10 Blogging Mistakes That Are Tanking Your Results

Are blogging mistakes tanking your results? Is no one reading your blog posts or bouncing immediately upon hitting your page? Common blogging mistakes might be to blame. When writing a blog post, it’s important to write (and format) in a way that draws readers in, both content-wise and aesthetically.

If you’re ready to start writing better, more reader-friendly blog posts, we’ve identified 10 common blogging mistakes and 10 fast fixes below.

Common Blogging Errors` to Avoid

If you’re tired of having low traffic, a high bounce rate, and no repeat readers, it’s time to audit your blog content. With a few simple solutions, you can greatly improve readability and improve your chances of readers sticking around for longer.

Here are 10 common blog post mistakes you might be making and how to fix them.

1. Long Paragraphs

Enter, return… whatever you want to call it, from this day forward, this key is your friend. Your best friend. We’re not sure why, but when people start writing a blog post, it seems like they often forget this key even exists. This is not a good thing.

Do you want to know what happens when you ignore the enter key? Your readers get hit with a wall of content so overwhelming that it burns their eyes with the fire of a thousand suns. (Or a thousand words.) Don’t do that to your readers.

Solution: Keep your blog paragraphs short at three to four lines maximum before starting a new paragraph.

2. No Bulleted Lists

It’s very easy to pretend that people read every word you write. (Hey, we do it all the time.) But let’s face it… they don’t. Okay, some might, but others will only skim and scan. Bulleted lists are a way to succinctly get your point across to those readers who don’t have time to read the whole thing, want a fast answer, or don’t care to read your content in full.

Solution: While this is one of the most common blogging mistakes we see, it’s also one of the easiest to fix. If you have content that can be summed up concisely in a list rather than presented in a long, hard-to-digest paragraph, why not do it?

Here’s a look at the benefits:

• Bullet lists are an easily scannable way to present multiple points.
• They look different from the rest of your text, so they provide a visual break for your reader.
• They sum up information concisely, allowing skimmers to find what they want.
• Lists improve readability and keep your readers from getting overwhelmed.

3. No Subheads

When writing a blog post, your headline is always the H1. The subheads come next in a hierarchy that follows this order: H2, H3, H4, and H5. Subheads, like the one above titled “No Subheads,” are essential to blog posts for a few reasons. They help organize your content, keep readability high, help keep readers engaged, and make your content easy to skim.

Basically, using subheads is content marketing 101, and if you’ve been making this blogging error, you can start remedying it today. For example, if you’re writing a blog post about increasing sales with low-budget marketing techniques, you’d use a subheading to introduce each technique, then write your content under each one.

Solution: Next time you’re writing a blog post, use H2s and H3s to help keep readers around for longer and to help skimmers and scanners find what they’re looking for.

4. No Internal Links

Here’s another one of those common blogging mistakes that can be easily remedied — no internal links. You have great blog content, so it only makes sense that you should be linking to your other posts in each piece of content. Internal links help you highlight your best content, entice readers to visit other pages of your site, and reduce bounce rate considerably.

Solution: Aim for two to 10 internal links in each piece of content

5. Poor Writing Quality

This can include typos, grammatical errors, and awkward phrasing. While everyone makes mistakes, it is important to keep writing as clear and concise as possible. This can be achieved by using grammar and spell-check tools, reading your posts before publishing, and having someone else read your posts for feedback.

If you’re using AI writing tools (hey, no shame in your game) to create blog post content, it’s crucial that you add in voice and tone, fix unnatural language, fact-check, and rewrite portions to keep readability high, and maintain quality standards.

Solution: Take the time to edit and revise your writing before you hit the publish button. Use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway App to help improve your writing, and consider having someone else read over your posts for feedback.

6. Lack of Focus

Another common mistake that bloggers make is a lack of focus. This can happen when bloggers try to cover too many topics in one post or when they get sidetracked from their main point. This can make your content confusing and difficult to follow. This also comes in the form of a long, rambling introduction that loses your readers before you even get into your topic.

Solution: When writing your posts, stay focused on your main topic. Consider breaking your content into smaller, more manageable chunks and writing separate posts for each topic if you get too far off your main point.

7. Poor Content Structure

When it comes to blogging mistakes, this one’s a doozy! Blogging is not just about writing — it’s also about presentation. Poor content structure can make your posts difficult to read and comprehend. This can include using long paragraphs, not using headings or subheadings, and not using images or other visual aids.

Solution: When structuring your content, break it up into smaller, more manageable chunks. Use headings and subheadings to help guide your readers, and include images or other visual aids to help illustrate your points. Use Canva or PicMonkey to create engaging images.

8. No Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important aspect of blogging. It helps search engines find and understand your content, making people more likely to find your posts. However, many bloggers ignore SEO, resulting in their content being buried in the search results.

Solution: Research and implement best practices for SEO, such as using keywords in your title tags and meta descriptions, using alt text for images, and using internal and external links. Try a budget-friendly tool like WriterZen to research keywords and optimize your content.

9. Not Promoting Your Blog Posts

This blogging mistake is more common than you might think. While blogging is a great way to reach a wider audience, writing and publishing your content is not enough. You also need to promote your blog to get people to read it. Many bloggers ignore this step, resulting in low traffic and limited exposure for their content.

Solution: Promote your blog using social media, from Instagram stories to quick tweets, guest posting, and collaborating with other bloggers. You can also try paid ads to expand your reach even further.

10. Misleading Headlines

Here’s one of the more common blogging mistakes we’ve seen: Headlines that don’t match the article content. This issue can have serious negative consequences for both the publisher and the reader. Such headlines can lead to a loss of trust and credibility in the eyes of the reader and ultimately result in a decrease in traffic and engagement for the publisher.

When a headline promises something the article doesn’t deliver, it creates a sense of disappointment and frustration in the reader, who may feel misled or deceived. This can decrease trust and make readers less likely to engage with your future content.

Solution: To avoid misleading readers, ensure your headline accurately reflects the article’s content. Headlines should be clear, concise, and accurately convey the article’s main point or message. By making this change, you can build trust with their readers and establish your blog as a reliable source of information. If you need help, check out this guide on writing irresistible headlines.

Reader-Friendly = Readers

Well, there you have it… the biggest blogging mistakes people make and how to fix each one. Content marketing is about providing value to your audience, but in order to do that, your content needs to be great and presented in an engaging way.

View your content from a reader’s standpoint. Do you enjoy reading cluttered, boring, and/or confusing blog posts? Nope. And guess what? Your readers don’t either.

Which of these blogging mistakes have you been making?

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