A question for readers, we need your advice on the blog :)
In the comments to post about the results of 2013 I received a lot of advice on how to further develop our resource and what else you can try new. Something does not suit me very much, something stirred up my own questions in me once again, to which I could not find an answer. Since I would not want to do anything in the heat of the moment, first of all I would like to ask you something, our readers. Because if you make any major changes, then I would like to minimize the loss of readership and search traffic, as well as analyze the current situation..
I know that some of us never comment, but I would still like to ask you to answer a few questions, it will not take much time, for this you just need to tick this or that item. Well, those who are ready to spend a little more time can write a detailed commentary with tips, I will only be glad.
Further development of the blog
Problems
Before starting any new directions, you need to sort out old things. Indeed, for a long time I have felt that the blog format as it is now is not very suitable for so many diverse and non-overlapping topics. Okay, when travel was the predominant topic, but besides that, I already managed to write about blogging and make money, how to take pictures, and touched on the topic of anti-consumption and economy. Well, and most importantly, the topic of special children has appeared, which cannot be removed from life in any way, even if you do not write about it :) All these topics are different audiences. Because finding a person who is interested in all topics at once is unrealistic. Accordingly, various problems arise in the development of the resource.
The most visible problem is that a person, for example, started reading a blog because of philosophical posts, and I have been charging informational articles about Tai for six months. What will happen? The reader will get bored and he will stop coming to the blog, since I hardly publish what he is interested in. That is why sites are usually made, either for one topic, or for very similar.
The second problem is that due to so many diverse topics, a very narrow niche has been chosen, or, in other words, there is no possibility of increasing the audience within one topic. Let me explain. Take Thailand as an example, as it is covered by the largest number of posts. A huge number of people come to Tai, but my information is not suitable for everyone. The point is not even in the infe itself, but in the fact that a person simply will not stay on the site because of other topics. One will simply be confused by such a variety and he will not be able to figure out which side «registration of individual entrepreneurs» refers to Thailand, another will see a post about home birth and immediately close the blog in fear. That is, a site that talks about everything at once does not inspire confidence. Thus, articles on the topic of travel, which seem to suit absolutely everyone, will still be read only by those who still have at least something close (blogging, photography, children, etc.), then something else from other topics, and this is already a narrow audience.
Blog audience - a little bit from everywhere
The third problem is search traffic and readers, these are two different audiences. Judging by the comments, most readers read us not because of travel information. Well, who is really interested in reading from year to year about how to get to Orly airport in Paris, or about renting a car in Bangkok. This is a technical info that is needed only at the time of preparation for the trip. I read, prepared and forgot. That is, this infa is not for readers, it is for search traffic - people are looking for information and find it on our blog. And readers only read our articles about life, about Yegor, some philosophical posts, and so on. In fact, we have a website that has a personal blog about family life and a travel guide to Thailand. Well, if it is roughly divided into two parts, it will be so much more. It is not efficient to write two types of articles, one for search traffic, the other for readers. Ideally this should match.
Possible solution to problems
I think it's obvious that «personal blog» and «guide» little related to each other. If we are talking about development and about making money, then these should be two separate projects, at least visually. Then each of them can be developed independently of each other. For example, on a personal blog it will be possible to write short posts about Yegor, about current experiences, that is, what we are not publishing at all now. Readers will be delighted. And the guide will contain even more technical information (hotels, transport, attractions, etc.), it will be possible to hang some useful service with maps and prices. There will be already satisfied with the search traffic, no unnecessary topics, just what you need to prepare for the trip.
And most importantly, every subscriber «personal blog» and «guidebook» will receive only announcements that are interesting to himself: a traveler about a new attraction, a reader of a personal blog about Yegor's next successes. Well, and the navigation menu on each of the projects can be made more detailed and understandable, which will also be more convenient for everyone..
At the same time, I understand that with a physical separation into two separate and independent projects, there will be losses. Search traffic will drop, and some readers will also fall off. This is upsetting. If you divide only visually within the framework of the current blog, for example, by making two different sections with different colors and pictures, then even more confusion can arise. In general, I am only thinking about it so far, because these questions have not been raised for the first time, but I cannot find easy answers to them. I am interested in your opinion, both just readers and SEOs with bloggers.
Interview
For a long time it was necessary to do it - to find out the interests of your audience. To understand what she needs and how best to do it. After all, it is possible to analyze for a long time and tediously, but it is easier when real people themselves say. Therefore, we kindly ask you to answer the questions below. If you would like to add explanations to your answers, I will be glad to see your comments..
Select an answer option and click «Vote». 4 questions - you will have to press the button 4 times. In question number 1, you can choose several answer options, in other questions only one at a time.
P.S. The survey will hang for several days, it will be very interesting to look at the results and find out if I was right in my guesses or not. If it doesn't work for someone, please write in the comments..