appear in the About Me
section of your blog’s main page.
The name entered here does not need to match your login name or the
name you used to open your account.
6. In the Description box, enter information about you and your blog.
Your description should help visitors understand who you are and why
your blog is the place online to get information about your blog topic.
7. If you want to show your City/Town, Region/State, or Country/
Territory on your blog, select the Show on This Blog check box in the
Location section.
As in Step 4 above, showing all of your location information on your
blog’s main page can make your profile very long. If that’s the case, you
might want to deselect this box so your visitors have to follow a View
My Complete Profile link to see your location information on a separate
profile page.
8. Enter your city or town in the City/Town box.
Consider privacy issues as discussed in Chapter 5 before you make the
decision to share this information on the main page of your blog.
9. Enter your region or state in the Region/State box.
If you want to share the state that you live in or your region of the
country or the world, enter it here.
10. In the Country/Territory drop-down list, choose the country or
territory where you reside.
If you don’t want to share your country or territory, choose Not
Specified from the drop-down list.
11. Click the Save button when you finish making changes.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can click the View
Blog link to see your changes online or continue working on your blog.
Adding archives
Archives are an integral part of your blog that offer a place for visitors to
find your old blog posts easily. You can configure how your archives are
displayed in the Page Elements window of your Blogger account. Chapter 5
describes how to initially set up your Archives when you create your blog.
Following are the steps you can take to configure the display settings of your
Archives on your main blog page:
1. In the Page Elements window of your Blogger account, click the Edit
link in the Archives box. (Refer to Figure 8-1.)
The Configure Blog Archive window opens, as shown in Figure 8-5.
2. In the Title box, enter the heading you want to appear above your
archive links.
Most bloggers use a generic title, such as “Archives” here.
3. In the Style section, click the Hierarchy, Flat List, or Dropdown Menu
radio button to set the appearance of your archive’s links.
• The Hierarchy format, shown in the Preview section in Figure 8-5,
displays each blog post as a link categorized by year and month of
publication.
• The Flat List format, shown in the Preview section in Figure 8-6,
displays only months.
• The Dropdown Menu format is the most concise style and displays
months by using a traditional drop-down menu, as shown in
4. In the Options section, select the Show Post Titles check box to
include post titles (refer to Figure 8-5).
If you want to consolidate your archives but still use the Hierarchy style,
as shown in the Preview section in Figure 8-8, deselect Show Post Titles.
If you select the Flat List or Dropdown Menu radio button in the Style
section of the Configure Blog Archive window, the Show Post Titles
check box displays in a gray font and is inactive. In short, the setting
doesn’t apply to the Flat List or Dropdown Menu styles because neither
displays post titles.
5. In the Options section, select the Show Oldest Posts First check box if
you want to display your posts in chronological order.
It’s uncommon to display archives in chronological order. Blog posts are
typically published in reverse chronological order, so most bloggers
also display their archives in reverse chronological order. If you wish to
do the same, leave the Show Oldest Posts First box unselected.
6. In the Archive Frequency section, click the Monthly, Weekly, or Daily
radio button depending on how you want your old blog posts to display
in your archives.
• The Monthly Archive Frequency setting shown in the Preview
section in Figure 8-5 is the Hierarchy style, Figure 8-6 shows the
Flat List style, and Figure 8-7 shows the Dropdown Menu style.
• The Weekly Archive Frequency setting is shown in the Preview
section in Figure 8-9. Rather than group old posts by month, this
frequency setting groups old posts by week. The Flat List style
and Dropdown Menu style work the same way — instead of
months displaying, weeks display. Note the Show End Date check
box. Deselecting this check box removes the date after the hyphen
for each week displayed so just the first date of each timeframe
is shown.
• The Daily Archive Frequency setting is shown in the Preview
section in Figure 8-10. Rather than group old posts by month or
week, old posts are shown by day. This setting works the same
way in the Flat List style and the Dropdown Menu style.
7. In the Date Format section, use the drop-down menus to select the
date format you want to display for your archives.
Depending on the style you choose to display your Archives, the Date
Format drop-down menu titles will change to include one or more of the
following: Year, Month, and Day.
You can view all your edits in the Preview section to ensure your
archives are configured just how you want.
8. Click the Save button when you finish making changes.
You return to the Page Elements window where you can select the View
Blog link to see your changes online or continue editing your blog.

