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Article page layout
nates450r
Posts: 246
Joined: 03 Apr 07
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22 Oct 11 7:32 pm

Article page layout

I was just curious if there are diffrent ways of designing article pages (layout) or if anyone has tested conversions or click thoughs.

I get daily traffic to about 85% of my articles but from my stats it looks like the visiters are not staying long enough to read the article, Nor do they click though.

IMO articles are not sales pages, pre sales, or anything else that takes away from the content of the article
(am i right or not?)

However, i do have text links (for more information about this) style text links going to affiliate offers.

Back to my main question, is there a particular layout that works for aticle pages better than others?

what are your thoughts?
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essexboyracer
Posts: 105
Joined: 02 May 11
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23 Oct 11 2:05 am

 Seeming as its 2:30am in the UK and I can't sleep I'll jump in with a reply...

Do you have a link to one of your pages (or a screengrab)

As you say you get 85% traffic to article pages, but no-one hangs around long enough to read anything...

1. Is there something wrong with the overall template of your site? What pages on your site have a low bounce rate? Does an article start half way down the page after a load of ads?

2. Article Layout: Are headings and sub-headings clearly defined using CSS so a visitor can scan through headings to get an idea of the tone of the article.

3: Article Layout: Are paragraphs short and sweet or is the whole article one big paragraph? Can a visitor scan each paragraph and get a feel for the article/point being made?

Read page 15 of the Google SEO Guide http://static.googleusercontent.com/ext ... -guide.pdf as it pretty much sums up the questions I asked above.

I personally see every page on a site an opportunity to sell, whether it be an affiliate link, an actual product or service. Even ancillary pages like help/support/contact/privacy policy are opportunities to sell - not links or products - but the fact that you and your site actually care about the customers and visitors to your site...
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digiblue
Posts: 239
Joined: 29 Apr 09
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24 Oct 11 6:26 am

 There could be a number of reasons why you don't have a high stick rate.

1. Are there lots of advertising taking up above the fold area. E.g. Adsense ads and big affiliate banners. This can increase bounce rate but test by getting rid of them.

2. Does your article directly address the intent of the searcher. Does it answer the questions they have in their head, solve a problem, or give them the information needed to address what they originally typed into the search engines?

3. Paragraphs, bullet points, font size. These things are important to break up the content and make it easier to read.

4. Videos? On all the article pages I have added a video to, my sticking rate becomes higher. And a lower bounce rate is important in the eyes of Google. So if you can add a video that will enhance the content, then by all means test this out to see if it works to increases page stickiness in your niche.

Hope that helps,

Alex
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Site Admin
michellerana
Posts: 1874
Joined: 05 May 09
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24 Oct 11 4:18 pm

 You could follow the layout on this blog post: SEO Optimization Tips for a YO Blog Post

You can use this layout not just for your YO Blog post but even for your site articles. This was written by our business development manager, Haden, so I'm sure this works and will help optimize your pages. :)
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Michelle
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sam2
Posts: 12
Joined: 20 Sep 11
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25 Oct 11 12:28 pm

 Someone got up 2 am in the morning and wrote a reply for this post. I can't imagine what does it motivated to keep alive to write such reply.With regard to a template there is no a common formula for putting the article.If the article is good enough to read then people will hang on reading!
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Unique Articles for SEO - http://www.softnwords.com
 
essexboyracer
Posts: 105
Joined: 02 May 11
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26 Oct 11 7:33 am

 @sam2

I've got a horrible cold and keep coughing in the night which wakes me up
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