Ten Reasons Why Your Blog Sucks

photo credit: Rose Robinson

How pleased are you with your blog right now?

If you’ve been looking after it, you’ve been posting new content regularly and you like the look and feel of it, it’s likely that that question will lead to a favourable response.

Our blogs are a bit like friends; they work with us, help us out promoting our business, and open the door to new connections and conversations with like-minded people online.

So, if I said that there are probably ten reasons right now why your blog isn’t that great, would you believe me?

Read on!

#1 – Your blog is speaking a foreign language

When it comes to SEO, there’s a critical rule of thumb for keywords that gets the search engines noticing your blog.

If you don’t know what keywords your customers are using to find you, and your blog isn’t using them too in your content, you may as well be trying to speak Swahili to a UK Yorkshire customer.

Make sure you match your content to the words your clients are using.

Related Post: Perfect Your SEO Habits

#2 – Your blog is being totally random

Do you have a really clear idea of what keywords you should be using?

If not, all the effort you spend posting up new content could be for nothing. Use Google’s keyword tool to make sure your content is targeted and on track.

#3 – Your blog rambles on like a drunk uncle at a family wedding

If you’re not using those keywords you’ve found often enough, by focussing your writing to pick them up naturally, Google won’t be able to hear you when you shout.

Make sure that your content is geared around these search terms to help get your blog noticed.

#4 – Your blog is repetitive

Having covered off #3, it’s also important to remember that your content needs to be real, informative, original and engaging to keep your customers happy.

It’s no good posting up pages that just repeat the same keyword phrases again and again – make sure that when you write, you’re producing valid, interesting knowledge that will support your clients and keep them coming back for more.

#5 – Your blog collar and cuffs don’t match

A terrible faux pas for any self-respecting blog is posting up headlines and titles that don’t have anything to do with your main keyword and the content of your post.

Make sure that the headings you use reflect the keywords you’re focussing on, as these sections of your post are the ones the search engines value most.

#6 – Your images aren’t being used to their full advantage

When you put a description by your image, it helps search engines read what the image is about.

This is a canny way of getting them to use more of your published content, so use the Alt text option and pop a caption with each graphic you use.

#7 – Your blog is antisocial

If you link to other blogs online, you’ll gain a few benefits.

The main one is that you develop a network of like-minded people to return the favour.

Secondly, search engines like to see you linking to other sites to boost the value of your own.

#8 – Your blog is shallow

When you publish a post, it’s not enough to simply rely on the article itself to get you out there being noticed.

If you forget to populate your blog post meta description, you’re missing out on one of the most valuable SEO tools you have available.

Add keywords to make sure you get the best out of every new article you publish, every time.

#9 – Your blog is shy

If you don’t have URLs that are easy for search engines to categorise and locate, your blog could be accused of hiding away from the limelight.

Use simple, recognisable keywords for the title and URL of each post to make sure you’re helping people to find your latest article easily.

#10 – Your blog is rude

If you have spelling errors, capitals, too many sales pitches, pointless content or any other of the main flaws in your site, your blog will be dismissed by your customers in favour of more polite sites!

Make sure you check all of your posts before you publish, using the ten reminders above, before you push the submit button, to keep your blog being friendly, polite, useful and loved by your clients!

Related Post: What You Should Be Doing Before You Publish Your Next Blog Post

What makes a blog suck, for you?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below.