Analysis of a Top Study Abroad Blog

After a thorough review of the many study abroad blogs available online I have determined that the group StudyLink, http://blog.studylink.com/, provides and maintains a superior blog in relation to its competition.  StudyLink sustains this blog within its website, which offers a variety of information and services for international students.  The website’s blog is simple to navigate through as there are about 5 posts per page, starting with the most recent, and links to the blogs top rated posts on the right side.  Blog posts on this website are easy to read as the author includes many bullet points for speed reading and pictures to keep the viewer’s attention.  The blog covers a wide range of topics related to culture shock tips, admission options, hospitality, tourism, and application deadlines.  However, I believe the website could improve if they included additional information on studying abroad efficiently and at a low price for students.  StudyLink does provide information on a number of scholarships within its blog, but funds are limited for students and they need help to discover the cheapest way to study internationally.  There is also a Facebook and Twitter link for each blog post, which acts as an excellent medium of exchange for readers to interact with each post as much they wish.  I have noticed that blog posts which answer common study abroad questions, such as information related to visas and culture shock, generate more user interaction than posts linked to specific information about one university or scholarship.  Although StudyLink appears to maintain a strong website, Alexa has reported page view traffic for StudyLink has declined 37% in the last three months and 19% this last month alone.  I believe traffic to the blog may rise if StudyLink affiliates itself with websites outside of the world of academia.  For example, the blog could see a drastic increase in traffic if it were affiliated with a major newspaper’s travel section online.  Overall, StudyLink provides an outstanding blog for study abroad students with its minimal advertising, which could result in advertisement-fatigue, and a high volume of information.  After a review of StudyLink’s blog I now know that strong affiliate linkages are just as important as maintaining the actual blog in an effort to attract the most viewers.