Blogging Mistakes That Will Make You #Facepalm

Blogging is a trend that is relatively new in world history.

It is not taught in a traditional English composition or journalism class. It has no specific rules for formatting, length, style or delivery.

It can be personal, conversational, or formal. It can be strictly informational or open to discussion. If you’ve been clutching your MLA handbook as a guide for writing an appropriate blog, you’re not going to get very far with it.

There are over two hundred million public blogs on the Internet, and the numbers keep growing as running a company blog is an effective marketing tactic. 

Surprisingly though, many bloggers—even the professionals—still make these mistakes.

Check through this list of mistakes, and see if you’ve ever been guilty of committing one or more.

They Go Nuts with Keywords 

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Keywords were an active ingredient of early blogging, as targeting specific keywords generated a better SERPs.

It did not take long for the savvy SEO to figure out that by repeating certain keywords over and over, they strengthened their page’s power with the search engines.

Thankfully, the Internet world caught up with mainstream journalism and focused on quality writing.

I still see blogs even today littered with phrases, like “football games” for example, seven times in a one 300-word blog.

Keyword stuffing is just a bad idea. You’ll know it when you see it. 

My hair was standing on end by the time I was finished. Redundancies are one of the first mistakes you learn not to make in journalism, documentary, or fiction writing.

There is little point in driving a reader to a site that contains mainly keyword phrases cleverly assembled into an article that “passes” but offers no value to the reader.

Today, it is practically impossible to receive high SERPs on a keyword match alone.

They Over-Advertise Themselves

Blatant advertising does not work, not in blog format.

There are other avenues to use for direct ads, so it is facepalming to read blogs that are merely promotional but oblivious as to what people want to know about the industry.

Internet viewers are sophisticated, and turn off quickly to blogs that give no real information beyond saying, “my product is great”, and are even more turned off when there appears to be more advertising than blogging.

While the appeal of multiple sponsors is tempting in terms of immediate cash flow, it’s very short-lived productivity. Unless those multiple advertising links are giving away coupons and discounts, readers have very little interest in returning to a site that’s simply advertising advertisements.

Google algorithm update squashes site that are cluttered with advertising. If a site features two-thirds advertising and one third or less content, that site will see a significant drop in the search engine index. 

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Running out of Questions and Ideas

Most websites have a question and answer page. It’s a good policy to round up the most commonly asked questions for a few straight answers, but there are now sites focused primarily on answering questions, with very little news or mainstream content.

Content is the heart of a website. Content is your way of introducing yourself, your services, your interests or your expertise. If your blog site is devoted simply to answering questions about zip-lining through the rainforest, it’s not going to receive nearly the amount of attention as it would if you told the story first.

Question and answer sites have their place in a generalized search, but for a blogger, it’s a death wish. Readers will do one of two things. They will either ignore the site as boring once they receive the answer to their generalized question, or they will monopolize the site by making it their own forum.  Either way, the attention is definitely not on the blogger, only on the question and answer “game.”

Question and answer sites are ideal for serious bloggers to pick up a little information for a dynamite, carefully researched article. Rather than continuously answering questions, turn all that information into something newsy.

Blogging About Stuff That’s NOT Trending Anymore

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Blogging about something five years ago is not exactly trendy. How many novice bloggers actually base their research on current events?

It’s not very difficult to find what’s trending. Most Internet service companies are happy to provide suggestions on a daily basis on who’s in the eyes of the public and issues currently under discussion. If your search engine results do not satisfy you, there’s always social networking.

I use Buzzsumo as my primary method of finding out trending content in my niche. 

If I want to find out what’s trending generally, I use Buzzsumo’s trending option. 

You can also use the trending tabs in Twitter and Facebook.

Social networking is considered one of the smartest ways to bring your website to the attention of others. Linking your website to your social networking site is easy and lets your faithful readers know when you have written a new blog.

Even more appealing, you have the option to add an image or video, ensuring social networking attention. Social networkers are highly visual people who enjoy nothing more than a glossy image or entertaining video.

To practical minds dedicated to driving readers to their website, staying on top of what’s trending is a good way to remain in the spotlight. There are many blogs using the latest trends for open discussion or as articles to help generate traffic.

It felt like false advertising, and that has to be the way readers feel when they find a promising blog with no new information within the last few years.

Not Innovating—Not Stepping Up and Proving Their Authority

Often, when reading content online, I sometimes get the feeling that I’ve seen this before.

There are many websites that do not deliver original content, but recycle content from others sites. Some of these sites will rework an existing article to make it sound like their own.

Mimicry may be the highest form of flattery, but this kind of mimicry also has a generic quality.

Websites that imitate the style and delivery of more successful blogging sites tend to fall flat. For sophisticated viewers to trust a site, they must see fresh, original content.

It seems to me that most entrepreneurs new to the game would want to establish themselves as authorities and say something new to the world. Where is the competition that drives business?

Abandoning the Cause

There are all kinds of bloggers. 

Blogging is long, hard work. And it often feels unrewarding. For this reason, quitting a blog is a common mistake.

Another blogging mistake you might notice is the blogger who does not follow-up after a few initial blogs.

Blogging is a major commitment. Having blogged for more than ten years, I totally understand this.

Never underestimate the power of search engine algorithms. An article that did not get immediate results may show up months later at the top of the list of trending topics.

Some articles become such audience pleasers, they remain in the number one position for several years. Some brilliant blogs I have read become lost over time because the blogger did not remain dedicated to the blog—or perhaps even the trending issue that was getting him/her attention.

It can be very difficult to predict which upcoming trend will become a hot topic, but the best way to stay ahead of the stampede is to keep your content original and your voice sincere.

Just keep blogging.

The Blog is Too Much of a Visual Circus

A little razzle-dazzle can go a long ways. Everyone enjoys a circus now and then, a carnival or a light show…but when you have a circus going on twenty-four hours out of the day, seven days a week at your website, you are just hurting people’s eyes.

If you want an effective blog, keep it simple.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Is the layout too confusing?
• Is the color scheme assaulting to the eyes?
• Is the content too hard to scan?
• Are there stretched or blurry images?
• Are there Flash animations?
• Are videos or music auto-playing without permission?

The circus of all these “amazing” visuals and noise might drive away your audience.

Conclusion

Original content with human-interest appeal receives the first priority for search engine results.

We have evolved to the point where web journalism must become print journalism. Step up your game and let the world know you are an authority in your field.

Facepalming mistakes among bloggers are becoming less common.

Part of the reason you don’t see many mistakes is because Google is not serving these sites in their search results. Another reason is that bloggers are wising up, and smart content marketers are using a strategy-driven approach.

What about you? Is your content top-notch, your strategy solid, and your approach giving you the results you want?

What are some blogging mistakes you have noticed among your contemporaries?