Adding Features and Functionality with Elements and Gadgets

The Blogger platform utilizes a Layout feature that makes changing the
look and feel of your blog very easy with a simple drag-and-drop
template editor that requires no HTML or CSS knowledge. Using the Layout
features, you can change your blog’s template (see Chapter 7) in just a few
simple steps. You can also modify the colors and fonts used in your blog and
customize your blog’s header, footer, and sidebar with a variety of predefined
and easy to use gadgets.
This chapter shows you how to use the Blogger Layout feature, so you can
customize your blog to look and perform just how you want it to. I cover
what page elements and specialized gadgets are available to you in Blogger
so that you can decide which ones you want to include on your blog. You
find out how to customize each of your blog’s page elements and gadgets
and, finally, how to add gadgets created by third parties to your blog.
Throughout this chapter, I reference adding gadgets to your sidebar for
consistency but keep in mind it’s your blog. You can add gadgets in your
sidebar, footer, or wherever else you want (within the parameters of the
Blogger platform) to customize your blog exactly how you want.

Changing a Template

After you select your template, it’s easy to start using it. Blogger offers an
easy process to switch between Blogger-provided themes or to upload
templates from third parties to use on your blog. You can also easily revert
to your old theme, if you need to. You work through the entire process of
changing your template by using the Layout link on your Blogger dashboard.
Choosing a different Blogger template
If you select a free template provided by Blogger, simply follow the instructions
outlined earlier in this chapter, in the “Templates from Blogger”
section, to configure your blog settings properly. You can quite easily experiment
with various themes provided by Blogger: Simply click the radio buttons
next to each option on the Select a New Template for Your Blog page
within your Blogger account, and then click the Preview Template link, as
described earlier in this chapter.
You must click the Save Template button in order for your Blogger template
choice to take effect and appear live on your blog. After you save your template,
a message appears, saying that your changes have been saved. You can
click the View Blog link to see your new template live on your blog (see Figure
7-10).
Modifying the fonts and
colors in your template
No matter which template you choose to use, you can modify the fonts and
colors from the Fonts and Colors tab within the Layouts section of your
Blogger dashboard, as shown in Figure 7-11.
Notice the list on the far left side of your screen, as shown in Figure 7-11.
Here you can scroll through a list of elements for color and font modifications
such as the page background color, link color, header font, and so on. A
default list of color or font choices is displayed to the right, depending on the
element you select from the list on the left. Any changes made here are made
globally meaning an element that you modify here will be changed anywhere
it appears on your blog. For example, if you change your link color from blue
to orange, all of the links throughout your blog will now appear in orange.
Don’t be afraid to test different colors and fonts to find which ones you like
the most. If you make a change you don’t like, simply click the Clear Edits
button to erase your changes. Your changes are not final until you click the
Save Changes button.
You can also make changes on individual posts through the post editor as
described in Chapter 6.
Switching to a custom template
If you decide to use a free template, premium template, or custom template
provided by a third party, upload the necessary files to your Blogger account
to make the new theme work on your blog. Luckily, most third-party templates
are available for downloading. For example, Figure 7-12 shows a post
on Blogger Buster (www.bloggerbuster.com), where you can download
Amanda Fazani’s free Blogger template, BT Dark Green.

