You’ve just started your blog and you’re eager to get started but there are some things you should never do on your blog – After all, you don’t want to make any common mistakes. There are a lot of things you can do to ruin your blog, but luckily most of them are easy to avoid. By reading this post, you’ll know exactly what not to do so that your blog can stay healthy and successful.
1. Don’t Post Unoriginal Content.
One of the most important things is to avoid posting unoriginal content. This means finding unique and interesting topics to write about, and try avoiding copying the same information that’s already been published online.
If you’re publishing duplicate content on your blog, Google may penalize your website. This means that your blog may not show up as high in the search results as it would if the content was original. To avoid this, make sure to write about original topics and only publish original content.
One great way to come up with original content ideas is to brainstorm a list of topics that are interesting to you. If you’re experienced or otherwise knowledgeable about a topic, you’re more likely to write engaging content that your readers will enjoy.
Another great way to come up with content ideas is to look for trending topics online. You can use Google Trends or Twitter’s Trending Topics to find out what’s popular in the news and on social media. If you write about trending topics, your blog will be more likely to get noticed.
2. Don’t be Spammy.
Another common mistake is being spammy. This means posting too many promotional posts, or using excessive keywords or SEO tactics in order to try and increase your traffic. Not only will this annoy your readers, but it can also get you penalized by Google.
These two reasons alone are why this ended up on my list of things never to do on your blog. If spammy content bounces readers away, and leads to search engines penalizing – Then there’s no point!
The short-term effect of spammy content is that it can annoy your readers and cause them to leave your blog. Additionally, less visibility on search engines can result in a decrease in traffic to your blog.
The long-term effect of spammy content is that it can cause an exponential decrease in traffic to your blog, as well as damage your reputation. If readers perceive your blog as being spammy, they’re likely to avoid it entirely, which can hurt your traffic and SEO results.
A good ratio for promotional posts on your blog is about 1-3 promotional posts for every 10 non-promotional posts. This will help keep your readers engaged while still allowing you to promote your work or products. Additionally, it’s important to vary the type of promotional posts you publish, so that your readers don’t get bored.
Some great ideas for promotional posts include:
- Posting a roundup of your recent blog posts.
- Announcing a new product or service.
- Sharing a helpful tip or guide.
- Running a contest or giveaway.
- Interviewing an expert in your field.
- Promoting a blog post from another blogger.
3. Don’t Use Excessive Keywords or SEO Tactics .
One reason your blog should not use excessive keywords or SEO tactics is because it can annoy your readers. If you’re using a lot of keywords, or trying to manipulate your search engine results using unethical tactics, your readers will likely notice. This can lead to them leaving your blog and never coming back.
When clients ask me to audit their blog content, unintentional keyword stuffing often happens, that’s why this made in onto the list of things you should never do on your blog.
Additionally, using excessive keywords and SEO tactics can get you penalized by Google. If Google believes that you’re trying to artificially improve your search engine rankings, they may reduce your website’s ranking in the search results. This means you’ll get less traffic from Google, which can be a major source of traffic for most blogs.
To avoid these penalties, it’s important to only use keywords and SEO tactics that are approved by Google. Stick to the basics, like including keywords in your title and meta description, and don’t try anything too fancy. You’ll get better results that way and you won’t risk annoying your readers or getting penalized by Google.
A good percentage of keywords to use in a blog post is 1-3%. This will help your blog post rank higher in search engine results pages, without annoying your readers with excessive keywords.
Long tail keywords work best. The main reason you should focus more on long tail keywords is because they have a higher conversion rate than short tail keywords. This means that people who use long tail keywords are more likely to take action, such as clicking on your link or buying your product.
Additionally, long tail keywords are less competitive than short tail keywords. This means you have a better chance of ranking higher in search engine results pages for these terms.
By using long tail keywords in your content and SEO strategy, you can improve your website’s traffic and conversions.
In simple terms… Short keywords have high competition and low conversion rate. Whereas long tail keywords have low traffic but higher conversion rate.
I could add using only short (high competition) keywords onto the list things you should never do on your blog – But you get the picture.
