Blogger.com – Exploring “Settings” – Step by step explanation

Overview of the Inverface

Now that you are set to go for blogging.  The various items appearing in the left side panel of Blogger.com are explained as under:

 

1.        Title of the Blog:   

            This tells the viewers/audience the name of the Title with which you have published your blogs.  Under this Title within various categories, you can write blog posts.

2.        New Post:

            Whenever you want to write a post, click on “NEW POST” which will take you to the following interface of blogger:

3.        Posts:

            This tells you about the Posts already posted by you and any post saved as a draft.

4.        Stats:

            The Stats gives you the no. of views which was culled out by Google itself. There you can see the number of views to a particular post, the Region in which it was opened and viewed, how the viewers have seen your post whether they viewed it on their mobile, the type of device used by them, type of browser for viewing your post, and statistics.

5.       Comments:

            The comments made by the audience on the particular post viewed by them.

6.      Earnings:

            This would convey the earnings made by you through various advertisements that have been published through your URL.  This is possible only if your content is of good quality, readable, and convincing to the audience, and there is sufficient Organic traffic to your site, based on which Google will pass on some monetary benefits through the advertisers. 

7.      Pages:

           As I have mentioned elsewhere, some Mandatory Pages should be contained in every blog. They are: About, Contact, Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, Terms of Usage, etc., besides your blogging page.

8.        Layout:

            After installing a particular Theme to your Home and other Pages, any modification can be made on the look of the blog to give it a better and more attractive look. 

9.        Theme:

            The selection of a Theme plays a major role in customizing your blog.  The Theme selected by you should be SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly, so that gain the desired ranking level. Google AdSense also would require you to paste the Ad Code in the HTML format of your Theme at a later date, once your blog becomes eligible for attracting advertisements.

10.      Settings:

            You will be required to some minor modifications here which are supposed to be carried out in the initial stage itself.  However, you can alter the settings at a later date also.

11.      Reading List:

            You can go through the various instructions and manuals given therein.

12.      View blog:

            This enables you to view your blog after completing the above setups.

Mastering Blogger. com Configurations

Blogger. com, which brings you multiple tools to customize your blog, enhance your reader experience and increase visibility. Familiarity with these settings is vital to new and established bloggers alike to unlock the most potential from their blogs. We will not only cover what each setting does, but what each setting means for you.

Core Configurations

Core Configurations can be found within the Core Configurations section.

Name and Overview

• Name — A few words that tells your blog theme. This is often the first thing that visitors notice.
• About: Describe your blog (preferably in under 500 characters) and what your blog is about. Do not ignore the long-tail keywords and related keywords which makes your blog a better place for SEO.

Blog Web Address

• Choose an original web address. Choose a memorable use of a keyword-rich domain name. And if you want more than just a blogspot, Blogger supports custom domains. To update our branding and move away from a com address to a more professional domain.

Secure Connection Redirect

• Enabling this helps your visitors to browse your site securely as it redirects traffic to an HTTPS version of your site. This engenders trust and can boost their placement in search engines.

 Settings for Content and Interaction

This section manages how content is displayed and how readers engage with your posts.

Post Display

• Maximum Posts Shown: The number of posts that are displayed on the homepage. Reducing the number of posts can also enhance page loading speed and user experience.
• Post Template: Fast track your content with a template for repeated content

Comment Management

• Commenter Permissions: You can select whether anyone can comment, registered users only, or disable comments altogether depending on your audience.
• Require Review Before Commenting: Enable to moderate comments before they are visible. It is to keep the discussions on a certain level and to prevent spam.
• Verification for commenters: They will need to complete a CAPTCHA to post a comment to help stop automated spam.

Content Sharing

• Add social media sharing buttons so readers can share your content directly to Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. These things can drive more reach and engagement.

Email Configurations

Email settings can be used for notifications and content automation.

