You get visitors from a lot of different sources including search engines and social media. But, do folks leave your site after reading just one page? Here’s a great way to keep folks on your site longer by giving them quick access to more headlines.
What is the More Tag?
The More Tag is generally used on blog posts to shorten them by placing a Read More link at the place it is inserted.
Some themes allow you to predefine a cutoff point for the blog post before inserting such a tag. Usually it’s after 100-200 characters. That’s necessary on magazine style themes to keep all of the displays for blog post categories the same size. But, if you’re not using such a theme, manually inserting the More Tag allows you insert the link in a place that makes legible sense to do so.
Why Use the More Tag
When someone visits your blog page, they see as many post titles and content as you allowed in your WordPress settings. (Go to Settings > Reading to modify.) If you write long posts, folks will have to scroll a long way down to see more post titles.
By using the More Tag, you can shorten your post content to insert a Read More link right after the first few sentences or first paragraph. That way you can increase the number of posts displayed on the page and visitors won’t have to scroll to see more post titles.
The end effect is that they see more content to become interested in on your site, meaning that they read more pages and stay on your site longer. This gives you more opportunity to build up your expertise in their minds as well as expose them to your offerings more frequently.
How to Insert the More Tag
You’ll find the More Tag icon in your text editor, usually near the end of the top row.
To use it, place your cursor in your content where you would like to insert a Read More link, then click the icon. What you’ll see is a thin line with the word More on the far right.
Now, if you view the post from the text editor, you will not see the Read More link. In essence, you are viewing the post on a Single Post page, just as folks do when they click the title of a post from your Blog page.
To see the More Tag in action, you’ll need to publish the post or page and then view it from the Blog page where all of your recent posts are listed.
Insert Options
You have a couple of options of where the Read More link appears. If you place your cursor at the end of the last line in a paragraph and then click the icon, the link will appear in that line.
However, if you click your cursor at the beginning of a line and insert the tag, the Read More link will appear on a line of its own just above that section.
Changing the Link Text
Some themes allow you to change the text that the More Tag displays. The two most common defaults are Read More and Continue Reading this Post. Because themes are different, and because some folks use more advanced text editor plugins, you’ll need to check with either your theme designer or the plugin developer to learn how to change the default text.
Get the Right Icon
There’s one little thing to look out for. Be sure that you don’t confuse the More Tag icon with the Insert Page Break icon. They are usually side-by-side in the editor and look very similar. The Page Break icon is shown to the left. (The More Tag has a closed box at the top. The Page Break has an open box.) If you are in doubt, simply hover your mouse over the icon before clicking it and a little pop-up text box will appear to tell you what the icon is.
Wrap Up
Using the More Tag to shorten your blog post entries can also decrease your bounce rate by giving folks an easy way to find more content on your site. And, it can make your Blog page look more like a magazine style theme.
Do you use the More Tag? How has it helped your site?
BlogAid WordPress Training and Video Tutorials show you more ways to use
the Standard Text editor to help keep folks on your site longer.
MaAnna is a geek who can still speak in plain English and mashes up her background in both the techie and artsy worlds to teach non-geeks, authors, artists, and other creative folks the ways of WordPress.
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Hi MaAnna,
this is fantastic. I was wondering how people did this and I surely will install this more tag! Great step by step instructions and the why as well. I value BlogAids expertise on WordPress blogging. Thanks. Have a great Thursday.
Thanks Dorien! These are the little tips that really help folks harness the power of WordPress.