Some of the general SEO related things to avoid are the following:
- Excessive keywords.
- Unethical SEO tactics.
- Ignoring mobile SEO.
- Manipulating search engine results.
- Using false or misleading titles.
- Duplicate content.
- Writing for search engines instead of people.
- Only focusing on your domain authority.
- Ignoring page load speed.
Note: Domain authority is a metric that measures the rank of a website on a scale from 0 to 100. The higher the domain authority, the higher the website will rank in search engine results pages.
Domain authority is determined by a number of factors, including the age of the domain, the number of links to the site, and the quality of those links. To increase your website’s domain authority, you must build high-quality links from reputable websites.
4. Don’t Neglect Your Blog’s Design.
Another thing you should avoid is neglecting your blog’s design. A well-designed blog will help keep your readers engaged, and make it easier for them to find the information they’re looking for. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a custom design, but make sure you at least use an attractive template and apply some basic design principles.
One common issue I sometimes see is when bloggers have a huge hero section at the top of their blog, or worse a large full width video. In my opinion this is terrible to do – Right up there with the others on things you should never do on your blog.
Why?
It pushes your most valuable information below the fold, and a large video kills you page loading speed.
“Below the fold” is a term used in web design to describe the area of a web page that is below the point where the user has to scroll down to see it. This area typically contains less important information than the top of the page.
Common sense your most important information should be above the fold – Where people will see it first.
Make sure your blog is easy to navigate. One of the main reasons you should make sure you navigation is simpler, is because it will help keep your readers engaged. If they can’t find the information they’re looking for, they’re likely to leave your blog and never come back.
Additionally, make sure you use an attractive template, and apply some basic design principles. This will make your blog look more professional and help keep your readers engaged. The key with regards to aesthetics is to use a lot of whitespace.
When it comes to aesthetics, whitespace is an important principle to follow. It makes your blog look more professional, and helps keep your readers engaged. Additionally, it can help improve your page loading speed, which is something you should always be concerned about.
Again, not using whitespace could be listed by itself as one of the things you should never do on your blog.
5. Don’t Forget to Proofread Your Posts.
Another common mistake is forgetting to proofread your posts before publishing them. This may seem like an obvious thing to do, but it’s actually surprisingly common for bloggers to publish typos and other errors in their posts (I’m not immune to this myself!) – By taking the time to proofread your work, you can avoid looking sloppy and unprofessional.
The best way to proofread a blog post is to read it out loud. This will help you catch any errors that you may have missed when reading it silently. Additionally, it’s a good idea to have someone else read your post for you, so they can point out any errors they may find.
When I proofread a blog post, that’s also the time when I link it to other posts that are relevant.
6. Don’t Write for the Sole Purpose of Self-Promotion!
One gaffe new bloggers often make is writing for the sole purpose of self-promotion. While it’s important to promote your blog occasionally, don’t go overboard and start filling your posts with internal links only, and no external ones. Your readers will quickly lose interest if all you do is talk about or promote yourself.
About those links… Again, there’s no right answer when it comes to the ratio of internal links vs external links, but I would recommend including more external links than internal ones. This will help keep your readers interested and engaged, and make it easier for them to find information on other websites.
There is no one “right” way to promote your blog, but there are a few things you can do to make it more subtle and less intrusive. One way to do this is to include a link to your blog in your social media profiles, and reference your blog (with a link) it in your guest posts – When the reference is related to the topic of the blog post.
You can also add a link to your blog in your email signature, or in online bio’s, etc. These are all unobtrusive ways of promoting your blog that won’t annoy your readers.
Self promotion (or over-promotion) ranks high on the things you should never do on your blog.
7. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment With New Ideas .
One way to experiment with new ideas is to try out a different blog theme. This can help you learn new things and potentially improve your blog’s design, functionality, and page loading speed.
I personally use a recommend GeneratePress.
There are lots of different types of blog themes. GeneratePress is one of the best ones because it makes your blog look more professional and helps it load faster – Incredibly fast. Actually… It’s one of the fastest themes out there!
Below is a screen shot showing a GeneratePress page loading blazingly fast in 1.4s for mobile devices and 0.4s for desktop devices!
