10 Common Blogging Mistakes That Cost You Readers

Blogging is one of the best ways to drive more traffic to your website and build brand awareness. Many businesses are leveraging the potential of blogs to connect with audiences and provide relevant information. If you are just starting blogging, you need a strong foundation and a proper plan for content so that you don't make blogging mistakes that can cost you readers.

10 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

With over 570 million active blogs, reaching your audience and ranking on search engines can be challenging. If you are struggling to find success in blogging, there are chances that you might be making some common mistakes. Here, we will investigate ten common blogging mistakes that can cost you readers and impact the rankings of your website.  

Mistake 1: Not Having a Proper Publishing Schedule  

Not having a proper schedule can ruin your relationship with the audience and may affect your rankings. While it is necessary to maintain consistency, you should also pay attention to the quality of your blogs. Many people have a misconception that blogs should be updated regularly. In contrast, many bloggers post regularly in the initial stage and slow down the posting speed later. Some bloggers do not have a proper schedule and post at irregular hours.  

All these situations can turn out to be problematic for you.  

• If you post too frequently, you are not giving your audience a break to understand and go through the content.  
• If you are not posting regularly, you are not providing your audience with a reason to stay on your blog.  

Here’s what you may do to prevent this blogging mistake: 

• Make a monthly blogging calendar.  
• Try to search for topics and keywords in advance.  
• Publish around 2-3 blogs a week.  
• Be consistent with your blogging schedule.  
• Maintain consistency and quality. Take time to understand and research the topic.  

Mistake 2: Not Using Quality Images  

Blogging is not just about publishing quality content. You also need to pay attention to the visual quality and use compelling images that help in delivering the message. How can a blogger avoid images even if the book and print materials have pictures? Remember, a single image is more than a thousand words, and using the right image can help deliver the right message.

Here’s what you should do to prevent this common blogging mistake:  

• Incorporate some good quality and relevant images.  
• Use accessible sources or photo platforms to create compelling images.  
• Use a mix of visual elements such as charts, infographics, and other kinds of artwork.  
• Make sure to give credit to the source of the image.  

Mistake 3: No Marketing  

If you write effective and good-quality content, it may help attract the audience. However, you need to boost your blogs and/or website. You need a solid marketing plan to promote your blog and website.

Here are certain things you must consider:  

• Spend your time 50/50 between writing and promoting.  
• Do proper search engine optimization of your website.  
• Pay attention to the keywords and target them appropriately.  
• Use social media effectively to reach your target audience.  
• Experiment with other social media platforms to gain more attention to your blog.  

Read Also: The Best Business Networking Apps for Your Business

Mistake 4: Not Checking Analytics  

Without Analytics data, you will not be aware of the performance of each article. You will not know which pieces are performing better and which are not. Checking Google Analytics can help you access the following information:  

• The most-liked articles on the website.  
• Where are the visitors coming from?  
• How long do the visitors stay on each page?  
• What is the navigation flow that the users follow?  
• Are the visitors leaving the website without reading or navigating?  

Access to Google Analytics can help you understand all these aspects and enhance your website. Make sure you take some time to understand the analytics and install it properly on your website.  

Mistake 5: Over-Optimizing  

Search Engine Optimization is essential and implementing the correct practices can help you rank higher on the search engines. However, over-optimization can bring down the rankings of your website and may impact it negatively. You might have discovered a list of keywords that work well for your industry, but you should be specific about the keywords you are using.

Do not overuse the keywords. Spamming the article or webpage with the keywords is against the algorithm. Take time to understand the basic Google Algorithm and use the keywords wisely.

Here are some common SEO mistakes that  harm a website:  

• Not having proper site design. 
• Poorly written product descriptions.  
• Lack of user-friendly URLs.  
• Keyword stuffing in the article.  
• Not much content on the page.  
• Duplicate and plagiarized content.  
• Poor page titles.  

Mistake 6: Not Answering Comments  

It is one of the most common blogging mistakes that many people make. Appreciate the time and efforts taken by your audience to leave a comment. If any person has made a query in the comments, take-out time to answer it. Responding is one of the most-effective ways to establish credibility and showcase your expertise on the subject.

Avoid answering or replying to spam comments. Always follow a professional approach while responding to comments. The audience's comments or queries may help you discover a new topic. Therefore, it makes sense to invest your time and go through the comments section on the website. Use a plugin to remove the spam comments.  

Mistake 7: Not Building an Email List  

While many neglects building an email list, you should note that your email list subscribers would be the one that engages the most. Social networks and trends keep changing. However, the email platform and the list remain the same. You can use the email marketing strategy to build connections with your audience and share the content from your blog.

If you are an e-commerce company, your email list could be your potential buyers. If you do not have a subscription or newsletter option, you must immediately consider adding it. Create forms or offer access to unpublished content or reports to build your email marketing list.  

Read Also: Why Email Marketing Is the Best Way to Engage Customers 

Mistake 8: Choosing a Bad Hosting Company 

Choosing a bad web hosting company is a basic mistake that bloggers and businesses make. No matter how effective your content is, the readers will not stay on the website if there are navigation and speed issues. Before choosing the web hosting company, you must be very specific about your requirements.  

Here are certain things you must consider before choosing the hosting company:  

• Know the needs of your website: number of potential visitors, demographics, and other necessary details.  
• Check the host server’s reliability and speed (uptime and downtime).  
• Confirm the subscription period for hosting.  
• Understand the refund policies and upgrade options offered by the company.  
• Read the reviews and verify the features claimed to be offered by the company.  
• Storage availability offered and steps they are taking for data security. 
• The customer support. 

Before choosing the hosting, you may also consider giving a shot to a trial plan. It will help you understand whether the company meets your requirements or not.  

Mistake 9: Too Much Sidebar Clutter  

One of the fundamentals you need to keep in mind is to follow the pattern of simplicity on the website. Having too many elements on the sidebar can distract the audience from reading. Avoid cluttering and follow a minimalistic approach. Consider adding only essential features such as the search bar, suggested posts, or most popular posts.  

Mistake 10: Ignoring the Blog’s Branding and Target Audience 

You cannot build your blog without paying attention to the branding elements. Your brand should have a proper logo, fonts, colors, and consistent style. Make sure you follow the consistency throughout your blog and social media handles. Besides this, many bloggers fail to understand their audience.

While maintaining a blog, you must realize that you are writing for your audience, not yourself. You need to maintain a language and tone that resonates with your audience. Take topics that are trending and highly discussed by your target audience. Keep checking the analytics to further understand your audience and better understand your blog.  

Final Thoughts  

These are some of the most common blogging mistakes that can cost your readers. Pay attention to these mistakes and make your blog more effective. Besides this, giving up too soon is another common blogging mistake that majority of the people make. Think about why you started and stay consistent with your goals to achieve the right results.