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The Blog Improvement Scorecard

Use this free Blog Scorecard to help you rate and improve your blog. Note: Broken in Internet Explorer; let me know if you can fix it.

Section 1: Blog Metrics (11 Questions)
Score On a scale from 0 to 10, how satisfied are you with:
1. The amount of traffic the blog receives?
2. The rate at which the blog’s traffic has changed in the past 3 months?
3. The number of the blog’s feed and email subscribers?
4. The rate at which the number of feed and email subscribers has changed in the past 3 months?
5. The amount of time visitors spend at the blog?
6. The number of backlinks to the blog?
7. The rate at which the number of backlinks has changed in the past 3 months?
8. The blog’s search engine rankings for keyword searches matching its topic?
9. The number of posts published each week?
10. The number of blog visitors publishing comments each week?
11. The amount of time required to load a page on the blog?
TOTAL (110 points possible)

Section 2: Blog Design (25 Questions)
Score Rate the following on a scale from 0 to 10.
1. How appealing is the blog’s appearance?
2. How memorable is the blog’s appearance?
3. How well does the blog’s appearance match its topic?
4. How similar does the blog look in different Web browsers?
5. How similar does the blog look at different screen resolutions?
6. How appealing is the color scheme?
7. How memorable is the color scheme?
8. How well does the blog’s color scheme match its topic?
9. How easy is it to read the text?
10. How distinct is each text element (tagline, article headlines, sidebar headings, article text, hyperlinks, etc.)?
11. How memorable is the blog’s URL? (e.g. http://www.techcrunch.com)
12. How memorable is the blog’s name? (e.g. TechCrunch)
13. How well does the blog’s name describe its topic?
14. How appealing is the masthead?
15. How memorable is the masthead?
16. How appealing is the logo?
17. How memorable is the logo?
18. How easy is it to subscribe to the blog’s feed?
19. How easy is it to subscribe to the blog by email?
20. How easy is it to publish a comment?
21. How organized is the main content area?
22. How organized is each sidebar?
23. How organized is the footer?
24. How useful is each sidebar item?
25. How useful is each footer item?
TOTAL

Section 3: Blog Content (7 Questions)
Score Rate the following on a scale from 0 to 10.
1. How remarkable is the content?
2. How appropriate is the balance between text, images, audio and videos?
3. How easy is it to contact the author?
4.How easy is it to trust the author?
5. How useful are the blog visitors’ comments?
6. How visible are the blog’s policies (advertising, copyright, privacy, etc.)?
7. How clear are the blog’s policies?
TOTAL

Section 4: Blog Monetization (6 Questions)
Score On a scale from 0 to 10, how satisfied are you with:
1. The amount of advertising on the blog?
2. The location of advertising on the blog?
3. The relevance of the blog’s advertising?
4. The effectiveness of the blog’s advertising?
5. The amount of money the blog’s advertising makes?
6. The amount of money made by selling products or services through the blog?
TOTAL

Section 5: Blog Value (3 Questions)
Score Rate the following on a scale from 0 to 10.
1. How well does the blog satisfy its target audience?
2. How remarkable is the blog?
3. How much difference does the blog make?
TOTAL

How to Use The Blog Scorecard as a Blog Improvement Tool
Step 1. For each section, calculate your average score: (TOTAL) / (# of questions).
For example, Section 4 has 6 questions. If your scores for each question were 3, 6, 8, 8, 6 and 5, the section average would be (3+6+8+8+6+5)/6 = 36/6 = an average score of 6.
Step 2. Make a list of the scorecard sections, starting with the one where you got the lowest average score. For example:
Lowest average: Value
2nd lowest: Content
3rd: Metrics
4th: Monetization
5th: Design
Step 3. List the 5 questions on which your blog scored the worst.
As a tiebreaker, assign a higher priority to the question pertaining to your weakest section (e.g. value, content). For example:
0, Value Question #2
0, Design Question #11
1, Monetization Question #4
3, Monetization Question #3
etc.
Step 4. Set goals to improve the 3 items that need the most urgent attention.
Step 5. Use the Blog Scorecard at least once a month to chart your blog’s progress.
Like the Blog Scorecard? You might enjoy the Visionary Blogging Club, where every member gets personalized blogging help.
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