Awhile back I wrote a post called 5 Ways to Improve Your Blog, and because I want YOU to have the most awesome blog EVER, I will share four MORE ways that will help!
You want search engines to find you, love on you, and lavish tons of traffic your way.
Use “pretty” Permalinks
A lot of times you will come across a URL that looks like this: yourdomain.com/?p=146. That gives us no information, doesn’t even LOOK appealing, and rarely will I click on a link that doesn’t have a descriptive title.
In WordPress it’s very simple to change how our permalinks look! I personally go with just the postname.
In your WP dashboard, navigate to settings -> permalinks and change them as such:

Now we have a URL as such: yourdomain.com/awesome-post-of-awesomeness.
Create an Archives Page
This is so easy! You can see how I have my archives page set up.
I use two plugins to achieve it:
I think the best features to have on an archives page are:
I’m offering up my archives page up for download so you can see how I created mine!
This may not go over well with some individuals.
It’s one thing to give a specific review that you’ve been paid to do, to wax poetic about the latest and greatest service or product but it’s another to weave it randomly into your post! Here’s an example!
How did that make ANY sense? Weaving the phrase, baby shower invitations, into every other post may give you an extra $3 but at what cost to your readers?
If I come to a blog I want to read about a specific topic or about your personal life. When it’s obvious that you blog only do get those sponsored links in, it’s a big turn off.
Oh and, stop with the sponsored tweets. Seriously.
Ah the joys of RSS! Without it I don’t think any of us would be able to keep up with our daily reads!
Get Rid of Partial Feeds
Granted, there will always be the debate between full vs partial RSS feeds. Overall most READERS prefer full feeds. Those who offer up only partial feeds tend to believe that it will encourage click throughs… I feel it only encourages people to unsubscribe.
In your WP dashboard, navigate to settings -> reading and change them as such:

