5 Rookie Blogging Mistakes Most Bloggers Make (And How to Fix Them)

The following is a guest post by Rahul Kuntala….

Over 2 million blog posts are written every single day.

That’s a HUGE number.  So how can you get the word out about your content in such a crowded space? Be unique.

Instead of churning out more and more content, find out how you can add more value with less content.

81% of bloggers never make more than $100 and almost 90% of the bloggers quit within their first 3 months of blogging. Most can avoid failure by finding and fixing their blogging mistakes.

In this article, we’ll discuss rookie blogging mistakes 90% of the bloggers make and we’ll also talk about how to fix them so you can avoid becoming a failure.

“Successful people often failed on their way to success”.  So don’t quit when things are not going your way. Be consistent and have fun while blogging. Let’s dive into the details.

1: “People Hate What They Don’t Understand” – Most Bloggers Hate SEO

Have you ever wondered why your blog is not getting any visitors from Google even if you’re writing blog posts day-in and day-out?

The #1 reason is: you’re ignoring SEO.

9 out of 10 bloggers hate the word “SEO”.

They ignore it because they think SEO is rocket science. Let me tell you one thing: SEO is NOT hard and it’s definitely not rocket science. SEO is all about pleasing people with your content and optimizing it for search bots.

Yes, there are over 200 factors Google considers while ranking a page on search results but you don’t have to focus on all of them.

There are 2 simple things that can help you boost your search rankings easily.

1. Keyword research
2. Backlinks

If you are struggling to increase your website traffic from Google, do keyword research before writing even a word.

Why?

Here are 3 powerful reasons to do keyword research before posting something on your blog.

1. You can easily figure out what interests your audience (so you can create “laser focused content” that provides value)
2. By finding and using relevant keywords within your content, you can increase your search traffic
3. Long tail keyword research can generate more sales

So there you go. If you want more search traffic and sales, don’t ignore keyword research.

If you’re wondering how to do keyword research like a boss, let me show you how.

Finding long tail keywords

Keyword research is incomplete without finding long tail keywords. Long tail keywords usually contain 4 or more words in it.

For example:

• Travel tips – short tail keyword
• Travel the world – medium tail keyword
• Travel the world without money – long tail keyword (with 5 words in it)

Most people make a HUGE mistake while doing keyword research: they pick up short tail or medium tail keywords (both are usually hard to rank for). That’s why they often fail to get traffic from Google.

So when you’re doing keyword research, target only long tail keywords. They are easier to rank for and require less efforts from your end to get 1st page results.

How to find long tail keywords?

Neil Patel wrote an in-depth article about finding long tail keywords (which is a great resource for bloggers).

But if you’re looking for a quick summary, here are a few tips.

• Use tools like Keyword Planner, Keywordtool.io, LSI Graph etc for finding long tail keywords. Make sure to target keywords with 4 or more words in it.
• Whenever you target specific keywords, keep an eye on the monthly search volume (between 200 to 2000). Never target high search volume keywords as they are hard to rank for.
• Once you’re done with keyword research, find out who ranks for your target keywords on the first page. Write as informative content as possible by using your primary keywords to get into the top 10 results.

Now, let’s talk about the other part: backlinks.

Earning quality backlinks

Google gives top priority to the sites with more backlinks. Google crawlers simply consider backlinks as votes, so the more there are the better rankings you can get. So you simply can’t ignore the importance of backlinks.

In fact, Brian Dean recently did an interesting case study and he found that it’s better to get 10 links from 10 different sites than 10 links from the same domain.

“Google wants to see several different sites endorsing your page. And the more domains that link to you, the more endorsements you have in the eyes of Google.”

So how to attract quality backlinks?

Here are a few tried and tested ways to build backlinks naturally.

• Write in-depth content. Writing 2000+ word articles usually rank higher in Google and attract more backlinks from others sites.
• Use the Skyscraper technique. Find the top performing content in your industry, create 10x content around it and promote it to the right people (who already shared the original content or linked to it).
• Use guest posting wisely. Write high quality stuff. Link to your best posts while writing guest posts instead of linking to your home page.
• Link out to other bloggers often. That’s how you encourage other bloggers to link to your content. It works like a charm. 

