{"id":7205,"date":"2009-04-23T22:21:29","date_gmt":"2009-04-23T12:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/problogger.com\/?p=7205"},"modified":"2019-08-06T10:47:49","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T00:47:49","slug":"create-a-sneeze-page-for-your-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/problogger.com\/create-a-sneeze-page-for-your-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Create a Sneeze Page for Your Blog [Day 18 – 31DBBB]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s task is to create a Sneeze Page<\/strong> for your blog.<\/p>\n

\"sneeze-03\"<\/p>\n

What is a Sneeze Page?<\/h3>\n

The term ‘sneeze page’ is one that I came up with for the 2007 version of the 31 Days to Build a Better blog<\/a> and is a concept that I’ve been using as a key strategy in my blogs for quite a few years.<\/p>\n

\nThe idea is simple – to create a page that propels people in different directions deep within your blog by highlighting a variety of posts that you’ve previously written.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Why a Sneeze Page?<\/h3>\n

The challenge that many bloggers face is that over time the archives of their blogs fill up with hundreds and then thousands of posts. The problem is that by default a blog generally only highlights the most recent posts that you’ve written on the front page while the majority of your posts go largely unnoticed once they drop off the front page.<\/p>\n

\nA sneeze page is all about showing off those archives.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Benefits of Sneeze Pages<\/h3>\n

There are a variety of reasons that a sneeze page can be powerful:<\/p>\n

\n1. It shows off your archives <\/strong>– I don’t know about you but when I spend hours (if not days) crafting a blog post, I want people to read it! Sneeze pages lengthen the time that people interact with your older posts.\n<\/p>\n

\n2. It’s great for SEO <\/strong>– search engines not only look at the links that other people make to your posts in order to give them ranking but the internal links on your blog. Linking to old posts can help them grow their search engine ranking.\n<\/p>\n

\n3. It can help create a ‘Sticky’ Blog <\/strong>– I’ve not seen stats on this but it is my suspicion that a person arriving on your blog for the first time increases the chances of coming back to it the more great posts that they view on it. Get someone to read 10 great posts that you’ve written previously instead of 1 and you’ll exponentially increase the likelihood that they’ll subscribe and become a regular reader.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Types of Sneeze Pages (with Examples)<\/h3>\n

There are many ways of creating a ‘sneeze page (or post)’ for your blog. Lets explore some:<\/p>\n

\nThemed Sneeze Pages <\/strong>– these are posts or pages on your blog or site that revolve around a single theme. <\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/digital-photography-school.com\/landscape-photography-tips\/\"<\/a>

http:\/\/digital-photography-school.com\/landscape-photography-tips\/<\/p><\/div>\n

For example here on ProBlogger I have created sneeze pages around some of the main themes for this blog such as:<\/p>\n