Email Posting

• Blogger lets you publish posts by email. Create a private email address on your own under “Post by Email” on the dashboard, so you can post directly.

Comment Alert Emails

•  Email address to inform for new comments This aids in enabling timely responses to readers.

Email Subscription

• Activate services such as FeedBurner for email subscriptions so people can read blog updates straight in their mail boxes.

Language and Format Preferences

These settings determine how your content is displayed to global readers.

Primary Language

• Choose the language of your blog. If your blog supports multiple languages, try to implement a translation feature.

Time Settings

• Keep the timezone for where you are located so that post times are accurate.

Date and Time Format

• Format dates and times according to your audience.

Search Engine Optimization

This part is very important to help your blog be discovered and search engine performance.

Metadata

• Activate and configure metadata tags Write an outstanding meta description (150–160 characters) that gives the reader a preview of what they can hope to find in your blog along with your key phrases.

Link Management

• Custom Redirects: If your new content replaces existing content, add redirects from the old URL to the new one so the SEO value isn’t lost.
•  Custom Error Page: Create a page that informs users they have hit a broken link.

Search Engine Interaction

• Change settings eg robots. txt and header tags for custom code that governs how search engines Index your site The default Blogger settings are enough for most users but advanced users may want to fine-tune to be able to have more control. 

Revenue Generation Options

Earnings protectors, focus on this section if you want to make a from your blog.

AdSense Integration

• Link your AdSense account to Blogger to show ads. AdSense can never be obtained with a blog that violates policy so make your blog policy complaint.

Alternative Advertising

• Blogger provides an option to include other ads scripts using widgets. Introduce ads strategically to ensure a good user experience while also creating a new income stream.

Visual Design Options

Themes are what make your blog look the way it does. There are really great customization options provided in the settings of Blogger themes.

Theme Selection

• Use Blogger’s free templates or upload custom designs. Choose a responsive layout so that your blog looks good on all devices.

Theme Customization

• Modify fonts, colors and layouts without any coding knowledge using the “Customize” feature

Advanced Customization

• Advanced users may want to edit the HTML and CSS code directly for more specific customizations.

Page Structure Options

Widgets are items that you can configure and move around in your blog.

Visual Layout Tool

• Drag and drop to reorder elements including header, sidebar, footer, and main content area

Widget Management

• Widgets can be things like search bars, archives, and most popular posts. Leverage this tool strategically to improve navigation and engagement.Privacy and Access Controls

Admin Menu: Controls blog visibility and admin access

Visibility Settings

• Choose whether or not search engines should index your blog. You may want to turn this off for your personal or private blogs.

Access Management

• Blog Contributors: Invite others to write for your blog. Role you would assign such as administrator or author etc.
• Blog Privacy Settings: Make your blog public, private, or allow access to select people.

 Data Management Options

One of the key steps to avoid lost content is regular backups.

Content Backup

• You are right to choose a blog service to start your blogging activities. The backup restores your blog or transfers it to another platform.

Content Import

• Import posts and comments from other Blogger blogs or platforms by uploading XML files.

Additional Features

Here you have different settings to improve functionalities.

Feed Settings

•  Select what level of content (full post or excerpt) to display in your RSS feeds. Attracting eyeballs to your full feeds, while snippets get them to your site.

Analytics Integration

• Link your blog to Google Analytics to monitor who is coming and going, and achieve the best performance.

Content Advisory

• Use this for blogs that are sensitive or contain adult content By including this alert, you are ensuring eligibility per Blogger’s policies, as well as warning readers ahead of time.

Conclusion

Blogger. com provides users with a variety of customizable features that can be used to create blogs that suit their appearance, functionality and accessibility, etc. In learning these settings, and then tuning them to fit your blog goals, you will have a sleek, user-friendly site tangerine sourced for your target audience. Spend some time going through each config option, experiment with different setups, periodically review your options to stay on top of your ever-evolving blogging needs. A well configured blog is the basis to build a solid presence online.