2: Successful People Focus on Helping Others. Unsuccessful People Focus on “What’s in It for Me?” – It’s About Them, Not About YOU!

90% of bloggers fail because they always focus on “me, me, me, me”. When you’re only concerned about yourself, why would someone help you?

If you want to get help from others, offer help first.

• Want more social shares? Start sharing others’ stuff first.
• Want to get more backlinks? Start linking out to other bloggers generously.
• Want to increase your blog comments? Start leaving comments on other blogs.

See, the success formula is simple: GIVE before you ASK.

3: “Create Something Every Day Even if It Sucks” – Most Bloggers Consume More Than They Create

Here’s what most successful people do.

Create > Consume (they create more than they consume)

Here’s what most unsuccessful people do. Consume > Create (they consume more than they create)

So if you want to be a successful blogger, create MORE.

Here’s how to do it.

Write answers on Quora: Quora is the biggest Q & A platform where you can get the best answers to any question. It’s an active platform used by millions of people worldwide and if you are someone who’s looking to get more online exposure, it’s the RIGHT platform. Follow all the people and topics that are relevant to your industry and make sure to write at least 1 answer every day. Once you start getting more upvotes (aka likes) to your answers, you will start enjoying it.

Participate in blogging forums: There are a ton of blogging forums out there where thousands of bloggers interact with each others by commenting, linking, sharing content. Forums like Blog Engage, Blokube, Warrior Forum can help you increase your blog’s exposure and also helpful for building relationships with others in your industry.

Write guest posts for others: Guest blogging is the #1 success mantra for many successful bloggers. People like Danny Iny, Leo Babauta, Leo Widrich have all used guest posting to get initial traction with their blogs. So start writing quality guest posts for others. Here’s a great guide on how to do it right if you’re new to it. Also make sure to use tools like Ahrefs to find great content opportunities to land on top blogs in your industry.

4: “People Pay You, Not Page Views” – Don’t Focus Too Much on Your Website Traffic

In my 5 years of blogging, I’ve worked with over 100 clients.

Here’s what 90% of them ask me over and over again. “Rahul, how can I increase my blog traffic?”.

When your blog is brand new, you should NOT focus on increasing your traffic, instead you should focus on finding the right people who’re interested in reading your content.

Focus all your energy on finding those people who

• Share your content
• Email you personally after reading your stuff
• Actually take time to implement your advice

That’s where the money is.

Focus on one person at a time.

Treat them like a family and solve their problems by writing informative contents on your site. That’s how you build and grow a thriving online business in the long run.

After all, people buy from you not search engine bots, right?

#5. “Jack of All Trades, Master of None” – Covering Too Many Blog Topics Can Kill Your Success

You’ve probably heard the phrase – “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Don’t be that type of person. Trying to become a jack of all trades is the surest way to be a failure.

Whenever I visit a new blog, I notice one thing in common. They write just about everything.

I mean, come on. How can you write about every topic under the sun when you’re just starting out?

Covering too many blog topics makes it impossible for you to build loyal audience.

So what can you do instead? Use the “Divide and conquer technique”.

Focus on mastering ONE topic at a time.

When you’re starting out, focus on just one topic. Let’s assume that you’re running a marketing blog, instead of covering everything from affiliate marketing to email marketing to conversion optimization – just pick ONE topic and master it.

Write 5 to 10 really good (epic) articles around that one particular topic (eg: email marketing), then move on to the other (affiliate marketing). That’s how you build a thriving audience around your blog. That’s how you succeed!

Over to You

Your blogging success depends on how quickly you learn from your blogging mistakes. So what other mistakes are  bloggers making? Did you like this post? If yes, please consider sharing it with others so they can benefit. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Author Bio: Rahul Kuntala helps you live the laptop lifestyle and succeed online at Learn Blog Tips.