Create a RSS Footer
For this I use the RSS Footer Plugin. This is how I have mine set up:
<div style="border-top: 1px dotted #4f1029; font-size: 11px"> <br /> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3232/3130420002_60d2d338e7_t.jpg" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;" /> Thank you for subscribing to my RSS feed at %%BLOGLINK%%! I would appreciate your comments and feedback on the entry you just read, %%POSTLINK%%. If you write about similar topics, I would also like the opportunity to <a href="http://onestarrynight.com/elsewhere">link to your blog </a> or have you <a href="http://www.onestarrynight.com/guest-post- guidelines/">write a guest blog entry</a>!</div> <br style="clear:both" />
Don’t go overboard in trying to cram too much information in your RSS footer, on the flip side don’t have it be bland and boring. When I posted about this before in my post, Answers to Your Questions, I saw a few people had added it to their feed however it actually irritated me! Slapping in one line, thanks for subscribing to domain.com’s feed is a waste of space for me. I personally like to see a link to the original post, a call to action (such as asking people to comment on the post), and a recognizable image such as an avatar or logo.
We love comments don’t we! People have dedicated entire threads on forums to get comments on their post, heck, people have even quit blogging because they don’t feel they get enough comments!
So here are the plugins I use on my comments page:
I know, seems like a lot but they each have their purpose, so I highly recommend playing around with them!
I highly suggest including Gravatars in your comments. These days we tend to be recognized by our photo, our “avatar”. It’s very simple to include in your theme, just add this snippet to where you want the gravatar to be displayed.
<?php echo get_avatar( $comment, $size = '50' ); ?>
Now, I personally do threaded comments because I prefer to respond to each comment individually. This is how I have mine set up.
In my theme’s functions.php file, I created a custom function called osn_comment.
You can download my custom comment function, comments CSS file and the entire comments.php file to see how I have everything set up. Granted I don’t have the cleanest code since well, I code for myself, but still, it might help!
Be Social
I have it set up so that at the end of the post on the comments page, you awesome folks can tweet, share/like on facebook, and even stumble the post. I’ve found this helps reach individuals that normally wouldn’t come across your blog and perhaps even bring in new followers, subscribers, and friends!
Here are the snippets that can work on any WordPress blog, even without the use of plugins!
TweetMeme
<script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = '<?php the_permalink(); ?>'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"> </script>
Share on Facebook
<script>var fbShare = {
size: 'small',
}</script>
<script src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.js">
</script>
StumbleUpon
<script src="http://www.stumbleupon.com/hostedbadge.php?s=1"> </script>
Like on Facebook
<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href= <?php echo urlencode(get_permalink($post->ID)); ?> &layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=450 &action=like&colorscheme=light" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:60px"></iframe>
Hopefully those four suggestions will help!
Based on the recommendation of BabyBabyLemon, I created a “Tip Jar”! Feel free to use or not use as you wish
Lastly, a bonus tip, claim your blog on Technorati! For example, my claim code is: J438MBK99B7Z this says that I am the owner of OSN. I think in general it’s just the smart thing to do and can aide in more traffic!
Share in the comments some ways that you’ve improved your blog!
I’m definitely one of those people that will unsubscribe if you’ve got a partial feed. I subscribe to save myself loading time! lol. I only ever actually visit a site if there’s a redesign or I feel like commenting.
I have my permalinks set as the date and title right now. I didn’t know you could take the date out… I think I might do that! lol
{shared blog entry — Pictures}
these tips are really kick ass.. i am trying to use a lot of the stuff you’ve recommended recently in your tutorials and stuff in the new layout i’m working on :D
and ugh.. i hate partial feeds!
{shared blog entry — nimil doesn’t play– final fantasy xiv beta}
oh.. and i also wanted to say sorry! i’m one of those people who does sponsored tweets.. i’m out of work and these paid advertising gigs are pretty much the only way i make any cash.
{shared blog entry — nimil doesn’t play– final fantasy xiv beta}
These are awesome except I use Blogger. Ill make the switch eventually. If I find that I can even keep up with blogging.
{shared blog entry — Throwback Friday– Pre Mommy Memories}
Fantastic, as always. I just changed my permalinks and now I’m going to add the RSS footer. Just like I tell EVERYONE on Twitter ALL THE TIME, you are my WordPress hero. You don’t mind, do you?
Thanks for including the threaded comments! I was going to ask you tonight for some help but now I don’t have to. You rock!
{shared blog entry — In The Two Week Wait}
I use the same RSS Footer plugin that you use (I think I started using it when I saw it pop up on your posts in my feed) and just tried the code you have above but the preview looks wonky. It’s showing the style code and the text is pushed below the picture. Does it just show funky in the preview but show correctly in the feed or should I try and straighten out the code so it looks correct in the preview too?
Thanks for the write up! :)
{shared blog entry — Questions Answered– AMY!}
Great tips. The sponsored posts one made me laugh. You are really making me wish I had already switched to WP.
{shared blog entry — Families that Play Together Stay Together}
Awesome tips as always, Sarah! I had most of them but need to learn about the RSS Footer. I used Sexy bookmark before but yours looks so purrty! :D I’ll have to give it a try soon.Thanks for being so awesome and sharing your knowledge.
{shared blog entry — Weekly Roundup &8211 3rd Week of July}
Not doing sponsored posts should be the #1 rule of blogging. :p
I have another post idea for you if you’re interested — a list of all those nifty things you seem to take part in. Wordless Wednesday and all that stuff? I never know about any of that!
let me know how the tip jar works out for you. i’ve often thought about adding one but i didn’t want to come off tacky. (i’m not AT ALL saying you’re tacky, i just was worried about asking too much of my readers, and now i’m thinking i don’t ask enough. if you don’t ask you never receive, right?)
anyway, let me know how it goes. great tips, though since i’m on blogger still i’m a no-plugin girl.
{shared blog entry — THE TRAIN HAS NO WHEELS and yes– im yelling}
I’m so glad I found your blog! I can see that I have some work to do — or at least, my web programmer husband does — at http://www.AmandaBroadfoot.com.
I’m heading off to our botanic gardens soon, so I need to come back and read more closely. One thing I DO want for sure is to set up an archiving system for OM. So I may need to pick your brain more on that later. Your posts are always so helpful.
I loved this post! You offered some really great tips. I’ve been trying to figure out how to make an archive page for a while now with no luck, hopefully your tips will have helped me out (I’m going to try it out this afternoon) and I’ll be able to utilize it correctly. Thanks for the awesome info. Keep ‘em coming!!
{shared blog entry — Family Movie Night– The Jensen Project TONIGHT 8pm EST on NBC jensenproject}
This is excellent information. I didn’t understand 90% of it at first pass but I hope to have time this weekend to work through it! I found your site through a link Melissa (Adventuroo) posted on BlogFrog in a discussion about partial feeds and I’m glad I did!
{shared blog entry — Bad Storms}
This is my first time on your site — it is SO amazing!! I am new to blogging and this post has already helped tremendously. Before I began blogging a few months ago, I had never really even read a blog. Some of your ideas would never even have occurred to me. Thanks for posting!
Great post. I tried to set up a permalink, but got an error message “Additionally, a 410 Gone error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.” So I’ll have to ask my web designer about that one.
Sponsored tweets would be tempting if money actually came in, but I think it would be more of an annoyance to my followers than a money maker for me.
Very helpful post. I wish I were a little more savvy with my code, but I’m learning.
Once your comment is posted it then is the property of OSN. I can edit, format, reuse or delete the comment as I wish, or display it for as long as I wish. I will not necessarily offer reasons or any warning why I have altered or deleted a comment.
Occasionally your comment may be held for moderation, it's not done on purpose, but sometimes WordPress may be confused, I will manually approve your comment as soon as I can, and apologize for the delay.
Email AddressesCorrect email addresses are required. Email addresses will never be published. Email addresses will not be shown in comments. Please leave your correct email address (as in youNOSPAM@domain.com or youREMOVE@domain.com are not correct) it is so I have the ability to reply to your comment via email. I will edit out the NOSPAM or REMOVE in the email field.
What is not acceptableProfanity, poor spelling and grammar, personal attacks, and off-topic comments.
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I'm Sarah, mom of two sweet boys, Daniel & Tristan. I'm passionate about Attachment Parenting & photography. Why don't you learn more about me! Follow me on Twitter, stay up to date using the RSS feed, even subscribe via email, or connect with me on FaceBook and the OSN forum!

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Ha! Love it. I already used your tip jar, you got that right!??
I pretty much have all of these tips already. Downloaded all those neat counter plugins from your last post.
But now I am off to download the Archive plugins, because my Archive page is awful!!!
{shared blog entry — Testing WordPress cellphone app}