Deep Dive into Blogger Settings: Mastering Your Blog in Four Parts.

Part 3: Enhancing Your Blog with Meta Tags, Redirects, and More

Introduction

Welcome back to our deep dive series! In Part 2, we tackled advanced settings for permissions, posts, and comments. Now, it’s time to enhance your blog even further with meta tags, custom redirects, and other powerful features. These settings will help you improve your blog’s SEO and user experience, making it stand out from the competition.

Meta Tags

1. Enable Search Description:
   • Add a brief description of your blog for search engines.
   • Example: “Explore the best socks at My Super Socks. Free shipping, unique designs, and the most comfortable socks you'll ever wear!”
   • How to Enable Search Description:
     • Go to "Settings" > "Meta tags" > "Enable search description"
     • Enter your search description in the text box.

Errors and Redirects

1. Custom 404 Page:
   • A 404 page appears when a visitor tries to access a page on your blog that doesn’t exist. Instead of a generic error message, you can create a custom 404 page to guide users back to your main content.
   • Why It's Important: A well-designed 404 page can help retain visitors by providing links to popular posts or a search bar.
   • Examples: Check out GitHub's 404 page which is simple and functional, or Lego's 404 page which is fun and engaging.
   • How to Create a Custom 404 Page:
     1. Design Your 404 Page:
        • Use a tool like Canva to create a visually appealing page. Canva offers free and easy-to-use templates.
        • To create a custom 404 page in Canva, sign up for a free account, search for "404 page templates," and customise one to your liking.
        • Include helpful elements like a link back to your homepage, a search bar, or links to popular posts.
     2. Host the 404 Page:
        • Download the designed page from Canva.
        • Use a free hosting service like Google Drive or Dropbox to upload your 404 page and get a shareable link.
        • How to upload to Google Drive
     3. Set Up the 404 Page in Blogger:
        • Go to "Settings" > "Errors and redirects" > "Custom 404."
        • Paste the shareable link from Google Drive or Dropbox in the "Custom 404" field.

Crawlers and Indexing

1. Custom Robots.txt and Header Tags:
   • Advanced settings for controlling how search engines crawl and index your site.
   • How to Set Custom Robots.txt:
     • Go to "Settings" > "Crawlers and indexing" > "Enable custom robots.txt"
     • Enter your custom robots.txt code. Learn more about robots.txt

Monetisation

1. Enable Custom ads.txt:
   • Manage your ads.txt file for ad revenue optimisation.
   • How to Enable Custom ads.txt:
     • Go to "Settings" > "Monetisation" > "Enable custom ads.txt"
     • Enter your custom ads.txt code. Learn more about ads.txt

Manage Blog

1. Import/Export Content:

   • Backup your content or import content from another platform.
   • How to Backup Content:
     • Go to "Settings" > "Manage blog" > "Back up content"
     • Click "Download" to save a copy of your blog.

2. Remove Your Blog:

   • Permanently delete your blog if necessary.
   • How to Remove Your Blog:
     • Go to "Settings" > "Manage blog" > "Remove your blog"
     • Follow the prompts to delete your blog.

Site Feed

1. Allow Blog Feed:
   • Control the visibility of your blog’s feed.
   • Example: Full
   • How to Set Blog Feed:
     • Go to "Settings" > "Site feed" > "Allow blog feed"
     • Select "Full" from the dropdown menu.

General

1. Use Blogger Draft:

   • Enable this to test new Blogger features.
   • How to Enable Blogger Draft:
     • Go to "Settings" > "General" > "Use Blogger draft"
     • Toggle the switch to enable it.

2. Edit Profile:

   • Update your Blogger profile to reflect your current information and interests.
   • How to Edit Profile:
     • Go to "Settings" > "General" > "Edit profile"
     • Update your information and save the changes.

Summary

In this post, we’ve explored settings that enhance your blog’s functionality and user experience, including meta tags, custom 404 pages, and more.

Coming Up Next: In Part 4, we’ll reveal the Magnificent Seven: the top seven settings you must change to make the biggest impact on your blog. We’ll even provide a handy downloadable checklist to ensure you've covered all the essentials. These are the crucial tweaks that will take your blog to the next level. Stay tuned!