Are you blogging and not receiving traffic, social shares and conversions? Be aware of the five mistakes bloggers and businesses make below:
#1 Your Writing is Impersonal
Your blog is not meant to be a college research paper, dissertation or some long and arduous manual, bogged down with industrial jargon. Be yourself! Let your personality shine through by writing as you would speak. This establishes that you are a person and not a programmed robot or mindless drone, regurgitating statistics and facts that can be found on Wikipedia. Be creative and use emotions including: humor, compassion and empathy in your writing, when applicable. These techniques will make your blog posts more personable; engaging further reading and repeat visitors.
#2 You’re Not Optimizing SEO
SEO is a crucial component in ensuring your blog is indexed and searchable on Google. The proper use of keywords (and by proper I don’t mean stuffing) will enrich your content and make it search engine friendly. Do your keyword research. Don’t assume that people are searching for what you might perceive to be a valid keyword or phrase. When possible, utilize keyword phrases in your blog’s title; however, it is important your headlines are sexy, innovative, engaging and cause your online viewer to want to click on the link.
#3 You’re Using Boring or Lengthy Headlines
In an article published by The Guardian, about enhancing your headline click through rate (CTR), 5 tips were outlined on doing just that:
- Headlines that are 8 words in length perform 21% better than others.
- Incorporating a colon or hyphen into your headline performed 9% more effectively.
- Pictures, thumbnails and lists CTR is increased by 27%.
- Odd numbers in a headline have a 20% higher CTR than those containing even numbers.
- Punctuation is key. Headlines posed in the form of a question received higher click through rates. The use of three exclamation points (!!!) at the end of your headline received almost twice as many clicks than any other punctuation mark.
Find what works for your blog or businesses niche and do it! Don’t be afraid to try new things. It doesn’t matter if you have written a literal masterpiece, if you don’t have the right headline, no-one is going to read it. Don’t forget the images! Great images paired with exciting headlines equals higher CTR’s.
#4 You’re Not Being Consistent
Consistency is key. Google loves consistency. If you post sporadically, you run the risk of losing their attention. More importantly, if you do not maintain a regular scheduling of blog posts, how do you expect to have your readers come back? The best times to publish are Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon PST. It is in your best interest to adopt those times for publication and make sure you have good, quality content scheduled to go out.
#5 You’re Not Being Social
Social shares are critical for driving traffic to your site. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the leading platforms; however, don’t neglect other venues that are relevant to your business. If you operate a business in fashion, food or art, Pinterest is relevant to your business. If you have video tutorials, YouTube needs to be scheduled and maintained. If you find a subreddit that pertains to your business and allows for you to post blog content links there, take advantage of the traffic a Reddit share will bring. We call that a Reddit hug.
When you post to your social sites, do not forget to communicate with your followers! Retweet them, like a Facebook post or repin their pins. If you have followers directly messaging you, respond to them. This helps you to build a relationship and move into a friend zone rather than your followers seeing you as simply a business, brand or product. Avoid these mistakes and check out these other blogging tips, to move your site into the realm of success.