Another way to experiment with new ideas is to try out different content formats. For example, you could try writing a list post, or a case study, or even a short story. By experimenting with different content formats, you can find which ones work best for you and your blog.
Additionally, you can experiment with the way you format your posts. For example, you could try using more images and videos, or including infographics. By experimenting with different formatting techniques, you can find which ones work best for you and your blog.
8. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help When Needed.
When we think we know everything, we stop learning.
One of the best things about blogging is that there are so many different ways to learn and improve your skills. If you’re struggling with a particular aspect of blogging, don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are plenty of people out there who are more than happy to share their knowledge and expertise.
You can ask for help from other bloggers, or you can even ask someone at a blogging conference. You can also find online forums and groups where bloggers can exchange tips and advice.
The bottom line is that nobody knows everything about blogging, and it’s okay to ask for help when you need it.
In fact asking for help has four significant benefits!
- You can get expert advice, because someone else might have already had experience with your question.
- You can get useful, constructive feedback from other bloggers.
- You can network with other bloggers.
- You can learn new skills and techniques.
9. Don’t Give up on Your Blog if it Doesn’t Take Off Right Away.
Arguably this (in practice) tops my list of things you should never do on your blog.
Figuring out when to expect your new blog to start getting traffic is a difficult question to answer because it depends on a number of factors, such as the quality of your content, the amount of competition you up against, and how well you’ve optimized your blog for search engines.
Most bloggers I think would agree that it takes at least six months for a new blog to start traffic. sometimes longer. So if you don’t see any results after a couple months, don’t give up! Keep producing great content and promoting your blog, and eventually you will start seeing results.
Be sure to add your blog to Google Analytics and Search Console, so that you can monitor traffic as well as address any issues found in your posts. Monitoring traffic and fixing issues quickly, helps to ensure your blog remains on-track (so to speak).
As a side note, failing to have any kind of analytics is clearly one of the things you should never do on your blog.
One of the best ways to remain positive and not become discouraged if your blog has no traffic is to focus on the positives. For example, you could focus on the fact that you’re learning a lot about blogging, or that you’re making new friends in the blogging community.
You could also try setting realistic goals for blog. For example, rather than aiming to get 1,000 visitors per day, aim for 50 or less visitors per day. This will help you stay positive and motivated, even if your blog is struggling at first.
The key is to be patient and keep working at it – By publishing high-quality content on a regular basis, interacting with other bloggers and readers, and using social media effectively, you will eventually see results.
Finally, don’t forget to celebrate your small wins. For example, if you write a great post that gets more shares on social media, celebrate that victory! This will help keep you motivated and positive as you continue to work on your blog.
10. Don’t for a too Generalized Topics.
There are a number of reasons why it’s important for a blog to focus on a specific niche. First, when you focus on a specific niche, this will help you produce high-quality content that is of interest to your readers.
Second, by focusing on a specific niche, you can build a loyal following of readers who are interested in the topic you cover. When you have a loyal following, you can sell products and services to them, and you can even promote affiliate products and earn commission.
Third, by focusing on a specific niche, you can rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This is because Google and other search engines prefer websites that focus on one topic rather than those that cover a variety of topics. When you rank higher in SERPs, you get more traffic to your blog.
Finally, when you focus on a specific niche, it’s easier to build relationships with other bloggers and people in the industry. This is because people are more likely to be interested in talking to you if you’re well versed in the topic they’re interested in. When you have relationships with other bloggers and people in the industry, you can get more tips, advice, and support for your blog – And help it grow.
So… Things you should never to do on your blog includes not focusing on a niche.
Conclusion – Things You Should Never Do on Your Blog.
There are a number of things you should never do on your blog if you want it to be successful. Don’t give up if it doesn’t take off right away, don’t write about generalized topics, and focus on a specific niche. Additionally, be sure to produce high-quality content, interact with other bloggers and readers, and use social media effectively. Celebrate your small wins, and most importantly – have patience! It takes time for a blog to grow and become successful.
You can learn much more about how to start a blog, by visiting our Blogs and Blogging posts. As well as find out further about starting a blog in particular.