Blogger Customization Tips

Blogs are an easy way for individuals and companies to publish their thoughts, activities and products on the Internet. Blogger, a free blog publishing service owned by Google, allows you to create time stamped blogs with your own unique blog address. Bloggers are encouraged to fully customize their Blogger page to suit their personal style and preferences.

Templates
Templates are an ideal way to customize your Blogger page with little or no knowledge of coding. Templates are available from Blogger as well as many Internet sites -- most of which are free except for more intricate designs, which will require purchase. They feature a wide variety of themes, layouts, colors and purposes that you will be able to choose from to fit your needs. Template code is copied and pasted into Blogger, which will apply it to your site.

Add-ons
Blogger allows you to add on custom features and gadgets to your site that range from hit counters to third-party applications. Add-ons are a quick way to customize your blog by simply locating an add-on under the customization menu and adding it to a section of your site where it will be displayed. A photo book allows your viewers to see your pictures and can be configured to display random photos on your homepage.

Revenue
Popular blogs can reach a broad audience that a blogger can utilize to make a profit by adding revenue ads to the site. Blogger has Google AdSense directly available to users which will display content on the blog. The owner receives revenue when a user clicks on an ad. AdSense also allows the owner to track the site's audience, including the location, time on site and number of one-time viewers, which they can use to customize the site to a specific audience.

Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization or SEO customizes your Blogger site to be found in search results from a specific keyword. An owner can improve the likelihood of an Internet searcher finding their site by editing the Meta tags within the Blogger template to include keywords that are directly related to the site's content. It is recommended that you use the keywords frequently in the content of the site. Providing links to other blogs and websites as well has having other sites display your link will improve your site within the major search engines.