It is common to hear marketers say that they are not seeing any impact on their traffic from their blogging efforts. They wonder whether this form of content marketing really works. Usually, when you talk to these individuals, they will say that they know that blogging is a great way to stay competitive and relevant in the digital age. They have been adding content to their website for several months, but they see no change in their site’s traffic.
When you visit these blogs, it is frustrating to see how many of them have become a final resting place for content that is long forgotten. They may start out gung-ho publishing weekly or monthly and then soon the blogging comes to an abrupt end.
The situation gets worse when you look at the content and the title of the blogs. Many websites use their blog as an information board to discuss promotions and upcoming events, changes to technology, like adding a new telecommunication system or VPN, or announcing that they are remodeling their location. When a site has content that is not refreshed frequently and the topics are of little to no interest to readers, it’s no wonder that the blog is having zero impact on traffic to their site.
Let’s take a look at a few common blogging mistakes you should avoid at all costs.
As we mentioned, one of the biggest mistakes we see, especially in business blogging, are companies that write about things that are irrelevant to their audience. Your blog should serve as a tool that visitors to your site can use to inform themselves as they are deciding to purchase a product or service from you. Unfortunately, what we see with many blogs is that companies are using them as a way of bragging or talking about themselves.
Your customers don’t care who you promoted to VP of human resources, nor do they usually care about the 5K run your accounting team did last week. They visit your site and read your blog because they want you to help them solve problems. They are not looking to watch you pat yourself on the back.
If you want a blog that your customers will enjoy and that will attract more people to your website, sit down and talk with your sales team. Tell them to jot down the questions that prospective clients are asking during meetings.
The more prospects you attract to your site via your blog, the better chance you have of a conversion. If your website blog is full of high quality and relevant posts, you present yourself as a thought leader. Your audience will turn to you when they need answers to questions you specialize in.
Publishing more content is preferable to publishing less content. The more posts you publish, the more traffic you could capture. Research shows that companies that blog at least once a week get two times the traffic than those that don’t blog at all.
This is not meant to say that you need to publish a blog weekly to see an improvement in your online marketing. However, it shows that businesses that have a commitment to publishing content regularly see results. With time, your blog will build more traffic and consistently boost your SEO ranking.
If your readers know that every Wednesday you will produce new content, you will develop brand loyalty. Your readers will look forward to reading what you write. If you are not consistent, it becomes difficult to build significant readership.
While it is important for you to consistently create content, publishing poorly written content will negatively affect the integrity of your brand. Your website’s authority will be negatively affected, and the reputation of your business will take a hit.
Make it a point to see to it that your content is quality over quantity. Every piece of content you write should be well researched and timed. It should be free of grammatical errors.
Google is keenly interested in the content of websites. This means that no matter how frequently you update your blog, if you don’t have quality content, Google will not rank it well. It is better to have two consistently published and well-written blogs each month as opposed to six poor quality blogs each month.
Publish what you can realistically handle based on your capacity and resources. If you are a small company or a single person operation and you don’t have a dedicated writer, it can feel overwhelming to schedule multiple blog posts each month. The key is to set realistic blogging schedules that you can stick to consistently.
Finally, you want to write your blog in a way that will be attractive to read. Don’t weigh your blog down with unnecessary images and videos. Many of your readers will likely be in parts of the world where their ISP provides them with relatively fast Internet. Others may not have this luxury, and you don’t want them to turn away from your page because it takes forever to load. To avoid being one of them, it’s important to compare plans, pricing, speeds, etc. when choosing an ISP. Also, make sure you read the contract carefully before signing it.
Your content should have clear sections and clearly identifiable headers. Bold text, bullet points, and white spaces should make the content easy for your users to read. Avoid big blocks of text. This will help keep your audience engaged.
Your blogs should conclude with a call to action. What is the next logical step you want your audience to take? Is there an additional article you want them to read? Are you offering premium content you want them to purchase? Unless your readers can purchase a product or service on the blog page, they should be directed somewhere else.
Keep your content relevant and engaging. Consistently produce copy that allows your audience to learn from you. If you do, you will create a blog that is enjoyable for your audience to read, you will build brand loyalty, and this will eventually result in increased sales.
We would love to hear from you. What has worked for you when writing your company’s blog? Let us know in the comments section below.