To download a third-party template for use on your Blogger blog, simply
click the download link or button on the third-party Web site. Luckily,
designers usually set up the download feature to be easy to use with a
zipped folder. After files are saved in a zipped folder on your computer hard
drive, just extract the files to your computer’s hard drive by using your
preferred extraction software, such as Winzip or Stuffit. You need to locate
the unzipped file that has the .xml extension in order to upload it to your
Blogger account so that the custom template can be applied to your blog. Of
course, some free templates might have variations on these steps, so be certain
to read the installation instructions for the template you choose.
To save the third-party template to your computer, follow these steps:
1. Select the Layout tab from the Blogger dashboard.
This step opens the Page Elements page within the Layout
Configurations section of your Blogger account.
2. Select the Edit HTML tab from the navigation bar.
The Backup/Restore Template and Edit Template page opens (see
Figure 7-13).
3. Click the Download Full Template link under the Backup/Restore
Template heading.
The File Download dialog box appears (see Figure 7-14).
Backing up your template is an essential step if you think that you might
want to revert later to the exact template you were using previously .
4. Click the Save button.
The Save As dialog box appears.
5. Locate the folder on your hard drive where you want to save a copy of
your existing blog template.
Choose a location where you can find the template file if you want to
use it again later or create a new folder called My Blog Back-ups. The
template backup file is saved in XML format in the folder you choose. It’s
a good idea to rename the file so you remember what it is if you need it
later (for example, TemplateBackup-Jan01-2009.xml).
To upload the third-party template to your Blogger account, open the
Backup/Restore Template and Edit Template page, and then follow these
steps:
1. Click the Browse button, which appears next to the Upload a Template
from a File on Your Hard Drive text box.
The Choose File dialog box appears.
2. Locate the XML file for the new template you just downloaded to your
hard drive. Select the file and then click the Open button.
The XML file for your new third-party template is located where you
saved it in Step 5 of the preceding step list.
The file path for the XML file you just selected appears in the Upload a
Template from a File on Your Hard Drive box (see Figure 7-15).
3. Double-check to ensure that you selected the correct file.
4. Click the Upload button.
Your new template is uploaded to your Blogger account.
Whenever you upload a third-party template to your Blogger account,
you’re likely to see a warning message: “Widgets are about to be
deleted.” Be aware that with a new template, you may have to reconfigure
some of the page elements and gadgets used on your blog.
5. Click the Confirm & Save button.
The new HTML code for your third-party template now automatically
appears in the big box in the Edit Template section of the page, as
shown in Figure 7-16.
6. After your new third-party template is uploaded, click the View Blog
link to review the look of your blog. Figure 7-17 shows how the new
Tropical Travels blog looks using the free BT Dark Green template.
You might want to modify your blog’s page elements, as described in
detail in Chapter 8, after your third-party template is uploaded. For
example, you might need to clean up your blog by changing the order of
your profile, updating the archives in your sidebar, or adding a graphical
image to your header.

Knowing what to do after you
apply a third-party template
What happens after you select a third-party template, upload it, use it for
a while, and then experience a problem with it? That question is important
to ask template designers before you purchase design services from them.
Changing to a new theme is fairly easy. The more customized your blog is,
however (and the longer you blog, the more likely you are to customize its
elements), the more difficult it is to switch to a new theme without creating
a lot of work for yourself to get things to look and perform the way you want
them to.
Changing your blog template can also affect your visitors’ expectations for
your blog. Take time to warn visitors (particularly loyal readers!) that a template
change is coming, so they’re not surprised and confused by a sudden
design alteration.
Evaluate your goals for your blog before you select a third-party template.
Depending on your long-term objectives, it might be in your best interest to
select a template from a reliable source that you know will be around for a
while. You might want to contact the designer before you make your final
decision on a freely available template to ask her whether help is available
if you have problems. Don’t be afraid to reach out to template designers.
Most templates have the designer’s name and contact information attached
(usually an e-mail address) . If a designer doesn’t respond to you, you might
not want to use that template. The decisions you make about your template
are important. Don’t just jump into picking a theme because you like how it
looks. Make sure that it offers everything you need to make your blogging
experience successful and enjoyable.