When I started writing for clients and my own blog, I needed a checklist.
You know, a running list of what to do for a new blog post that both readers and search rankings loved.
And by following it (ta-da!), a beautiful blog post would result.
Well…I can’t say every blog post I’ve written has been a hit. But with time and experience, this checklist I envisioned has evolved and helped me a lot.
In fact, I’ve discovered 20 blog writing mistakes you may also want to avoid if you want to create relevant content favored by Google. These mistakes can be grouped under four categories on your checklist. They include:
- Your blogging strategy
- Blog research
- SEO formatting
- Reader experience
Curious to know if you’re making the same mistakes in your blogs? (The good news is you can improve.) Read on.
Table of Contents:
Blogging Strategy
Let’s start here. Before ever writing anything, it’s wise to begin with your blogging strategy.
Broken down simply – What’s the plan for creating quality content for your blog?
Not sure? Well, it’s wise to start out NOT doing these four things.
#1. Writing only about what you love
Am I saying not to write about what you love? Of course not. But be cautious to write ONLY about what you love.
The biggest mistake you can make is creating blog post content without regard for your audience. Sure, some topics you love end up being a hit on Google and with your audience. But I guarantee not all the topics will be ones you’re dying to write about.
As you start thinking about your blog, it’s in your best interest to think of blog post ideas that center around your audience (and what they’re searching for)…not just what’s on your brain for a particular moment.
You can write like that, but it’s more like a diary than a blog post that provides value.
#2. Writing without identifying your pillars of content
This is where the initial key planning comes in thinking through your blogging platform.
Consider your audience. Start brainstorming 4-6 main pillars of content topic ideas related to the main topic you want to write about.
For example, you can look at Justin Welsh. His target audience is solopreneurs. If you go to his website, you’ll see, under article topics, the following pillars:
- Personal Growth
- Business Planning
- Personal Branding
- Social Media Growth
- Monetizing Knowledge
- Productivity & Time Management
Then, under each of those pillars, he has several articles he’s written. Establishing those initial pillars (you can add others later) and including additional ideas under each is important. These ideas become your future blog posts.
#3. Ignoring search intent
When you ignore search intent, you fail to create the type of content your audience seeks.
Search intent breaks down to:
- Informational (TOFU – “How to” or “What is?” content)
- Navigational (MOFU – You know the brand and want to learn more.)
- Commercial (MOFU or BOFU – Looking to compare or find the best solution between brands.)
- Transactional (BOFU – You’re ready to buy and make a purchasing decision.)
On most blogs, you want to represent this range of different intent getting your audience’s attention wherever they are in the marketing funnel.
You’ve got readers discovering you for the first time and others who have been loyal advocates.
It’s important to make sure you aren’t writing a lot of informative top-of-the-funnel content and leaving out how your brand/product compares to the competition.
#4. Writing for search engines, not your reader
Picking Topics unrelated to your brand and what you do SOLELY for the benefit of SEO is an incredibly bad idea. You may attract eyeballs (seeing those impressions soar), but you won’t retain those folks.
And worse, you may give off such horrible reader experience vibes because your article is clunky and stuffed with keywords. Not to mention, you are completely missing your target in the majority of scenarios.
Instead, write for your reader.
Write for someone you know with limited time who needs you to get to the point and will potentially feel a little something for you afterward.
Blog Research
Now that those overarching points have been made as you think through your strategy, the following research mistakes prevent you from consistently producing high-quality content.
#5. Not knowing your target audience
Yep, goes back to the reader!
You’ve heard it 100 times already, but you can’t expect your content to be engaging if you haven’t nailed down the ICP (ideal customer profile).
This is the upfront discovery session you can’t skip over. You’ve got to look at your existing content getting all the attention. You’ve got to dig into those customer surveys or Reddit threads.
In your mind, you’ve got to be able to see who it is you’re writing for.
Any data you can get your hands on that tells you what your ICP’s experiences are like or what they find most challenging is the starting point to reveal really good nuggets for content topics.
#6. Ignoring keyword research
And right up next after target audience research is keyword research. You know, these are the words your readers are actually typing into the Google search box to get answers.
And the biggest mistake with keyword research is not knowing how to apply SEO to your content or ignoring it altogether.
You’ve got some of the best free tools, like searching on Google itself. Or you can utilize Keyword Planner and Google Search Console to reveal the words and phrases your audience is searching for in higher volumes with lower competition.
Hone in on long tail keywords you can win on.
Not thoroughly using Google to identify patterns and capitalizing on “people also ask” questions is just criminal for content with informational intent. Know keyword best practices and apply them consistently to your blog posts.
#7. Being passive to the competition
There are already others writing about similar topics. It’s highly unlikely you’re the first.
So it’s in your best interest not to write in a bubble and bypass what the competition is doing.
Look at the content ranking #1 in the SERPs. What formats (video, blog post,etc.) are performing well? What subheadings and content are being touched on in the article itself?
Keeping an eye on the competition helps with ideas and sketching a rough outline. But it’s on you to make it unique and more informed.
SEO Formatting
Writing for the reader also means paying attention to the format of your blog content. And part of that is making sure your articles are highly searchable using search engine optimization.
Are you making the following SEO blunders as you enter your blog post into your content management system?
#8. Not spending more time on your blog post title
Neil Patel tells you to keep it between 20-70 characters, while others say to shoot for around 60. My blog post titles typically land in that 50-60 region. But it’s good to stay open and try new things.
Your H1 is what grabs the reader’s attention.
Failing to make it eye-catching in a sea of Google search headlines is a mistake. You want that click, don’t you? You could miss out on potential leads because your H1 got the afterthought.
Spend more time making your H1s excellent.
#9. Using the “bold” feature instead of proper H2s and H3s
Beginner bloggers, not knowing SEO, may make the mistake of using the “bold” feature without highlighting sub-headings.
Incorporate H2s and H3s (sometimes H4s). You want to make it scannable and easy for your readers to get to what they want to know fast.
Highlight your sub-heads and indicate in the text dropdown if it’s the appropriate H2, H3, or beyond. You’re missing out on valuable SEO cred if you don’t. And you’re disappointing your reader by not breaking up your content into digestible sections.
#10. Not sticking between 55-60 characters for page titles
Google pays attention to your page title. If your reader has a disability, having a page title in place is also important for accessibility reasons.
But keep them to a 55-60 character count limit.
55 characters help you utilize the available space, and anything longer than 60 characters risks getting cut off in the search results, making your reader question what your blog post is about.
Pay attention to the detail.
#11. Not keeping your meta description to 155-160 characters
Sure, Google rewrites most meta descriptions, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore them.
With any free word count checking tool, you can include keywords and a short article summary to keep it between 155-160 characters in the meta description field.
If anything, this shows you’re in tune with best practices.
#12. Forgetting internal links
And you can’t write a blog post without thinking of ways to tie it to other great related blog posts you’ve written.
It’s one of the most overlooked blogging mistakes and something you can fix by simply thinking about other completed blog posts you want to link to before you write.
Make a list to reference it and include all the related internal links that come to mind.
#13. Having unrelated anchor text to internal links
Having unrelated anchor text is also among common blogging mistakes.
For example, when linking to an article about developing a growth mindset, you want the keywords “growth mindset” to be what you use as anchor text.
When the text is unrelated in your link, it’s completely confusing to the reader (and not helpful for Google) when they go to click to get more information.
Make sure your anchor text reflects keywords that are being used in a related article.
#14 Foregoing a FAQ section
When you have a blog topic with several potential questions your audience may have, a FAQ section is a great way to provide value for your reader and amp up your SEO juice.
You want to consider including questions at the bottom in a FAQ section that you couldn’t easily integrate into the main body of your blog post.
This is an excellent addition to a blog post used as a main pillar page that sometimes goes unnoticed.
#15. Not regularly optimizing older content
And for the love of everything you write, don’t forget to optimize your blog posts regularly.
Every 90 days, you should check the analytics to see what articles are on pages 2-3 on Google and see how to improve subheadings, add valuable content, and include related infographics.
Writing and forgetting what you’ve done is a mistake in capturing additional organic traffic and providing your reader with the most up-to-date content.
Reader Experience
A successful blog post creates a reader experience.
What does that mean?
It’s the entire vibe you get while reading through a blog post, shaking your head yes, and getting to the end of it knowing one of two things…
- This blog post topic just delivered on the value for me.
- I’m digging this content creator/brand a whole lot more now.
And why is this the case? Because you’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a pretty high-quality reader experience.
The following are big no-no’s as you keep the reader’s experience in mind.
#16. Writing in large paragraphs
If you want someone to click out of your blog post, write in full-block paragraphs.
There’s nothing more encouraging than a wall of copy to read on the go (sarcastic eye roll).
Maybe you have 15 seconds right at the beginning of your written content to pull a reader in. Well, that’s not happening once they quickly skim to see the huge paragraphs they’ll have to sift through.
It’s a mental thing. So don’t make this silly little mistake that can be easily corrected using proper headings and bullet points.
#17. Getting skimpy on the storytelling visuals
Who wants to read a blog with no pretty pictures?
Intentional photography inserted into your post adds to the blog design and entertains your reader.
Not including relevant imagery and tutorial video links is foolish. And it’s boring.
#18. Forgetting the table of contents for larger blog post articles
There are varied opinions about including a table of contents for your blog post.
But if it’s long (like 1500 words+), you can win favor with the reader and score some points with search engines when you include the table of contents at the top of your blog post.
This allows readers to get to what they need quickly.
#19. Not making it scannable with a mobile reader in mind
With most of your audience reading your blog post from their phone, making it scannable is important.
You know they’ll be scrolling to some degree.
So help them out by making it clear where they can get an answer to the question(s) dancing in their head.
Utilize white space and keep your paragraphs to a 2-3 sentence minimum.
#20. Ending your blog post with no CTA
And whatever you do, don’t forget to leave a CTA for your reader at the end of your blog post.
There’s nothing worse at the end of a valuable blog article than leaving the reader with nothing to do or nowhere else to go next.
Prompt them to sign up for your newsletter (like I’m going to do), or give them related articles for them to click in to read more (which I’m also going to do).
Just never…ever….leave them with no action to take.
